Phuket, Let's Go!

I've been overseas for the past three days now en route to Malaysia, and I have been without internet for that long. I've been keeping my posts in a written journal, so this post will basically be a summary of everything that's happened up until Monday.

I finally met up with my parents at the dock where we were ready to board the Royal Caribbean: Legend of the Seas. From what I hear, it was an experimental cruise line that was intended mainly for routes around Southeast Asia. Obviously what that means is that it's a smaller ship with less of the amenities provided.

We boarded the ship roughly around 1:30pm. Keep in mind that I had nothing to eat, woke up extremely early and usually when I board a ship... the first thing I look out for is the buffet! I'll just skip to the chase and say that most of my time was spent mainly eating, gambling, and sleeping.Inside one of the Wat Chalong Buddhist temples in Phuket. I didn't get a lick of exercise in this entire cruise, but when you're going through international waters for several days... you kinda run out of other options.

Apparently, I had a stopover in Phuket, Thailand. I had heard about this place on the Travel Channel and thought that this would definitely be an interesting place to visit. Usually when I think of Thailand, the thought of transvestites, Muay Thai, and massage parlors that give "happy endings" come up. Believe me... I was SO right to think that! Actually, I managed to find a lot of those things walking down the streets within the first 10 minutes! You might think I'm kidding, but I'm dead serious! When I got to Phuket, I was immediately bombarded with peddlers and beggars who wanted nothing but our money.

It got to the point where some would actually follow me for a good five minutes before they actually got the point and just gave up altogether! Besides, I hadn't exchanged my Singaporean dollars for baht, so the money wouldn't have been of any use!

The family and I took a taxi through the main parts of the island. One thing I learned about Thailand is that safety on the road is not a major concern. You'd see kids without helmets riding motorcycles, three people on one scooter, cars without doors, and my personal favorite... pedestrians who cross major freeways! Plus, it didn't help that our taxi van didn't have any seat belts. There was definitely a lot to see out here in Thailand, but the more you look at some of these places... the more unsettling it becomes. In my personal opinion, many of the places around there are tourist traps.

My sister and I about to jet ski along the coast of Kata Beach... so don't be tempted to buy anything unless you really want to. I could list some of the things to check out, but you would probably pass them on the way or if you decide to take your own tour, these things will probably be suggested for you to do. I think the only thing worth checking out is the Wat Chalong Buddhist temple, which is suppose to be the city's most important temple. The main reason we were here was to hit the beach. Out of the three spots, we chose Kata Beach. You can't really go wrong with any of them, because the water is so great and the weather is perfect for beaching it. I mean... with hot and humid weather, it really hits the spot to jump in the ocean and cool off. Also, a nice jetski ride along the coasts of Phuket is definitely something that I recommend. Staying out in the beach for four hours like I did without applying a second dose of suntan lotion... something I wouldn't recommend. This is really all I can say about the last few days. Other than that, I'm anxiously waiting to get to Malaysia! That way, I can finally get on solid ground and not have to worry about the motion sickness anymore. I'll blog more about once I get the chance!