to dreamland and back

i can't believe my week long vacation is over. time flies so fast, but it's just faster in this part of the world. i haven't had a whole day spent at home in the past nine days. it seems that there's always a reason to leave the house (yeah, the mall's waiting for me..hehe).. but other than that, i was in phuket for a four-day island getaway. (yes, it's phuket..and i'm not dreaming!!)

i can't believe my boss allowed me to be on leave for four days, despite the critical stage of my project (well, i was confident my module would be behaving well, while i am away..hehe). so, my friends and i arrived in phuket last tuesday, and had a half day city tour before we checked in at our hotel. we didn't have a five-star hotel waiting, but that really doesn't matter cause you won't be spending much of your time in it anyway. there's a whole island to explore and four days surely ain't enough.

after the half day city tour, we rested a bit at our hotel room since we had a very early flight that morning. we stayed at patong beach, the heart of phuket's night life (and we can't be drowsy when that starts). just a few hours before sunset, we strolled along patong beach. we weren't disappointed by it's beach line, and the area was just so lively with all the people around. i can't help thinking that if only panglao island would be developed like this.. wouldn't that just be lovely?

so we stayed there until sunset. well, nothing beats sunsets by the beach, so why miss that? later that night, we checked out the famous patong night life, and it definitely lived up to our expectations, or probably even exceeded them. the "tiangge" is just all over the place, and there were as much bars too, and of course, restaurants parading their best seafood catch. of course we didn't dine at their luxurious restaurants, but even their budget restos couldn't be let down. thai food everywhere is just delicious. not to mention their signature iced milk tea. so every thai meal, was a feast :)

the following day, we headed off for our beach adventure to the phi phi islands. we went to maya beach which got famous by leonordo DiCaprio's movie "the beach". then we headed for some snorkeling around the island's lagoon. after which, we headed to the neighboring islands for more sightseeing, monkey feeding, swimming, lunch, and more swimming. i just enjoyed every minute i was out basking in the sun. too bad, we only got a day.

our last whole day spent in phuket, we epxlored on other parts of the island. we got a good view of phuket's beach lines at viewpoint (one of phuket's viewing spots), then we went elephant trekking, pasalubong shopping, and stopped by a temple just to get a feel of what a buddhist temple is like up close.

pictures speak a thousand words, so check out my multiply site for my photos :) (well, the real reason, i'm just too tired to post another set of pictures for this blog..hehe)

we got back to singapore early friday morning, still thinking of going back to thailand. probably to enjoy the place fully, you have to stay there for at least a month. :) when i arrived here, i was surprisingly busy. there was so much cleaning to do in my apartment, aside from the loads of laundry that awaited. i never really got the luxury of a good rest despite the long vacation. no wonder i am still so exhausted up till now. good thing there's another long weekend coming up. thank God for holidays :)

but as for now, it's back to reality. vacation mode is so over. got to fix my mind set for work.