PhuketPals I: Hiao Trip

Sea, surf, and sand holidays are not my cup of tea, so it's no surprise that I had never visited the island of Phuket. The hiao trip had been planned in the last quarter of 2023 with KH, Simon Lover, and ForIHaveSinned. It required me to take only 1 day of leave across the Thaipusam weekend. In my current job, annual leave is very precious as I only have twelve days a year. Please donate me some if you're feeling generous. Packing was done pretty last minute, and you won't believe the amount of skimpy items that I brought. Well, you know, to counter the hot Island weather. 

On the day of departure, I left my home at 6AM via GrabCar and met up with the boys at KLIA. Purposely avoided AirAsia due to their recent reputation for flight delays and cancellations. Put our money in Malaysia Airlines. The Aerotrain was still out of service so we took the bus to the terminal. The little time to burn we had to burn before boarding time we spent at the newly-renovated Plaza Premium Lounge. Same old selection, and crowded as usual. Flight was on time. 

Left the cool air-conditioned interior of the Phuket International Airport to search for the Grab Pick-up Point outside. Lucky for us, it wasn't far away. While waiting for our ride, we were treated to some Korean eye candy. When we arrived at Charm Resort Phuket, it was too early to check-in, so we went to have our lunch nearby at Thai Smile Restaurant. Forgettable meal, but halfway through we received a call from the hotel already. Checking-in wasn't a priority. SimonLover and ForIHaveSinned checked out Patong Beach first. Their eyes lit up at the sight of the sea, sun and surf, whereas I grimaced under the sun. 

The rooms that we booked were on the ground floor with a connecting canal. The common swimming pool is located on the rooftop but it wasn't attractive to us because it was too exposed. Perfect for tanning though. Our first group activity was actually taking loads of skanky photos at our room. The canal was shaded and we didn't have any neighbours along the same row, so we were quite adventurous. Made good use of all the skimpy items that we brought to Phuket, and at one point, we even went skinny dipping. The underwater photos taken using ForIHaveSinned GoPro were fantastic.

Night fell, and we still didn't know what to have for dinner. Many tourists had no qualms about enjoying the cheap seafood sold from the stalls along the beach. They sat on low chairs, eating out of woven trays. Walking further into town, we walked into a random day tour operator to arrange the following day's activity. Naturally, SimonLover and ForIHaveSinned decided on island hopping to take more sexy photos on the beach, whereas KH and I opted for the elephant sanctuary. 

The restaurant that finally caught our eye was Tiger Restaurant, a place that was full of snarling tiger statues with glowing eyes. Most looked ready to pounce, or were in the middle of a leap towards their prey. Wonder if this place took inspiration from Singapore's Haw Par Villa. Like lunch, the food was forgettable. Touristy prices, and small in portion. The only thing that impressed me were the mai tais. 

The most happening place in Phuket is undoubtedly Thanon Bangla. A hub of activity with loads of bars, clubs, shows, pole dancers, and medicinal marijuana. Every straight man's wet dream. The alternative for gay boys was Soi Paradise, a short street servicing the Royal Paradise Hotel. Being our first night there, we had no stamina to stay out late. Grabbed a tuk-tuk (it was like a techno club on wheels) from Jungceylon and called it a night.