Karon beach/Simon Cabaret/Bangla Street
06 Aug 2012
T'hat's right. The last time I visited Phuket was when I was 11! I still remember vividly I had short hair that time, the only one time I cut it so short in my 22 years of life. It was really just a stop cos we were on Star Cruise & it docked at the port so we went on a half-day tour to a cabaret.
Fast forward 10 years later... & I'm going to Phuket again, this time on a plane! (I'm sorry this post is almost 1 yr overdue, just keep in mind this was a yr ago! I went to Phuket again in Nov 2012)
Hi this is my travel buddy, Michelle. We planned the trip about a month+ in advance & I quit my job shortly after. Main reason being I'm too sick of the job... it was too routine & boring for me.
Anyway I didn't have much leave to take anymore cos I took 2 weeks off for Europe. That's 14 days! I'm lucky to have a nice superior... seriously which company allows you to take 2 weeks straight just being 6 months on the job?
Once you clear customs you'll see this booth which offers free SIM card. I forgot what's the catch. Either no 3G or that you have to top-up money to activate. But it's a good thing for tourist isn't it?
After you get your luggage you'll come to this area where there's a lot of tour/taxis counters. I did my homework prior to this trip, TONS of homework. Well actually not really since I like reading about these stuff in my free time anyway. What I know is pre-booked tours are usually very expensive. You should always buy it in Phuket & in not SG nor online.
We looked around for abit & found the cheapest in the airport. San is the guy operating this counter at the airport, called Phuket Friendship Tour. He is super friendly & helpful. Mich & I were there for about 1.5hr checking out & choosing which tour to go on. Of cos I made all the enquiries/negotiation cos mich knows nuts about anything. I seriously doubt she'll be able to survive on her own!
I already know that a full-day tour is about SGD $50/pax. So +/- a little depending on your bargaining skills & where you bought it. This is the airport so of cos it's a little more expensive. But it's our first trip & we didn't know what are the prices outside. I think San's prices are very reasonable so we got a few tours from him. And another few tours on my visit in Nov. So quote my name (say you're friends of Alicia from Singapore) & he might give you a better price!
Btw if you get a tour from him (excl. Simon Cabaret), you get a free transfer back to your hotel! If you take a cab yourself it's at least 550-800 baht. So if you are already intending to go on tours, might as well get one here.
In the end, we got:
1. Simon Cabaret show (700b)
2. Phi Phi island tour for next day (1500b)
3. 4-in-1 Safari tour for the day after (1350b)
...and we called on the 3rd day to book a Coral + Raya island on the last day of our trip for 1200b if I'm not wrong (or 1500b? or 2000b? I can't remember!)
I suggest just booking ONE tour, just to get the transfer to the hotel. Afterwards you can explore on your own, there's hundreds of tour counters all around Patong/Kata beach & I'm pretty sure you can get a cheaper price. On my 2nd trip, everytime I pass by a tour counter I'll randomly ask the price out of curiosity. For e.g Simon Cabaret for 600b, 4-in-1 Safari for 900b. But of cos he's the cheapest in the airport so do pop by!
Enough about bargains... off we go to hotel!
Hahaha I seriously dunno what we're doing in the 2nd pic. We're always crazy cray cray
1... 2... 3... drop.
Hotpink shorts from F21. Loving my colourful outfit :)
45 min later....
There we are! If you look at the map, Katong beach is the nearest to the airport. Further down it's Karon beach (where we're staying) and then Kata beach.
We're staying at Grand Sunset Hotel, which when I look at the description, "a view of the crystal blue Andaman Ocean assured." Wait till you see the view.
It's a modern, cosy hotel just across from the beach! Plus it is very cheap. Maybe like $50/night?
We got the 2nd best room which is the Grand Deluxe, but they upgraded us to the two-bedroom suite -.- It's just 2 of us why would we need the 2 bedroom suite for? We should've gotten the deluxe! (And an upgrade would land us in Grand deluxe hehheh)
That said, if it was 2 couples on a holiday, the two-bedroom suite would be perfect.
Now here's our "guaranteed" view of the Ocean. Proves my theory right that you get what you pay for!
Well to be fair I already knew the view is gonna be like that (cos before booking a hotel I'll look thru diff hotel sites, the official hotel site & tripadvisor for real-life photos). But I still went ahead cos it's really a good deal for a decent hotel in a good location! Plus we'll be out for a full-day tour the next day so it doesn't really matter.
Settled down & went out for our late lunch. It was almost 3pm then. While walking towards the beach, you'll pass by another hotel right beside Grand Sunset. It looks so much worn out but it has so many ppl (mainly overseas tour groups). Being the KPO me I noted down the name, checked & realised it's much more expensive than our hotel. I wouldn't have stayed there at half the price.
