Dubai & Phuket
And so began our whirlwind self guided tour of Dubai. The metro was only a 5 minute walk away and circulates most of Dubai. There are only 2 lines so very easy and cheap to use. As it is above ground you get to see all the sights. We kicked off with the Khalifa Tower downtown now the tallest building in the world. Zoomed to the top in under a minute and had fantastic views of the whole area. We then visited the Dubai Shopping Mall with its own aquarium, The Dancing Fountains, the Gold and Spick Souk, Dubai Creek, Palm Island & the Atlantis Hotel. At night we went to Souk Madinat in the Marina area and ate first night at a fabulous Lebanese Resaurant and second night at the Hotel Al Quasir. The food was fantastic in both places.
All too soon our time was over and we headed back to Abu Dhabi for our onward Ethiad code share direct flight with Air Berlin to Phuket. This is such an easy way to get to Thailand.
On arrival our first 3 nights were spent in Kathu which is midway between Phuket town and Patong. This is a little off the tourist trail and a very local area but very accessible. The Phuket Golf Course is also here. We did most of our sightseeing by car and in turn visited & saw so much of Southern Phuket, from Surin Beach to Karon Beach to Patong Beach. We went to the very Southern tip called Promthep Cape (fantastic sea views), back to Chalong Bay and Rawai. We visited Big Buddha and various local temples. At night we ate locally and had excellent good value meals. We went one night to the Phuket Fantasea Cabaret Show which is the story of Siam the old name for Thailand (think The King & I).
We also went for massages and spa treatments and just could not get over the value.
Our next 3 nights were spent at Khao Lak which is in Southern Thailand about 40 KM from Phuket airport. We stayed in the Kantary Beach Villas which are on the most beautiful beach about 3 km long. This was pure paradise. We lolled on the beach, ate lunch and dinner at beautiful beach restaurants with fantastic Thai food and again great value. We did manage to tear ourselves away one night and visit the local night market which was really interesting and a throwback to the sixties.
Our last 5 nights were spent back on Phuket at the 5* Village on Coconut Island which is on the East Coast of Phuket. This was a fantastic resort with amazing views down Phang Na Bay. Our 2 bed villa with pool was just beautiful. Bernie the manager and all the staff at Coconut were brilliant and made us so welcome. Access to the island was by boat from Laem Hin Pier 24 hours a day ( 5 minute trip). We ate most nights at The Village on Coconut as the food was excellent and very good value. Also availed of the nightly 2 hour long Happy hour most evenings and met quite a few ex pat locals. It was very easy to get into the swing of island life here.
We did do 2 boat trips from Coconut. One was to Phi Phi Islands which although beautiful were extremely busy on a day trip. The other was a kayaking trip to the Limestone Outcrops of Phang na Bay including the “James Bond Island”. This trip also included a visit with lunch to a floating Gypsy Village. This was definitely a winner and can be booked at reception. We also went one night to one of 3 floating restaurants nearby and had a fantastic meal with the locals. You could if you wanted rent a fishing rod and catch your own dinner and they would cook it for you.
This was definitely a holiday of a lifetime. If you would like to know more please do not hesitate to contact me.
Niamh.