Half Day X No Stay: Eating Along The Way

half-day Melaka eating trip

wasn’t really a good day

traffic jam all over

queue all over

 

fortunately

turned out to be fine

covering the major hotspots and food

positive feedback from the “participants”

 

the easier way is to

dine at the off-peak hours and

have as much walking as possible

• avoid driving and got stuck on the road
• the difficulties of finding parking lot
• sight seeing along the way
• faster digestion for the next meal

 

checklist:

late lunch: pork satay @ Kampung Hulu

walk: Holiday Inn – Pahlawan Mall

high tea: Nadeje mille crepe / sold off

walk: back to Holiday Inn

early dinner: Satay Celup @ Jalan Ong Kim Wee

walk: Kota Laksamana beach

2nd dinner: Pak Putra Naan / Raya break

walk: Melaka River front

pre-supper: ordering fried oyster at Bunga Raya

walk: Bunga Raya – Jonker Street

dessert: Cendol @ Jonker Walk

walk: Temple Street – Kampung Hulu

pre-supper: in time to collect fried oyster, no waiting

 

 

eating at the not-so-famous Satay Celup store

the baby abalone mushroom tastes great

 

simple Cendol

love to have it here

partly thanks to the

“For Display Only” collection here

 

a tummy to feed

get a local to lead

half day is all you need

it will be worthy indeed

Deep Blue X Day Route: Phi Phi Cruise

8.00 a.m. Rassada Harbor

 

8.30 a.m. Taking off

 

9.30 a.m. towards the deep blue sea

 

10.15 a.m. - Phi Phi Don

dropping off for those who are taking

day tour package

 

10.40 a.m. ___ Bay

one of the bays

I am not too sure whether this is

Loh Samah Bay or Pileh Cove

 

the filming site of The Beach is at Maya Bay

which is at the other side

 

towards 12 p.m. - Viking Cave

There were found some paintings

that are believed to be made by the ancient vikings.

Today in the cave

there is lots of bird nests that

the locals collect for the birds nest soup.

 

therefore

here lies the difference

for the 2X price you are

paying for a speedboat package

can actually get closer to the cave

the same applies to Maya Bay

 

after 12 p.m. – Monkey Beach

snorkeling around Monkey Beach

 

this is where waterproof camera

comes in handy

for the snorkeling purpose

and also the beach

since we had to swim to the beach

 

but I don’t swim

floated there

with the help of my manager

 

12.30 p.m. - Ko Phi Phi Don

lunch + free and easy for two hours

my buffet lunch

feels so good to have food

after the long floating on the sea

 

largest of the Phi Phi Islands

the only island in the group

with permanent inhabitants

 

it is indeed small

yet it is “double-sided”

one side of the island

where the pier is

is known as Ton Sai Bay

 

the other side of the island

lohdalum Bay,

recreational beach

 

2.30 p.m. departure from Ko Phi Phi Don

back to civilization

 

afternoon siesta and sunbathing

listening to the daddy sitting behind me

entertaining his son

 

4.30 p.m. back to the harbour

 

mini van transport back to Patong

reaching after 6.00 p.m.

due the heavy town traffic

 

along the way to and fro the harbour

is Patong Old Town

which is quite worth-seeing as well

 

got a rough idea

of how the town is like

before venture on the day trip on bus there

Walking Around X Heritage Found: Phuket Old Town

 

---

Getting-in

sign up for a Phi Phi package

hotel-pier transfer would be included

 

- Book online:
http://www.phiphi-seaangel.com/tour.htm

-local tour agent:

 

pick-up from hotel is at 7 a.m. sharp

because the pier is quite far from the beach

and the cruise takes off at 8.30 a.m.

 

two type of packages are available:

Speedboat	Versus	Cruise
S-P-E-E-D	speed	easy-breezy
less passengers, better photos	flexibility	walk and look around on the deck
stop-by at minor islands	destinations	two stops for snorkeling and lunch only
2X the price	price	affordable

Bare Feet X Tropic Heat: Patong Picnic

the sea, the sky

and may be the both

 

the sand

 

the sunset

 

the picnic basket

 

the people

 

the doggies

 

M for the memory

Walking Around X Heritage Found: Phuket Old Town

Sino-Portuguese architecture

which pretty much reminded me of home

 

similar to the Straits Chinese cultural  

a blend of localized Chinese practice

with affluent colonial influence

 

Local Eateries:

a get-away from “globalized” restaurants and

fast-food outlets at Patong

 

---

Getting In:

take a mini bus or songthaew

to and fro major beaches:

the service runs till 6p.m.

the bus stop is near the roundabout

 

Airport Transfer Bus:

the most affordable way to travel

since there’s only one route

unfortunately

it doesn’t directly bring you

to the major beaches

 

the final stop at Phuket Bus Terminal

you have to transfer to a local bus

 

If you are of the hiking/backpacking type,

the local bus station,

which will take you to Patong etc.

is about twenty minutes away.

 

When exiting the bus terminal,

make a right onto Phang-Nga Rd.

Continue down Phang-Nga until

it terminates at Yaowarat Rd.,

then turn left.

 

Within a few steps

you will see a roundabout.

(the same roundabout mentioned above)

 

Once at the roundabout, keep right.

 

By keeping right, you will find Ranong Rd.

Within 100 to 200 meters

you will find the local bus stop.

 

for more info

http://www.airportbusphuket.com/

once again

giving it a miss to visit

a Thai weekend market

 

---

Phuket Jatujak (Chatuchak) Weekend Market:

Opening Hours:

Every Saturday and Sunday from

mid afternoon until 21:00

Location:

Near Wat Naka on Chao Fa West Road

 

if you are taking the city bus

look out for the the Central Festival Mall.

 

get off at this junction, then head south -

look for the Dara Hotel,

you can see it from the junction,

a colourful building -

 

walk past that and about another 800m,

the turning to the left leads to the market -

follow the crowds!

http://jamie-monk.blogspot.com/2008/03/weekend-market.html

 

so far yet so near

I was at the junction

on the bus back from Phuket town

the colourful Dara hotel

at the background

 

yet thinking that

bus service back to Patong runs till 6p.m. only

we decided to give up

and went for a final picnic on the beach instead