Welcome back and thank you for being interested in the second part of my Phuket trip. Heh heh! If you are new to the blog or missed the previous post, here's Phuket Trip Part 1!
Where did we stop? Oh yes - very abruptly - with a picture of the waters surrounding Phi Phi Island.
Our post-lunch exercise:
My hair craves attention more than I do. Always stealing the thunder! LOL! (Read: My hair has a soul of its own)
Super cool picture! The positions were all kinda planned though. I believe this would make an excellent photo for school oral examination where students have to describe what they see.
"This is a beach setting. In the foreground are three ladies posing for the camera. Judging from their sunglasses and attire, it seems to be a sunny day, with blue skies and a light breeze. Right behind them is a man who apparently can jump very high. His pose and expression suggest that he is photobombing. A few steps behind them all is another passerby who is taking in everything and seems to be amused at the sight."
HAHAHA!!!
Another excellent composition below.
SUPER COOL RIGHT!!! 😀 CY has this uncanny ability of freezing in mid air for an extended period of time, at least a second more than the rest of us.
There are tricks to taking good jumpshots, you know.
One is knowing your camera, like understanding its shutter speed, focus speed, how sensitive is the half-shutter button, etc.
Also important is the 'jumper's' experience at taking jumpshots. The more experienced, the better and faster you get your shots. So in the same way, the more experienced the photog is with taking jumpshots, the more likely he can quickly suss out the best angles and which count means 'JUMP!'.
And then there's the chemistry between the photographer and the jumpers.
This was what we got when we asked a stranger to help us with a group jumpshot. Super random jump timings. But still funny!! Look at BFF at the extreme right. Cannot stop laughing every single time I see this photo.
Right out of a postcard - sun, sand, sea, sampan
So blessed to have a sunny day during monsoon season so we could go out to sea and take jumpshots at the beach! 😀
After washing up at our homely inn, we went for dinner at a steamboat buffet that only the locals go to. I love to go where the locals go coz only then you get to eat what the locals eat! Good to have a mix of local and touristy nom-noms.
The steamboat buffet place is called Cherng Talay and it costs only THB60 for an all-you-can-eat buffet! How awesome is that! And the food's really good too!
I love how flushed I look in this picture! It was a combination of heat from the steamboat and a little Thai beer called SPY. Sweet sweet! I like!
Oh yes, did you see the frangipani on the girls' heads? I made them wear it. HAHA! The flowers were bought during a Bali trip with The Boyfriend.
Because the three guys on the next table were too health conscious and didn't barbecue a single thing thus leaving the precious barbecue dome underutilized, I helped myself to the space.
Day 4
Kamala Beach, Karon View Point, Prom Thep Cape, Naka Night Market
I love how the background is nicely divided into three sections - the sky, the sea, the sand. (I like how I look like a cavewoman here)
For you: My smile of the day. ^_^*
Being in Phuket during the monsoon season comes with inconveniences such as having to duck from the rain and rescheduling activities in the face of bad weather.
Save for the lone restaurant where we had lunch, the entire stretch of restaurants, bars and mini marts that would otherwise be bustling with life and excitement during peak season, was empty.
Deserted Kamala Beach during monsoon season
We had the entire beach to ourselves. PRIVATE BEACH OKIE. Woohoooo!! I don't mind that, really! Monsoon season is good! Hahaha!
It was peaceful, breezy, and very relaxing.
We took a little swim in the waters.
Did ya catch me un-glamorously pulling up my pants in the background? LOL
After I put in the text, I realized this picture is open to several interpretations.
Interpretation 1: My heart aches from seeing my ex-bf with his new gf
Interpretation 2: My heart aches from seeing my ex-gf with her new bf
Interpretation 3: I want to join them
It's just so appropriate that ZY and Pat (our superb hosts for this trip!) happened to be looking away from me, smiling, and seemed to be in total bliss at that moment and I was looking at them with a sullen, longing expression.
