JBR 14 days it paradise (long)

Hi well we have got back from Phuket and the tan is fading so time to write our report

We had 14 wonderful days in Phuket at the Kata Thani resort, after 9 years it was wonderful to go back

The hotel was as good as I remembered it Jen and I had the suite and the boys had a basic room both of which were excellent .I will put a more detailed report in the hotel section but I will point out a few things here

The area around the hotel has had a lot of the land purchased by the owner of the hotel

The good side of this is that there is no development happening so that relaxed feeling to this resort is still there

. The downside is that all of the cheap local restaurants on the beach have disappeared so you can only eat at the 2 or 3 that are behind the resort. They are OK but you have to travel a bit for something special. Also be aware that some rooms are newer that others .For example our rooms were very new and were easily 4 star but some of the Seaview rooms are older and would be classed 3 star

The sea was interesting very stormy the first week buy lovely the second

Make sure you watch out for the rip best to swim on the sides of Kata Nio beach for safety

They do have lifesavers there and we saw 3 people rescued while we were there!

Weather was very kind to us with only 3 hours of solid rain and a few light showers over 14 days

I would recommend only booking boat trips out when the weather is calmer as we heard of some people being very seasick

Driver- We had booked Mr Mor for a day trip round the island, pickup from the airport and a trip to Trang on the mainland over two days and 800 kms!

He was excellent a youngish guy with a great sense of humour

His English was good and we learnt a lot about him the island and Thai culture

I can highly recommend him to any one a very safe driver!!!

The BBQ was a hoot we meet Adam and his family, Pam and Josh from the USA and Steve and Mary

We had a great time but I am sorry that I didn鈥檛 get to meet the rest of you guys the night went so fast

It had to be one of the best value meals and entertainment about

Also got Richards life story on the way home gave me a few grey hairs!!!

Thanks for a great night mate (also loved that scotch)

I was also able to do a days diving with Magumi which was a real treat

Visibility was very good and I had a great time

If you have the chance you must do this

Restaurants were interesting our favourite was Smallviewpiont next to the Reggie bar overlooking Kata Thani the foods a little hot but the atmosphere is great

We also enjoyed On The rocks but you must book ahead

We were taken to Fantasea but feel it is more suited to young families

The elephant and gibbons were great Jen got a big hug when she got there and it was very special

Shopping-Mr Mor took us to some great places where it was set price which was very refreshing

I would also recommend The Jim Thompson factory outlet for some quality gear

Also the Central Mall was great with some real bargains to be found

The highlight was our trip to Trang

Mr Mor was able to bring his girlfriend along which was great and we were able to see a side of Thai life that is missing from Phuket

We visited the family of Por (our Thai exchange student that stayed with us for 4 months)

As Richard said the true Thailand experience is off the beaten track!

So to sum it up met some great people and found Phuket better than last time

This site had a lot to do with making this holiday great so thanks to you all

Cheers Scott

JBR 14 days it paradise (long)

Hi Scott,

Enjoyed your report.

Where were your shopping bargains that Mr, Mor took you to?

How long did it take to get to Trang and did you stay overnight there?

Cheers,

Stewie.

JBR 14 days it paradise (long)

Thanks Scott, great reading, we are heading of f in October and found your JBR both interesting and informative.

Thanks for helping us with our plans,

Cro4

(PS we live just up to road from you)

Thanks Scott

Great read, so glad you enjoyed your return trip to Phuket, good to see something different done re your couple of days with Mr Mor, maybe you could do a detaile report of your trip.

Lee

Thanks Scott for your JBR.

I too would be interested in where Mr Mor actually took you as we are going with him in 2 weeks time, just for the day though.

Am so looking forward to this holiday and only 7 more sleeps......

Cheers

Bev %26amp; Barry

OK due to popular demand some more info

Bargins with Mr Mor-Firstly we were taken to Jamies for handbags on Patong road all fixed price of 1500-1800 baht for good Quality copies jen managed to find 7 that she liked!

He also took us to a DVD place where we could check them out at 60 baht.

If you have any specfic things you are after he is able to help you out not saying that the shop keepers dont give him something but you still get a good deal with little hassle (eg no bartering)

As to bartering I did notice that a few shops start way to high in the hope that they can rip you off . This happened a bit in OTOP so its best to buy later in youir trip after you get a good feel for prices. My advise is to just walk away to teach them a lesson!

Day trip with Mr Mor- we were picked up at 10 and went to the elephant and gibbon centre. It is very relaxed and no pressure .The boys took a 1 hour elephant trip 800 baht each while Jen and I sat at the bar having a relaxing chat with Mr Mor the barman and the Gibbons.

Next we went down the west side of the island looking at the view pionts and seeing the sights

Big budda was next with Mr Mor showing how to make an offering and pray good fun and quite moving

Next we had lunch at his favorite cafe in the park I asked him to order and shouted him lunch VERY NICE!

After lunch we went to a temple in town (Mr Mor was unable to take us in as he hasnt go his official tourist operators license yet)

After this shopping was the go with a selection of places visited giving you a range of places to chose from

Please feel free to ask for anything specific on your trip as Mr Mor is happy to alter to suit you

We also aranged a 4 hour shopping trip after thts to revisit a few places

The trip to Trang-After looking at the options of transport I settled on Mr Mor at 2500 baht each way ,This is very cheap because we only stayed over night so Mr Mor didnt miss out on a days work

If you wanted to go longer I would suggest a bus

We were able to offer a seat to his fiance which gave them both a mini break (they hope to get married in a year or two)

It was a 4 and a half hour trip with some great scenery and a few interesting road rules .We saw school buses with a bout 20 kids hanging of the back and double over take on a blind hill!

Nice to have a safe driver getting you there

When we arrived we were taken to lunch then visited Pors uncles farm where we picked fruit off the trees and tasted to our hearts content .Coconuts Ramatans bannas Ect.

Went to the local waterfalls for a dip ,Some quick shopping and if you think phuket is cheap I picked up jeans at 199 baht !

That evenong we were taken out to dinner with the family all 60 of them quite an experince

Later that night we were taken to our accomadation .Pors aunt had a traditional Thai geust house with mod cons for us a real experince

and we finished it of with Karioke at the aunts.

In the morning we went to the local market to see the sights and smells (Thailand is a place where the best smelling things are usually next to the worst)

Then breakfast was the best Yum Cha I can remember where I absalutly stuffed myself

Them we went to pors local chinese temple and the parks

Trang is a loverly quiet city with wideroads and little traffic very different from Phuket !

Next pors uncle showed us around his hospital

Then the hard part was saying good bye and heading back

Next year we hope to go back

Cheers scott

(sorry about the spelling)

Thanks for that Scott.... can I ask what Jim Thompson brand is? We have 8 weeks today, which seems like forever, but these JBR%26#39;s keep me hanging in there!!! Cheers :)

Hi Scott, thanks for the great JBR. Full of very useful information, what a great time you had getting out and about. Thanks,

Rene

Jim Thompson is a high quality shop specilising in silk clothes and accessories an excellent choise for gifts for Thai people

We bought some for Pors family and funily enough they had bought some for us !

Cheers Scott

Thanks Scott,

Great report and its just awesome to see the real Phuket and get away from the tourist areas. A good read.

Cheers, Pete.

Hi Scot and Jen, thanks for your report, very interesting too.

We enjoyed the bbq and meeting you. I wanted to ask how the boys got on in Patong on the friday night? did they come back in one piece. lol

On your advise we asked Mr Mor to take us to Jim Thompson and I bought a unique bag.

your trip the next day with Mr Mor sounded good, we told him we would not tire him out! cheers to you both

Mary from adelaide