The Days and Nights of……

Hi People

Noticed that I haven’t been updating my blog?  Well, I have been blogging somewhere else :p cuz’ I’ve exceeded the limit in friendster.

So.. please go to jcveaghen.blogspot.com for my other posts…finally finished posting about my Phuket trip.

See you there!

JC

I woke up at about 7am.  It’s one of those days when you wake up as usual when you don’t have to work!  Or maybe cuz’ there’s a time difference of 1 hour.

We stepped out to the balcony… enjoy the sea breeze… and took some silly pictures…  heheheh…

We got ready and went down for breakfast.  They served American breakfast at the resort - the usual sausages, bacon, omelette, breads, cereal..etc.. with some local stuff as well like braised pork, fried noodles, rice, tofu…..and most of all, my favourite section… juice!  I like to mix orange juice with pineapple juice (if they have lemon juice it’ll be perfect).

Enjoyed the breakfast… looking at the Andaman sea…

We still got some time to kill before our rented car is here.  So.. after lazing around in the room, we headed to the pool. Now.. this is what I call total relaxation….

As we were on the way back to the room… the ping pong table was just there… so, decided to play a game or two.. and ended up played 4 games!.. and we were soaked in sweat.

Went to the room to get ready… till 3pm, the car-rent guy called.. he’s already downstairs.  Nel went down to get the car and signed some papers.

We got ready all the maps and our backpack and .. whoa!  The car we got was a Honda Jazz V-Tec in pearl white!  ahahahah.. my fave.

The first place we wanted to go was Wat Chalong.  It wasn’t that hard to find.. and man.. this temple really looked amazing…

And managed to catch up with some lil’ friends.  The people in Phuket seem to be very ‘animal-friendly’.  They don’t shoo dogs away or anything.

Managed to grab 2 corns as we were getting hungry.  yummy!  Nel had to tahan his hunger as I happily had my corn… cuz’ he has to drive..and as advised by the bell boy and from some mags, beware of motor cyclists.

Then we wanted to go to Cape Panwa… A lot of long boats and speed boats were parked there.  Met a man called Abdullah, said that we can charter a boat if we want to go island hopping. And he gave us a name card.. and the spelling of his name doesn’t sound like Abdullah at all.

We saw this lil’ sign on the map that says ’sunset viewpoint’ at the Phromthep Cape.  We asked Abdullah what is the best time to go for the sunset.  He said at about 6.40pm.  It was like 6.15pm already so we rushed to Phromthep. 

Once we reached there, the place was very crowded.  Cars everywhere and we went round a few times before we found this place to park our car.  There were a lot of shops selling souvenirs.  Also got a lot of lil’ stalls/vans selling snacks and some satay looking thing.  Something caught my attention is.. there were no flies on the food at all.  Then I noticed they put this lil’ spinning thing on top of the food like a mini fan.. to keep flies away (I guess that’s what we need in Malaysia… and our cafe at my work place :p)

Once we were at the view point.. wow… it was really a great view point.  Nel finally get to eat his corn :p  Some people brought along their pets and this cute golden retriever caught my eye.  I asked the owner if I can take a pic with him .. he said sure!  But there were a lot of clouds then.. so.. didn’t get to see a perfect ‘ham dan wong’.

I remember along the way to Phromthep, I saw some people eating at the seaside along the road of Rawai.  So, I told Nel maybe we can have our dinner there.

There were restaurants along the road… but people don’t really dine in the restaurants.  Looked across the road and you see people sitting on some mats at the beach, with a lil’ table.  We went to the one which was very well lit and of course, with a parking space right in front.

We sat down and ordered our food.  The girl who took our order wasn’t fluent in English.. but she really looked sweet.  She first gave us a menu in Thai language till we asked for a menu in English.

We ordered chicken wings (but ended up - we got roast chicken instead), seafood tomyam, fried chicken with cashew nuts, grilled pork, rice and a big bottle of coke.  It’s a 1 litre glass bottle that we don’t normally see in Malaysia.

The food arrived.. and wala….!  The food tasted so goooooood.  The roast chicken came with Thai sauce, the tomyam….fuiyoh!  damn shiok, the fried chicken with cashew nuts so yummy (my fave!) and the grilled pork came with this sauce which is sour and hot.  Nice!  Of course, we were sweating like mad… All that for just 370 baht (RM37).  phew! Satisfying dinner.

We have to find our way back to Patong.  And being in the dark at night didn’t help much :p  Some roads were really quiet and dark…. but glad that we managed to find our way back to the resort.  We passed by the Patong beach and it was like the most happening place.. it’s like a Bintang Walk there with a lot of Mat Sallehs.

We were so tired. Took a shower and rest… then munch on some snacks we bought just now… and sleep :p

Woke up at 7am to have breakfast and run some errands before we leave.

As arranged, Paul arrived at my place at sharp 10am! 