I really meant for the text to relate my longing for The Boyfriend to be with me but somehow the expressions and the space between us told another story. And the BFF managed to capture it all.
Honey, BFF, and me. This should be one of my favorite pictures for this trip. =)
Went for a little sight-seeing at Karon View Point.
They said I look like Dorami, Doremon's sister, coz of my propeller lookalike hairband. LOL!
Prom Thep Cape, where our adventure happened.
How beeeeeautiful! Perfect for wedding shots like this,
and this.
Good for friends too!
Taken with my iPhone 4S. Surprisingly good capture, I must say!
Then our saga started.
See it??? CY dropped his slipper and ZY tried using a broom to claw it back, to no avail. So he thought of throwing it in the hope of pushing it down.
HAHAHAHA!!! Both stranded!
After a lot of sweat, excitement, attention from passersby, lots of pictures, and almost 30 minutes, ZY managed to save CY's slipper! YAY! Hero!
Despite the heavily black-clouded skies, we managed to catch a glimpse of the sunset.
The last rays of day piercing through clouds
We had street food at Naka Night Market. I was busy gorging myself and my hands were all oily and dirty so I don't have much pictures to show.
That's a cricket I'm holding near my mouth. Actually they're rather delicious! Crispy on the outside, squishy-mushy on the inside. I think the flavorful seasoning helped a lot in masking whatever smell insects come with. I think I ate about 7 crickets and 20 silk worms. I only had boiled silkworms before, at a silk factory some many years ago. I like this fried version better!
After eating so much at the Naka Night Market, we still had a sumptuous dinner at a food house along some street. My stomach was bursting but I still ate ate ate and ate coz the food was so yummy!
Day 5
Naiyang Beach, Home
I looked quite normal here (bangs a bit messy though), but I was actually feeling extremely sick and was using a lot of strength just to keep my eyes opened and smile. Thank goodness for makeup.
When we returned to the inn the previous night, I started feeling queasy and slightly feverish. My stomach felt bloated coz I had eaten TOO MUCH. I really wanted to get some sleep but stayed up for some HTHT with my girl friends. Became worse when I woke up in the morning.
It was only a short journey from our inn to Nayang Beach, but I felt really sick and threw up upon reaching the beach.
Little Red Riding Hood in diapers
Nayang Beach has these little shelters for people to have meals and enjoy the sea breeze. I imagine they'd be filled with people during peak season.
After lunch we booked a beach hut to leave our bags and for the sick people (Andrew and me) to rest in.
The inside! It's a pretty cool experience. You open the door and it's everything at one glance. Interesting to stay for one night, maybe.
Honey taking care of me (Oh btw, her name is not Honey. It's just what we call one another. Heehee.)
People were releasing sky lanterns or kong ming deng at the beach.
We then set off for the airport, which was less than 5 minutes by taxi from Nayang Beach.
So happy to be back home, into the arms of The Boyfriend. <3<3<3
I remained sick for the next couple of weeks. Thank goodness I bought travel insurance and could claim for all three visits to the clinics. Must remember to buy travel insurance the next time you travel okie! So important! (Not that I hope anything happens to you, but just in case!)
I’ve known these people for half a decade. Okie haha, really only 5 years but I couldn’t ask for a better group of friends to travel with. We got to know one another mainly from Latin dance class and with these guys, we do all sorts of fun activities together. From taking dance classes, to kite flying (which we have yet to succesfully pull off coz it always RAINS when we plan for it), to carrying lanterns during Mid Autumn Festival, to Forest Adventure, to Flashmob… and we’re gonna take K-pop dance classes soon! All while still taking Paso Doble classes now. Hoho. We're thinking of going to Japan next! WOOHOOOOO!!! (Check out my Okinawa trip here)
Do you love jumpshots as I do? Do you like street food? Have you been sick while on vacation? Have you eaten so much you fell sick before?