We made the 3-hour bus ride to Wuxi from Hangzhou on the second day.
At each city we had a change of tour guide. At Hangzhou was a friendly guide by the name of Chang who had been to Malaysia and knew all about durians!
At Wuxi we visited the Hollywood of China called Wuxi Studios. Spanning more that 80k square miles, this is the movie set specially built according to the architecture of the Tang and Han dynasties with palaces, houses, gardens, pastures, gates, rivers, lakes, boats (big and minature) to cater for the shooting of some of the most dramatic Chinese movies like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
We took pictures posing with lotus-filled lakes and ancient Chinese junks built for battle scenes! We visited ancient Chinese homes where supposedly battle strategies were discussed and mapped.
We took a boat ride in one of the Chinese junks and enjoyed the wind and the breeze. The weather was very clear and cooling.
It was here that we watched our second show in the open air theater where guests sat on wooden benches in the circle. The show was about horseman and fighting among the kingdoms with horses, sword-plays, canons and explosions.
After Wuxi studios we were taken to a Pearl showroom. There the tour guide was so eager to make sales that she started the sales pitch even before the sales lady came! Pearl cleansers and creams were going for almost 1.2k RMB!
However some of us bought beautiful pearl earrings for RMB 200, hand-creams made of crushed pearls for RMB 25 per bottle, bangles with pearls for RMB 100.
We hopped onto the bus for our lunch (a spread of 10 dishes or so) and made the next stop at the Zisha Gallery. Here all kinds of tea-pots were sold. Our tour members bought clay lined mugs and vacuum flasks. RMB300 with a free teapot set thrown in!
We got on the bus again for another hour's ride to Suzhou.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Hangzhou & Wuxi
Buffet breakfast at the hotel was simply scrumptious. We ate the local dumplings in soups and tried the noodles and fried rice. We had the local deserts and also local broths. Fruits such as melons and honeydew were common.
In the morning, Seow Wen left us at the Haining China Leather City Mall. The entire mall was dedicated to all things leather - leather bags, leather jackets, leather souvenirs, leather shoes. At the lower ground floor the bags were affordable but as we went higher up we were shocked to find the fur-lined leather jackets were selling at RMB100k!
The other thing we found puzzling about China toilets in an expansive mall like this was that they were all mainly squatting toilets and dimly lighted! In fact of the toilets in other places featured only the steel longkangs!
After the free and easy shopping we were taken to the North Peak mountains and up to a temple (we did not go in). Apparently the point is the highest point in West Lake accessible only by cable car seating 6 people at a time. The view of the green landscape below us while on the cable car was stunning.
After a sumptuous buffet lunch at a revolving restaurant in Hangzhou (giant crab claws, fish with figs, different kinds of nutritious soups, barbecue fish, Beijing duck, barbecue meats, herbal teas, traditional Chinese deserts and many more) we then visited the Long Jing Tea Village for a taste of Hangzhou's famous Long Jing Tea.
"No discount" was the oft-quoted phrase of the tour guide because this was apparently a government funded industry and prices were fixed. We were taken into a room and heard the virtues of AAA green tea extolled to us. The price? A cool RM600 for the best quality green tea! Nevertheless some of our tour mates asked for freebies which were also given!
The accommodation at Wuxi was the Scholars Hotel (a classical hotel) with books as our bedside companion.
Hangzhou on Oct 14
17 of us were greeted by Seow Wen at the Hangzhou airport. She sounded pleasant enough but as the days unfolded we found out that she had quite a sharp tongue!
Although most of the time, I did not understand what she said in Mandarin (in a way I was glad for this) I was happy to be spending time with church friends and my beloved hubby for this October tour. Also it was a good thing that I am quite an anglophile cos I was told by one of my good friend who came with us that she was scolding me during the last day of the tour and I wasn't the only one who got it from her!
It was a great crowd. I really appreciate the Tan family, Suesan and Wilfred (our meal companions) and the other 6-member family who brought along their 80 plus year-old grandma. She needed a small chair to get around (not a wheelchair but more like a push-chair) but she gamely walked up and down, here and there with us whenever she could!
