I am trying logging on to Google Accounts, but I keep getting re-directed to the homepage and it shows this:
Anyone else getting the same results?
On the 5th day, we caught an early flight to Bangkok from Phuket. We had arranged for a taxi service from Patong beach to pick us up from the hotel but the guy did not turn up. Amari’s front desk stepped in and quickly made arrangements for us at the last moment with the hotel taxi.
Regarding our stay in Bangkok, I do not really have an excuse as to why there is only post about the entire stay. It was all my own doing. I threw away our entire itinerary for Bangkok the minute I realized what kind of shopping was available to me. No temples, no floating markets, no weekend market either (stay within the air-conditioned MBK mall for the same price). I was hooked on to the shopping and we stayed in the best possible hotel for that purpose – The Pathumwan Princess Hotel. The hotel is attached to MBK mall. in fact, they have a special entrance to the mall for the hotel guests near the hotel lobby. I bought 10-20 handbags (one for each one of my friends and family and several for myself, sandals and shoes, a loadful of dresses for Sanika, toys for Sanika and for our close friend’s kids. Then, we bought gemstones, MP3 players, T-shirts for all the men in the family, a Thai Silk shawl for MIL, japanese fans, insense stick holders and other such trinkets for anyone who dropped in to enquire about our trip back home. You will find a lot of fake (or export reject) branded watches, clothes, handmags etc. but if, like me, you don’t care about them, there are non-Gucci and Chanel stuff by Thai brands that are very stylish and priced reasonably. Look for them and you will be happier without a fake Louis Vuitton.
It took me all 3 days to finally take a look at all the shops and stalls within the mall and their superb food courts kept us well fed. My husband and daughter were content to stay in the room watching DVD and playing games on the laptop respectively, as I chose to tire my feet and shop till I dropped in the mall. The only place we went to, besides shopping in MBK were the Siam malls (Siam Discovery, Siam Center and Siam Paragon – all connected), on the opposite sideof the road and the FABULOUS Ocean World in the humongous basement of the Siam Paragon Malls which was somethin Sanika still remembers. Siam Paragon also had about 10 premium car showrooms that were a treat to watch.
Bangkok, with MBK in view. Picture taken from the skytrain station that connects MBK to the Siam malls
Seeing sharks from the water tunnel and the diver feeding Sting Ray fish. We also saw penguins, giant crabs, water rats (HUGE rats), starfish (touched them), sea horse, turtles, water snakes, jelly fish, scorpions and thousands of colorful fish.
Tuk Tuk – Travel the Bangkok way for the first experience – shift to the similar priced air-conditioned cabs later.
There were many more malls to visit, but it was difficult to visit them all with Sanika, so we stuck to MBK taking turns staying with her in the hotel room while one of us shopped. Rohit only shopped at the gadgets floor and it was me who was rarely seen in the room. As Rohit puts is, we should pay my part of the hotel charges to MBK instead of Pathumwan Princess. There was some more duty free shopping at the Suvarnabhumi Airport and we finally came back.
The Bangkok shopping and all the lovely stuff I collected from there still makes me happy to see it but (as I always knew from the beginning) it is Phuket that still keeps coming back to me – Breakfast at Rim Talay, the emerald green waters and limestone caves, snorkeling, picture perfect views, a fully drenched, out-of-breath Sanika playing at the beaches on Phi-Phi Islands, canoeing in calm waters under the caves and relaxing in our balcony at Amari resort taking in the lovely view of the ocean. But that’s not saying that I am not going to another Bangkok shopping trip later this year with me friends!
Continued from Part 1
We headed to the Muslim floating village. The village is attached to an island rock with the village mosque and graveyard on the island (that is on lad), the rest of the village is on stilts – the houses, the school, the restaurants, the shopping area and all!
Approaching the Floating Village
Nearing the Village
The walkway to the restaurants is also on stilts
Having lunch with our newly made friends.
The Village School Playground, built over water
Houses on stilts.
The floating shopping street. You can see water from the little gaps on the ‘road’ sides.
Beautiful views of the bay seen all the way from the boat.
We moved onwards to a lovely spot in the ocean where a huge liner was anchored in the middle of nowhere and served a rental shop for canoes. We climbed into the huge ship, wore our life jackets and stepped onto the sea canoes, agreeing to click each other’s pictures and email them as it was impossible to click our own.
