Life’s a beach in Phuket
August 1, 2004 | 12:00am
We arrived in Phuket after an hour-long flight from Bangkok via Thai Airways. The trip from Manila was a breeze, since we got upgraded (many thanks to Thai Airway’s Chertchai Methanayanonda), so weren’t that antsy yet. We were herded into a van, and off we sped into the night. Our tour guide Mung muttered that we were just in time for the show.
A show?
Yes, a special show. He told us that we would check in after the show, and then have dinner.
After a brief stop at a kiosk outside the theater, we headed into the theater for the 9:30 p.m. show. The lights went down, the curtains rose, music filled the air and a gaggle of pretty transvestites, all dolled up to the nines, paraded on stage, lip-synching to a show-stopping number.
Welcome to Thailand!
I’ve seen transvestite shows before, and Phuket’s Simon Cabaret is no different. The girls go through a nonstop song and dance routine that keeps you guessing what’s next. There’s Tina Turner, but what, no Madonna?
However, the show is designed to entertain as wide a range of audiences as possible. We were a small group of Filipinos there that night, journalists who were on a familiarization tour of Phuket and Krabi in southern Thailand courtesy of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. There were a whole lot of Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists, and the presentation entertained them.
The show was a hoot. If the lip-synching wasn’t up to par or the dancing was a bit too stiff, these gals surely offered enough eye candy to keep you amused. And the sets were simply to-die-for. The setting moved from Thai ruins to a replica of the Sphinx in ancient Egypt, from a jungle to an imperial palace, ending with glammed up version of a Broadway finale. They sure know how to keep you amused, one way or the other.
At the end of the show, you can have your picture taken with your favorite gal for a token 20 baht. Most the girls don’t speak English, so they try to catch your attention in their own special way: Like a gaggle of geese, they honk and holler as they wave you towards them.
And I tell you, no one in Manila would know it’s not Tina Turner squeezing you close to her for a close-up shot. She’s very much like the real McCoy.
Phuket is Thailand’s largest, most populous and most visited island. Called the Pearl of the South by the tourist industry, the 180-square-kilometer island encompasses broad, sandy bays, rocky peninsulas, limestone cliffs, forested hills and tropical vegetation, according to Lonely Planet. While the island supports agriculture, fishing and mining, since the late 1980s the island’s main industry has been tourism.
Formerly called Ko Thalang and before that, Junk Ceylon, Phuket boasts a unique culture, a mix of Chinese and Portuguese influences with that of southern Thais and the chao náam, a seafaring, semi-nomadic group that depend on fishing and boat-building.
Phuket has always come to mean beaches and a good time, but at an expense. Because of its esteemed position among travelers, the island and its amenities aren’t cheap. But if you know what you are looking for, and are willing to pay for it, then you’ll surely have a good time here.
If Simon Cabaret reinforces one’s idea of having a good time in Thailand, then Phuket FantaSea is the ultimate theme park in this part of the country. Located along Kamala Beach, just a couple of minutes away from Phuket’s popular Patong Beach, it is a 140-acre development that opened in 1999. It offers a number of attractions that will thrill both young and old alike.
Theme park is not enough to describe Phuket FantaSea. It boasts the huge Golden Kinnaree Buffet Restaurant, Festival Village shopping paradise, Hanuman’s Lair game town, Viva Bangkok stage theater and more. The main draw is the 90-minute Fantasy of a Kingdom extravaganza, held at the 3,000-seater Palace of the Elephants theater, that gives tourists, in a nutshell, a backgrounder on Thai culture and society.
Fantasy of a Kingdom opens with a retelling of an old legend where a stone image of the young Prince of Kamala and his faithful elephant, Iyara, come to life and help the people of Kamala find true harmony. From that dazzling presentation of dance and laser light, the story proceeds with a retelling of the creation of the world and Thailand’s people.
A comic interlude featuring magic tricks, starring the legendary Siamese twins Chang and Eng, serves as a break. A suite of dances from all over Thailand is followed by a small vignette on village love that includes the participation of trained goats, chickens and doves. The show then moves to rousing climax, complete with an onstage battle. With the forces of evil vanquished by the people, with the help of the Prince and the elephant Iyara, the rebuilding of the kingdom of Kamala happens magically onstage.
If you love elephants and want a night of song and dance, Phuket FantaSea’s Fantasy of a Kingdom is definitely it. The show’s must-not-miss is the aerial display of Apsara, Thai angels of freedom. Seeming to fall from the sky, aerialists float and fly in the air in a dazzling choreography reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil.
