Patong - Phuket

One thing I have to say about Patong is that the staff in hotels are not very polite. You pay on arrival which we have not had to do else where in Asia and once they have your money they don't care, literally.

My advise: Pay day by day then if something is not right they will want to sort it so they get your money.

We got a boat from Koh Lanta to Patong which went past Phi Phi islands. You could get off here but we stayed on until we reached Phuket.
We had already arranged a transfer from the ferry port to our hotel but you could easily pick up a taxi.

Our first hotel we stayed in was about a 10minute walk from the Mall and Bangla Road. It was in a nice local with night markets along the road and plenty of restaurants, very easy to navigate around.

We had 2 nights in this hotel which we thought we would spend by the pool but unfortunately this did not happen. We spent 2 days arguing with the hotel over our room and money. We had arrived about 8pm and there was only one guy on the desk, he checked us in and gave us a room key. The room was massive and we were very impressed with it, until the morning came when we had a rude awakening by a member of staff telling us to leave the room. We asked what was wrong and they she said we had been given the wrong room, she showed us to another room which was falling apart. We refused to move rooms and wanted to speak to the manager. On speaking to the manager we found that our card had been charged 2 days prior to our arrival. When we book hotels through booking.com we always check that we choose payment on arrival as our card company will charge us for using our card otherwise. So this was a shock and not a good one. After hours of talking to the staff we eventually spoke to booking.com direct and within minutes we were issued a refund for the hotel which included our bank charges. This was great so off we went shopping with a spring in our step.... or so we thought!!

NOTE: Any problems your having with hotels which have been booked through booking.com, call them straight away as they will have it dealt with in minutes.

After our 2 nights in this hotel we moved to another one which was further from the hustle and bustle of Bangla Road. It was about 30 minute walk to the mall, but we thought this was fine as the hotel provided a shuttle.. NO NO NO that was the old owners of the hotel, the new owners could not care less if you stayed or went. There was no staff in the hotel after 3pm until the next day so if anything goes wrong your on your own. Some people were left a note and their room keys on the desk, not a very warm welcome from the hotel. We had problems with the WiFi and our friend was coming from the UK for a holiday, we had arranged an airport transfer through the hotel but her flight was delayed by 2 hours so who do you inform?? the non speaking taxi driver of course. After about 30minutes of trying to tell him we finally had it sorted and my friend arrived safely. We did not pay the hotel until the end and we called booking.com which they arranged for us to get a discount because the shuttle bus was no longer running.

Anyway Patong itself is great, we really enjoyed the area. There is so much to do in and around Patong, things that cost and things that are free so plenty to please all age groups.

Attractions we did:

• Roof Top Mini Golf:

This is 18 holes on top of Banana Walk, which looks down onto the busy party streets below and the Andaman Sea. I love playing mini golf and do it on most of my holidays so i really enjoyed this evening. It cost 500 baht per person with a cocktail of your choice at the end.

• Ping Pong show:

You walk down Bangla Road at night and you will approached by at least 50 people offering ping pong shows. The entrance is free but they do request you by a drink. The drinks are expensive, a bottle of beer in the supermarket is around 50 baht and in the ping pong bars you will pay around 900 baht, but they are an eye opener and a great laugh. Something you have to experience while in Patong definitely.

• SF Cinema:

The cinema is on the top floor of the Jungceylon shopping mall. It is super cheap 180 baht and Wednesdays are even cheaper 120 baht,with all the new release movie so a must while in Patong.

• Fantasea:

This is a evening show is for all the family, with many different things to look at. The magic starts at the door with a beautiful waterfall, and into a village of shops selling souvenirs to jewellery, etc. Have your picture taken with parrots or looks at massive cat fish in the small rivers that run through the palace. Before the show you enjoy a sit down all you can eat buffet, which has everything from Chinese, Indian, Steak, Pasta, Salads and a great selection of deserts. After dinner you head over to the main stage where you can ride of touch the elephants that are walking around outside. Inside while you make your way to the seating area you can have you picture taken with baby tigers. We booked the day before so our seats were high but good views but i would advice booking in advance so you can be sat near the front and really experience the show. They has everything in the show from elephants, tigers, goats, rabbits etc a real fun thing to watch. We paid 800baht each but this can be bartered down and if you book as a group it will probably be cheaper.

