Sunday, January 21, 2018

#AmazingThailand: Phuket 🇹🇭

This post is so long overdue cause I've been busy with work and sleeping and I’ve been mostly lazy but oh well.
It was around August when I suddenly got the urge to travel outside of the country.
I am taking my "step out of your comfort zone" game so serious. Lol
And for the love of elephants, I decided to go to Thailand.
I thought elephants would just walk around the streets as if it was normal but apparently that is not  true hahaha

Booked a one way ticket to Phuket from Manila, Phuket to Bangkok then from Bangkok to Manila.
It was supposed to be a solo trip for me but my ever loving and caring friends decided to join me at Phuket for the weekend. We were in Phuket November 17th to 20th then I flew solo to Bangkok and I was there till November 23rd.
Mandatory shot lol

November 17th

My flight to Kuala Lumpur was at 12:40 PM (That actually got delayed for I think half an hour or so)
I had to be at the airport by at least 9 AM but I was still working till 7 AM.
I arrived at the airport almost 9 in the morning, paid travel tax then waited for the check in counters to open.


I was a bit nervous cause 1) I was flying alone 2) It was my first time flying out of the country 3) Immigration 4) I WAS FLYING ALONE lol
Luckily, everything went well. Boarded the plane almost 2 in the afternoon.


I arrived at Kuala Lumpur around 5 in the afternoon.
I didn't opt to go out of the airport cause our flight to Phuket was at 7 in the evening. So I just met up with Darwin and Isabel near our gate.
This fleece jacket is the best ever. Bought it from Uniqlo! 
We didn't have check in luggage. Yup, these are our hand carry/cabin luggages. That 7KG limit is a bitch
Isabel & Darwin
There was this cafe near our gate called Cafe Puffy Buffy and they serve Malaysian food. This was technically the first meal I had that day.
We tried Chicken Nasi Lemak Rendang and it was hella spicy. It was good but it was spicy af.

Chicken Nasi Lemak Rendang
We boarded, I think, an hour late than the time we should’ve. All three of us were so tired already that we slept through the flight to Phuket.

Touchdown, Phuket!
There weren't that many people that time at the airport. Maybe because it was late at night, it was around 9 or 10 in the evening. I think this was the last picture I took that day because I didn't have the energy to do whatever anymore. We rented a mini van that costed around THB 180 per person. Dropped us off our hotel. We were supposed to go out that night, look around but we slept in. I had my own room and Darwin & Isabel had theirs.

November 18th
Island hopping day!
We booked this Maya Bay and Phi Phi Island hopping tour on Klook for less than THB 3000 - which was cheap, so we grabbed it.
Our hotel's rooftop. Pool area. (At Patong Hotel)
I usually get tired of island hopping activities but the Klook package we booked was so organized and hassle-free that I didn't feel stressed or whatever.
Ofcourse I just had to have that shot and, luckily, not that crowded in the background
First stop was Maya Bay
The sand was so white and, even if it was crowded, the island is well-maintained and clean

Darwin, Me, Isabel
Oooooooh the beach was so nice. Haha 
Snacks at the boat
Next stop is Phi Phi Island. I didn't really go down and swim cause I already swam at Maya Bay and I was ok with that lol
Boat life
I forgot what this place is called but this is where we had lunch. They said that this island has been washed away by the Tsunami a couple years ago and now it's all brand new 
First of many plates I had lol I had to try the spaghetti. And that chicken is the bomb!! We had tons! That sauce was the cherry on top
After lunch dessert
Saw this kind of flowers all over Thailand. Those orange ones are called marigold
Phuket buddies! Phuket would’ve been boring without these two
No filter. The water really looked like that. I swear.

After the day activities, we walked around to find a place to eat. We found this restaurant along Patong beach called 'Patong Seafood'. The food was ok and the place was nice. Servers were friendly as well.

I was craving for buttered mussels but this was the closest thing we could get 
First try on authentic Pad Thai.. it was okay
Meat wasn’t really that.. meaty. lol wasn’t satisfied
After dinner, We walked around Bangla Road or Patong Beach Walking Street and I swear it was like I was in another world. Lol People asking you if you wanna watch a 'Pingpong show' and they are definitely not talking about the sport, guys! That street was hella packed!

Of course, Darwin and I wouldn't pass the opportunity to experience partying at Phuket, so, we stayed but Isabel went back to the hotel. I can barely remember that night cause.. I got so wasted. Bars shouldn't really offer unlimited drinks. We availed this VIP Unlimited Drinks at Seduction bar for THB 600. I was so wasted, almost sprained my ankle but we managed to walk from Bangla road back to our hotel, safe and sound.

