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My experience in Club Med Phuket, Thailand

Apr 152012

Believe it or not, I’ve never been to a Thai girl show. Never.

fire

I’ve lived in the Red Light District in Amsterdam, risked life and limb while backpacking Eastern Europe to follow a couple of guys I just met to see the darker side of Georgia, but as for Thai girl shows, it still remains on my bucket list.

I’ve been to Thailand a lot of times. It was just a series of unfortunate events that made me miss the famous shows our neighboring country has to offer.

This is my fifth trip to Thailand.

water yoga

I was there to check out the newly renovated and revamped Club Med Phuket in Thailand last month. This is my very first time at a Club Med resort and the legendary Club Med hospitality with the GOs interacting with the guests was a pleasant surprise for me.

beach

You don’t feel like you’re in Phuket (which can get a bit rowdy) at all. You’re greeted at the airport and as a GE, whisked away to the village. The serenity in Club Med makes it insular – in a good way, since you can always head out to the low end party scene of Bangla Road whenever you want and come back to the lap of luxury. ;)

trident

I like the little touches at the resort – the Club Med trident in the ash trays are so much like cappuccino art, with a fresh orchid.

bar

This is the poolside bar where you can order whatever you want. Club Med is all-inclusive, that’s part of the appeal – you can eat and drink as much as you want – it’s all included in the price.

pool

The Oval Concept Bar is a great place to chill out – there’s an awesome view of the ocean and most of the resort, including the swimming pool.

water

The main pool is the hub of lots of water activities like water yoga. It’s a great place to lounge and chat with fellow guests and GOs too! :)

refreshment bars

There’s fresh coconut juice and snacks in thoughtfully placed refreshment stations as you stroll about the huge resort…

snacks

I’ve even come across desserts at tea-time which I took the opportunity to sample. I ate a lot during my stay at Club Med. If it wasn’t for all the activities, I’ll have gained quite a few kgs by the time I got back. Heh.

cold towel

There were even cold towels handed out by the friendly GEs to wipe yourself with in the humid temperature of Phuket.

You just cannot beat that.

golf

There are also activities that you can participate in every day – everything from golf lessons to snorkeling, whatever rocks your boat. Pun intended.

flying trapeze knee hang

I made it my personal mission to master the flying trapeze. You can see my efforts here and during the 4D/6N (we flew in at night) I’ve only missed my lessons once.

I got to know the Circus GOs (which stands for Gentils Organisateurs, or Gracious Organizers) and finally managed to do backflips and catches, which was worth all the pain of waking up with aching muscles.

cert

I still have my certificate!

smaller boat

We also went snorkeling on the very last morning. The GO offered us Dramamine pills for sea sickness – individually wrapped – again, it’s the little touches like this that makes you feel welcome.

larger boat

We went from a small longboat to a large ship before anchoring at a nice spot…

boat

…and spent a good 45 minutes under the water.

snorkling

I really liked that too – the water wasn’t very clear that day, but it was fun! I love being in the water – it’s so peaceful.

archery

There are a lot of free activities in Club Med Phuket – one thing you won’t be while you’re there is bored.

paths

The adults-only Zen Pool is a new addition which offers a view of Kata Bay.

zen pool

Yes, you can swim inside, it was officially opened when we were there. You can also get cocktails and lounge by the relatively quiet poolside while reading a book or just enjoying the ambiance.

payot spa

I had a massage right after I got my flying trapeze certificate – a very apt reward. :)

club med payot

The new Club Med Spa by Payot makes you feel relaxed just by walking in.

club med spa

I was quite impressed that the spa of the Club Med village in Phuket is one of the few that’s done by Payot. Payot is a French luxury brand and their spas are legendary.

massage

The masseuse worked through all my sore muscles and the spa only use Payot products.

roses

There’s singles and couples massages with a wide range of treatments. It’s part of the newly completed renovation and a very welcome addition. :)

chu da

We had dinner in conjunction with the launch of the newly renovated Club Med Phuket at Chu-Da restaurant. It’s a completely new 98-seater restaurant and we all got a purple scarf as the theme of the night.

person

Chu-Da is a specialty restaurant that’s also free but requires booking and is adults-only. It’s perfect as a more private dining experience and the pavilions at the al-fresco dining area is very comfortable. I saw a person in a boat of the Zen pool inside the restaurant and thought it was a prop…but no, it was an actual person. Heh.