• Quad Biking, Elephant Trek and Monkey Show:

We booked this as a package to do both but you can book separately. There were 11 of us so we got a good price of 800 baht each, it is usually about 1,500 baht. We first watched the monkey show, this was more for kids, I didn't really enjoy it, felt too sorry for the monkeys as didn't seem very happy. The preform tricks for food and then come sit on your knee for photos. It only lasts about 15 minutes.




The quad biking was the best part, zooming down the dirt tracks pulling in on occasion to admire the views across Rawai Bay. Standing on top of the hill the guide was telling us when the tsunami hit you could watch it coming across the sea before it hit the land, The views are amazing from up there and you can see how close the hotels are which got hit, but have now been rebuilt.
Advice when on the quad bikes, don't be at the back. I was and my lovely partner thought it would be funny to wheel spin the sand which blow up into my face...Twice! Pay back was given don't worry.

After that we went on the elephant trek, not the best one Ive been on, was a small walk, those stood on the platforms could see you so good for pictures. I wasn't sure how safe it was as our guide told me to get off the seat and sit on the head mid walk, was very scary as nothing to hold on to so i quickly got back into my seat. The best bit of the ride was at the end playing with the baby elephant and feeding it milk for kisses. Very cute.

•  Night market:

As a large group we organsied a bus to take us to the night market and pick us up again but you can get the local bus for 34 baht each. The local bus is called a Songtaew and is blue, you can hail it down if your not at a bus stop. The market was huge but a lot of the stalls sold the same stuff. The food market was the best bit as it had a variety of food on offer and for those of your who are brave... fried bugs, worms etc. I did try the bugs and they tasted like peanuts as long as you didn't think about what you were eating. Did get a leg stuck in my teeth though. lol. The market was really cheap, cheaper than Patong area itself so was happy to look around.

• Big Buddha:

The big Buddha sits on top of a mountain between Chalong Bay and Kata Beach which can be seen from almost anywhere from the southern part of the island. The Buddha is still under construction and weighs 22 tons of brass and stands 12 meters high. Its is amazing at how big the Buddha is and the detail which has gone into it. You can have your name carved into the bricks they are using to build the Buddha so it will be there for ever.

• Gem Gallery:

To enter the gallery you take a small train ride inside the gallery which talks you through how they mine for the gems and how they are made into Jewellery. Once the train stops you can walk around and watch the locals work on  making earrings, rings etc and the detail/time that goes into making them. After that you are shown into 2 huge rooms containing the finished products which you can buy, and given a free non-alcoholic drink of your choice.

• Beaches:

The beaches in Patong are very clean and not over crowded. You can hire umbrella's and beach mats or for the more adventurous jet ski's and paragliding.

• Bangla road:

This is an attraction in itself, there is always something to look at with plenty of bars all along the road, with kebab shops at each end for when you fall out the bars at 2am, oh sorry we are in Patong i mean 6am. lol.

We were lucky enough to be there for their New year, (Songkran) In Thailand they celebrate New Year a lot differently to what we thought, They celebrate with a 3 days water fight on the street. Be warned you can not walk anywhere with out having a bucket of water thrown over you. Everywhere has and sells super soakers and even our hotel got involved and set up water stations outside to throw over passer by. Groups of people drive through the streets and throw water over you its crazy but in the best possible way. Was the best new year Ive celebrated.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Alfresco Phuket Hotel, 1,890 Baht (today's exchange rate £131 ) for 2 nights. This was the first hotel mentioned at the start so we did get it at a reduced price but this is that booking.com advertises it as. Worst hotel we have stayed in.

See Sea Hotel, 28,800 Baht (today's exchange rate £ ) for 12 nights. This was for 2 rooms and it has so much potential to be a great hotel, the rooms are big and decorated nicely it is just a shame the owners don't care about it.