Phuket FantaSea is open Friday to Wednesday. There is one show every night, with additional shows held on special dates. Tickets to the theme park are available at most hotels and travel agents. For details about Phuket FantaSea, visit http://phuket-fantasea.com.
Think of Phuket and the beach first comes to mind. Most of Phuket’s beaches are on the western side of Phuket Island. Most of the popular hotels are located around Patong Beach, and Lonely Planet says accommodation here is slowly becoming cheaper through the years. On our visit, we were billeted at the Holiday Inn Resort. The beach is just across the gate from the swimming pool.
But if you want something more private and personal, there are a number of accommodations that offer these and an even better view and access of the beach, too. One such place is the Avantika, which is at the south end of Patong Beach, just a stroll from Patong Beach’s busy shopping area.
Avantika is an intimate property with just 31 well-equipped guest rooms and suites, with a choice of a private balcony or a tatami corner. All rooms have spacious breathtaking ocean views, which is a prime draw for those who want to relax in their rooms at night. And if you tire of the sand, sun, surf and shopping, it has a private massage and spa facility that will melt your aches away.
A night on the town should include a visit to Baan Rim Pa, which is Phuket’s best-known restaurant. Located at the northern end of Patong Beach and sitting safely on top of a cliff, it has a magnificent view of Patong Beach. The view of the sunset here is simply magical. It is no wonder that Phuket is very popular among Filipinos as a honeymoon destination. The view and the food, especially at Baan Rim Pa, will surely put you in the most romantic of moods. And if you are lucky, there just might be an international celebrity at the table near you.
For the past 14 years, the restaurant has been offering the best in royal Thai cuisine, albeit tempered for foreign palates, says media and marketing director Sue Armstrong-Ultmann.
Indeed, if there was one thing noticeable about Baan Rim Pa’s offerings is that they were not ultra spicy hot. We went through a variety of appetizers, including a curiously named Shrimps Sarong, which are prawns that are wrapped in vermicelli noodle and fried to a crisp. Entrées are familiar Thai dishes: Green chicken curry, roast duck curry, chicken pandan and stir-fried vegetables. The variety of flavors belie the claim that all Thai food is spicy.
Baan Rim Pa has since expanded into a complex of restaurants. If you are looking for nouvelle Japanese cooking, then Otowa downstairs is what you are looking for. For authentic Italian cooking, with to-die-for desserts this side of Phuket, Da Maurizio Bar Ristorante at the basement is your best bet.
While Patong Beach has much to offer during the summer months, during low season, the water is strong and choppy. A dip early in the morning is best when the waves aren’t too strong yet. In the afternoon, you can spend time going through the temples around the island and seek the blessing of a Buddhist monk.
Those who want something environmental should consider a trip to James Bond Island.
Yes, James Bond Island. This little sliver of an island has a Thai name (Ko Phing Kan or Leaning Island), but since it figured in the 1970s James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, it has since been known as Agent 007’s island.
The trip to James Bond Island takes about two hours, since Tha Dan, where you can get a boat ride to the island, is at nearby Ao Phang-Nga. The boat ride takes you through Ao Phang-Nga National Park where the different rock formations will surely amuse nature lovers. James Bond Island is located north of the Andaman Sea, so the travel takes you for a few minutes out in the open sea. It is about an hour’s boat ride. The trip, including lunch, is priced at 1,800 baht.
After enjoying yourself silly guessing how James Bond Island was formed, a visit to the nearby Muslim fishing village on Ko Panyi for lunch follows. The village stands in the middle of the sea and is quite a sight. Since the village is Muslim, all meals are halal. Lunch would most likely be a variety of vegetable and fish dishes, which are a relief from all the hot chilies in most Thai food.
For the best beach, a boat ride to Ko Phi-Phi is recommended. Ko Phi-Phi is made up of two islands: Phi Phi Don, which is the bigger of the two, and Phi Phi Leh, which was the location for the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach. Ko Phi-Phi is 40 kilometers away from Krabi, which is east of the Andaman Sea. However, you will have to endure rough sea waters to enjoy Phi Phi Don’s pristine waters and white sand beach. But it is worth the ride. The sun is baking hot, and if a storm cloud should ruin your tan, the rains pass in just a couple of minutes. If you don’t want to just laze around in the sand, you can go snorkeling or scuba diving in the blue waters. All that for just 1,200 baht.