Out in my refreshing outfit! I like feeling the warmth of the sun, esp on beach holidays. I just have to put on lotsa sunblock & hope the rays won't seep into my skin & make me darker :'(
I like this shot of Mich. Very cottage feeling :)
This is where they called The Old Phuket, which is also just across the beach on the street beside our hotel's. It's like a small small town with restaurants & shops. We also got an extra sunblock here to defend ourselves from the harsh sun!
Popped by the beach for a lil while after eating.
1st pic is her normal self. 2nd is her restrained self. She's like a hyperactive kid all day round.
1 week before our trip, my friends went to Phuket & came back telling me there's flooding & rainstorms EVERYDAY. For 4 days they stayed in & did nothing. It made me so worried for my upcoming trip. Luckily for us, the weather was very good!
Happy happy mich! Oh she's a very swaggg person so even when we're at the beach she has all these accessories on. Unlike me imma minimalist haha.
Hot pink vehicle spotted!!
For some reason this shot let me associate it with a scene from say, Miami Beach. Looks so America! I'd never been there but I'd love to! Hopefully next yr when Randy's going back.
After that, we went back to the hotel & I took a nap in the other room cos I didn't wanna dirty the bed I'll be sleeping on at night. Well we have 2 bedrooms! I think mich took a nap too. Gosh we were so tired we slept till the sun set! At about 6.30pm we were woken up by a call from the lobby telling us our vehicle is here to pick us up.
Hurriedly, we changed & off we flew downstairs. Once we got on the minivan, I see that it's not just us, there's maybe 8 other ppl sitting silently in the vehicle. Sooo embarrassing to have to let them wait for us!
Simon Cabaret is the largest cabaret in Phuket, established for than 30 years, so of cos we have to come see. Go to the Tripadvisor forum, there's lots of discussions & even places of interest. You can take your pick & read ppl's reviews to see if it's worth visiting :)
Ok so we got normal tickets at 700b each earlier at the airport. But when we got inside, we realised it was on the 2nd level! It was quite a distance from the stage. So I asked if we can top-up to get the VIP tickets.
It was fast & easy, just 100b more & you get upgraded to the 1st floor. And very good seats at that, on the 4th row from the stage so we got an excellent view. So the next time round I know to get VIP tickets straight.
No picture-taking. I'm always very rebellious trying my luck to get a picture until the secu caught me. And I'm ashamed to say I do this at almost every concert/performance/show.
This was not the cabaret I went to at 11. Simon is only opened at night but the one I went to was in the day. I was v young & I think it was disgusting! The transvestites were all dressed super skimpily & I remember very clearly this one had just a sheer sash over 'her' breasts so we could all see her nipple! I don't understand how 11 yr-old me, or even my 6 yr-old sis can get in. My mum even made me take a pic w them afterwards! I gave a disgusted face & it's in my photo album now.
"Come, come! Take peekture!"
Why is she touching her breast? I like the one in big blue wings! She's super pretty!
Simon has a much more healthy image. At least all their girls' bits are all covered, albeit by the least clothings. It's a mixture of singing, dancing, imitating, & there's even Chinese/Korean songs! Of course they're all lip-synced but it's interesting watching the scene change. Some performances are funny too! All their props & costumes are very professional & there're also guys in the crew. Real guys.
I think it's worth a visit! :)
What's wrong dear?
The location of Simon Cabaret was in Patong so the driver was more than glad when we wanted to drop off at Bangla street instead of back to the hotel.
Bangla street is a long stretch of pubs & clubs where all the action are. It's the most happening place in Phuket where there are guys holding a pricelist asking you to come in & watch a pingpong/tiger show. I say don't. Firstly, I heard of stories & even mich herself experienced it, that they'll scam your money asking you to pay a ridiculous amt for a glass of coke etc. Secondly, I'm not interested in watching how a girl open a bottle of beer w her vagina. (Ewww)
LOL Mich's story is funny! She said she went to Thailand w a girl & 2 other guy friends & paid to get in to watch a tiger show or something like that. So they paid about SGD $32 maybe...... to watch 2 ppl having sex. I'm laughing even as I'm typing this hahahaha!
Can you imagine how awkward it is, watching live sex, with your friends. & they're really just platonic friends which makes it even more embarrassing. I think she mentioned that the bouncer refused to let them go.
Cheers to 60b beers!
Ok last transvestite pic of the day. They're everywhere! Even in the middle of Bangla street!
Afterwards we wanted to go back to the hotel, but be aware that there's only tuk-tuks in Phuket. No metered taxis. And it's expensive! Our hotel is at Karon beach which is prob like 10-15 mins away, & they wanted 400b! I think that's too expensive so I walked away to the next tuk-tuk. I thought I could use my bargaining skills like in BKK but no! All the tuk-tuks operators are connected, they communicate via walkie-talkie or phones. So no driver is willing to take us.
In the end I gave up & we got on one that charged us 300b. In BKK if one taxi refused, I'd go on to the next until I get a metered cab. And I ALWAYS get one. Check out the post here. That's it for Day One!
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