There was also another couple who had a 3-year old son whom they loved very much otherwise they would not have been willing to buy him thousands of RM worth of silk bedding at the Shanghai Silk Museum!
Anyway the moment we were met at the airport we were whisked off to West Lake. The weather was really cooling and wonderful. Although we had to walk quite a bit and my knee started acting up (got to lose weight once I balik kampung) I loved the beautiful and scenic lake.
We brought black corn that tasted hard and crunchy (sold for RMB3 each) and took it on board with us while cruising the lake. The weather was delightful as it was very clear and there was no mist unlike the time when we were in Beijing.
The lake was calm, clear and really very huge. The beautiful willow trees on the banks of the lake were like 'weeping' over the waters. They made really good background for pictures! There were junk-like Chinese boats on the lake and waiting for passengers at the docks.
We had a good dinner before attending the "Night of West Lake Show" described as the most famous indoor real large-scale song, dance and acrobatic show in Hangzhou.
As for the dinner, we had fish, prawns, pork, vegetables, soup, tau-foo, eggs (about 10 dishes). The meal was totally unexpected as Wilfred told us that he went for a very cheap China tour organized by a famous tour agency (about RM1k) years ago and lost 7 kg as a result cos he was only given vegetarian food! Thus the meal was a surprise to him!
The show was fantastic. In terms of quality, backdrop, singing, dancing and acrobatic acts (including flying acrobats) and the finale of 4 motorcycles criss-crossing in a steel glass bowl (very very dangerous) I would say that this show was almost as good as Golden Mask Dynasty. The back-drops featured digital images of spring, butterflies, fire, palaces, farms. The stage also had rain sprinklers and certain parts of it would rise up from the floor with people dancing and singing on it!
We were video-taping away with no one stopping us!
Our hotel was really good in terms of size, comfort, cleanliness and a bathroom with complete accessories like towels, toothbrushes, combs, shower-cream, shampoo etc (Hangzhou Yu Long International Hotel).
Although most of the time, I did not understand what she said in Mandarin (in a way I was glad for this) I was happy to be spending time with church friends and my beloved hubby for this October tour. Also it was a good thing that I am quite an anglophile cos I was told by one of my good friend who came with us that she was scolding me during the last day of the tour and I wasn't the only one who got it from her!
It was a great crowd. I really appreciate the Tan family, Suesan and Wilfred (our meal companions) and the other 6-member family who brought along their 80 plus year-old grandma. She needed a small chair to get around (not a wheelchair but more like a push-chair) but she gamely walked up and down, here and there with us whenever she could!
There was also another couple who had a 3-year old son whom they loved very much otherwise they would not have been willing to buy him thousands of RM worth of silk bedding at the Shanghai Silk Museum!
Anyway the moment we were met at the airport we were whisked off to West Lake. The weather was really cooling and wonderful. Although we had to walk quite a bit and my knee started acting up (got to lose weight once I balik kampung) I loved the beautiful and scenic lake.
We brought black corn that tasted hard and crunchy (sold for RMB3 each) and took it on board with us while cruising the lake. The weather was delightful as it was very clear and there was no mist unlike the time when we were in Beijing.
The lake was calm, clear and really very huge. The beautiful willow trees on the banks of the lake were like 'weeping' over the waters. They made really good background for pictures! There were junk-like Chinese boats on the lake and waiting for passengers at the docks.
We had a good dinner before attending the "Night of West Lake Show" described as the most famous indoor real large-scale song, dance and acrobatic show in Hangzhou.
As for the dinner, we had fish, prawns, pork, vegetables, soup, tau-foo, eggs (about 10 dishes). The meal was totally unexpected as Wilfred told us that he went for a very cheap China tour organized by a famous tour agency (about RM1k) years ago and lost 7 kg as a result cos he was only given vegetarian food! Thus the meal was a surprise to him!
The show was fantastic. In terms of quality, backdrop, singing, dancing and acrobatic acts (including flying acrobats) and the finale of 4 motorcycles criss-crossing in a steel glass bowl (very very dangerous) I would say that this show was almost as good as Golden Mask Dynasty. The back-drops featured digital images of spring, butterflies, fire, palaces, farms. The stage also had rain sprinklers and certain parts of it would rise up from the floor with people dancing and singing on it!