At the Airport

It was my first time at the LCC Terminal.  Straight away checked in our luggage then went to grab a bite at the café there.  Guess Nelson has been real excited… he gets hungry all the time!?

(Asean Cafe at LCCT)

We went to the Autogate lane.  Like so high tech only la.  No need stamp here and there.  Just put the passport there and put your thumb there for scanning.  And that’s it la (ok.. I’m the jakun one here as I haven’t been travelling to overseas for a long time).

Went to check out the Duty Free shop.  I grabbed 2 bars of Cadbury.. the rest of the stuff, we’ll just buy ‘em when we’re back.

Boarded the AirAsia Airbus.  It wasn’t all full.  Most of the passengers were foreigners.

And psst… it’s true.  The nasi lemak in AirAsia really tastes good!

(took a pic of one of the planes there with Lat cartoons on it)

Arriving at Phuket

We got excited as we see lil’ islands along the way.  The journey took 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Once we got down from the plane, we just followed the crowd and realised later we didn’t fill up the arrival card, which according to other passengers were given to them by the air stewardess… but we didn’t get any (they must have thought we were with the group tour and the cards were given to the tour leader).  So we got one from the counter and fill up as we queue. 

Grabbed our luggage…and the moment we walked out, there were so many people who approached us for airport limo.  I was told that the taxi fare from the airport to Patong will be around 600 baht and something below 700 baht and will take about 40 minutes.  When we asked for the price, the guy said 550 baht (which is RM55, still cheaper than from PJ going to KLIA).  We followed the guy to the limo and it’s an Altis!  .. and it started to rain.

We realised later that majority of the vehicles on the road are either Honda or Toyota (it’s like over in Malaysia, we see Proton everywhere) and of course, a lot of 4×4 which are normally converted into a tuk tuk.

Arriving at The Blue Marine Resort & Spa

It’s located at the cliff, further up from the busy Patong Beach and it’s just as what I’ve expected from the pictures I’ve seen. 

We were welcomed by their friendly and smiley staff.  When the staff gave me the keys to my room, she said ‘break fart’ (breakfast) starts at 6.30am.  hehehe.. this reminds me of what Kenny Sia wrote in his blog the moment he reached Phuket.

The bell boy took our luggage and sent us to our room in a tuk tuk look alike vehicle.  He said our room is very nice.  Once we entered the room… yes!!  For once, we didn’t feel cheated by the pictures in their website.  The exact bed, bathroom and the balcony facing the Andaman sea.

(Our room)

We lazed around since we were kinda tired after the journey.   We went through all the maps and brochures that we got from the airport and decided to rent a car.  Called up one of the company and we managed to get a Honda Jazz V-Tec (woohooo!) for 1,200 baht a day.  Add on 200 baht for them to deliver to us.  But we’ll only get the car next day at 3pm.

Then we went exploring the resort.  Very nice view and we spotted the table tennis table.  We played for a while.  It was at that time that I realised that I can play a bit of ping pong.   After that we went to the spa.  Traditional Thai massage for Nelson while just a head/shoulder massage for me as I’ve been having problem with my back, I dare let anyone to simply ‘krok krak’ my back :p 

(The pool area.. everything is blue…)

We then went for dinner at their café.  I had a Thai fried noodles and cocktail while Nelson had rice with pork and wine.  His pork dish was really spicy tho’.

The rest of the night we just spend our time exploring the maps again, planning where to go the next day and at the same time, can’t help browsing thru’ all the channels on TV.  Most of the programmes are in Thai with a few foreign channels (Japanese, Korean, Chinese….) and our favourite channel was ‘FTV’ = Fashion TV.. heheh.. Fashion for 24 hours!   Seeing supermodels in bikini and lingerie.. or see thru’ baju.. ahahahaha

Passport

So much for the talking about travelling, and both our passports need to be renewed first :p  The experience at the immigration office has been ok.  We renewed it at Subang and I can say that they’ve been pretty efficient (compared to applying/renewing a passport 15 years ago, when you have to run like mad once the gate is open and get in queue…etc…).  I managed to get everything done in 30 minutes (provided if all documents are complete.  For my case, the 30 minutes include taking the photo on the spot.  If I’ve brought my own photo, could have been faster).  Since I did it on a Friday, I could collect it on next Monday. 

Bookings

Prior to our trip, we’ve been checking out some packages.  I’ve asked my sis and she asked me to check out those ads in the newspapers.  In the end, we’ve decided on Go Holiday by Airasia.

We were just thinking that if we’re to follow a tour package, most likely they’ll bring us to places we don’t want to go to :p and didn’t quite like the hotel options that they have there.

It’s a 4 Days 3 Nights package (from 5 - 8 August 06), inclusive of return air ticket, accommodation with breakfast.  There’s a list of hotels and resorts to choose from and price wise, it’ll depend which hotel/resort that you choose.  After running thru’ the list and checking out respective sites, we’ve decided on The Blue Marine Resort and Spa at Patong.  Well, we were pretty much impressed by their site and pictures :p

Packing

We borrowed a luggage bag with rollers from my bro.  It’s big enough to put in stuff for 2 person yet it’s not so big that you need 2 person to carry.  It’s just nice after I’ve packed everything in.  Then we wonder… what if we buy something later.   What the heck.. we can always buy another bag from there if needed.