I gorged myself on Alaskan King Crab that night.

longest domino cocktail

This is probably the longest domino cocktail I’ve ever seen.

Watch it fall!

Club Med is also famous for their nightly performances. These can range from heavily themed circus acts to parties.

beach party

My personal favorite was the beach party.

fire twirling

There were fire twirlers…

wish

…and lanterns you can send off into the skies with a wish!

My wish didn’t come true, but I like to think of it as it *hasn’t* come true yet. Thanks for helping me record an ~~emo~~ personal moment Ji San. Haha. :)

phuket 2012

It was the perfect way to end a perfect trip. :)

P/S – A bunch of us went out to Bangla Road on the very last night but it was closed due to it being Buddha Day. It was like a ghost town. Thus, the Thai girl show experience is still in my bucket list.

club med

Nevertheless, it was an awesome and unforgettable experience at Club Med Phuket. There are a lot of resorts coming up with similar concepts but nothing beats the original Club Med hospitality. Thanks Kelsey, Kelly and all the GOs from Club Med and Ji San, Kenny, May Kay, Celia and Charlotte who came on the trip! I had a blast! :D

Suit up!

Phuket, Thailand, Travel 31 Responses »

Mar 282012

suit in phuket

I got a tailored suit for THB 6,500 during a recent trip to Phuket. I chose a design from a “Versace 2012” catalog. It’s a fashionistas dream – the suit making industry is so advanced in Thailand that they even had a catalog for Armani dated 2014. ;)

suit up

It took a bit of haggling but we brought the price down by about THB 1,000 (RM 100) each. I had three (very rushed) fittings before the suit was ready. The last time I got a full suit done was a good 7 years ago so I reckon this RM 650 two-piece is worth the price.

barney suit

I shall call this the Barney suit in honor of Mr. Stinson. This is the HIMYM opening credits pose. :D

I'm flying high on the trapeze!

Best of sixthseal.com, Phuket, Thailand, Travel 33 Responses »

Mar 182012

flying-trapeze

I got to experience the flying trapeze at Club Med, Phuket – it was a natural calling, being attracted to all things with an adrenaline factor in it. It’s one of those things that looks easy but it’s actually quite hard. I was at the flying trapeze almost every single day, aching in muscles I didn’t even know I had, wanting to perfect my technique and be a flyer.

flying trapeze training

The Circus GOs (Gentle Officers) are really big on safety so they see if you can actually do it – hang on a trapeze and then pull your legs up to hang upside down on a slightly raised training trapeze – before they let you go up the real thing.

the real trapeze

This is the real thing.

It’s high but they have a safety net and lots of contraptions to ensure that you don’t fall. This here is my first attempt – a 3:30 minute video where I managed to hook myself on the flying trapeze – it’s very long and rather funny, so I’m posting it up, but the rest of the painful journey is on the SixthSeal.com Facebook page.

trapeze club med

You have to let go and trust that the trapeze will hold you (and your hands and legs won’t fail you) while you hook your legs over the bar and then back into the holding position. There is actually an “audition” of sorts – they won’t let you be a flyer unless you can pull it off perfectly within the stipulated time-frame.

I also managed to do a back flip landing where you swing your legs in and out until you achieve the inertia required to rotate a full 360 degrees in mid-air backwards before landing on the net.

flying trapeze knee hang

…but here’s what I got my certificate for – being a flyer. It’s all about timing, doing things when it’s asked of you without hesitation. I was one of the two that made it (the other girl who managed it was not an amateur) so it actually looks easier and has a higher drop-out rate than you imagine. You need to be interested and dedicated.

I only managed it on my second try, I nearly reached the catcher’s hands on the first try but nearly isn’t good enough.

chalk

Basically, what you do is use chalk to powder yourself up to your elbows (this is to ensure a better grip for the catcher) and hang upside down on the bar on your knees. When you look backward and see the catcher, he/she grips you and you let go of the bar. There’s an element of trust in it as well, which I have in spades – I always trust that there will be no rocks under the sea when I go cliff diving – and the fear of heights, which is why a lot of people don’t get past the basic hook, but I managed to do it.

