to Phuket and back..part 1..

ok people..i am back from where i was..had a blast discovering Patong Beach and some neighbouring islands..here is the breakdown..

Sat got up around 9ish..finished packing..slacked a bit then left the house at 11am..took the cab down to Terminal 1..the queue for the boarding pass was long la..took me close to half an hour before i got my boarding pass..

Airplane tix..two way..Air Asia..$257 inclusive tax and insurance..no seat selection..no meals..

got my pass..changed money..airport rates were $103 to 2300BHT..went in..baby E called me to talk about the previous night..we talked for quite a bit..i went to smoke..and by 12.15pm i was in the waiting lounge..felling utterly nervous because it was my first solo flight..in fact my first solo anything out of Singapore..thank god i would have Leon and Marie with me in Phuket..the flight was supposed to leave at 1.05pm but gates only opened for boarding at 1pm..flight only took off at 1.45pm..i was supposed to be seated in the middle..not aisle not window..but since there were these two ladies that were seperated..i offered for them to have my seat..so i took the other lady’s seat which was a window seat..hell yea..and only 2 of the 3 seats were occupied so there was an empty seat beside me and the next guy sat at the aisle side..the flight was ok..a bit of turbulence which was normal..tried to read but i guess i was too excited..cant sit still..tried to sleep but it was too bright and early..managed to doze off here and there..finally landed in HKT at around 2.10pm(HKT)..was kinda worried cause me n Marie had no set arrangement for meeting up..customs took a long time to clear..but while waiting Marie managed to call me..she had arrived earlier than me due to my flight delay..so we arranged to meet outside the airport..got thru customs..then went  out to look for her..i went out another exit and spend like 15mins searching for her..haa..oh..and baby E called me again..hee..finally managed to bump into Marie..sweet gal wrote my name out on a piece of paper and held it up looking for me..thank you baby..=) checked out the rates to get to Patong..

Taxi..450BHT..advantage..direct and personal..

Mini-Bus..150BHT per person..have to wait for other passengers..and drop off one by one..but still cheaper la..unless you have more than 2 in a group..

finally on our way..informed Leon that we were on the minibus already..so he headed back to the guesthouse and made arrangements with the recept to accomadate the 2 of us in his room..the mini-bus ride took like 45mins to get to the guesthouse..very discreet place..we got off the bus and didnt really know where the guesthouse was..haa..its entrance is tucked away between other shops..went up..went in..the room was ok..huge ass bed for the 3 of us..big tv..haaa..dresser..cupboard..decent bathroom..

Coast Star Mansion..206/7-8 Raturid 200 Pee Road..1050BHT..divided by the 3 of us was only 350BHT each..

it was a good location..pretty near the shopping mall..the nightlife area..and the beach..after chilling in the room for a bit..headed out to check out the area..poor Leon..had to re-walk the same stretch of road again with us after doing it the night b4..but turns out..thats as much as there is to do while ur there..haaa..we walked the same stretch of Soi Bangla so many times..the beach was so overcrowded with beach chairs..and beach umbrellas..i think there must have been a beach chair and umbrella warehouse sale up the road or something..but it was beautiful..the magnificent sky..the wided sandy beach..the water was not at all clear though..anyway..things bought on the first day..

Hat..250BHT..

Adapter plug..125BHT..

DVD..60BHT..

Dinner @ In The Garden..180BHT..

changed another $100 to 2280BHT..

after dinner headed back to the guesthouse as we were tired from the walking..tot of going Simon Cabaret but me n Leon fell asleep..haaa..after we woke up..it was Marie’s turn to sleep..haa..so me and Leon headed out..same thing..walked the whole stretch again..this time the streets were more abuzz with activities..the a-go-go bars were open and the girls were flocking the streets..things bought..

Beer downstairs from our room..Chang Draft..39BHT..

Supper @ In The Garden..110BHT..

Beer/ Snacks/ Cigs..75BHT..

me n Leon headed to the roof of the guesthouse and chilled with a bottle of beer and chips..after that sleep..

woke up the next day..walked down the same stretch of street..had breakfast and had ice-cream from Swensens..heee..after that..headed back to the guest house to check out..

Breakfast..210BHT..

Swensens..59BHT..