Me as usual, always go around with a backpack.  To put in stuff like a foldable umbrella (will come in handy on rainy days – literally), medicine kit (Panadols, ‘minyak angin cap kapak’, ‘Po Chai’ pills, Maalox, plasters and our vitamins), camera, batteries, cap, sunblock, bottle of water, mints and a cap.  Also another waist pouch for important stuff like my passport, flight/hotel booking confirmation slip, credit cards, cash, mobile phone and the ang pow my mom gave me for a safe journey (mom always do this whenever we’re travelling somewhere far).

Transport

Also called up my bro’s usual cabbie – Paul.  He’s been a regular for any of my family members who go travelling.  It’s like he knows everyone in my family already la.  So, since my flight is at 12.45noon, he said he’ll pick us up at 10am and it’s at LCCT, a bit further than KLIA.

Well.. looks like we’re all set to go….

Up next… Day 1 in Phuket…

For the past 2 days, I’ve been feeling heavy headed (headache at times).  And I haven’t take Panadols yet :p  heehehe.. trying to survive without it. 

Panadol isn’t the only way (and after reading all the horror stories of the side effects mind you)…  What I’ll normally do when I have a headache:-

1. Drink a lot of water or drink 100Plus

2. Wash hair… or just run cold water over my head

3. Sleep

4. Have a cup of Slurpee from 7-11.  Yep…. I find this especially effective if the pain is caused by heat.  To support that, here’s how I discovered the magic of Slurpee…

On one Chinese New Year, Nelson and I drove up to Penang.  The weather was extremely hot.  My head started aching even during half the journey.  We got lost a bit searching for our hotel… head still aching like mad…  Took a bath, washed my hair.. hoping will feel better.  Dried my hair.. head still aching… took 2 Panadols and went to sleep.

Nelson woke me up… I remember a blurry vision of him calling me up.. asking me to go out and ‘chui chui foong’ (for some air)…  I was still blur.. my head still aching.. and I looked at him and sang ‘hen xiang he ni ji chi chui chui foong… chui chui… chui foong’ (ahahaha.. Jacky Cheung’s song).   He can’t helped laughing… but still, my head can’t help aching.

We went out in search of food… had Bak Kut Teh.. and it wasn’t a nice one.  Then, on the way back to the hotel, I spotted a 7-11 there.  I yelled STOP!  And I told Nelson to get me a cup of Slurpee… any flavour that they have there.  I think he got me a cup of green colour.

I sucked it so hard… then I feel like the world is spinning.. head was in pain.. I can’t see!…. I feel like knocking my head onto the wall (but no wall.. if I knock to the car window.. that’s it la)…I got brain freezed…. but..

..after all that.. phew! … the pain is gone!  And there goes a happy JC….

How’s that?  You might want to try it out one day.

And as for why my heading is cookie.. well.. at first I want to talk about this cookie.. but since headache came along the way.. hmmm

I’m still having headache now.  Occasionally, my colleague saw me ‘head banging’.. and keep asking me to get Panadol.. and I just sat there like I’m dead… and stoned.  She beh tahan me and actually went up to the convenient store and bought me Uphamol.  But .. I said… I need food first.. I’m hungry :p

I went to buy some lil’ cakeys, cookies… and Cocoro!  Finished the cake.. the cookies (and saving Cocoro for tomorrow.. hopefully).. the Uphomal still lying there.  Just don’t feel like taking it.

And the cookies.. ya.. want to mention that.  It’s kinda yummy (and chewy.. Eric! check it out!).  RM1.20 for 6 pcs.  Try it out.

Kai Hsin forwarded this link to me the other day http://save-animals.tripod.com/

Go check it out… if you want to contribute, just purchase the T Shirt.  It’s kinda cute!

(JC is not so ‘cheong hei’ with the recent posts :p)

eheheh.. that subject heading will cause some ‘what? hah?’ from my friends. 

But actually, what I’m trying to say is… I’ve recently signed up for the Child Sponsorship programme by World Vision.  I received my child’s profile and she’s a cute lil’ girl from India. 

For all you people out there who would like to sign up for this programme as well, please visit www.worldvision.com.my to find out more information.  We’re not talking about donating a big amount in one go but a small amount every month.  It might be a small amount to us, but it’ll make a difference to the kid and the kid’s family.

For all you regular Karaoke-ers…  Don’t just limit yourself in just the karaoke rooms…

Check this out!  http://www.kwcmalaysia.com   .. and who knows?  You might make it big!

heheh… Amy & Debbie..  Just too bad my hands were kinda shakey.. So, the pic a bit blur.. but.. I like this pic!