My entire body was sore every single day and I had cuts and abrasions all over by the time I achieved this but it was all worth it.

kelly

A big thank you to Kelly, Kelsey, Kory, Phil, Hsein Ming, Dennis – all my Circus GO instructors in the Phuket village of Club Med – for being so patient with me. :)

I was so ecstatic that I was on a pure adrenaline high for several hours. It was liberating. Watching the video again made me feel that I can do whatever I want to if I set my mind to it. It was the highlight of my trip. :D

Krabs at Krabi

Ao Nang, Krabi 68 Responses »

Aug 312010

crabs at krabi

Well it’s technically at Ao Nang before we took the ill fated longboat to Rai Leh. Heh! The miniature crabs comes in abundance and you can literally pick them up from the beach.

They have the Zerg Burrow research too – much like Brood Lords (or Guardians in the original Starcraft) – which also leads to the reason behind the lack of updates on the blog. I’ve been playing too much Starcraft II. >.<

Regular programming will resume REALLY soon – promise.

Royal Thai Traditional Massage

Krabi 132 Responses »

Aug 272010

massage airport

Where else can you get a cheap massage right at the airport for just 300 baht (RM 30) for 50 minutes?

massage travel companion

There is this really chill place with water features and professional masseuses at the Krabi International Airport and since we had time to kill before our flight departed, I went for the Royal Thai Traditional Massage. My friend opted for the foot reflexology (which costs the same) instead due to her sunburn.

massage

I was heavily sun burnt and it hurt like hell when she masseuse kneaded me. However, she did some magic which involves:

Kneading my butt checks which magically made my piles go away
Twisting me in configurations that I never thought the human body can do
Lying under me with her knees up while I was on top and pulling me towards her bosom

massage krabi

It was that last bit where gender confusion kinda set in. She told me to relax and just put my head down. I’m not sure if those are fun bags or silicone. Hmm…

massage lady

(S)he was strong though and the massage did wonders to my tense muscles. She even applied aloe vera lotion FOC since I was so sun burnt. <3

Cliff diving in Ton Sai

Best of sixthseal.com, Krabi, Phi Phi Islands, Ton Sai 105 Responses »

Aug 222010

cliff diving

This is perhaps the primarily reason I went to Krabi. We went from Ao Nang to Railey and took a boat to the Phi Phi Islands as our route. Cliff diving is only available in Ton Sai, which is a short longboat ride away from Phi Phi Don.

Cliff diving is a very unregulated sport – basically, you do it at your own risk. You’ll have to place full trust on the guide too coz he’s not jumping and you’re sure you’ve seen rocks underneath the cliff.

cliff diving swimming

What cliff diving is all about:

1. Chartering a longboat to take you to Ton Sai
2. Finding a suitable cliff and swimming from the longboat to the cliff
3. Climb up the razor sharp rock face to the jump off point
4. Leap off the cliff into the water below
5. Swim back to the longboat (unless you see a pool of red slowly spreading, then don’t bother, coz you’ve jumped into rocks )

The first one we did was 10 meters. The longboat stopped and I swam to the cliffs with the guide who showed me where to jump. I didn’t bring my digicam along coz I figured it won’t survive the 10 meter plunge.

cliff diving climbing

I really, really wish I did coz the cliff that you have to climb is fucking dangerous. It’s not rocks, it’s more like razor sharp outcroppings – millions of them – which is where I cut my hands too. There is no path per se, so if you slip you’ll be impaled by the sharp rocks. It looks like this:

cliff razor sharp

No joke.

I was a bit wary coz the guide was pulling my (third) leg about injuries to the family jewels. He claimed his balls hit the water hard at a 10 meter jump and insisted I protect it. :(

The 10 meter cliff dive was from an outcropping of rock and the view down is fantastic. You get a thrill from looking down, not knowing if there’s rocks underneath and then jumping.

I urged my travel companion to try it as well and she did, much to my surprise. Kudos! She figures she can only do “crazy shit” like this with me so she might as well do it while she’s there.

I wanted more so I asked the guide to bring me to the 30 meter point, and off we went!

It followed the same routine of swimming from the long boat -> climbing up a jagged razor sharp cliff that I swear will cause serious injury if you misstep -> the jump into water. I was at the 20 meter point and wanted to climb further up.

My guide won’t go. He said it was too dangerous and despite me insisting on going on and paying him more money, he still won’t do the precarious climb to 30 meters. I offered him 500 baht extra (RM 50). It’s a no. He pointed to the jump site. It was a 20 meter jump off a branch of a tree.

This is one of the MOST ill conceived on-the-spot, “Hey, let’s make something up” seat-of-the-pants shit I’ve ever seen. I looked at my guide incredulously. He was dead serious. I was going to climb out off a cliff at 20 meters to a branch of unknown integrity and jump from it.