Shades..200BHT..

Tuk-tuk to Baramee Hip Hotel..200BHT..which amounts to 66BHT each..

Baramee Hip Hotel..2 nights..plus 3rd person..3200BHT..which amounts to 1066BHT each..

the room was good..white..new..spacious..but the view kinda sucks..haaa..the hotel was situated in an area where its still being built up..so there was actually a building being built right outside our window..headed out to explore more and shop some more..

Koh Phi Phi Tour by big boat..800BHT..

2 x Singlets..320BHT..

Simon Cabaret..900BHT..

Dinner..160BHT..

Tuk tuk back to hotel..66BHT..

Snacks..190BHT..

wireless Internet access in the room for an hour..120BHT..

walked and walked..and finally found Simon Cabaret..bought our tix like 2 hrs b4 the show and headed for dinner..after dinner..rushed back to Simon Cabaret to catch the 7.30pm show..missed the opening by about a few minutes..but the whole show was damn nice..i must say that it is a must watch..the Dreamgirls impersonation..the Wonder Girls impersonation..those were my faves..and the comedy bit too..where the performer actually came down and gave Leon multiple kisses..haaa..after tt dunno whether he blushing or sunburn..haa..after the show..Marie and Leon took pics with the ladies..after that..we headed back..went to bed early cause we had to go for the Phi Phi Islands boat tour the next day..

be back with the rest of the story later tonight..

the commuting blogger..

hello lovelies..ima back to give u some updates..

firstly..i finally got the camera of my dreams..yes yes yes..i actually got a better version of the one i wanted..my aim for the past like half a year was the Fujifilm S8000fd..which is a 8mpx cam with 18x zoom..but when i went to Best Denki..the salesperson said that the S8100fd was just a $50 top up from the S8000fd..and i was blown away..because when i saw the S8100fd at Mustafa it was like $100 odd more than the S8000fd..so what do i get for $50 more..10mpx..same 18x zoom..but wide angle lens..weeeee!! for $50 diff leh..of course i’d take the S8100fd..and i did..so..$549 poorer..i am on my way to rediscover colour and beauty in this world again..and i have been loving the cam since..although i still have probs with night shots..i think in general its still proving to be a very good investment..will attach pics another time..orr you can just check em on my FB or my Flickr..

secondly..i am going to Phuket this Sat!! weeeee!! its a kinda of on a whim kinda thing..Red had planned the trip few weeks back and was looking for someone to accompany him..but i reckoned i’d save up for Songkran next month but since plans for that have kinda fell through i was kinda tempted to join Red..so i asked Red bout the trip on Friday and on Sat noon while still lazing on my bed i bought the plane tix..Air Asia..$257..return..thing though is that Red will be flying on Fri..so i’ll only join him there in Phuket on Sat afternoon..will spend 3 nights there..first night in a guest house..then last 2 nights in a hotel that Red already booked..gonna be back on Tuesday noon..damn i’m looking forward to DFS..haa..anyway..we’re planning to hit the beach..watch muay thai..hit the bars..watch a cabaret show..and take lots and lots of photos..haa..

third..im gonna be on leave  from tomm onwards..baby E asked me to an event tomm..then shopping with him on Thurs..then his party at  Zirca on fri..of course i wont drink..much..on friday cause of my noon flight the next day..might drop by Estate Bar @  Serangoon on friday b4 the party to check out the place..

ok..thats for what gonne be happening..

so whats has been happening…KM8 on sunday..damn KM8 just gets better and better the more often we go..though its sad that we’ve less than a month to enjoy the place..so we’ll hit the place one last sunday before the 28th of March..it rained shitloads last sunday but we had fun nonetheless..with our wines..beer..sarong fly..chips..endless laughter..and non stop dancing..the amazing thing was..i saw my second rainbow of the week..and this time i saw it in its entirety..and damn it was magnificent..even my wide angle lens could not capture the full splendor of natures portrayal of colours..

got to go see baby E for a bit on Sunday night at his work place..and got to work with baby A last night..sweet boy..gonna miss him this whole week im away from work..

anyway..cheerios..you’d prolly hear from me one last time b4 i fly..or when im back..anyhoots..im gonna have a hell lot of fun!! haaaaaaaaaaaa!!