home of the GoodLorax: travel

Now Jogja, (short darling name for the city :D),is the city I came to visit almost every year, like a pilgrimage of some sort, because it's where most of my relatives from my Mom's family resides.

It is beautiful city so thickly soaked in it's culture and tradition; and I took so many pictures I don't even know where to start.. :P

Let's start from the city in general then. I love this city for it's distinct Javanese architecture, the nook and crannies, their sense of humor, the humble people and the simple but meaningful way of life.

The younger generation in this city tends to be artistic. It's no coincidence. How else would you live your life if the whole community is brewing with thick soul and love for art? Dance, music, crafts from every kind of material possible.. It's the life and blood of this city.

Anyway, since I only have 1 day to spend, I decided to spend it in Kraton (the Jogjakarta Sultan's residence). It's been too long since the last time I went there. And even on that last time (around 20 years ago I think :D); I don't really walked around inside and inhaling the air of pride, honor, dignity, love, loyalty and humility. Those are sentiments and feeling that I get when I walked in the residence of the most honored and respected man in Jogja.

So here's a few snapshots of the palace. It's a very inspiring place to be. The patterns, the colors, the shapes..

Below is picture of the Royal Guards. Dressed ever so charmingly. And they conduct their duty with the best of honors and loyalty. :)

And below is my favourite picture EVER. A photograph of a Jogja princess, who also a dancer. So young, pretty, poise and very graceful.

So, this is our honeymoon trip, 5 months late. :P

But like the wise old men said, better be late than never. :D So .., here we are.

DAY ONE

After only 2 hours of sleep, we arrived at Phuket at 8.25 AM.

And followed by an episode of literally running away from all the taxi drivers offering a rip-off ride for 500-1000 baht; we decided to go out of the Phuket Airport and try to find one car rental company located right opposite of the Airport and compare the prices.

And thank God we found it.

Right in front of the Entry & Exit way of the Airport, already you can see rows of car rental offices, so you`d have a lot of choices. Another good thing about renting a car from the car rental near the Airport is that you can save money either for the taxi to & from the Airport to your Hotel (500-1000 baht, equal to 1 day rent :P); and also money for the delivery and pick up service (so yes, you can have the car delivered/ picked up to your hotel but there will be a fee for that. But sometimes it`s also different for each rental company, and how can you negotiate with them.

Anyway, we picked the car rental called World Car Rental, and the guy who serves us is a bored looking young man called "O". :D I already feel like in a James Bond or MIB movie already. With characters named "J", or "K", or "M"; but here we got an "O". :D

We rent the cheapest car available; a silver Nissan NV, 2 seats, 1600 cc, manual, that looked pretty nice if you look at it from the side, but if you look at it from front, behind or or the inside, you'll know right away why we got that car for only 600 baht a day! :D

After a brief checking on the car's physique, "O" continues to "wash" the car. He splattered the soapy water and scrub-scrub-scrub-spray-wipe; and voila! The car is still half wet and soapy :D, but what the heck. We can't wait to explore the island and meet all the adventures that awaits to embrace us ahead.

So, just stepping into the land of Phuket, not knowing which way to go and just rely ourselves on the basic map we get from the Airport, we start our journey to this beautiful island with the Nissan NV.

First destination, the Hotel. :D Banyan Tree Phuket.

According to O, the way to Banyan Tree is pretty straightforward, and it is! All the main roads are recognised by numbers, so it will be so much easier for us to recognise the road sign to check are we already at the right track or not. The only problem is when we already inside the hotel area, because it`s sooooo big and there are few other hotels, private residences and resorts inside, we got confused along the way. Anyway, we can still manage and after a few wrong turns and asking around, we finally reach our destination.

The staff was very friendly, and I LOOOOOVE the welcome drink (some sweet & refreshing tea colored herbal drink). And the check in process is breezy, and all is done while we sit comfortably in our lounge chair sipping our delicious drink and wipe ourselves with the cold wet fresh scented towel. Sooo.. nice. :)

After resting for a few hours, we decided to go out and buy ourselves some dinner. We stopped at some local weekend market near Kamala Beach and was rewarded with a very satisfyingly cheap and delicious durian (70 baht or S$ 3 for 2.8 kg of durian!!) and also a nice dinner of fried chicken and sticky rice.

