whimsical*girl

When: 4 - 7 Dec 2010
Where: Patong, Phuket

My first to Phuket and wanting to be in the center of action, we stayed at Patong. Indeed it had all the action, and nothing like an islandic getaway. The two just do not go hand in hand in Patong. The saving grace came when I hit the beach strip and tread on its pristine white sand...

My perception of island vacations should be idyllic. So in the 3 days I had, one was spent island hopping, and the other two bumming. i.e. street shopping, eating and massage.

On the shopping front is Jungceylon, a modern and massive mall right by our hotel that served me well. Though too urbanised for my liking, it's ideal as it saves me the trouble of haggling over that few cents. I didn't buy much though, if at all. Massage on the contrary, was essential. Yet being on the red light district (Patong) didn't make finding a decent spa easy. Amazingly however, I clocked a good 10 pampering spa hours at a one called Let's Relax. Other decent ones can be found in the basement of Jungceylon too.

* * * * *

Eating - Thaweewong Road the beach-front street would be the place to be, along which, Patong Seafood and Savoey are the most recommended. All these however come at a price too, but we figured it doesn't hurt to splurge on one and it can't be more expensive than back home for fresh seafood. We skipped the popular picks and went for "Concave" which shared the same kitchen as Savoey but has their own chef. The Thai food was awesome and it makes a really good place to just chill and people watch.

There were a few other good ones dotted amongst the smaller sois (which I couldn't recall the names now), and  the restaurants and pub area within Jungceylon which houses Wine Connection - to my delight! Despite the array however, the good and nice food places mostly close around 10-11pm.

Side note: I DQ's blizzard! A good and cheap snack anytime of the day!

* * * * *

When night falls, Soi Bangla comes alive. I'm no party animal, but this is the stretch to check out and what Patong is about - the ladyboys, discos and bartop girls. The alcohol though was obviously secondary. Some of their beer tasted like soda water and Vodka Cranberry seemed like cranberry juice. Hmm, is it just me who thinks this way?

Here's one rare scene to behold though. The bars are ordered to close for business on 5 Dec in all due respect to the king. It was his birthday.