Buasri Phuket Hotel, 4,893 Baht (today's exchange rate £ ) for 7 nights. I never mentioned this hotel above but after See Sea Hotel we moved here. It was closed to town with plenty of places to eat near, there was a cut through from the hotel to the mall which took 5 minute walk but i think this has been closed off so the walk round to the mall will now take 10-15 mins but plenty to see along the way. The hotel had only been open for 2 months so was very clean, the staff were great and provided anything we asked for, there was a large pool but the owner was in there a lot of the time which put us off going in and there were only 2 double sun beds but the hotel was not very busy. We loved this hotel it gave us everything we wanted and would stay here again.

Krabi and Koh Lanta

So as I mentioned in my last blog to get a 30 day visa in Thailand you need to arrive via air so the cheapest and shortest flight from Siem Reap was to Krabi.

We stayed at a driving range, although we are not golfers and have never played we thought it would be fun. The owner picked us from the airport and it took us about 30minutes to the hotel. It is outside of Karbi town about 40 minute bus ride but there are shops in a Mall including a Tesco which is in walking distance.

The owners at the hotel were very nice and helpful, our first room unfortunately had a big problem with ants, it was like something out of a horror movie coming out the wall but we were soon changed to a new room which was a lot better. Although the hotel was out of the town it was so peaceful and this is what we liked.

We did play some golf, but i wasn't very good and couldn't hit it very far. There is potential for a mini golf course which i think they had at one time and its a shame they let this slip.

We grabbed a lift into town with the owner, which is a small main square with a market on but lots of hotels and restaurants around it. We had to go to the immigration office while we were in town to extend our visa, (as i can not count and missed 3 days off our visa so we would have over stayed) this is NOT in walking distance. We however did walk it on what seemed to be the hottest day. There is nothing around and is a very long walk so if you need to go get a taxi.


We got the bus back to the mall near our hotel, this was easy to find and very cheap. (you can hail the bus to stop if your not at a bus stop). We didn't stay long in Krabi so we never got over to the beaches which are very popular.

We organised a bus to Koh Lanta through the hotel and a minibus picked us up in the morning and took us across the ferry crossing into Koh Lanta. This cost about 350 baht (today's exchange rate £7) and took a couple of hours.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Palm Driving Range & Resort, 2,000 Baht (today's exchange rate £84) for 2 nights, breakfast was not included. The staff were very polite here and it had an on site restaurant where the food was very good. It is a very basic hotel and has locals coming and going to play golf but don't let this put you off, it really was a peaceful place to be.

Koh Lanta

At the ferry port we jumped into a tuk tuk which took us to our hotel. It was about a 15 minute drive, not far from the ferry as we did walk it. The whole of Koh Lanta is small and easy to walk, although we did find it more expensive.

At arriving at our hotel we were shown to our cabin, to find the air con not working and at 30 degrees it was definitely needed so we asked to move rooms.

The main attractions in Koh Lanta are the beaches, there are very clean and white sand with a variety of restaurants/bars. Very peaceful place and only 5 minute walk from our hotel. The shops are up towards the ferry port which will take you about 30 minutes to walk, there are some great restaurants along the ferry port as well so worth a walk. We were there March and many of the restaurants/shops were getting ready to close as the tourist season was coming to an end.


We were not very happy with our hotel so we looked at others in the area and found a great one up near the ferry port, it was very large and hardly anyone there with a huge roof top pool which most days we had to our self.

We organised a boat ride to Phuket through a travel agent near to the ferry port, they were very good and beat the price we found elsewhere, although i do think any travel agent would do this as they want the business.

Hotels we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Escape Cabin, 4,590 Baht (today's exchange rate £192) for 3 nights, including breakfast which was at a restaurant across the road. We felt this hotel was very over priced for what you got. The cabins are very small, ants everywhere in the bathroom and towels are only changed every 2-3 days, (we've stayed in cheaper places that change towels everyday), The pool was small and not very deep, there was also dead frogs in it. I thought frogs could swim?? we had to ask the staff to clean it or even clean it ourselves on a daily basis. The sunbed were poor quality and uncomfortable. Overall i would not stay or advise anyone to stay here.

