.: Day 1 : Phuket :.

I loved my somewhat impromptu trip to Phuket. It was such an enjoyable trip. Tho with very minimal planning, we manage to cover most of the must-go tourist places in this beautiful island well within our five days and four nights there. Also, it helped that our friend, who have went there recently, shared with us his itenaries & contacts as well.

Just laden with info from said friend and a read-thru of the Phuket forum in lowyat (I swear that this is the best forum ever!) we booked our flight tickets just a week before & our stay (which we crossed checked with Trip Advisor for review & Agoda for price) just three days prior to depature! *phew* Never had such little time to plan for a trip ever!

We touchdown on Phuket at about 8am-ish, no thanks to a (expected) flight delay by Air Asia. We headed straight to the hotel & because it is off-peak season, our room was available for check in *joys*

Breathtaking seaview from our hotel

First thing to do on our list : EXPLORE PATONG TOWN.

Thankfully for the free hotel shuttle at 11am, we headed down to town. The shuttle stopped us at this mall called JungCeylon Shopping Mall. It's a pretty decent mall, but I must admit we enjoyed the air-cond more than anything else. It is not comparable to the malls back here in KL, which are mostly much bigger and better; but you can get a decent meal (if you're not feeling like having street food) and shop for groceries at Big C Extra.

We explored the surrounding areas by foot - and decided on having lunch at a highly recommended restaurant by Lowyat forumers - Restaurant No. 6. I must admit that the food is pretty decent; one of the better pad thai I have had. The pork dish that I had was also delish. Easy on the pocket & decent portion - got start to authentic Thai food. It's actually located just a stone throw from the JunCeylon Mall towards the direction of C&N Hotel.

Restaurant Number 6

Awesome Pad Thai that rawks my socks!

We headed back to the mall, got some bottled non-alcoholic & alcoholic drinks alike (both the husband & I became extremely addicted to the lemongrass tea) and headed back to our hotel via the shuttle tuk-tuk.

The husband took a short nap while I headed straight to the in-house massage parlour and got myself an amazing traditional Thai massage. Unlike in most hotels, the pricing of the massage is about that you get at the streets in town, but less dodgy. I thoroughly enjoyed as this elderly Thai lady (who spoke to me in Thai for a while, until she realized I wasn't Thai). She kneaded me like a bread dough, used her elbows to and knees at a just-right pressure on my back and, like all authentic Thai massages; she arched and folded me into positions that I would only trust a experienced chiropractor to do. But it was a great massage, and needless to say, I slept like a baby that night!

After that enjoyable massage, I took a quick shower and we jumped into the next shuttle (6pm) and headed back to town again. We went around to hunt for bargain day-trip island hopping and also tickets to the infamous Simon Cabaret Show & Fantasea Show. We knew that we got bargain prices as we crossed checked the price offered with that recommended by Lowyat forumers (what would I do without them?!). It does help that it is the off-peak season, so the hotel rates, island-hopping tour prices & entrance fees to both shows are at it's lowest.

We also had a hard time decided what to have for dinner. Tho aplenty to offer along the main road of Patong; it was surprisingly pricey, especially the seafood. It's almost like KL price standards (or even higher at some restaurants). We snacked on some roadside pancakes, which was not to bad!

Mango pancakes, freshly made. Yums!

The husband decided he wanted to try the German restaurant we passed by in the mall, so German food at Weihenstephan it was. The husband ordered some pork knuckle dish to share, and thankfully he did, coz the portion was humongous! The food was pretty good, and after a full stomach, tired feet and also more purchases from Big C extra, we headed back to our hotel.

Interior of Weihenstephan.

Thus; concludes our first day in Phuket.