Sawadee Ka - Phuket 2010

I have abandoned my blog ... again (and many times before). Too many things happened back to back, to many info for me to digest within this 6 months period. I would say my life is quite eventful the last few months, travelling, planning and executing projects... not what I expected when I accepted the offer to head the Penang State Office.

Luckily, which also to my suprise, the political climate here is quite OK. I have some blissful time plannning and executing my works without nasty interruption or intervention from certain parties/groups or individuals. As long as I know how or where to draw the line and think for the best interest of the people.

Anyway, I named this entry Sawadee Ka - Phuket 2010 as I planned to visit Phuket again (some times not too soon). I was a bittttttttt disappointed with the trip despite the hundreds of photo taken. First, Phuket has so much to offer but our time there was so limited. Need at least 5 days if you really want to enjoy Phuket. That includes visits to Phi-Phi Island and Krabi. I couldn't even enjoy my exclusive hotel though I got huge discount for it from Agoda.com! Phuket has so many beaches, each with its own specialness ...

I chosed Kata Beach, instead of the fame Patong Beach, as I would prefer some private time to enjoy the beach without all the hustle bustle or sea of half nude people. I planned to travel down from Kata to Patong for some night life ... but unfortunately, our night time are filled with shows like Fantasea and Simon Cabaret ...

Secondly, I was damned tired from meetings, travelling from KL-Penang the week before and not forgetting the pre-launching of the Penang Hill furnicular trains. Plus the night before our departure to Phuket, I pandai2 ajak member clubbing at Hard Rock Cafe hahaha ... By the time we arrived in Phuket, all I really wanted was a deep sleep!

Third, I underestimated Phuket. Didn't do my homework and leave everything to the travel agency and one of my staff. I didn't want to use an agent initially but considering the hassle to find transport and our time was very limited so I agree to the ground arrangement. Was quite ticked off when the tour to Phang Nga Bay was conducted in Mandarin.

And like I said earlier, I underestimated Phuket ... to be honest, my main reason of choosing Phuket was it seems to be rivalling Penang in everything ... including heritage tour. Penang is so lucky there are not many direct flights to Phuket and I don't consider people "transitting" in Penang Airport (and contributing to the numbers of tourists arrival) as tourists.

I overlooked the beautiful beaches, cheaper goods/services and extra special "entertainments". But anyway, I still enjoyed myself there ... However, it still can't rival my Chieng Mai tour with the best tourist guide ever, Aey. Until Emel was angry with me complaining and comparing....

Okay people, I would blog about each places individually ... not to cramp in one entry. So many tales to tell.