From Phi Phi Don, we bid goodbye to Phuket and took a boat ride to Krabi. Lonely Planet says many of Krabi’s beaches feature shimmering stretches of sand lapped by calm, clear seas and backed by vine-cloaked limestone cliffs. Aside from its beaches, Krabi is now becoming known as the world’s rock-climbing destination.
We were unfortunate to reach Krabi late in the afternoon, so a trip to the beach was out of the question. So we all did the next best thing: Shopping.
Unlike Phuket, which is a maze of roads, Krabi’s downtown area is just a long strip of stores just a stone’s throw from the shore. Dressed casually in your shorts and sandals, a serious shopper will find anything he fancies here. There are a number of outlet stores, as well as shops offering a last chance at souvenir shopping. The stretch is also dotted with restaurants that offer international cooking.
Our home at Krabi was The Cliff Ao Nang Resort, an intimate resort a couple of minutes away from the beach. Designated by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as one of the 50 most beautiful resorts in Thailand, it lives up to its slogan of "Unseen Paradise."
The Cliff only has a handful of cottages, all following the Chaiya-style, a local architecture of squat houses dating back to the Srivichai period. All that would be meaningless for a weary traveler, but once they enter their bungalows they will marvel at how nature has been fully integrated into the design. All rooms have ceiling-to-floor windows that offer a view of a private garden. Bathrooms are located outside the cottage and are given privacy by ingenious dividers utilizing plants. Since the property is barely a year old, the plants haven’t had that much time to grow. For the meantime, plastic screens hide you from your next-door neighbor.
In the morning, you can have breakfast outside your cottage (there are settings provided at each one), but with the early morning shower, we all moved to the dining area. From our tables we were able to contemplate Krabi’s magnificent cliffs that rise above the resort.
The Cliff operations manager Bandid "James" Thipphayanont says the resort is offering discounted rates on its first year to entice guests to come back and see more of Krabi. Indeed, all guests are enjoined to sign their names on the concrete slab that holds up the reception desk. All those signatures must mean so many satisfied customers.
As I went to bed on the last night there, listening to the rain drumming a melody on my bungalow’s roof, it was such a pity that this short trip to Phuket and Krabi was coming to an end. There were more beaches to see, more shopping to do, more resorts to sleep in, and more people to meet. I will have to return here again one of these days.
For inquiries regarding destinations in Thailand, contact the Tourism Authority of Thailand at 0916-8921232, fax 911-1660, e-mail tat_mnl@pacific.net.ph or write to PO Box 319, ACPO, Cubao, Quezon City 1100.
Thai Airways International flies daily to Bangkok, Thailand. For ticket reservations, call 815-8421 to 27.
A show?
Yes, a special show. He told us that we would check in after the show, and then have dinner.
After a brief stop at a kiosk outside the theater, we headed into the theater for the 9:30 p.m. show. The lights went down, the curtains rose, music filled the air and a gaggle of pretty transvestites, all dolled up to the nines, paraded on stage, lip-synching to a show-stopping number.
Welcome to Thailand!
I’ve seen transvestite shows before, and Phuket’s Simon Cabaret is no different. The girls go through a nonstop song and dance routine that keeps you guessing what’s next. There’s Tina Turner, but what, no Madonna?
However, the show is designed to entertain as wide a range of audiences as possible. We were a small group of Filipinos there that night, journalists who were on a familiarization tour of Phuket and Krabi in southern Thailand courtesy of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. There were a whole lot of Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists, and the presentation entertained them.
The show was a hoot. If the lip-synching wasn’t up to par or the dancing was a bit too stiff, these gals surely offered enough eye candy to keep you amused. And the sets were simply to-die-for. The setting moved from Thai ruins to a replica of the Sphinx in ancient Egypt, from a jungle to an imperial palace, ending with glammed up version of a Broadway finale. They sure know how to keep you amused, one way or the other.
At the end of the show, you can have your picture taken with your favorite gal for a token 20 baht. Most the girls don’t speak English, so they try to catch your attention in their own special way: Like a gaggle of geese, they honk and holler as they wave you towards them.
And I tell you, no one in Manila would know it’s not Tina Turner squeezing you close to her for a close-up shot. She’s very much like the real McCoy.
Phuket is Thailand’s largest, most populous and most visited island. Called the Pearl of the South by the tourist industry, the 180-square-kilometer island encompasses broad, sandy bays, rocky peninsulas, limestone cliffs, forested hills and tropical vegetation, according to Lonely Planet. While the island supports agriculture, fishing and mining, since the late 1980s the island’s main industry has been tourism.
