Jbr - July 19-26 2007

I wanted to take this opportunity to do a JBR in return to all those who have done so in the past. It has helped and enhanced our trip immensely reading everyone%26#39;s tips so I want to return the favour.

We are a family of 4, with 2 kids ages 8 and 5, first time in Phuket.

We flew from BKK to Phuket with Air Asia, no problems however was delayed on the return back to BKK by 2 hours. So, perhaps if you wish to avoid the chance of delays book flights that leave in the morning as opposed to evenings.

HOTEL

We stayed at Ramada Karon, Adventure room (Underwater theme) with connecting door to ours. Very happy with it. The kids enjoyed the fish tanks with live fish, the noise of the pumps in the tank didn%26#39;t annoy them. Our room was comfortable, King beds and a balcony.

The kids had their own TV/DVD and playstation with games to play with and their own bathroom. The hotel also lends DVD players for free to us so we can test the DVDs that we bought.

Hotel also had internet access at one of their cafes, 15 mins for 20B, or if you have coffee they give you 1 hour for 40B. Breakfast were good, typical buffet style, also catering for asian tourists so there were choices that seemed strange first thing in the morning. My 8 yr old son moved from cereals to having fried noodles for breakfast!! I%26#39;ll do a review in the hotel

MR SAM

We spent a great day out with Mr. Sam, he was very amiable and so great with the children. Please don%26#39;t hesitate to book him he would make your day memorable. The children and I learnt so much. Briefly this is where he took us: -

Rubber Tapping show

Koh Chang (Elephants)

Kata viewpoint

Phrom tep Cape Viewpoint

Many different beaches

Wat Chalong

Phuket Town (and Phuket View restaurant at Rang Hill)

Siray Island (wild monkeys and visit to Sea Gypsy village)

Along the way, he would stop the car and order different things for us to try such as fried bananas, fried sweet potato chips, fried sticky rice balls with bananas inside (they didn%26#39;t look good but boy did they taste great!). He bought different fruits from the local markets for the kids to try as well - mangosteens and longans. He was sweet also buying souvenir trinkets for the children, which I know is insignificant but the the thought was there and we appreciated it.

Phuket Sail tour with Captain Mark

Another fabulous day! Once again, Mark was awesome with the children, for families, please don%26#39;t hesitate to go it is an unforgetable day out. We shared the day with 4 other Aussies, great bunch. Thanks for your wonderful company and thank you for playing along with the treasure hunt that Mark orgnised for the kids. My son is allergic to peanuts so Ya catered for him, the kids loved the fried chicken! My 5 year old daughter was spooked about exploring the caves but Mark was very patient and eventually she came around and happily took the flashlight and ventured in. The picnic lunch was so yummy, I wish we could have eaten more but we probably stuff our faces with the fried chicken. My son, kept saying ';This is the life, I tell you!'; and frankly we agreed! Captain Noi gave him an opportunity to steer the boat on the way back but we just kept going around in circles. A definite highlight for us!

Phuket Fantasea

We left to do this on our last night because we really didn%26#39;t plan to go except we met other people and how they raved on about it so we decided to go. Mmmm, the kids loved all the lights and arcades but by the time we sat down in the theatre, they both fell asleep and couldn%26#39;t be woken up!! I think the last 7 full days had taken its toll and they were buggerred. LOL. Look, it%26#39;s our opinion but I think it was just ok, we really didn%26#39;t think much of seeing animals on stage, after awhile, whilst everyone around was cheering and clapping, both my husband and I were sharing looks of cringe factor!

General stuff

Karon Beach was great and expansive, lots of waves and unsafe for swimming at this time of the year. However, the beach behind Club Med at Kata was perfect. We spent a wonderful day out there. It was safe for the children to swim in and more family friendly. I would not hesitate in returning to stay at this part of Phuket next time.

