My husband and I visited Phuket last month again. It was quite an impromptu trip because we did not intend to travel this year. We booked our flight and accommodation only a month before our trip. But luckily, flight and accommodation prices were not too high because it was not a peak travelling season.
The first thing we do when we arrived at Phuket Airport was to get a local SIM card with data. There are three major cell network in Thailand - True Move H, Dtac and AIS. Buy a SIM card in Phuket is simple. Al three cell phone companies have booths located beside each other in the arrival hall, offering tourist-focused package aimed at short term visitors.
We decided to get our SIM card from True Move H as they were having a 3 or 4 days promotion for only 150 Baht. The package includes unlimited 4G internet (capped at 1GB) and 50 Baht call and text credit, which we feel was a pretty good deal.
Ayala Kamala Resort & Spa
Official Website: Ayara Kamala Resort & Spa
For our 4 days 3 nights trip to Phuket, we decided to splurge on a nice hotel room again since we will be spending most of our time in our room. We were visiting Phuket without a plan as the main objective of the trip was to get away from the busy city life and relax.
For our trip to the island last year, we stayed at Cape Sienna Hotel & Villas, a 5-star hotel located at the beginning of Millionaire Mile, along Kamala Bay. I must say that we had a truly enjoyable stay at Cape Sienna, and would gladly love to stay at this hotel again. We love the peace and tranquility that Kamala offers because it is so much less crowded and touristy than Patong.
But as much as we love Cape Sienna, we decided to stay in a different hotel in Kamala this time for a different experience. After reading of reviews online, we finally booked a 4 days 3 nights honeymoon package in a Deluxe Ocean View room with Ayara Kamala Resort & Spa.
Ayara was having great promotion on all their rooms during our stay period, so we feel it was a good chance for us to try this resort out.
Kamala Beach
Ayara is in a very inconvenient location, so we have to rely very much on the resort's free shuttle to get to the beach. Kamala beach is located about 15 minutes drive away from the resort.
Lining along the footpath of the beach, you will find a number of cheap guesthouses and mid-range resorts that will suit all budgets. But recently, several upscale hotels have been developed to take advantage of the increased tourist traffic. I believe Kamala will not remain quiet and peaceful for long.
The sea water is very calm and gentle at Kamala beach, making it perfect for swimming all year round. But snorkeling spots are pretty limited. All along the beach, you will also find plentiful of beach chairs and sun loungers and umbrella available for rent. But if you do not wish to spend a single penny, you can simply find a peaceful spot and lay your towel down on the sand and sunbathe.
Kamala beach is more suitable for people seeking for a relaxed holiday under the sun. It is a great place to unwind without the noise and over development. Swimming, sunbathing and reading are probably the more popular activities here. If you are feeling tired, there are also massage station set up under the palm trees right on the sand offering on the spot massage at an affordable price.
Finding an empty spot on the beach to sit was not difficult since the beach was usually not crowded with people. We spent the rest of the evening sitting on the sand waiting for the sun to set.
D-Sky Bar & Restaurant
Facebook: D-Sky Bar & Restaurant
There are enough restaurants and bars in Kamala for choice, but definitely not enough to overwhelm if you compared to surrounding towns. Most of the restaurant in Kamala start to get busy after sunset and close fairly early since the towns does not get as many tourists as Patong.
After sun set, we decided to have our dinner at D-Sky Bar & Restaurant because it seemed like a good place to eat.
D-Sky has a large food menu and offers quite a variety of food choices as well as alcohol. . The restaurant serves breakfast. lunch and dinner with both Thai and Western food options available.
Asparagus
Stir-Fry Beef
Thai Steamed Squid
Seafood Glass Noodles Soup
The taste of food was average but prices were fairly reasonable. The ambience was also lovely and service was great. It is a great place to meet, chat and dine together and have a drink together.
Siladon Spa
A spa visit is a must when you visit Phuket. For us, Siladon Spa is always our choice because of they always have this"buy 1 get 1 free" promotion on all spa package, which is a great deal. Furthermore, we always have a great experience here. The therapists were very skilled and always made us feel so comfortable during the treatment.