Yes, we went in there! had to lie down within the canoe to pass.
And in there too!
Looking back on others following where we came from.
Got to see this above as in many places – mesmerizing!
We were served a refreshing cold drink on the ship after the canoeing.
Leaving the lovely bay behind as we came back in the boat
Captain Sanika at the wheel
This was a memorable day indeed! We came back to the hotel. Sanika was so tired, she slept at 5 in the evening and woke up the next day! Leaving Phuket the next day seemed even more diffcult after this wonderful experience. On to Bangkok now!
The 4th day promised so much and we were not disappointed at all. We sailed again with Simba Sea Trips – this time to the Phang Nga Bay (pronounced Pang Na) bay and had an extremely adventurous day. We were picked up from the hotel and transferred to Royal Phuket Marin from where the tour began. We sailed over the lovely green water, explored two caves on foot, visited James Bond Island, had lunch at the Floating village followed by a tour of the village, explored caves in canoes and saw breath-taking picture-postacard views throughout the day.
Breakfast on the boat
The first cave – Mangrove Cave (you will see why the name). It was completely dark in the cave, we carried flashlights – the pictures have the camera flash. And then came the water – waist high!
Is that the other end of the cave? No, it opens into a clearing with a mangrove! At high tide, you’d get stuck in here!
The cave opened to this view.
A lovely sight
The second cave – Ice Cream Cave. Stalactites and Stalagmites – cave formations.
The formations look like ice cream. And again, it was pitch dark, this is only the camera flash.
The cave does not ‘open up’ to anything. Only a tiny opening in the wall with water behind.
The opening without us blocking the view. And the smaller stalagmites which Sanika called ‘Dinosaur Nails’.
James Bond Island – featured in ‘Man with the Golden Gun’. A very touristy place after the rest of the seemingly untouched bay. We only stayed there for a short time, took kitschy pictures and left for more beautiful spots.
Continued in Part 2 – Too many pictures this day to stuff in one post.
Ever since we laid our eyes on the fabulous property of the Amari Coral Beach Resort online and read the details on their website, we had decided to keep aside some time to explore the resort. The 3rd day was the perfect time to do it as the day was for relaxing between two excursions.
This is the Rim Talay restaurant – one of the most scenic setting ever seen. Buffet breakfast was served here and I really miss the experience of having a fabulous breakfast in this gorgeous setting.
After breakfast, we set off to the ‘Jetty’. Amari has its own jetty and the road to the jetty is a little excursion in itself. From the Rim Talay, we stepped on to the resort’s private beach.
The private beach. The fenced path in the distance is the road to jetty and the resort spa.
That’s the jetty as seen from the beach or from our rooms.
The picturesque winding road to Amari’s Jetty with the national forest on the left.
That’s it – the lovely jetty! You can take the steps down the front and start snorkeling right away. Or relax and tan on the sun beds here. Or come here for a romantic dinner in the evening right above the waters of the Andamans!
The jetty gave us the full view of our wonderful resort with all sea-facing rooms. And think about this – we are still on the hotel property!
Once we had explored theresort, we took off for Patong again for our Thai massage at Patong Synergy Massage in the Post Office lane on Patong beach road (opposite Siam Ceramics). The ladies kept our daughter busy with hair braiding and nail art and the little Disney Princessfan was on cloud nine.
The lovely road to Patong from Amari resort.
Patong Beach
After the massage, we strolled to the other side of the Patong Beach Road – the Rat-U-Thit road famous for shopping. We did not shop since we were to go to Bangkok which is much cheaper. We stepped into Jungceylon mall and bought some Phuket souvenirs (sand art candles) and had homemade ice-cream.
Jungceylon mall on Rat-U-Thit Road
We had lunch on Rat-U-Thit road, shopped at one of the ‘Family Mart’ stores for water and some other stuff and returned to the resort in a Tuk-Tuk. Dinner was room service Pizza from La Gritta that we had become addicted to. La Gritta and the Jetty (turned into a diner in the evenings) glowed with beautiful lights and we could see them from our room every day.
‘La Gritta’ Italian restaurant – and Jetty seen far behind
