Short Trip To Kamala in Phuket, Thailand

This was the first time going to Phuket, Thailand. I was told to choose place that is not Patong by my girlfriend as she just wanted some place with peace and quiet. The process of elimination meant that we stay in Kamala, which is about 10-minutes away from Patong.

I flew into Thailand by Tiger Air (SGD 190/head) as usual and the flight was about 2 hours long. When I arrived at the Phuket airport, we arranged for the hotel, Ayara Kamala to pick us up. Took us about 50 minutes to reach the hotel which was situated up a slope and we could only check in at 2 pm.

The wait was worth it. I had booked a deluxe room with pool access (~SGD310/night net) and I think I cannot get the same value in Singapore.

The resort feel was very strong and it showed in how they decorated the room with elephant motifs and the sprinkling of flowers. I did a google and found out that Ayara did not mean elephant but rather, poem, in sanskrit.

You might think that I paid quite a bit for the room but if you have the view below and a pool, I do not think you will complain. I spent most of the time dipped in the pool or tanning by the front yard. It is shared by 4 other rooms but we did not all use the pool at the same time. I do not have a morning shot but the views were fabulous and post card perfect. I guess it was what you would call a blue sky holiday.

Back from Phuket, back to work

Went to Phuket, Thailand, for a quick getaway. Spent three days at a lovely resort there in Kamala. However, it is starting to look poorly timed as both work and school are chasing me for assignments! Some photos and a short write-up of the trip will follow in the next 1-2 weeks.

My Vietnam Trip to Ho Chi Minh City (13-16 December 2013)

I went to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam with my girlfriend and friend over the recent weekend, coming back on the Monday evening. I flew in by Tiger and booked my hotel through agoda.com. A brief summary, with photos taken from the internet is as follows.

Friday 13 December 2013

I had web-checked in so I did not have to arrive at the airport that early. Nevertheless, I took my luggage to work heading straight to Changi Terminal 2 after a staggered half-day to catch my 1715 flight. 

The flight to Vietnam took about two hours and I reached the Tan Son Nhat Airport. My previous trip to Vietnam was slightly ruined because we got ripped off by the cab driver. He charged us 400,000 dong for a 250,000 dong trip (10,000 dong ~ USD 0.50). Determined not to get cheated this time, we ordered a cab from the Mai Linh Group but it still cost us 300,000 dong. The journey took about 1 hour plus due to traffic surge. Otherwise, it would have been a 30 minutes journey.

Visiting Legoland soon

A group of friends have decided to take a day trip across the Causeway to visit Legoland about a month from now. I did a quick search online and despite its proximity, there are so many deals that will get us there.  Will post something after the trip is done.