Phuket

Tropical climates: mosquito repellent, sunscreen, motion sickness and travel vaccinations / meds

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Mel

We have now been to Indonesia (Bali), Thailand and Vietnam in terms of tropical / summer trips and holidays. In each place we have encountered different issues around mosquitoes, sunscreen and motion sickness. Below are what’s worked and what to be aware of as one-bagging, 100ml max limited, pasty-white Australians 🙂

Sunscreen

  • sunscreen is readily available in both Indonesia and Thailand to Australian standards (UVA/UVB 50+) but is expensive so needs to be budgeted for
  • Vietnam did not have many places selling Aussie appropriate sunscreen. Everywhere was k beauty 50ml bottles that were skin whitening and useless. The Internet lied to us about availability and this was an issue while travelling, especially for me who is very sun sensitive. Next time, we will have to allow 200-300ml each of sunscreen in separate 100ml containers in our carry on allowance. For this try we went to multiple places and finally found some small cancer council tubes….at $25 AUD each. Lesson learned.

Bug repellent

  • Last time we travelled to Indonesia and Thailand we took DEET liquid pump spray. It’s now very difficult to travel with that out of Australia and it’s also a challenge when capped at 100ml for carry on only. It’s also worth mentioning Thailand is less of a hassle with mosquitos and has a lower risk of Dengue Fever on the coast so not quite as bad.
  • In Vietnam, we were very aware of the risk of dengue, malaria and that we were visiting in wet season and spending time on the Mekong delta. After some research we used Natrapel Picardin Wipes I got off eBay. These aren’t sold in Australia but are absolutely fantastic and don’t count as a liquid
  • In addition to the wipes, we treated our “main outfits” with permethrin spray for Vietnam. This stuff is extremely toxic if used incorrectly so make sure to read instructions carefully when applying to clothing before you pack. It definitely worked though, we could see the bugs landing on us, not biting and then falling off! Again, not readily available in Australia but can be purchased off Amazon US

Motion sickness

We both get motion sickness of different types. I mostly only get sick in the car and I feel nauseous but don’t often throw up. Bs takes more effort to start (unless we are on a boat, then he’s screwed) but once it starts he can’t stop the vomiting and it is awful. We have tried all the standard meds with minimal luck but seem to have found a good solution now.

  • For cars and buses B only needs Dramamine. This isn’t available on its own in Australia but again…thank you Amazon. I still need a mix so have been taking Dramamine/kwells/caffeine as a combo and that’s making a big difference. In the process of discovering this combo worked we also learnt that travacalm original changed their ingredients a few years ago and this is actually what they have! It’s still hard to find them in Australia post covid though
  • We are spending 3 days on a boat in Vietnam this time so purchased some scopolamine dermal patches from NZ. These stick to your skin behind the ear and last 2-3 days. We are hoping this addresses the issue with motion sickness while on the boat!

Travel Vaccinations and Medications

  • For Thailand and Bali we have never had any special vaccinations. For Vietnam, it was recommended we have a hepatitis double course as well as the encephalitis one (very expensive) as we were going in wet season when there is lots of standing water…and spending time in freshwater rivers. Rabies vaccination wasn’t recommended unless spending extended time in the mountain regions.
  • In terms of medication, Bali and Thailand have private hospitals so worst case you can often get things there. Vietnam was a bit of a different story and I ended up with a letter from my GP and a pack of meds as I was concerned if my back started spasming I wouldn’t be able to access any heath care. We also brought standard meds with us – Panadol, ibuprofen, multivitamins, sting spray, antihistamines, motion sickness stuff, gastro stop etc.
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My first attempt at “one bag”

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Mel

This Thailand trip was 9 days all up and I only took a 7kg nag plus personal item. My bag is a rolling suitcase (carry on size) as I struggle with backpacks due to spinal issues. I have just ordered a similar sized bag with wheels and backpack straps…the goal is to wheel it 95% of the time but have a back up plan as well for next time. Below are some comments on what I took and how it went…feel free to learn from my mistakes!