DAY TWO

The next day, Hubby and me went bike riding around the resort area, and rest at the beach. It was a pleasant journey, although I got a sore butt the next day. :P After that we`re off to exploring the island! :)

#1st destination; Central Festival Mall
The Cental Festival Mall located just a few km out of the old town Phuket. For me, checking out the Mall is a must to see how the `modern` people this area live. It`s also part of the cultural excursion. And Hubby found out that the price for Nikon SLR is cheaper by S$ 300 than the Indonesian price; and I also learn that BB is also currently very popular in Thailand; but no one is selling the cheap knock-off yet.

#2nd destination; Wat Chalong

As part of our cultural excursion, visiting the temple is a must. Wat Chalong is quite a popular ones. There are 3 temples in the vicinity, along with other smaller buildings. And you can ask the guardian to burn a chinese fire cracker for you to bring good luck and to chase away the evil spirit.

#3rd destination; Rawai Beach

From Wat Chalong we wanted to see the sunset from the best sunset lookout point; the Phrom Thep Cape. But when we almost reach the area, the sun is still high (it`s 4pm). So we decided to stop in the nearby beach, the Rawai Beach, to rest and wait for almost sunset. So Hubby took this opportunity to take a siesta, because driving from top corner to the other far corner of Phuket was very tiring. :P

#4th destination; Phrom Thep Cape

Approaching sunset time, we arrived at Phrom Thep Cape. A place where we can see the best sunset in Phuket, with Andaman Sea and its islands as the foreground. After climbing 3 flights of stairs (a very easy one for someone who took 3-8 flights of steps everyday :P), we finally got there.

#5th destination; Chao Fa Weekend Market

Satisfied with the beautiful sunset, we`re off to our next destination; the Chao Fa Weekend Market. This is a very interesting market selling unbelievably cheap well-designed t-shirts (100 Baht/ S$ 4.5 each!!); and also very cute tanktops at 100 Baht for 3!!!

Hubby also buy some shirts here; and also a cheap baseball cap at 200 Baht. The seller recommends us to go to a weekdays market at the Karon Beach, where it has more selections artworks and Thai souvenirs.

So that`s our next destination for the next day. :) Before going home, we bought 1/2 kg of steamed crabs (no shell) with rice & separate chilli sauce. We eat it in our room and it tasted soooo.. good! :D I never thought that a simple steamed crabs can taste this good, but it is! The meat is so sweet and fresh.

And that concludes our journey for the day. :D

DAY THREE

The next day, we start our day by trying out the pool with all the hydro features; airbeds, swan necks, cross current pool. And was given a complimentary cold water spray mixed with peppermint oil. It`s heavenly!!
Absolutely LOVE it!

And with a promise of trying out the Jacuzzi when we`re back from our day trip, we`re heading out to our first destination.

#1st destination; Patong Beach

We stopped at the Patong Beach because Hubby wants to take a swim at the ocean. The sun is blazing hot.

And I just sat under a shade while Hubby checks out the wave and other facilities (showers). After checking the shower and decided that it`s not adequate to his liking; we went back inside the car and wanted to go see another nearby beach. But sadly, the engine won`t start. Hubby already tried everything, even pushing the car, but nothing works. So we decided not to make the unfortunate events spoiled our mood and leave the troubles to O. O`s men came 1 hour later and get us another car. So then we can continue our journey to Karon Beach.

#2nd destination; Karon Shopping Plaza & Karon Beach

It`s almost sunset when we reach Karon, and everything in the shopping plaza (actually more of a big complex of shops with no aircon and no paved corridors) is soo cheap. I finally get my 100 baht bikini and a lovely gold leaf gilded cho fa for only 350 baht.

Back at the Hotel, we turn on the Jacuzzi and joyfully enjoying the pleasures of the water theraphy in our bodies. :)

DAY FOUR

The next morning we checked out from the Hotel, went straight back to the car rental office, handed over the car back to O and crossed the street towards the Airport. It`s been a wonderful journey and we`re having one of the best times of our lives. :):):)