Phuket

Thailand is most definitely one of our favourite places to visit hence, why we decided to make our honey moon trip to Phuket which  is an island off the south-west coast of Thailand. 

The flying however was pretty longer than we had expected as we had to take another domestic flight to reach Phuket from Bangkok which was unexpectedly delayed.

So, let me begin with our first day at the Andatel Grandé Patong Phuket Hotel. This hotel was located in an area where everything was easily accessible! Thankfully! For example, for dinner all we had to do was cross the street and randomly select a place to dine.

Vendors

Street food

Chicken teriyaki, egg and vegetable fried rice and garlic bread

The delicious banana and nutella pancake

Barbecued fish with chili sauce. Yum!

The entire street is lined with these fast food Thai restaurants and we just loved taking walks at night, smelling food from one restaurant to another. There were also pubs, dance clubs and Go-Go’s which are basically strip clubs and some vendors would basically shove their signs, in your face that reads, either a plethora of Thai dishes, or a sign that simply read, ‘Live Ping Pong Show’ haha!

I loved this shop!

Street food

This place is full of tourists! I loved the fact that we were able to explore Patong at our own pace and, more importantly at our own liking! :D  

Phi Phi islands

The following day was our tour to the Phi Phi islands! This tour was a very long and boring ferry ride to the islands. However, when we approached the islands non of that really mattered because it was much too beautiful to be missed! We were taken to an amazing spot, ‘The Maya bay’ afterwards, to spend time snorkeling. It felt like a whole new world in there! :D Reminded me of my small days where I used to imagine myself stuck in an island, just like in the Tv series , ‘The Swiss Family of Robinson’ and I think it pretty much did made me feel so. J

Ferry ride

See the fish around him?

Maya bay

Beautiful!

Shopping in Phi phi

Raya beach

The Raya beach is probably one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. Luckily, this was only a 30 minute ride to the island because we went in a speed boat and it was possibly the wisest thing to do! The water was sparkling light blue, The climate was fabulous, and we had plenty of time to relax and snorkel. What more could you ask for? J

Don't forget to rent out one of these beach chairs. Costs about 200 baht.

Wheeeeee!

City tour

The next day we were met precisely on time at the hotel by Joey our guide and her driver, for our city tour and to take us to our next holiday destination in Mai khao beach. The city tour was probably the best way to get to know almost everything about the city in a relatively short period of time. The guides were very engaging, fun, pleasant and nice and tolerant enough to take us to places of our choice than that was only in their list of places such as the Karon view point, Chalong temple and the world’s biggest jewellery store, the ‘Gems gallery in Phuket’.

The Gems gallery

Men at work

A panaromic view of the inside of the building

Learning about the history of gem and jewellery through a tunnel train ride. It was so cool!

Karon view point

Joey our guide

The over exposed shot we took with an eagle for 100 baht -.- gah!

Chalong temple

Tiger Kingdom

Although at first we were really looking forward to visit the Tiger kingdom, we weren’t really sure if we’d be able to, thinking it would be a long ride from Patong and from what we had heard, the deal is that you only get to spend around 10 minutes with the tigers. Hence, it wasn’t going to be worth the visit we thought. However, when Joey asked us if there was any other place we’d like to visit, I just mentioned the ‘Tiger Kingdom’ and luckily it was not that much of a distance from where we were and she happily agreed to take us there! I was all happy and grins! :D

And there we were! At the Tiger Kingdom watching those graceful and elegant big cats crawl lazily from one place to another trying to get a break from all that photo posing with the darn humans! Apparently, these tigers aren’t sedated and I was so relieved to hear that! They were born in captivity and have been raised and brought up around people since then. They looked very healthy to me and seemed like they were all well taken care of and yes, most importantly they seemed happy!

A little freaked out at first yes!

So just like we were informed before, the deal is to buy 15 minutes with one tiger (or more) of different sizes. -New borns, middle aged fellas and the adults. The two of us decided to take the risk and go for the adult tigers.  Surprisingly, the cubs were the most expensive! It’s probably because it’s less riskier, you can pet them all you want and there is a hundred percent chance of getting that perfect desired picture with the cubs whereas, we had to approach the big cats from behind and not touch its head or anywhere close to its mouth. However, we managed to get some cool pics, thanks to the hired photographer! Those ten to fifteen minutes was just so fun and I can’t express in words the excitement, of being next to an actual adult tiger! We felt really good after the visit and had absolutely no second thoughts about it.