We were video-taping away with no one stopping us!
Our hotel was really good in terms of size, comfort, cleanliness and a bathroom with complete accessories like towels, toothbrushes, combs, shower-cream, shampoo etc (Hangzhou Yu Long International Hotel).
Hangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Shanghai - Overview
Simply awesome!
This Monday to Friday October tour of 4 cities in China really left us gasping for breath.
Firstly we cannot believe the price - RM399 per person for an all-inclusive tour of 4 cities in China with the following:
1. A young tour guide (Mandarin speaking) who offered to refund us the lunch money if we could not make it for lunch on the last day before we boarded our flight.
2. A bus that took us from city to city with a very skillful driver who avoided a massive traffic jam on the way from Shanghai to Hangzhou airport.
3. 3 meals a day including a very expensive buffet lunch (RM140 per person) at a revolving restaurant in Hangzhou with reasonable meals in each city featuring dishes unique to that city or region.
4. 3-shows including a very expensive show involving Chinese acrobats (about RM130 per person), flying gymnasts and dare-devil motorcyclists in a round-glass cage in Hangzhou.
5. Chinese battle enacted life in the Hollywood of China in Wuxi Studios and a delicate dance and song cultural show in Suzhou.
6. Boat cruises in Hangzhou on West Lake, a cruise on an ancient Chinese battleship in Wuxi.
7. The simply beautiful boat cruise in Shanghai on the Hangpu river with the mesmerizing and magnificent display of lights on commercial buildings with ever-changing designs and colors at every turn of the boat
8. Lodging at 4 local international very comfortable 5-star hotels in each city we went to with a clean beds and fully equipped bathroom offering amenities akin to 5 star hotels and daily buffet breakfasts!
We just cannot believe it!
Although flight is on our own, the price is still unbelievable! And to top it all this is our cheapest holiday cos between us we must have spent only about RM300 per person on gifts for family and friends!
One of our tour member mentioned that the tour which was actually worth RM1,399 (actual price) tour must have been sponsored by someone as the RM399 we paid was already busted on the first day! I found out later that it was actually subsidized by the tour agency Bon Holidays.
Shopping was not the "pressure you to buy" type.
We were taken to all the government-linked industries like the silkworm factory (now here is where you can literally touch the squirmy, squishy, squashy blue-green silkworms and watch how the entire silk harvesting process unfold before our eyes), the tea farms where the prices are fixed with no discount as we were told that the tea farms were government enterprises (that still did not prevent our tour mates from asking for freebies) and the Haining China Leather City Mall which appeared to be a government-sponsored initiative!
Whatever it is, we wish to thank Groupon and Bon Holidays for making this possible for us!
This trip equals the quality, the value and the depth of culture we experienced in our June Beijing tour.
The only difference was that we had only 3 shopping stops in Beijing where the selling was hard and fast. In this October tour, there was no hard-selling....it was as though the sales people were just promoting their products and leaving it to us whether we wanted to buy or not. Surprisingly even the medical hall people at TongRen Healthcare did not push Tim too hard to buy the medical package of RMB400 plus per month!
This Monday to Friday October tour of 4 cities in China really left us gasping for breath.
Firstly we cannot believe the price - RM399 per person for an all-inclusive tour of 4 cities in China with the following:
1. A young tour guide (Mandarin speaking) who offered to refund us the lunch money if we could not make it for lunch on the last day before we boarded our flight.
2. A bus that took us from city to city with a very skillful driver who avoided a massive traffic jam on the way from Shanghai to Hangzhou airport.
3. 3 meals a day including a very expensive buffet lunch (RM140 per person) at a revolving restaurant in Hangzhou with reasonable meals in each city featuring dishes unique to that city or region.
4. 3-shows including a very expensive show involving Chinese acrobats (about RM130 per person), flying gymnasts and dare-devil motorcyclists in a round-glass cage in Hangzhou.
5. Chinese battle enacted life in the Hollywood of China in Wuxi Studios and a delicate dance and song cultural show in Suzhou.