Formerly called Ko Thalang and before that, Junk Ceylon, Phuket boasts a unique culture, a mix of Chinese and Portuguese influences with that of southern Thais and the chao náam, a seafaring, semi-nomadic group that depend on fishing and boat-building.
Phuket has always come to mean beaches and a good time, but at an expense. Because of its esteemed position among travelers, the island and its amenities aren’t cheap. But if you know what you are looking for, and are willing to pay for it, then you’ll surely have a good time here.
If Simon Cabaret reinforces one’s idea of having a good time in Thailand, then Phuket FantaSea is the ultimate theme park in this part of the country. Located along Kamala Beach, just a couple of minutes away from Phuket’s popular Patong Beach, it is a 140-acre development that opened in 1999. It offers a number of attractions that will thrill both young and old alike.
Theme park is not enough to describe Phuket FantaSea. It boasts the huge Golden Kinnaree Buffet Restaurant, Festival Village shopping paradise, Hanuman’s Lair game town, Viva Bangkok stage theater and more. The main draw is the 90-minute Fantasy of a Kingdom extravaganza, held at the 3,000-seater Palace of the Elephants theater, that gives tourists, in a nutshell, a backgrounder on Thai culture and society.
Fantasy of a Kingdom opens with a retelling of an old legend where a stone image of the young Prince of Kamala and his faithful elephant, Iyara, come to life and help the people of Kamala find true harmony. From that dazzling presentation of dance and laser light, the story proceeds with a retelling of the creation of the world and Thailand’s people.
A comic interlude featuring magic tricks, starring the legendary Siamese twins Chang and Eng, serves as a break. A suite of dances from all over Thailand is followed by a small vignette on village love that includes the participation of trained goats, chickens and doves. The show then moves to rousing climax, complete with an onstage battle. With the forces of evil vanquished by the people, with the help of the Prince and the elephant Iyara, the rebuilding of the kingdom of Kamala happens magically onstage.
If you love elephants and want a night of song and dance, Phuket FantaSea’s Fantasy of a Kingdom is definitely it. The show’s must-not-miss is the aerial display of Apsara, Thai angels of freedom. Seeming to fall from the sky, aerialists float and fly in the air in a dazzling choreography reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil.
Phuket FantaSea is open Friday to Wednesday. There is one show every night, with additional shows held on special dates. Tickets to the theme park are available at most hotels and travel agents. For details about Phuket FantaSea, visit http://phuket-fantasea.com.
Think of Phuket and the beach first comes to mind. Most of Phuket’s beaches are on the western side of Phuket Island. Most of the popular hotels are located around Patong Beach, and Lonely Planet says accommodation here is slowly becoming cheaper through the years. On our visit, we were billeted at the Holiday Inn Resort. The beach is just across the gate from the swimming pool.
But if you want something more private and personal, there are a number of accommodations that offer these and an even better view and access of the beach, too. One such place is the Avantika, which is at the south end of Patong Beach, just a stroll from Patong Beach’s busy shopping area.
Avantika is an intimate property with just 31 well-equipped guest rooms and suites, with a choice of a private balcony or a tatami corner. All rooms have spacious breathtaking ocean views, which is a prime draw for those who want to relax in their rooms at night. And if you tire of the sand, sun, surf and shopping, it has a private massage and spa facility that will melt your aches away.
A night on the town should include a visit to Baan Rim Pa, which is Phuket’s best-known restaurant. Located at the northern end of Patong Beach and sitting safely on top of a cliff, it has a magnificent view of Patong Beach. The view of the sunset here is simply magical. It is no wonder that Phuket is very popular among Filipinos as a honeymoon destination. The view and the food, especially at Baan Rim Pa, will surely put you in the most romantic of moods. And if you are lucky, there just might be an international celebrity at the table near you.
For the past 14 years, the restaurant has been offering the best in royal Thai cuisine, albeit tempered for foreign palates, says media and marketing director Sue Armstrong-Ultmann.
Indeed, if there was one thing noticeable about Baan Rim Pa’s offerings is that they were not ultra spicy hot. We went through a variety of appetizers, including a curiously named Shrimps Sarong, which are prawns that are wrapped in vermicelli noodle and fried to a crisp. Entrées are familiar Thai dishes: Green chicken curry, roast duck curry, chicken pandan and stir-fried vegetables. The variety of flavors belie the claim that all Thai food is spicy.
