Thailand Trip

Thailand Diary (14^th to 22^nd aug 2010)

There was a clash between mind and heart. Kaku was insisting for my visit to Thailand. I was not keen in view of the schools of kids. However, Beenu said that she cannot refuse the invitation of Kaku, a nephew of rare qualities. Finally I gave in. While Kaku was on telephone from Bangkok, I booked tickets through Clear trip, a fabulous offer from Thai Airways.

The time difference between IST and Thailand is 1.5 hours. We landed in Thailand at around 5.30 pm on 14^th August, 2010. Took a metered taxi for Sukhmit Soi 16 and reached Sommerset Lake at 7 pm. We were welcomed by Adi, Anju and Kaku by Arti and applying Tilak on our forehead. I could see the joy on the face of Adi seeing Arpit and Kshitij (Chachas) with him.

After freshen up, we had sumptuous dinner, had lot of gossips and went to bed at around 1 am.

Next day (15.8.2010) morning we planned our trip for Dream Land. Dream land is a place where one can easily spend the whole day for various excursion activities particularly enjoying rides of various swings, photography’s in various postures and eating out. This place is quite similar to that of Essel World in Mumbai. But it has certain USPs like 4 D Theatre, Stunt Shows, and systematic approach with lot of lined trees and shrubs. We returned home at 7 pm and had our dinner in an Indian restaurant called “Saras”, a pure vegetarian restaurant being run by a Rajasthani family.

On 16^th August, 2010, we went to Safari Park, again a whole a day affairs. The Giraffe, Zebra, Loin, Tiger and innumerable animals and birds really please the eyes of all the nature lovers. Here, one can enjoy the various animals’ shows like Elephant shows, Sharks shows, Monkey shows, Bird shows etc. It’s really amazing to see the water animals performing at the tunes of their masters.

On 17^th we opted for city tour. We took a cab and went straight to a Wat pho ( a conglomerate of various temples dedicated to Lord Budhha) within a single campus. The main attraction is a huge statute of lord Buddha in reclining posture. We also saw a Thai Royal Palace from outside and went to Gem Palace (a must she world’s biggest jewellery store) at the instance of our taxi driver. Our next destination was the Paragon Siam Osian Mall. This is a high end Mall, where world’s best brands are housed and beyond the reach of common man. In basement they have created a marine park along with a 4 D Theatre. They have created a marvel, a complete museum of marine life in an area of around 40,000 sqft in three basement levels.

18^th was scheduled for Phuket. We took early morning flight of Air Asia and reached Phuket at 9 am. One should be careful while taking luggage in Thailand because check in luggage also cost you dearly. We were booked at Hotel Furaexclusive, a 3 star hotel with swimming pool and all amenities. This hotel is at a walking distance from Patong beach. Hotels in Phuket are very good and quite reasonable. In the afternoon, we went straight to Patong beach. The sun was blooming and temperature must be around 36 degree Celsius We could see lot of Firangis lying bare clothed enjoying sun bath. We hired two long chairs with umbrellas to take shelter in.

We came back to Hotel at around 4.30 pm and relaxed there for about 2 hours. In the evening, we were booked for Fatasia Show. This is an splendid show of man and animals in perfect harmony. The auditorium with a capacity around 2000 persons is nearly full. Besides this, you have plenty of other activities before entering the mail auditorium including games and food. You need to have a minimum budget of Rs. 3000 per person while visiting this show. Show lasted for about one hour and we came back to our hotel at 11.30 pm

19^th was the second day of our trip and we took conducted tour of city. Our guide Ms Mimi was a charming lady with permanent smile on her face. She showed us best locations of Phuket like Kata Beach, Karon Beach, Kata View Point, Phuket Town, Handicraft show rooms, Activity Park etc. At 2 pm we bade good bye to our guide, had lunch in an Indian Restaurant and came back to Hotel. At about 5 pm we again went to Kata beach, a pure white sand virgin beach. It’s like heaven on earth. You can completely relax here.

Evening was meant for city trip. While kids opted to stay in Hotel due to tiredness, we went to see the night life of Phuket. We straight went to Bangla Market. The area is cordoned off for vehicular traffic and you can see vibrancy of pubs, bars, music stores, coffee shops and of course road side kiosks. The experience was exhilarating.

The next day i.e. 20^th was scheduled for Phang Nga Bay and surrounding island trip. The trip was booked on arrival at the Airport of Phuket where you have chance of getting good discount. The tour operator pick you up from your hotel on appointed time and take you straight to the Jetty. This trip is awesome. The small islands, lagoons, hills, caves and greenery in the mid of sea is just not forgettable. We took a few snaps of the James Bond island where film “Kaho na Pyar hain” was shot. As usual Beenu took the full advantage of the scenic beauty and delighted me, the Cameraman. Many modals will be envy of Beenu’s poses. The trip came to an end at around 5 pm with vote of thanks.

We took opportunity to have one more round of market and Patong beach in the evening as we had sufficient time for taking flight to Bangkok. Impulse buying was a must. We flown to Bangkok at around 11 pm and landed Bangkok at 12.30 am. Kaku and Anju were waiting for us. The house was fully decorated with Balloons and candles. Cake with beautiful icing was waiting for Arpit’s birth day celebration. Hats off to this couple who took so much interest and pain for the birth day celebration of Arpit to whom they love more than their own brother.

21^st was our last day in Thailand. While, kid went to Pantim Plaza for shopping of gadgets with Kaku bhaiya, we went to Chatu Chat week end market. This is a special market of handicraft and day to day needs having around 35000 shops. It is like big field where you have multi lanes, multi roads and multi shops where one can spend full day shopping, still not able to cover the full market.

Early morning of 22^nd was our departure day. Thailand is a Bhudhist nation, one will surprise to see the huge, gigantic statute of lord Vishnu of Samudra Manthan. A country where all religions are equally respected. In India, if we do that, our pseudo secular politicians will say we are converting our country to a saffron state.

Many many kudos to Kaku and Anju who made our trip one of the finest one and the most memorable one. They also extended all help, support, when hell broke with the news of sad demise of Gullu in an accident on 21st late evening, an IIT graduate, nephew of Beenu. Hats off to them for showing so much compassion, composure, warmth, affection and I am run short of words.....the great marvels of Gordhansa.