Hi all
Just wanted to share with all of you how beautiful Phuket is and what a fabulous time we had there from the 9th October to the 19th October. I took my new wife there on Honeymoon and was a bit concerned about the hotel we were booked into as i had not heard or seen many reviews about the place - BUT i will definately advise anybody going to Phuket to stay at The Grand Tropicana Hotel, it is just next to the Merlin and Holiday inn, probably about 150m walk to the main beack in Patong - this hotel is beautiful. Swimming pool on the seventh floor and a lovely pool on the 3rd floor with a bar in the pool and waterfalls etc etc - absolutely lovely. The room we stayed in was very clean a comfortable, the air conditioning was excellent in the hotel (this is a must in Phuket due to the humidity) and the buffet breakfast every morning was definately fit for a King. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful, and i also enjoyed the fact that you were allowed to take the hotel towels to the beach (had to sign them in and out of course).
We attended the Friday night BBQ wuth Richard and his wife on Friday 13th, the food was lovely at a good price, and i managed to clime the ';dreaded pole';. We just thought the transport per person was a bit expensive (especially for us coming from South Africa due to the exchange rate being very low for us), but i guess it was still a lovely night out. The girls at the Sunshine bar are full of fun and sing and perform the whole time, which was great.
We did all the tours we could possibly do, went to Phi Phi island by speed boat which included all your cold drinks and food for the day - this was a great days outing and i definately recommend it. We also went to James Bond island, did the canoeing into the caves etc etc, also all the cold drinks and food for the day were included in the price. The sea is lovely and clean in most places and very blue and clear at Phi Phi. We generally tried a different restaurant every night and enjoyed the food, i must say that our sea food back here at home is a lot cheaper and tastier than there - we found the prawns to be quite tasteless?? We were too late to go to the rehab centre as we did not book on time, but we managed to still go elephant back riding at ';Bukkit Safaris'; which was also quite enjoyable, included a monkey show and a snake show afterwards.
Probably the thing i enjoyed the most was hiring a scooter and touring around the island, this was amazing. I dont have a scooter liscense but was able to hire one without a problem. apparently if the police pull you over and you dont have a liscence then you get a 300 Baht fine, BUt if you get stopped within seven days of this you just show this fine to them and they are not allowed to give you another one. We were stopped once but luckily he told us to go without asking for my liscense. We managed to get a puncture in the back tyre, but fortunately it wasnt too difficult to get it repaired - communication was a bit difficult at times.
I actually have so much to say but just cant think of everything right now, we look at our photos everyday and wish we were still there. We took about 2000 photos and alot of video, so there are pics on the computers at home and at work and they just bring back great memories.
We flew with Singapore Air from Johannesburg to Singapore, then Silk air from Singapore to Phuket - both flights were fantastic, service was good and crew very friendly.
Anyway i will post another mail as soon as i get a chance, and fill in anything that i left out.
Talk soon
David and Maryna
Just Back report
I forgot to mention the snorkling - amazing and a MUST do. The shopping was great and we really improved our bargaining skills. We bought our first T shirt for 120 Baht, and there after we didnt pay a cent more than 100Baht. Billabong pant we didnt pay more than 150baht. If the sellers give you a hard time then just turn around and walk away, they soon call you back and you get the stuff for your price - we always did this and believe me it works. Even on the beach, we were bothered quite alot but made rediculous price offers on some stuff and managed to get it. You will see that as you move up the coast to Kata and then to that lovely view point .....Cape, the prices get alot cheaper.
Will tell you more as i remember
Cheers again
David and Maryna
Just Back report
David and Maryna,
Just wanted to say congratulations on your wedding. Sounds like you had a fabulous time. You shoud try and post some of your photos on the inside pages for others to see, especially 1st timers like me.!
Sarah
2000 Photos !!!!!!! Thats amazing considering the time that you were there.
Look forward to the next report.
Hi David %26amp; Maryna, We were with you on the 13th for dinner %26amp; sunshine bar. You got up that pole so fast. It was a great night eh.Best wishes to you both. CJ
Hi David%26amp;Maryna, Great report, congratulations on the pole climb haha, send Richard some photos.
How much did you pay for your transport to the BBQ';
Cathy
Hi David %26amp; Maryna
Great report - congrats on the wedding.
Just a note in relation to the hiring of scooters - the Sunday paper here has an extensive travel section, and recently featured an article on travel insurance. It said that insurers won%26#39;t provide cover if you%26#39;re an unlicenced driver. It specifically mentioned places in Asia where it%26#39;s fairly common to hire a scooter without needing a licence.
I guess it makes sense - our car/motor bike insurance at home wouldn%26#39;t cover us either in the same situation! Not to mention getting a huge fine!
Hi, great report btw~!!
Can you please advise how much your accomodation was and how you booked it? i.e directly or with a travel agent.
Thanks
Hi Kathy48
Sorry i took so long to answer your questions. I specifically asked about the liscense issue as i didnt have one, the guy that we rented the scooter from just said if we break or damage the scooter we have to pay for it. He wanted to keep my passport but i refused and just gave him a copy, he then just asked for a 3000baht deposit since he couldnt have my original passport - i gave him 3000 baht and we got it back when i returned the scooter with no questions asked. The law there says that if you hire a car you must take out an insurance, but not necessary for mororbikes and scooters.
I f you do rent a scooter then just be very careful in the rain as they tend to slide if you use the front brake (which is necessary when going down some of those steep hills??)
Hope this helps
Davandy
Hi Firebucket
we booked through a travel agent, i believe the hotel was about 3000 rand which is more or less about 14000baht for ten nights, it was definately worth every cent. I would like more people to use this hotel and actually give reports on it, i think that people dont use it just because there is no reviews and they are therefore unsure. The photos etc on the internet look good, but wait untill you see the place in real life - totally amazing
Cheers
Hi Davandy
Thanks for your reply - I understand the insurance to cover the bike in case of damage, but what I am more concerned about is personal injury!
If you have an accident and are injured/hospitalised, the medical cover component of your travel insurance is void if you don%26#39;t have a drivers%26#39; license for the vehicle you%26#39;re driving. For example, if you hire a car when overseas, you need an international drivers%26#39; license. I%26#39;m not sure if there is such a thing for motor bikes, but I assume the licence has to be issued from your home country, and be still current.
It would be worth checking out any insurance policy first to make sure!
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