Exploring Phuket 1 : Getting Around & the Hotel
11:52:00 PM
Last weekend, I went for a quick getaway with the husband and my bestie/sistah Dr. Sarah and her doctor friends Tasya, Ezaty and Ieja. It was supposed to be Sarah's final vacation before she embarked on her medical specialization.
My last beach getaway was in May 2014 last year when I went to Krabi so I was really looking forward to this trip especially because I've been working like crazy lately and wanted to relax and unwind a little bit.
I practically knew nothing about the trip before going because I was super busy. Sarah sorted out everything, from picking the hotel and preparing the itinerary. So one of the things they decided was to rent a car for the whole trip. It was definitely a new experience for me and the husband. The last time we went to Krabi, our mode of transport was the tuk-tuk, but this time around, we took a seven-seater Ford Fortuner ( I think). Driving around was easier than expected with the help of GPS in the car and clear signage. The husband drove everywhere and it felt like a road trip sometimes and was just really fun. I remember we were laughing so hard trying to find the best radio station to listen to throughout our journey!
So when we arrived at Phuket International Airport, the car rental company picked us up and took us to their office which was just two minutes away from the airport. We signed some papers, and we quickly got our vehicle. Initially, we chose another car. But when we arrived there and saw the Toyota Fortuner available, we immediately changed our minds (we initially wanted to choose a range rover, but that turned out to be their boss' car. hahaha. Not for rent!). We negotiated and got a good price for it too.
So from the car rental office, we took our time to drive to the hotel. We stopped by several shops, and some of us took local simcards, so we went to 7-11 (so many 7-11s there) to top-up our sim cards. It was really nice to have everything at our own relaxed pace as we drove to our hotel Moevenpick in Bang Tao. It's actually the same hotel Khubayb and I stayed in when we were in Madinah earlier this year too.
We were supposed to just drop our bags and straight away go out and explore Phuket but because the place was so calming we just could't leave so we rested for a while. Plus Khubayb didn't sleep the night before because we took the earliest flight and had to reach the airport by 6 am. We took the ERL from KL Sentral to KLIA 2 with Sarah. I planned not to sleep at all too like the husband but in the end I couldn't bear it so I managed to get some sleep for about 2 hours before we left to KL Sentral. Parked our car there and ran like crazy because we almost missed the train by 2 minutes. Haha.
I captured a video as soon as I arrived :)
I captured a video as soon as I arrived :)
So anyway, back to the hotel. The place was serene and beautiful. Once we checked in I was in awe of how nice it was. We were greeted with some flowers and a welcome drink. And when we arrived at the reception, the view was so beautiful. We stayed at the hotel with the sea view and there was our own private beach. The view itself was simply breath taking, no pictures in this post can do it any justice.
Because I wasn't involved in the planning process, I was simply stunned at our room. It was the jacuzzi suite and there were 3 rooms altogether which was enough for the 6 of us, a VERRRYY spacious living room and kitchen and a beautiful balcony with a sea view. Wifi was available all around the hotel so that was important for me too. It was perfect! Sarah actually managed to get an offer and we actually paid about half of the original price for the hotel. Definitely a bargain.
Anyway, after resting for a short while and freshening up, we were ready to explore Phuket. We were so hungry because we only had nasi lemak in the plane at 7am so we went to look for lunch at a halal restaurant. The first restaurant we went to (which was situated by the beach) had been closed down for some reason. We went to several other restaurants, but unfortunately they weren't halal. We ended up driving for almost an hour, until we reached one of the best halal restaurants according to the net called Dirham Halal restaurant.
The drive is a bit far, but I must say this restaurant is 100% worth the wait. The food was superb. Because all six of us were hungry, we ordered a lot! I think the staff there were quite surprised because we ordered so much! In the end, they even asked to take pictures of us. Haha! I can't remember what we ordered because everyone was too hungry, but we did order Green Curry Chicken, Mixed Tom Yam, Song Tam, veggies, Lime Steamed Fish (my fav), and a few other dishes. Every dish was really nice and the staff were really friendly too. They gave us free wifi passwords, were very prompt in service and had good English too. We all agreed that we definitely wanted to come back here, but somehow because of our short trip and some change of plans, we didn't manage to come back!
Later that night, we went for some grocery shopping before going to eat at another special restaurant. We had a special theme too but will share more in my next post on Phuket...
To be continued...
PEACE & LOVE!
4 comments
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