After months of planning, I with my wife travelled to Thailand for our wedding anniversary. Well it was our first international trip and we were quite excited:) Our flight from Chennai landed at DMK Airport Bangkok @ 4 am local time. It took around 2 hours for us for Visa on Arrival as airport was flooded by tourists. We had our flight to Phuket @ 8 am. When we were about to reach Phuket,we saw so many beautiful islands below from our flight window. We reached Phuket @ 9:30 am. We took mini van which drops you at your hotel.
We stayed for 3N/4D @ Amici Miei Hotel,Phuket. The location was extremely good and was near to bangla road, patong beach and shopping centre. The staffs were helpful and friendly too.After relaxing a bit we went to explore nearby area for the remaining day. To our surprise the famous Jungceylon Mall, Banzaan Fresh Market and Bangla Street were very close . We roamed around Markets and Mall. Outside Banzaan Fresh Market there are lots of street food available, but for vegetarians very less options (infact only coconut ice cream and fruits). It's best place for sea food lovers and BBQ meat eaters. In the evening we went to Patong Beach , relaxed a bit there and then enjoyed the Bangla Road. This place was crazy and insane, as they say Bangla awakens when the sun sets. It was full of bars , ladies dancing on poles and shops. You can also enjoy live musical performances by artists/bands , Street Performers , Jugglers.
There are many options for street shopping as well. This ends our first day in Phuket!
It was the day booked for exploring Phuket on motorbike. We took bike on rent from our hotel @ just 200 bhat. Followed Google maps and the highway sign boards to reach Wat Chalong. It was interesting with fire cracker rituals and 3 monk statues stick with gold flakes. There were many Buddha relics as well.
Our next stop was Big Buddha which was not far from there. It's located on a hill, with too many sharp turns so the ride was adventurous . On the way there were plenty of view points and eateries.The statue is under construction but you can still have a good view and take pics.
Next,as we planned to go to Phromthep cape , it started raining heavily and we had to stop somewhere between. Phromthep is famous for its sunset view. We found one coffee shop and spent our time there. Then we roamed all over the Kata Noi , Kata and Karon beaches before reaching Patong Beach.
Our 3rd Day started very early coz we booked a tour for Phi Phi Islands. And the ferry leaves for Phi Phi around 9 am. It was one hour long speed boat ride till we reach Phi Phi. The tour actually consists of 3-4 islands and are very picturesque.They cover Viking Caves , Maya Bay , Monkey Beach , Free Snorkelling, Phi Phi don island , lunch and then return back. But most of them were closed because of high waves (as the guide said) . Snorkelling was good for people who knew swimming. Lunch was nice. The last point was khai nok island where we relaxed, swimmed and had some food. Overall it was a good tour and worth for taking pics. The islands are beautiful and stunning with sandy beaches and crystal clear waters.