This is how I caught his attention

Ooh!

xD

Happily in love <3 

Yawn

Tourists posing with the cubs

Cubs

Drink of the day - Tiger 's special

A hub for relaxation

After our city tour we checked in at the Holiday Inn resort Phuket, Mai khao beach. This area seemed far off from the urban area however closer to the Phuket airport. This place was made for relaxation I’d say! It was a totally different atmosphere in comparison to Patong and an incredibly chic location! This hotel was conveniently situated in the beach but in order to get to the hotel, you have to drive inside a bit and there is nothing of note in walking distance to the hotel except for a few small stalls. Unless you hire a taxi and take a 60 minute ride to Patong or in case you’re interested to shop, you can hire a taxi and hit the nearest Tesco Lotus or Big C. 

Happiness is when you find out that your hotel room’s been upgraded and to notice that you’re truly welcomed by a delicious piece of cheese cake! :D

Food

Ceaser salad

vegetable pizza

Hawaian pizza

Pad-ka-prao

Sea food soup

Apple pancake with chocolate syrup and ice cream

Coconut Creme Brulee with cookies

Sun set

Watching the sunset and posing for pics

....and I get carried away =P

Elephant safari

So our driver arrived at the hotel the next morning to take us for our elephant safari. It was quite an experience I must say. We were basically taken to a site that was either completely transformed in to a village or was actually a village. I don’t know! Somehow it seemed like a farm and did give us a village feeling!

So the first part of our 5 in 1 package before we got to the elephants was to take a rare mode of transportation which is fun and eco-friendly at the same time. Guess what!

Yes! It was a bullock cart ride! A ride, I thoroughly enjoyed and hadn’t experienced before! I was holding tight on to my seat scared that I would fall in to the mud as we kept swaying back and forth throughout the whole journey. 

Later we were taught how to make a papaw salad (Thai style)

Ingredients

Raw papaw peeled and sliced thin

Carrot sliced thin

Peanuts

Palm sugar paste

Lime

Chilli

Pinch of salt

From what I remember, first you crush the dry ingredients all together and add the palm sugar paste in to it. Add the papaw and carrot and squeeze in the lime and mix well!

Voila!

Learning about the Agricultural stuff

Rubber sheets

Posing for a pic with the massive bull

Monkey show

Kick boxers

Elephant ride

Finally, it was the moment we two were waiting for. The elephant ride! We were taken to this platform that was made of wood and bamboo to wait for our turn. We had to get on the elephant when it’s back was leveled with the platform and soon climb on to her back. 

Bamboo platform

The man who controls the elephant and who was supposed to guide us through our adventure was seated on it’s head between it’s ears. When I asked him what her name was, he said ‘Nanduo’ at least, from what I understood with his Thai accent! It was a little wobbly at first, even before we started to move, trying to get comfortable in the hard metal howdah. We were slightly feeling insecure at first, in our seats that were high enough to reach some trees! …and we started moving. 

The ride seemed fairly smooth, though I was a little stiff on my seat hanging on tight, to make sure neither myself nor my belongings fall off. However, I was enjoying the thrill of being on an elephant for the first time.

Feeding 'Nanduo' bananas

The Elephant circus show

Elephant butt massage lol

Guy volunteering to play 'Find the banana' and they put the banana in his pants lol

Still searching for the banana haha!

The announcer asks the elephant to find the correct banana and yes he did! lol 

An end to our  island safari

 I have to say it was a holiday well spent and we enjoyed every bit of it. For those honeymooners who are looking for a trip full of adventure, entertainment and relaxation?…I cannot recommend this place enough for you!!!

Ok!!! So this has been long enough and ironically my honey moon vacation post had to top my wedding post cz I’m still waiting for my wedding pictures. Once I do get them will blog soon about it. Till then… xoxo