6. Boat cruises in Hangzhou on West Lake, a cruise on an ancient Chinese battleship in Wuxi.
7. The simply beautiful boat cruise in Shanghai on the Hangpu river with the mesmerizing and magnificent display of lights on commercial buildings with ever-changing designs and colors at every turn of the boat
8. Lodging at 4 local international very comfortable 5-star hotels in each city we went to with a clean beds and fully equipped bathroom offering amenities akin to 5 star hotels and daily buffet breakfasts!
We just cannot believe it!
Although flight is on our own, the price is still unbelievable! And to top it all this is our cheapest holiday cos between us we must have spent only about RM300 per person on gifts for family and friends!
One of our tour member mentioned that the tour which was actually worth RM1,399 (actual price) tour must have been sponsored by someone as the RM399 we paid was already busted on the first day! I found out later that it was actually subsidized by the tour agency Bon Holidays.
Shopping was not the "pressure you to buy" type.
We were taken to all the government-linked industries like the silkworm factory (now here is where you can literally touch the squirmy, squishy, squashy blue-green silkworms and watch how the entire silk harvesting process unfold before our eyes), the tea farms where the prices are fixed with no discount as we were told that the tea farms were government enterprises (that still did not prevent our tour mates from asking for freebies) and the Haining China Leather City Mall which appeared to be a government-sponsored initiative!
Whatever it is, we wish to thank Groupon and Bon Holidays for making this possible for us!
This trip equals the quality, the value and the depth of culture we experienced in our June Beijing tour.
The only difference was that we had only 3 shopping stops in Beijing where the selling was hard and fast. In this October tour, there was no hard-selling....it was as though the sales people were just promoting their products and leaving it to us whether we wanted to buy or not. Surprisingly even the medical hall people at TongRen Healthcare did not push Tim too hard to buy the medical package of RMB400 plus per month!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Hard Rock Hotel Penang
The cruise ended on Wed. We checked out for Hard Rock on the day itself.
Hard Rock Hotel was really cool and casual from the start. The upsetting thing was that they made us wait for 2 hours getting one of our rooms ready although we were informed that our rooms were upgraded from hill view to sea view!
I decided to ask for a free dinner to compensate for the delay. I learned this from watching the Apprentice. You need to ask for some extras if checking in is delayed as hotels such as Hard Rock has a reputation in the hospitality industry and the comfort of the guests is paramount.
I was glad when the supervisor offered us evening cocktails at the King's Club, a place for the privileged and frequent customers of Hard Rock Hotel.
We had simple meals of spaghetti, fettuccine, prawn fritters, poh piah, cakes and sandwiches and also ordered mocktails and fruit juices. It was as good as a dinner actually and it was on the house!
We then drove down to the stretch of stalls at Batu Feringghi to have a look. It turned out that this place also sells original, branded, fake products. Amanda and I bought 2 longchamps for RM40 plus all in. Well worth it as the longchamp bag is a foldable bag that can be really handy for travel-lovers like us!
Supper was at Mcdonalds. We turned in early as we wanted to go swimming the next day.
Hard Rock Hotel was really cool and casual from the start. The upsetting thing was that they made us wait for 2 hours getting one of our rooms ready although we were informed that our rooms were upgraded from hill view to sea view!
I decided to ask for a free dinner to compensate for the delay. I learned this from watching the Apprentice. You need to ask for some extras if checking in is delayed as hotels such as Hard Rock has a reputation in the hospitality industry and the comfort of the guests is paramount.
I was glad when the supervisor offered us evening cocktails at the King's Club, a place for the privileged and frequent customers of Hard Rock Hotel.
We had simple meals of spaghetti, fettuccine, prawn fritters, poh piah, cakes and sandwiches and also ordered mocktails and fruit juices. It was as good as a dinner actually and it was on the house!
We then drove down to the stretch of stalls at Batu Feringghi to have a look. It turned out that this place also sells original, branded, fake products. Amanda and I bought 2 longchamps for RM40 plus all in. Well worth it as the longchamp bag is a foldable bag that can be really handy for travel-lovers like us!
Supper was at Mcdonalds. We turned in early as we wanted to go swimming the next day.
