My Travel Blog

 The photos are finally up. I should have posted them along with this post, but the connection was very bad that day and no photos could not uploaded. Thus, I shall post the photos here.

Karon Beach

The beach is not as crowded as Patong, so I prefer it here for family vacation. I’ve always loved a quiet place for holiday, so I don’t mind about the empty benches. LOL!

The waves.

Here are some shots of Ramada Resort:

The pool.

There are 2 pools here, and we only spent the time at the pool below:

The pool beside the Kidz Club.

I didn’t snap any photo in the room because there is nothing special about it. Not that there is any 4396710 water filter or nice furnishing of the room either. Frankly, the deluxe rooms are not that nice, so maybe you should consider the suites.

Some part of the resort.

It’s our long waiting weekend getaway to Phuket, and we were so anticipated for the day to come. Needless to say, my kids were thrilled about the whole idea of flying to Phuket for sunshine and beaches as they have always loved going to the beach.

I picked Ramada Resort, after searching through the list of hotels and resorts available in Phuket. It was the peak season, so most resorts were rather pricey. I only planned for a budget trip, and I didn’t want to stay in Patong. Thus, Karon beach is another option, and despite of choosing Hilton, I chose Ramada Resort due to the cheaper room rate.

Anyway, we didn’t spend much time in the room, so I don’t mind much about it. Frankly, I don’t like the room. It’s due to the concrete flooring and sofa seat. I don’t know why they used concrete just like that!!! It’s so ….. unfurnished to me.

I’m still uploading the photos, so I will update about Ramada Resort again once they are uploaded. Blame it on the slow connection tonight. I’m going to need an acne treatment over the frustration soon!

We went for the travel fair held at Impact Muang Thong Thani yesterday, but since it’s the last day of the fair, it’s very crowded with last minute shoppers. I got a few good deals last year at the fair and this year, we are not going to miss it!

We managed to buy a few hotel stays at affordable prices and we booked for a trip to Similan Islands during our stay in Phuket too.

Similan Islands is one of the best diving and snorkeling destination in Thailand, and it’s a well preserved national park. But do take note that:

Please note: The Similan Islands National Park is closed to ALL access from May 15th to November 1st each year. This is due to the weather conditions. It is not possible to visit the park or the surrounding waters during this time. Any operator selling you a tour during that time is not only breaking the law – but risking YOUR life.

I just can’t wait to check out how pretty the islands are.

Besides that, we found something interesting for the kids:

A submarine ride!!! And you can just board on deck from Pattaya. Why haven’t I known about this? Please check out www.Thaisubmarine.com for more details. That’s something we will do on our next trip to Pattaya.

There are a lot of travel agencies with travel packages abroad too, but we didn’t get any. With our tight travel budget,  I can only plan a few short trips in Thailand. It’s a bit pathetic, but as long as we manage to spend some quality time together, I better stop complaining.

Oh ya, I found Cuti-cuti Malaysia too. LOL! I managed to snap some photos of the stage performance by standing near the tv stand, but I don’t think the dancers are Malaysian. They look like local Thais to me. LOL!

Despite the increasing cases of H1N1, we are still going to Phuket in November. I’ve booked our room at Ramada Resort, which is located along Karon Beach. It’s a family friendly resort, and the price is reasonable too.

At first, I wanted to get the theme rooms but our kids are too young to sleep separated from us in a new place. So, we are taking the deluxe room with extra bed.

I can’t wait for the trip as we will have a family potrait photo shooting done in Phuket, and being a photo freak myself, I will surely take a lot of photos. Thus, maybe I should really consider online backup for the thousands of photos in my laptop!

 I’ve just booked our flight tickets to Phuket, and now I have to look for a place to stay for 2 nights. Ramada Resort sounds really nice, and it’s located in Karon beach, which is not as populated as in Patong. I’m still waiting for their reply about our room, and see if the rate is worth it.

As for Marriott Vacation Club, the person in-charged didn’t get back to me about the rates for 2 nights, so I guess she’s not really want to do my biz. LOL! I would save up some money staying elsewhere too as Marriott is really costly during peak season. The money can be used to get my kids their new swing sets!

A blogger friend recommended us to stay for free at Marriott’s Mai Khao Beach Home in Phuket, and I am so grateful for it! Of course, it’s not just a free trip, as it’s part of the marketing plan to get you to sign up for the holiday club. Anyway, we shall go there for a look as I’ve heard that it’s a nice place for holiday, and the kids club is great.

The master bedroom

 
The living room

A friend of mine who had been there said the apartments are very nice and it’s indeed a nice vacation place for the whole family. Upon hearing that, I’m quite excited and looking forward to spend a few days there.

Hopefully, we can make it in November as October is reserved for Halloween invitations, and before then, our kids are pretty tied up at school.

 I suddenly remembered that I wanted to stay at Club Med Phuket Resort previously, when I was looking for more info about Phuket Island. I was trying to do my SIL a favor when she wanted to plan a trip to Phuket, and she was trying to look for children friendly resort. The Petit Club Med® (from 2 to under 4 years old) sounds good to me, as children can return to the Petit Club Med after dinner with us, and hubby and I can have a peaceful dinner!!! That’s something we hardly get to do since we become parents.

Ah…there are a lot of activities at Club Med, but I’m not sure if I’m fit for anything! I should get the best weight loss pills too if I would to put on bikinis again. LOL!

I hope that we can at least have a family getaway by end of the year, and hopefully hubby agrees on a trip to Phuket in November and let us stay at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa because I want to get some family photo shots with a professional photographer who is going to be there for a week stay!

But the thing with my hubby is, he doesn’t like to spend a lot on hotels, and he prefers to stay at some place else which is cheaper, instead of paying a lot for a good night sleep. However, I really want to stay at JW Marriott as the resort is top rated and it’s so nice!

See? It’s so pretty huh? Here are more photos taken from the official website of JW Marriott Phuket:

The pool is so nice!

My kids will be thrilled with the elephant fountains.

I guess I will only pick the deluxe room, for cost saving.

There’s a kid club here, so I think my kids will be occupied with some activities, instead of playstation 3, if we do not go out for sightseeing. I really hope that hubby agrees with me!