Phuket Fantasea

If you haven't seen Phuket Fantasea then you haven't seen Phuket or even the cultural aspect of Thailand.

We decided that we were not going on any shopping trips as per previous but we decided to watch Phuket Fantasea. Never mind if we had to get down at 4 pm when the ship had docked at 9 am in the morning. Never mind if we had to get home minutes before the ship sailed for Krabi. Never mind if this was the most expensive of all the tours. We had to see Phuket Fantasea.

Anyway let's start from Monday morning. 

At 6 am in the morning while it was dark, I went up the highest level on the ship and walked a few rounds. The wind was absolutely relaxing and I had a wonderful time with the Lord. I also met a group of 12 from PJ - Catholics who prayed with the rising of the sun! I was to bump into the group a few times during the trip.

I then did my devotion and the 40 day prayer and fasting prayer focus. The sun began to rise from behind dark clouds. It was an awesome sight. Believe me there is nothing as beautiful as sunrise on a ship!

We decided to have a continental breakfast at Four Seasons. 3 restaurants serve free meals on the ship. Four Seasons - European cuisine. Ocean Palace - Chinese cuisine and Mariner's Buffet which services an international cuisine. You can eat 5 meals a day on a cruise and still be hungry because there is just so much to do to work off the calories.

We had a lovely leisurely breakfast of eggs, tea and fruits. Nothing much but very filling.

At 9 am we had a dancersize with the crew to the tune of Gentlemen. Now I had earlier thought that because of the name Gentlemen, the dance exercise was only for men! How naive I was! Gentlemen was actually Psy's latest song! Anyway I think gangnam dance steps are so much easier! I love line dancing or simple dance steps as it is the best form of low impact exercise for me.

You see I suffered mild arthritis after my trip to Beijing. The doctor prescribe me Viatril-S. After taking it for 2 months, the condition of my knee improved. He said that the arthritis was due to age and it was normal. In fact there was a crick sound when he moved my knee! Getting old! However after a 2 month dosage, the sound left my knee.

Tim and the children went for a dip in the jacuzzi in the blazing heat. Me....I chickened out as I forgot to bring my swimsuit. I watched TV till 4 pm....the time to leave the ship for Phuket.

At 4 pm we were guided off the ship and taken to a van. About 11 of us had signed up for Phuket Fantasea.

I guess the small number must be due to the fact that this was the most expensive tour organized for Phuket.

We had a friendly tour guide who spoke American English by the name of Woody. He allowed us to go shopping at Patong beach and a shopping complex in Phuket before taking us to Phuket Fantasea.

We were told by the ship entertainment director that we could buy original branded fake stuff at Patong beach. He was right! The choices were just mind boggling. The haggling was fierce and furious. Amanda bought a Jimmy Choo wallet for RM30. I almost wanted to buy a Jimmy Choo handbag for RM70. Decided not to at the last minute as I had just ordered an Oppo bag from Living Social.

Phuket Fantasea is about 40 minutes away from Patong. When we reached the place it was packed with people. 

Some amazing things:

1. A musical mountain at the entrace. Rows of lights on a mountain forming shapes of musical instruments that played music became a favorite picture taking spot. The musical instruments looked like the traditional instruments. I just could not describe them.

At the little lake below the mountain, fat (I mean really fat) goldfish of many lovely golden, white and orange colors swam happily.

2. We went inside the Phuket Fantasea cultural village. Now this is a village like no other. Shops had beautifully colored facades. At first look they did not look like shops. They look like fancy buildings from a children's story books! 

3. There was a sort of like a miniature zoo housing a white tiger. After dinner at the biggest restaurant in Asia (really humongous) we went through dark tunnels and caves to see the most beautiful pair of white tigers ever seen! I have seen white lion at Bukit Gambang (not exactly white) but these tigers are really white!

4. The Kinnaree restaurant serves the best tom yum. I mean the best. The food was absolutely scrumptious. Dot said that it was even better than the ship. I just loved the tom yum soup!

5. Phuket Fantasea started at 9 pm (Phuket time). We had good seats. The show was fantastic. Elephants marched in. Thai dancers in resplendent costumes of ancient Thai kingdoms danced all over the stage. The dancing actually told a story but I could not make it out. I just knew that the magic shows interwoven with the dancing were funny and comical. The dancing was really beautiful, full of Thai charm and grace. There was a part where pictures of the smiling Thai people were shown. It was like a patriotic concert like no other!

I particularly like the bamboo dancing which was executed with great finesse. Elephants performed sit-ups, waved their ears, marched with their tails linked to each other, put their feet on each other's back. Chickens ran in rows along the stage in a village scene. Kambing or goats jumped over obstacles. Birds flew in pairs over our heads. Rain also fell on the stage!

I really like the padi harvesting dancing and singing scene. They sang in Thai but it was so lively and sweet and captivating and really sweet!

The finale was a magic show of a live elephant dissapearing on stage!

All I can say is if I come for another cruise, I would like to watch this show again in Phuket!