Patong is not something to rave on about. We only ventured there for eating out and shopping and glad to return back to Karon. We bought our DVDs from a couple of sources, a tailor opposite Sabai Sabai restaurant at Soi Post office (nearest corner to McDonalds) but he has a limited choice, happy to return 1 faulty DVD out of the 16 we purchased. Another better one to go to is Mr Nok/Mr Noon next door to Ocean Plaza on the beach road section, better selection. We were led by a boy of about 12 and he was honest to us about the quality, a man came afterwards with other people and he was not as honest to them, saying everything was good. I caught the boy%26#39;s eye and he would shake his head to us without the other man seeing. We bought over 60 at this place and all tested fine.

Jetskiing cost 1000B for 30 mins, hairbraiding 300B for my daughter. DVDs all 60B. Re: bartering, I don%26#39;t mind paying extra when we enjoy the banter with the shop keepers. We are always smiling and polite and if they are the same then we buy from them. However, I refuse to buy from those that are too pushy and rude, just choosing to walk away. Since we are spending another week in Bangkok, we didn%26#39;t do much shopping here.

Eating out - Breakpoint had great staff, very good with children but the food at Sabai Sabai were better. Dino Park restaurant was good but didn%26#39;t get to play mini golf as it poured down with rain that night.

Weather, probably rained a couple of times but only lasts for a max of 15 mins during the day. The kids enjoyed swimming in the rain, certainly can%26#39;t do that back home.

Tuk Tuks/Taxi are a rip off! So come with an open mind. In BKK, I paid 260B (incl. tolls) from hotel to the airport and was getting charged 250B from top of Karon to Patong (Holiday Inn end, any further up its 300B one way) were charging us min of 800B for an airport transfer from Karon and was unwilling to negotiate. It should only cost 470 on the meter from the airport.

Well, in conclusion, will we return? Yes we would, the kids enjoyed it, perfect time to go, everyone says its the low season but I hate to be there during the high season, I don%26#39;t think we would enjoy it as much.

Cheers,

dcrv

Jbr - July 19-26 2007

Thanks for such an informative and honest report, we went in April and are definitely keen on heading back in low season next time.

Lee

Jbr - July 19-26 2007

Hi DCRV,

Thanks for your report, i am very interested in taking a drive to Si-Ray Island , can you give me some more information please?

Cheers,

Stewie.

Thank you for your report, it was an excellent read. Sounds like your children really enjoyed their day out with captain Mark, I really want to do this as well but thought it might be a bit too much with a 5 year old....I really think I should email Captain Mark as it does sound great. Thanks again, Rene

Hi Rosemarie,

Glad to hear you had a great holiday. Ramada Karon sounds like a great hotel for kids - I%26#39;m sure lots of people will be interested in it now,

Welcome home,

Sandy

StewiePerth, unfortunately I don%26#39;t have any other info about the island. Mr. Sam took us there, certainly quite small and you can drive around it in just 20 minutes. The wild monkey experience was good but if you are going to Bangkok, I suggest you do the Fishing Village with Tong. The wild monkeys there were awesome! (Still in BKK atm so will do my JBR on this when we return home).

SandyL, thank you so much for lending me your Thai SIM card. Will return it when we get back in a few days time, the exp date is now 15th Dec.

Friday Night BBQ (no. 7) I almost forgot about this!

As Cathy mentioned in her photo album, this did turned out to be a kids night, my kids loved it so much, within half an hour my daughter asked if we can come back again the next night. They didn%26#39;t have any problems climbing that pole.

Cheers again,

dcrv

Rene, your 5 year old will be fine, my kids are usually active and I was worried about them in a sailboat, but it is perfectly safe, I initially insisted in the first hour for both kids to wear lifejackets but relaxed after that.

Thanks for that. I often wondered had any one taken a five year old along. The oldest two are 12 and 10 and I knew that they would be fine, just was a bit worried about the 5 year old. It all sounds good, thanks.

Rene

dcrv,

Great report... really enjoyed reading it... Cant wait to hear about your Bangkok experiences and more importantly the Fishing Village...

Safe travels home

Love Reet xxxxx

Hi There,

If you don%26#39;t mind me asking how much is Mr Sam for the day.

Thanks

Gardie

Hi,

Mr Sam charges 1500 baht a day. He will tailor the trip according to your requirements.

Great JBR dcrv, sounds like you had a fabulous time.

Sarah

xx