Here's a gif of a video of me dancing with a Panda on Darwin's IG Story lol I don't even remember this happening HAHAHA
November 19th
I woke with a hang over this day. Worst hang over.
Like we had pizza and pasta for lunch but I didn’t eat anything but crust and ketchup cause I feel like throwing up and dizzy. I swear I'm never getting that drunk on out of the country vacations ever again.

After lunch, we decided to just roam around and go to Patong beach and just chill (and let the freaking hang over pass). You can rent a beach bed for THB 100 and there are vendors who will approach you if you want to get some fruit shakes or beers.
Nearest mall from our hotel, Jungceylon
You'll see altars like this all over Thailand
Found out that my aunt and uncle has a similar pic like this hahaha
Wasn't that impress with the water. We didn’t swim either cause nap is life
Hangover remedy!!!! I had the coconut shake and it was awesome 
I look like crap lol
This is totally after my nap pic hahaha
After this, we decided to go back to our hotel and rest a bit. We were supposed to go out for the sunset but we got lazy lol

As for me, I took a nice relaxing bath. I have my own room, King Studio Room, and it was great. The room is spacious. It has a nice view. The bath tub is functional. (I swear I took way too many baths).
I mean.. look at that view
Bubble bath is life
Yup, I had to try McDonald's
After that nice bath, we went out to have our last dinner in Phuket. *sad face*
Darwin already went to Phuket before and he suggested that we should try this must-try restaurant, Restaurant No 6 and he wasn't lying because the restaurant was packed. Luckily, they just opened a new place but it was like 5 minutes away from there. They provided us a service and because we don't like waiting, we opted to just go to the new place.
While we were waiting at Restaurant No 6
Ride to the new Restaurant No 6 branch
And we didn't regret it! The place was so cozy and it was away from the busy streets of Phuket.
Tom Yam Goong which is Thai Prawn Soup 
A vacation is not a vacation without mango shakes
Heavenly Pineapple Fried Rice
THE BEST PAD THAI I HAD EVER
I forgot what was this called.. I think Sweet & Sour Pork? Idk. Lol
Perks of having Darwin is having somewhat candid/impromptu shots like this
After dinner, we went back to the hotel to rest since we all have early flights in the morning. We hung out at Darwin and Isabel's room and went for a quick dip in the pool before we sleep.
Street version of Crepé! Only costs THB 50 and it was super worth the price plus the vendor was so friendly
Overall, our Phuket trip was fun. Sad that Patrick wasn't able to join us cause his passport validity wasn't at least 6 months lol lame. I was really planning on going to Phuket alone, that was why I had a room all to myself cause I booked it prior to Darwin and Isabel's booking. But thinking of it, I can't imagine having that much fun in Phuket without them.

Hoping to more travels with these guys!

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Idle time

I really don't have anything relevant stuff to say.
It's just it's Friday and it seems like everything at work has been fixed or somewhat okay now.
I've been working for 10 hours every day since last week plus weekend work. I even worked for 15 hours the other day because of deadlines. Lol
I still enjoy it though. I just feel so pressured and exhausted.
So glad I got to rest this weekend without anything work-related on my mind.
I can finally continue everything I'm watching on Netflix lol (I know, I'm boring)

So life updates!
Andy and I are in our 8th month. I know. Time flew so fast that it didn't feel like it was that long already. It doesn't feel like we're on our 8th month but it feels like we've known each other forever.
My great grandma is gonna arrive next week.
I'm excited for next month! I will surely blog about it here!!
I miss my friends even if I talk to them on group chats.

One time, Andy and I were talking about my friends. How I have separate group chats for each like:
I have a group chat for my high school best friends. Johnaley and Joey.
I have a group chat for my 3rd-year high school best friends. Johnley and Kerstein.
I have a group chat for my 4th-year high school best friends. Andhe, Kate, Anthony, Yeng, Kelvin & Joseph.
I have a group chat for my college best friends. Darwin, Sabel & Patrick.
I have a group chat for my girls. Mau, Jazmine, Frances & Kelly.
I have a group chat for my two closest friends from work. Nian and Dice.

I know. That's a lot.
I just love keeping in touch with my friends. Lol clingy since birth.
I think, as we grow older, we value the friendships we have in our life even more.
We make it a point to cherish and appreciate each one of them who stayed true to us through the years.

It's not a secret that I lost a couple of close friends in the past couple years.
I still care for them and I wish them happiness even if we're not friends anymore.
The last thing I heard about them was one just got married & had a kid then the other one is busy exploring the world cause she's a flight attendant.
I still have love for them but I have accepted that as you go through life, you will lose some people along the way and that all happened for a reason.
You can never force friendships and you should never try to.
"If you're not losing friends, you might not be growing up"
(^ read that somewhere)

LOL
So, yeah, I love every single one of my friends.
I can say that I finally got my circle sorted out this year.
No more of that bs, just da realessssst. Cheers!