I usually book their 4 hours spa package but I only booked a 2 hours Siladon Refresh Couple spa package this time because my husband feels that 4 hours is a bit too long. The Siladon Refresh package costs 4,200 Baht for 2 persons, which includes body scrub and aroma oil massage. The promotion is valid for direct booking only. Anyone who are interested can book your desired spa package either via its website or email.
The other thing I really like about Siladon Spa is that they provide complimentary one-way pick up from any hotel to the spa for all guests who have booked any spa treatment from them because transportation is very expensive in Phuket. The complimentary one-way pick up enable us to save some money on transportation cost.
Siladon Spa is nestled high up in the hills of Patong bay. It takes about 30 minutes drive to get from Kamala to Patong. The driver pickup arranged by Siladon Spa is always very punctual and friendly.
We were greeted warmly with smiles upon arrival, and asked to take a seat at the reception to confirm our booking and choose from the aroma oil that we prefer. Once everything is confirmed, complimentary tea and wet towels were served while the therapists prepare the room for our treatment.
If you want, they can also help you to arrange a return journey, or to anywhere else for an additional fee. So we requested the reception lady to help us arrange a taxi to Banzaan Fresh Market. The driver was already waiting for us when we finished our treatment. It costs 250 Baht to get to Banzaan Fresh Market. Quite expensive for a 15 minutes journey.
Banzaan Fresh Market
Banzaan Fresh Market is situated in the heart of Patong, just opposite the road from Bangla Boxing Stadium and Jungceylon shopping mall. It is a must visit place for us every time we visit Phuket, even though it is a big tourist trap. We came here for a good seafood lunch because it is the nearest place from Kamala where we enjoy fresh and live seafood in Phuket.
We randomly approached a stall and took our pick. It was hard to choose what to eat because there are just too many choices. In the end, we were offered 2,500 Baht for 4 large sized mantis prawns, 6 scallops and a few tiger prawns. Wow! That was ridiculously overpriced! "1,300 Baht", we offered. The vendor did not say anything but went on to add in some clams (Lala) and asked for 1,500 Baht. We agreed because we feel the price was fairly reasonable even though it was still a little overpriced.
We took the escalator up to the second floor where you will find rows of rows of stalls offering cooking services. "Hello, Miss. We cook seafood," all the vendors started to call us out the moment we walked in with a large bag of raw seafood.
So we randomly walked to one of the stalls and passed the vendor the bag of seafood. The vendor quoted us 750 Baht to cook our seafood. That was too expensive! We did not try to haggle the price last time because we did not know that the price was negotiable. "550 Baht", we offered and surprisingly, the vendor accepted our offer.
Tiger Prawns
love how the Thai prepare and cook the food. In fact, I noticed that every stall cook the seafood in the same way, so the biggest difference may be the price only.
After a satisfying lunch, we decided to head back to Kamala Beach since it was still quite early. So we walked to Jungceylon mall to look for a taxi. We were quoted 500 Baht to get from Jungceylon mall to Kamala beach. It was ridiculously expensive but we were told that all taxi rides to Kamala are fixed at 500 Baht. So there are basically no room for negotiation.
We already knew that from our trip to the island last year that taxis in Phuket are notorious for ripping people off. It is either that you accept it or leave it. We have no choice but to accept the inflated price.
Our Last Day
We did not have any plan for this particular day. Or we just did not want to do anything. So we decided to go for the complimentary 90 minutes massage as included in our room package. We have a massage appointment with Ratana Spa at 12 pm. Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by the staffs with tea served immediately after.
Dinner at Salt & Pepper Steakhouse
Salt & Pepper Steakhouse is a beach front restaurant that serves a variety of food, from international and swedish specialities, pizza to local Thai dishes and Australian steaks. Other than that, they offers starters, desserts and cocktails as well.
Our last night in Phuket was spent in our room drinking cheap alcohol and eating snacks. We finally get to try the Spy winer cooler that we bought on our last night. It was pretty good, and cheap too.
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1 comments
True Move H as they were having a 3 or 4 days promotion for only 150 Baht.
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