Call it a leap of faith.

I did it, landed badly (if you see the video, you’ll notice it took me a while to resurface coz it knocked the breath out of me). I still have chest pains to this very day. Crap.

I still insisted on going for the 30 meter jump though but the guide was vehemently against it.

The reason?

cliff diving guide

He’ll get into trouble if I die.

(and I thought we had chartered an unlicensed longboat that would agree on anything)

Rai Leh Rendezvous

Ao Nang, Krabi, Phi Phi Islands, Rai Leh, Thailand 77 Responses »

Aug 182010

railey

How do I even begin to describe this epic adventure?

railey longboat

We just checked into our hotel in Ao Nang and decided to head down to Railey East at about 7 pm since I read that there’s algae there which glows brilliant blue in the night. The bioluminescence is supposed to surround your body in “a million tiny blue lights” so we headed down despite the longboat telling us that we HAD to get back at 8 pm coz that’s when the last boat departs.

railey travel

I reckon we could just pay any longboat operators hanging around to get us back at 12 am. We were going to Wing It ™ in the true spirit of ADVENTURE! =D

The trip to get into the longboat sounded the death toll for my Blackberry. To reach the longboats, you have to wade through waist high water and I wanted to Twitpic everything since I didn’t pay RM 38 for BIS international roaming for nothing. Unfortunately, everything got wet, including my friend’s bag and my Blackberry.

railey beach

That’s okay we’re still going to enjoy the glowing algae! By the time we got there it was nearly dark and we were starving so we ordered food at the incredibly over-commercialized island. There are bars right on the beach and food stalls which were predominantly dominated by Caucasians.

railey food

We jumped into the water after that and went for a swim towards the elusive bioluminecent algae.

It was nowhere to be found.

I don’t know if it’s coz of the rain (we were thoroughly soaked) or the rocky seas but the algae just wasn’t there.

We finally gave up trying and decided to create our own creature instead – The Beast With Two Backs ™.

beast with two backs

Trying to do that while in that weather is nigh impossible. The waves kept pushing us inland, the rocks lying under the beach kept cutting us, and I lost my fucking underwear.

* Watching this video is discouraged – you can’t see jackshit from the darkness

We finally gave up and just went back to the beach. No longboats in sight.

We walked to Railey East. Nope, no longboats either. We walked back to Railey West and a kind dude manning a tattoo place with dreadlocks said we could try taking the employee only longboat back – it departs at 10:30 pm.

railey smoke

* The soaked cigarette is still smokable, just a bit…watered down

However, there was no guarantee that we can actually get on the boat and it doesn’t stop in Ao Nang so we’ll have to take ANOTHER taxi from there.

We walked back to Railey East to play Spot The Longboat Operator ™. I reckon the game would have been fun if we were not thoroughly drenched, with no cell phones (my friend left hers at our hotel in Ao Nang and my BB died a watery death).

rock

* The rock that thwarted our intimacy

I think we must have walked back and forth from Rai Leh East beach and Rai Leh West beach at least 7 times in vain before the same dread locked guy told us that it’ll probably would be easier just to stay here.

diamond cove resort

There are several problems though:

I don’t have a cell phone (my BB died in the rain and waist deep water while getting on the longboat)
We were both drenched with no towels and no change of clothes
I lost my fucking underwear to the tides of Rai Leh
My digicam (which is thankfully waterproof) is running very low on battery since it hasn’t been charged since I got here
We have to go to Phi Phi Islands the next day
I left my medication in Ao Nang FML max

Finally, we were so exhausted, wet and bearing cuts from our attempts to recreate the cocktail Sex On The Beach (or Sex In The Sea rather) that we just decided to stay on Railey. There’s a hotel called Diamond Cave Resort which goes from 2000-3000 baht (RM 200-300) per night but since is low season we managed to get a rate of 500 baht (RM 50) – a tip from the dread locked dude again.

railey strip

Thankfully we had a bottle of vodka with us or else I’ll have withdrawal symptoms from the lack of GABA agonists (clue to what meds I’m taking LEGITIMATELY) – no need for a degree in particle physics for that.

We were a bit concerned about missing the boat to Phi Phi Islands the next day but we woke up super early.

I had wrung my clothes and left them to dry at the balcony but it still wasn’t dry.

It was an adventure indeed – one we dub the Rai Leh Rendezvous.

railey hotel

One thing about hotels in Krabi though – they’re very big on animals as towels.

