something adventurous: Phuket Day 2

Hi guys!

From the intensive exploration and comparison of prices, we settled on a package for Day 2 morning - 1/2 hour of Adventure Thrill Vehicle (ATV) which goes to the Big Buddha, 1/2 hour of elephant trekking and 1 hour of Treetop Xtreme (high elements) with hotel transfer. On brochures, you will see a fixed price of 2,800 baht per adult (given the exchange rate at that time of SGD 1 to 25.46 baht, that's equivalent to SGD 110) but as I mentioned in the last post, you need to BARGAIN! And we got it at 1,900 baht per pax (SGD 74)!!! Yep, that's a great difference of $36!

We started off with ATV; there was a short orientation with how to maneuver the vehicle, like how to accelerate and brake and get a feel of riding it. It was super easy; all those prior motorbike/driving experience is not needed! Afterwards, we drove along the hill road up to the Big Buddha and U-turn back down. Although it wasn't as adventurous as we thought, like going into muddy areas and rocky tracks, we enjoyed a clean ride with the scenic sea view, cool morning breeze and cute elephants along the way. The weather had been kind on us for the 4 days that we were there:) Rained when we needed it and clear sunny day when it should.

By the way, it is recommended to be appropriately clothed when you visit the Big Buddha, as a form of respect, especially if you were to take a private bus or ATV up. However, if you were to hike up and get sweaty and all, it's alright to stick to your sportswear or anything comfortable as they will provide a sarong and scarf to cover up 'too-exposed' areas. We didn't know that before the visit, so you can see us wrapped in a sarong below. There is also a short video of the ATV ride.

Proceeding with elephant trekking, it was quite a scary ride, being unstable and high up off the ground. Some additional knowledge that we got from the tour guide: most elephants there are females because they are more tamable than the males, and their pregnancy is 22 months long! We saw one that was 4 months into pregnancy and it looked so big already! What will it be like when it's 22 months?

I felt kinda bad for the elephants actually. I don't know if they felt anything when we sat on them but it's sad to see the elephants not have their freedom and have to 'work', even if they are old or pregnant. I met a baby elephant too! It was cute and naughty, all, but like the mothers, it's disheartening to see it chained and beg for bananas.

It's a dilemma actually. Although it's unnatural for the elephants to live this kind of life, it is this kind of work that sustained their living. I guess it's tougher for animals nowadays to really live the way they used to, especially with civilisations everywhere and human greed. Just really how much has the human race impacted on nature and everything else? I really hope all current protected wildlife reserves will remain as long as possible. Wildlife reserves as in REAL huge natural habitats of animals cordoned off from civilisation, and not artificial construction of the like. If these real habitats are not preserved, what will the animal world be like in 50, 100, 200 years' time? All animals, except fishes and birds, only exist in cages and restricted by chains? Common animals, like elephants and tigers, become extinct? Zoos and small nature reserves are what that's left? We conquer the land of animals so that the human race can thrive. We hunt them to satisfy our material needs. Yet, after having so much more, we behave worse than animals - loss of graciousness, lack of unity, unnecessary conflicts and wars... What do we really gain?

Oops, I kinda went too far off the track. So... let's move on to Treetop Xtreme! Yep, basically it's just high elements. They do have good equipment, safety R&R and briefing, and ONE watchman to ensure general safety but... that's the maximum safety you can get. You do the buckling your own while you progress along; there's no stopping even when it rains (which we did!); as I mentioned, there's only ONE watchman on the ground. So... you are literally on your own up there, regardless of rain or shine. I must admit it's really a very interesting experience to do high elements in the rain. You will never be able to do that in Singapore and it's more challenging! Furthermore, unlike Singapore's, their high elements trail is among the trees - you are surrounded by Mother nature, which includes insects and small animals like geckos!

Generally, their service was good. There were lockers to keep your belongings; water is provided after every activity; hygiene is well-maintained with new shower caps underneath helmets; they seldom try to sell you extra stuffs so you don't have to bring too much money out; most importantly, they are very friendly and caring. This is true throughout all activities, not just Day 2's activities.

With that, our Day 2 morning ended. We went back to the hotel to wash up and rest a while before setting off to Phuket Town for lunch and more shopping. Transport down to Phuket Town was 500 baht (bargained from 600 baht). Lunch at Phuket Town Expo 'restaurant' was average; 70% of my Phad Thai is made up of taoge (beansprout)... And that cost me 120 baht, together with a super thick, powdery and a-lot-of-ice iced chocolate. Forget that. It's shopping time!

There are two places that you can go: Expo itself and Phuket Square, which is next to Expo. Each has its own style of clothing but Expo has a lot more variety and things are cheaper. Expo has everything from socks to lingerie to (both men and women) clothes and shoes to apparels to souvenirs to food. Do bargain and compare prices from different stores. I just can't emphasize this enough. Bargain tips: have a price in mind, start bargaining with an even lower number and slowly raise it to your desired price. Most people bargain from the half way mark but gave up when the sellers don't budge or lower too little. But I would say, don't torture yourself! If you really like that piece, have a reasonable price in mind and don't think too much about how much you can reduce. Let's say, a 500 baht shirt looks like it's worth 350 baht, don't be greedy to lower it to 250 baht! If the seller stops at 360 baht or, if you're lucky, slightly below 350 baht, TAKE IT! You had a discounted price and the seller gets his/her fair share: win-win! They need to make a living too, so be reasonable.

On the other hand, Phuket Square satisfies mainly female youths and office ladies. The designs there are more trendy and of course, the prices are slightly higher. The sellers wouldn't lower the prices too much as well. But I must say, the quality is also better and you would definitely be willing to pay more for the clothes at Phuket Square. So, be reasonable and don't compare these two malls. They sell different things! FYI, Phuket Square is just a stretch of shops, so don't worry about spending too much money there. I spent more at Expo. Hehe...

Lingerie x 2 sets: 285 baht each
Dress: 240 baht
Black blazer: 260 baht
ATV photo: 200 baht
Elephant tusk necklace: 250 baht

And finally, we used 600 baht to go to Banana Walk from Phuket Town. Banana Walk is along Bangla Street, the street outside our hotel. Our motive of going there was to have dinner at Fuji Restaurant! Having Japanese food in Thailand... anyway! It was so awesome that we didn't take much photos! Hahaha. We spent about 2,000 baht in total and had a feast! There were so much dishes that I don't where to start. My favourites were the cheese sticks (known to be good and it is!) and saba fish (ERMAGAWD!). The atmosphere was very good too, very soothing and relaxed.