Krabi long tail boat
From a very exciting, colorful and fantastic show in Phuket we sailed into quiet Krabi.
First time in Krabi, we signed up for the longtail boat trip to see stalactites and stalagmites high up in a cave.This cave was used by the Japanese to hide out during the war. We can see why. It was really high up and cooling. Apparently they found tents and equipment used by the Japanese when hiding out in the cave. Statues of the Japanese and prehistoric man were erected in the cave to remember the discovery. Apparently bones of people were discovered along with pots and pans and even jewelry in the cave when it was discovered, thus leading to the belief that prehistoric man lived in the cave before Christ.
I told the guide, Nick about the Bible story of the flood and Noah's ark. He said that he believed it was possible as fossils and shells were found at the top of mountains making it highly likely that the earth was covered by waters at one time many ages ago.
It was also here that I distributed a number of the tracts I took with me.
After the cave exploration (we had to take a long tail boat to the cave and waded through ankle high waters) we were taken a quiet Krabi island. Here we saw all kinds of fishes among which the most interesting was the puffer fish. The puffer fish could survive out of water for a long time. When taken out of the water, it puffs up its whole body like a small ball. It was so cute. I just could not understand why the Japanese would want to eat it!
We had a delicious lunch of prawns, crabs, mixed vegetables, white tomyum, fried cuttlefish at one of the fish farm where we met our first puffer fish and a long black fish that was the length of a hockey stick but as fat as a pillar!
We sat on tut-tuts, tricycles that could take about 3 people on board. The motorbike riders were elderly weather beaten Krabi-ans. The tut-tuts took us past narrow roads with padi fields, bungalow houses, isolated villages and narrowly missed some iguanas crossing the roads!
We then did some shopping at the Krabi fruit market. Here we saw cauldrons of food cooked like the chap fun ready for the lunch crowd. We saw people packing dishes for their lunch (dinner as well perhaps). The cauldrons were huge!
Amanda bought some clothes here. Tim and I bought some cashews and ikan bilis for gifts to Joseph's parents.
It was really idyllic. Krabi - I will not forget you! I will be back to tour your beautiful islands!
First time in Krabi, we signed up for the longtail boat trip to see stalactites and stalagmites high up in a cave.This cave was used by the Japanese to hide out during the war. We can see why. It was really high up and cooling. Apparently they found tents and equipment used by the Japanese when hiding out in the cave. Statues of the Japanese and prehistoric man were erected in the cave to remember the discovery. Apparently bones of people were discovered along with pots and pans and even jewelry in the cave when it was discovered, thus leading to the belief that prehistoric man lived in the cave before Christ.
I told the guide, Nick about the Bible story of the flood and Noah's ark. He said that he believed it was possible as fossils and shells were found at the top of mountains making it highly likely that the earth was covered by waters at one time many ages ago.
It was also here that I distributed a number of the tracts I took with me.
After the cave exploration (we had to take a long tail boat to the cave and waded through ankle high waters) we were taken a quiet Krabi island. Here we saw all kinds of fishes among which the most interesting was the puffer fish. The puffer fish could survive out of water for a long time. When taken out of the water, it puffs up its whole body like a small ball. It was so cute. I just could not understand why the Japanese would want to eat it!
We had a delicious lunch of prawns, crabs, mixed vegetables, white tomyum, fried cuttlefish at one of the fish farm where we met our first puffer fish and a long black fish that was the length of a hockey stick but as fat as a pillar!
We sat on tut-tuts, tricycles that could take about 3 people on board. The motorbike riders were elderly weather beaten Krabi-ans. The tut-tuts took us past narrow roads with padi fields, bungalow houses, isolated villages and narrowly missed some iguanas crossing the roads!
We then did some shopping at the Krabi fruit market. Here we saw cauldrons of food cooked like the chap fun ready for the lunch crowd. We saw people packing dishes for their lunch (dinner as well perhaps). The cauldrons were huge!
Amanda bought some clothes here. Tim and I bought some cashews and ikan bilis for gifts to Joseph's parents.
It was really idyllic. Krabi - I will not forget you! I will be back to tour your beautiful islands!
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!
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!
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