Greetings from Aonang!

Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand 44 Responses »

Aug 142010

elephants

Sawadeekap! I’m in Ao Nang right now, came here straight from Krabi.

hotel pool

This is our hotel room.

broken elephant

My friend killed the elephant. :(

chillin

Just chillin’ yo.

…with Cheers Beer! You remember the hilarious TVC?

Yes, not a lot of words, but according to my math that’s 3,000 words. Geddit? Pictures says a thousand words? ;)

I’m on vacation. w00t!

Posted: 4:23 pm Thailand (Krabi) time

Shrimpz ethnic thai

Thailand 17 Responses »

Nov 282008

shrimpz

Shrimpz is a small little eating establishment located at Aman Suria that we discovered one night. We have been eating a lot of nasi kandar lately and wanted to eat some Chinese food (or Thai food, which is about the same in my books) so I stumbled upon this little gem quite by accident.

shrimpz montage

Shrimpz is apparently the sister restaurant of the flagship Shrimpz restaurant in Langkawi, according to the table liner. I can’t remember the last time I was in Langkawi, but the leaflet claims that Shrimpz Langkawi was and still is the only dining venue in Asia located within a shrimp farm, which is where I imagine they got their name.

shrimpz water feature

Shrimpz Kuala Lumpur is not located inside a shrimp farm, but they managed to re-create some of that ambiance with a water feature I like to call the “Sobriety Test” that is currently in vogue. The water feature is made up of stepping stones, and while it’s not as challenging as the bla bla bla Sobriety Test in Kuching, it’s still requires a certain level of dexterity to navigate.

shrimpz al fresco

Shrimpz is decorated Thai style, with a lot of Buddha statues (sans the body and head) and the al fresco dining area is interspaced with a lot of water features and bodies of water to simulate the Shrimpz Langkawi dining experience in a residential area. It looks clean (probably coz it’s new) and elegant, but the place does not serve alcohol, which is unusual for a restaurant like this.

shrimpz prawn

It is almost heretical to not order shrimp in an establishment called Shrimpz, and beheaded (Convert or die!) we might be have we not, so we requisitioned for their renowned Shrimps / Organic Tiger Prawns from Langkawi menu and had the Stir Fried Tiger Prawn with Petai and Belacan (RM 34.90). It had the exotic sounding name of Kun Pat Khapit Sator.

shrimpz prawn macro

It was alright, quite nice actually, but paying RM 34.90 for six (6) tiger prawns seems a little bit steep. It amounts to RM 5.81 per shrimp – not exactly cheap, but worth the price for the occasional indulgence. It tasted great with the petai and belacan gravy and I ate the entire crustacean whole, much to the horror of my girlfriend. It takes a man to eat the shell of a prawn. ;)

shrimpz drink

I had the Shrimpz Special (RM 8,90 – comma done either to emulate the French, or coz I had to much to drink is up to you to decide), which is a mixture of lime, lemongrass and mint leaves. I will not delve into the drink my girlfriend ordered, which would usually be OJ or watermelon juice or some other citrus based drink.

shrimpz crispy duck salad

This is the appetizer that we had – Shredded Crispy Duck Salad (RM 26.90). I know the dishes are coming out ass backwards, but I did it in chronological order – the exact same succession that night. The shredded crispy duck salad is excellent! My girlfriend loved it to bits (no pun intended). The fried shredded duck skin is sinfully delicious, with a satisfying crunch to it. Lovely.

shrimpz glass noodles

My girlfriend had the Thai Fried Glass Noodles (RM 13.90). It looks rather sad and much can be done about the presentation, but tastes fabulous. It was seriously mouth-watering despite the sorry looking presentation. It’s definitely one of their best mains.

shrimpz fried rice

I had the Fried Rice with Anchovy Sauce (Budu) and Petai (RM 9.90). I like the petai, I read an article not long ago about Malay families nowadays excluding this traditional dish from their diet. It’s raw vegetables, dipped into sauce. The fried rice was plain though, nothing special, but tastes great with the prawns.

shrimpz us

The food at Shrimpz is mostly good, especially the prawns…

shrimpz end

We literally licked our plates clean.

My experience in Club Med Phuket, Thailand

Suit up!

I'm flying high on the trapeze!

Krabs at Krabi

Royal Thai Traditional Massage

Cliff diving in Ton Sai

Rai Leh Rendezvous

Greetings from Aonang!

Shrimpz ethnic thai

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