Hotels we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Lanta Residence Boutique, 1,916 Baht (today's exchange rate £38) for 1 night, breakfast not included. (This price is what booking.com offers but we spoke to the hotel direct and there offered to beat the booking.com price and include breakfast, which i thought was very good). The hotel was very quiet which was a good thing as we had the pool all to ourselves. It had a huge roof top pool with views across the mountains. The staff were brilliant here and the hotel was close to shops and restaurants. I would definitely stay here again.

Siem Reap Cambodia

So where we got off the bus in Sihanoukville, was a travel agents where we booked another DAY bus to Siem Reap. We used Giant Ibis, which only runs from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh and Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. There is only one direct bus to Siem Reap and that is a night bus with Virak Buntham but this is rated the worst bus in Cambodia so you have been warned. The bus took in between 12/13 hours and left at 7:45am and arrived in Siem Reap at around 8:30pm with stops along the way. It cost $23 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £16.

We arrive late in to Siem Reap but our hotel pick up was just sat waiting for us and took us straight to the hotel. We were welcomed with towels and drinks and shown to our room. The room was very spacious with a bath and shower, although a little dated it was still usable and clean.

The hotel was about a 15-20 minute walk into the centre of Siem Reap which was fine, there were places to eat along the way and a couple of hotels, the lane was well light at night so we didn't have a problem walking around after dark. (We don't like to use tuk tuks if things are within walking distance). The main square is packed with market stalls, restaurants and travel agents so there isn't a short of things to look at. The markets are all light up at night and there is a lot of hustle and bustle around. In the centre of the main square there is a pub street which has all the bars and restaurants with promoters trying to entice you into their bar or bar crawl.

The main attractions:
Of course the main attraction in Siem Reap is Angkor Wat. We arranged a tour through our hotel and there are so many temples you will need a tuk tuk to take you round them all.

• Angkor Wat: A World Heritage Temple.

Cambodia is very proud of the temple as it is classed the heart and soul of the country and many thousands of traveler flock here each year. As you will see a lot of the other temples are more ruins and not what they used to be but the Angkor Wat temple has never been abandoned and is still in continuous use. It will take you about 3 hours to look round the whole grounds but go on a cool day. When we went is was nearly 40 degrees centigrade and was just too hot to enjoy anything, and all we wanted to do what
 get in an air conditioned room. You can buy a multi
 day pass so you don't need to see it all in one day. The costs are : 1 day $20 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £14), 3 days $40 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £28) and for 1 week $60 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £42).
 
 


Note: There are a lot of steep steps and uneven surfaces within the temple so please be careful when walking around.

Kickboxing:
There is an arena just on the outskirts of the main square which hold kickboxing 2/3 times a week. Some of the matches are televised but cost $15 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £10) for foreigners to watch. If you get a tuk tuk there the driver can get in for free to watch as well. We did this and it was our drivers first time at the arena and he loved it. Drinks are available at the venue and can last anywhere from 1-3 hours.

• Markets:

There are many markets to choose from, most selling the similar things you just have to barter them down. There is also a food market which has a variety of things including smelly dried fish so hold your nose when your in there.

• Cinema:

There is a cinema which is on the second floor of the Angkor Trade Center. It is very basic with private viewing rooms but the movies are not of the best quality. The staff are very helpful and bring your drinks/popcorn to the room for you.

After our stay in Siem Reap we looked at the next place to go to and this ended up being Krabi in Thailand. This was because it was the cheapest place to fly to.

Remember: If you fly into Thailand you will get a 30 day free visa but if you go over land borders you will only get a 15 day visa.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Landing Point Hotel, $283 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £198) for 7 nights including breakfast. This was a lovely hotel and great fresh breakfast. The pool was small but deep and just what you needed after a day in the heat. There were only 3 sunbeds but this was ok as the hotel was very quiet.  a good size and quiet. The staff were very good and polite in this hotel.