After five days of bliss and decadence, I'm back in KL. And at work. Sigh. I think the worst part of any holiday is checking-out of the hotel, and heading home. If only there was some way to enjoy a year-long holiday. An annual year-long holiday would be even better. Oh, snap out of it, dude.
Phuket was fun, and absorbing. Plenty of food, shopping (for some) and walking. Not much drinking, but it didn't matter. And I finally managed to finish one arcade shooter-game. I'm pleased to say the Virtua Cops managed to hammer Joe Fang into submission, thanks to pinpoint accuracy and plenty of ten baths.
The accommodation was better than average. I must say, C&N has really upgraded itself since my last visit there in 2006. The rooms were always comfortable; this time the hotel has a pleasant lobby to its name. And the staff seemed to be more professional this time around.
Smile café lived up to its name; it brought a smile to our faces every breakfast session. Considering our first meal of the day often occurred in between late breakfast and early lunch periods, the food ingested was usually a combination of western breakfast (eggs, ham, bacon and toast) and Thai lunch (rice, garlic and pepper chicken, rice). The fact that Smile café is smoker-friendly further enhanced the eating pleasure. Of course, we paid a couple of visits to Restaurant 6, but we were suitably disappointed with their new No-Smoking rule. As always, the Seafood Square was a must-visit, and the dinner we had there was delicious, which made up for the slightly expensive bill. And the crepes, my word, the crepes. The lap and som tam were no slouches either, but the star of the table was definitely the garlic and pepper chicken. Yummeee!
Personally, shopping wasn't much of a priority, though the rest of the companions returned satisfied with the various purchases, which ranged from a pair of Slurpee-green shoes to Liverpool's latest UCL jersey.
Two things really stood out in Phuket this visit. KSA 2 and the Phuket Tourism Channel. Bloody hilarious, they were. Though not intentionally. KSA 2 had some Arab Thelma busy giving advice on completely inane issues posed by callers. He (the Arab Thelma) regaled with his beat-around-the-bush answers, and reaction to uncomfortable questions. Watch it to believe it, and laugh the night away. The PTC gave a close fight, with its inept presenters. The white dude obviously had memory problems, as he kept glancing at the teleprompter, which was placed below the video camera. The local girl was pronunciationally-challenged, mouthing off www as dubelniu-dubelniu-dubelniu. Once again, watch it to believe it.
So that's Phuket. The go-go bars are still alive and kicking (yeah), the katoeys are still pumping, and the sea is still swirling. I've been there four times within the last two years, and I must say I still enjoy the island. There's almost nothing better than just lazing around in a T-shirt, shorts and sandals, watching weird-ass people walk-by as I smoke and drink a cheap Chang.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone suggests Phuket again later this year.
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