15 Nov 2015, Sunday
As promised, Mr. Ben is coming with us to Raya Island! He said this was the first time that he's joining his customers on their tour. Thank you!
Here's Mr. Ben's contact information if you need!
Email: benstarlord88@gmail.com
Blog: http://slowlifephuket.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wasan.reanprach
Sadly, T forgot to bring her GoPro!! =( Luckily, Mr. Ben brought his Xiaomi Yi that he got from Xiaomi which works just like a GoPro. The price is very reasonable at below SGD 150, you may see the comparison between Xiaomi and GoPro here.
The van picked us and Mr. Ben up at about 8.45 - 9.00am in the morning from our hotel. We dropped off at Bungalow Raya Resort Co., Ltd near the pier in less than half an hour. This was the place where briefing was held and you can rent the fin/flipper for snorkeling at 100 baht and use the bathroom before boarding the speedboat.
This place provides snacks and water. Also I would advise you to take the pill they provided if you are prone to seasickness as the speedboat is pretty rocky at some times and I almost vomited.
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| Me, LQ, T and Mr. Ben |
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| On the speedboat (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
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| Clear water in Emerald! (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
We arrived at Raya Island beach after a 40min boat ride. We were given 1h 15min to relax on the beach with extremely fine sand!
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| 11.00am to 12.15pm (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
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| Getting out of our speedboat to Raya Island Beach (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
Raya Island Beach
Raya Island was, fortunately, not crowded with tourists like James Bond Island. I would recommend Raya Island if you do not like to squeeze with the crowd.
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| Mr. Ben brought this for us! |
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| Leaving my name and footprints behind |
At 12.15pm sharp, we were called back to the speedboat and zoomed our way to somewhere around 3m deep to do our snorkeling.
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| Snorkeling area |
Tip: If you can swim, do not wear the life vest as you WILL NOT sink. The water is salty enough to allow you to float. I was wearing life vest at the start and got so dizzy 'cause my body moved together with the waves as they hit my life vest, though the waves were minimal. Also, you will be able to manoeuvre better without the life vest.
Here's a video captured by Mr. Ben with all 3 of us and the fishes underwater. Teresa is really a great swimmer! She could dive effortlessly into the water!
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| Silly us in our life vests (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
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| (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
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| (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
We headed back to Raya Island Beach for lunch after snorkeling. I was having heavy seasickness right after I boarded the speedboat after snorkeling. My head was spinning and I couldn't walk in a straight line. =S Once we arrived at our lunch destination, I took a pill for seasick and sat down at the table. The food tasted average.. Nevertheless, the view was awesome at our lunch table.
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| Lunch view |
Tour at Raya Island
LQ, Mr. Ben and I joined some of the tourists to go on a tour at Raya Island, while T went to the sea for snorkeling again.
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| Can you spot the cow? |
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| Mr. Ben |
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| LQ and I |
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| View disrupted....... |
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| The truck that brings us around the island |
Another beach without any view obstruction!
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| (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
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| (Taken by Mr. Ben with Xiaomi Yi) |
Raya Resort Lookout Point
Mr. Ben brought us to a nice lookout point at Raya Resort on the island. It's the perfect spot for photo-taking! There's a swing hanging down from the tree too.
That's the end of our tour at Raya Island. After some relaxing time at the island, we took the speedboat back to pier and the van brought us back to our hotel. We gave some tips to Mr. Ben as he took really good care of us. He rejected it and we forced him to take it as we wanted him to accept our gratitude. We were so lucky to have you as our tour guide! =)
Sunset at Kata Beach
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| Rainbow at the opposite direction of Sunset |
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| Glorious sunset! |
Eightfold Restaurant
Address: 99 Katekwan rd, Kata Beach, Phuket 83100, Thailand
LQ found this Thai restaurant on TripAdvisor and we were determined to visit this restaurant to catch the last glimpse of hope of having good Thai food in Phuket. It is ranked #7 in TripAdvisor, the top 6 are non-Thai restaurants.
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| Pouring heavily |
Well the verdict was... it tasted average to me. =/ I think even Thai food in Singapore wins all the Thai food we had at Kata in Phuket. If you wish to have good Thai food, go to Bangkok!
Another round of Stir-Fried ice-cream! We went to another stall opened by a young girl who shared the stall with her sister. She only started the business for 2 weeks. And she guessed that I'm 20 years old. HAHAHAHA *So happy!* Please support her!! =P
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| 2 toppings of your choice |
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| Strawberry with Mango Stir-fried Ice-cream at THB 80 (SGD 3.20) |
As the rain was not stopping, LQ and I went for massage while T went to a bar. We were really tired after the massage and decided to call it a day since it's raining anyway. T had an early morning flight to catch and we had to wake up early though our flight was 10.40am, the journey from Kata to Phuket International Airport will take at least an hour to 1.5 hour.
Day 4
16 Nov 2015, Monday
We had arrange transport from the driver, Chai, who fetched us from the airport on day 1.
He's a really nice guy and charged us at an acceptable rate. If you need his service, you may call his number +66 85-667-6698 or contact him via Line. He's also available for tour around Phuket too!
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| Chai |
That's the end of #RMSGirls trip to Phuket. We are back to Singapore with a few tones darker. =)
Phuket, Kata 2015 Blog Posts
