Impressions I won’t forget from Puck-get

I spent Christmas in Phuket, and returned with an uneven tan and a tubbier midriff courtesy of too many servings of green curry and Pad Thai. 

Instead of staying along the more popular Patong Beach, notoriously famous for it’s nightlife and shopping, we stayed at secluded Cape Panwa, possibly famous for being secluded and having heaps of dead and sharp corals to step on.

During our first night in Phuket, we decided to sample a coconut and banana pancake from a street pedlar outside the hotel.

The end product looked suspiciously like a roti pisang…but bigger on price (RM4) and even bigger on taste…mmmmm

The next day, we made our way to the Phi Phi Islands and ended up on the sandy shores of the famed Maya Bay, made popular by The Beach staring Leonardo DiCaprio. Despite the finest white sands and a breathtaking backdrop of limestone hills, tourism and perhaps the tsunami seem to have destroyed the island’s coral reefs and tour operators regularly throw bread into the sea in an attempt to lure more fish to entertain snorkeling tourist. Frankly I think Phi Phi Island is overrated, even more so as I did not find a huge field of marijuana and AK47 wielding farmers.

Speaking of tsunami – Tsunami: Wave of Destruction is ranked number 1 in the Thai Pirated DVD charts for two years running, beating international blockbusters such as Casino Royale and Happy Feet. The Thais really know how to turn tragedy into money.

I was pretty keen on watching a cabaret show but the men in our group did not want to find out the reason she’s got her legs crossed so tightly.

Instead we spent our last night in Phuket walking around Patong, sometimes forgetting that we’re in an Asian country – there seemed to be more white tourist then locals. I wonder if the locals love Phuket as much as her visitors. I can’t wait to get into the sea again. I love smelling like the beach.

Let’s play a game: Spot another (other than me la!) Asian in the picture above.