Baan Rim Pa has since expanded into a complex of restaurants. If you are looking for nouvelle Japanese cooking, then Otowa downstairs is what you are looking for. For authentic Italian cooking, with to-die-for desserts this side of Phuket, Da Maurizio Bar Ristorante at the basement is your best bet.
While Patong Beach has much to offer during the summer months, during low season, the water is strong and choppy. A dip early in the morning is best when the waves aren’t too strong yet. In the afternoon, you can spend time going through the temples around the island and seek the blessing of a Buddhist monk.
Those who want something environmental should consider a trip to James Bond Island.
Yes, James Bond Island. This little sliver of an island has a Thai name (Ko Phing Kan or Leaning Island), but since it figured in the 1970s James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, it has since been known as Agent 007’s island.
The trip to James Bond Island takes about two hours, since Tha Dan, where you can get a boat ride to the island, is at nearby Ao Phang-Nga. The boat ride takes you through Ao Phang-Nga National Park where the different rock formations will surely amuse nature lovers. James Bond Island is located north of the Andaman Sea, so the travel takes you for a few minutes out in the open sea. It is about an hour’s boat ride. The trip, including lunch, is priced at 1,800 baht.
After enjoying yourself silly guessing how James Bond Island was formed, a visit to the nearby Muslim fishing village on Ko Panyi for lunch follows. The village stands in the middle of the sea and is quite a sight. Since the village is Muslim, all meals are halal. Lunch would most likely be a variety of vegetable and fish dishes, which are a relief from all the hot chilies in most Thai food.
For the best beach, a boat ride to Ko Phi-Phi is recommended. Ko Phi-Phi is made up of two islands: Phi Phi Don, which is the bigger of the two, and Phi Phi Leh, which was the location for the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach. Ko Phi-Phi is 40 kilometers away from Krabi, which is east of the Andaman Sea. However, you will have to endure rough sea waters to enjoy Phi Phi Don’s pristine waters and white sand beach. But it is worth the ride. The sun is baking hot, and if a storm cloud should ruin your tan, the rains pass in just a couple of minutes. If you don’t want to just laze around in the sand, you can go snorkeling or scuba diving in the blue waters. All that for just 1,200 baht.
From Phi Phi Don, we bid goodbye to Phuket and took a boat ride to Krabi. Lonely Planet says many of Krabi’s beaches feature shimmering stretches of sand lapped by calm, clear seas and backed by vine-cloaked limestone cliffs. Aside from its beaches, Krabi is now becoming known as the world’s rock-climbing destination.
We were unfortunate to reach Krabi late in the afternoon, so a trip to the beach was out of the question. So we all did the next best thing: Shopping.
Unlike Phuket, which is a maze of roads, Krabi’s downtown area is just a long strip of stores just a stone’s throw from the shore. Dressed casually in your shorts and sandals, a serious shopper will find anything he fancies here. There are a number of outlet stores, as well as shops offering a last chance at souvenir shopping. The stretch is also dotted with restaurants that offer international cooking.
Our home at Krabi was The Cliff Ao Nang Resort, an intimate resort a couple of minutes away from the beach. Designated by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as one of the 50 most beautiful resorts in Thailand, it lives up to its slogan of "Unseen Paradise."
The Cliff only has a handful of cottages, all following the Chaiya-style, a local architecture of squat houses dating back to the Srivichai period. All that would be meaningless for a weary traveler, but once they enter their bungalows they will marvel at how nature has been fully integrated into the design. All rooms have ceiling-to-floor windows that offer a view of a private garden. Bathrooms are located outside the cottage and are given privacy by ingenious dividers utilizing plants. Since the property is barely a year old, the plants haven’t had that much time to grow. For the meantime, plastic screens hide you from your next-door neighbor.
In the morning, you can have breakfast outside your cottage (there are settings provided at each one), but with the early morning shower, we all moved to the dining area. From our tables we were able to contemplate Krabi’s magnificent cliffs that rise above the resort.
The Cliff operations manager Bandid "James" Thipphayanont says the resort is offering discounted rates on its first year to entice guests to come back and see more of Krabi. Indeed, all guests are enjoined to sign their names on the concrete slab that holds up the reception desk. All those signatures must mean so many satisfied customers.
As I went to bed on the last night there, listening to the rain drumming a melody on my bungalow’s roof, it was such a pity that this short trip to Phuket and Krabi was coming to an end. There were more beaches to see, more shopping to do, more resorts to sleep in, and more people to meet. I will have to return here again one of these days.
Thai Airways International flies daily to Bangkok, Thailand. For ticket reservations, call 815-8421 to 27.
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