Original 1.8kg case for this trip:

New one with laptop sleeve, wheels and handle and backpack straps for the few occasions wheels may not be my friend. This one weights a tiny bit more than the suitcase (2kg) but is actually slightly larger if you consider litre capacity a useful metric.

Things I will definitely change next time:

  • Must sort out the pants / skirt situation. Need something quick dry but still nice! People keep saying cotton and linen as it is cooler but…monsoonal rain is an issue as nothing will dry
  • About to do a test run on a 125gsm merino / tencil blend top from icebreaker and also looking further into what combos of Airism singlets and an over shirt I can do. Cotton tops were good because I could wash them locally however the sweat and water retention was real
  • A bra is an issue. I need one…but they get so sweaty!
  • Teva sandals are the bomb. They are a definite win! My tropicfeel sunset sneakers were a great idea – quick dry, water flows through, excellent grip, super light but the lack of ankle support means they are unstable. Apparently croc literiders have all of the above plus proper foot support.

CARRY ON SUITCASE
1 x loose cotton pants (black) – way too hot, turned out I’m an idiot and these were not cotton but 100% cheap polyester…I won’t make that mistake again!
2 x linen blend skorts (floral) – excellent to wear, comfortable and looked nice but heavy and hard to dry after caught in rain
1 x midi skirt (colourful) – for fancy dinner. I wouldn’t bring this again, the place we were going to had a strict dress code though

**I need comfy pants to wear that are also easy to dry but don’t swish! Argh. Trialling two things in the coming weeks – travel skorts and title nine capris

3 x cotton tank top with built in bra – would not dry, no good in rain or when sweating like mad
1 x crop top (polyester) – too hot, insane sweat
1 x long flowy singlet (white) – matched pretty skirt, would not bring unless fancy dinner

** the shirt situation is an issue. Currently leaning towards merino / tencil crops with a white over shirt (Eddie Bauer departure shirt L) to control modesty and sun exposure. Also doubles as a sun cover up

3 x Airism travel undies- quick dry was amazing. Yes they get sweaty but then you wash them in the sink and 3hrs later they are dry
2 x pj merino undies – would not dry, this was a fail in a humid climate. I can’t sleep in normal undies and need something with a longer leg cut. Hubby pointed out they make men’s boxer briefs in airism fabric at Uniqlo – duh! These are great and I have been comfortably wearing them at home for a few weeks now
1 x pj merino singlet – excellent purchase, wore to bed 10 days with minimal smell
1 x cotton pj 3/4 pants with pockets – if I can get proper pj shorts/long enough undies I won’t need these next time.
2 x sneaker sockettes – once wet these were useless. Need to reconsider sneaker options

1 x bikini set – 2 sets of bathers was good as ladies stuff tends not to be quick dry
1 x one piece bathers
1 x swim shirt /dress cover up – used at beach a few times and around resort but being cotton, this also took ages to dry. Will think carefully about this next time but I do love that it can convert to a dress and has huge pockets

1 x teva hurricane 2 travel sandals – excellent

Paclite cross body bag – excellent purchase, light but as it is cross body I felt secure with it
Cheap Sunnies
Packed toiletries (non liquid): hairbrush, hair ties/scrunchies, laundry bag, Medications travel container
International adaptor
Travel Hair straightener (weighs 200g)

MINI BACKPACK PERSONAL ITEM

  • charger pack including multi head cable, iPad connector for tv
  • iPad
  • Ereader
  • Headphones (AirPods)
  • loop ear plugs
  • Paperwork
  • Passport
  • Money/travel wallet
  • Liquid Toiletries bag: shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, cleanser, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, rosacea cream, mini sunscreen

Plane clothes: merino loose lounging pants , bra, merino tshirt, tropic feel sunset sneakers, 1x thicker socks, merino light jumper – i swear by all of this 100% merino stuff on planes! Doesn’t smell, is comfortable and adjusts from hot plane walk to freezing cold plane air easily.

We are going to try and do 7kgs carry on for 4 weeks mid next year in a similar hot, wet, humid climate. This was be interesting trial so was a good first run.

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Phuket Day 7-9: L’Arôme by the Sea and home time

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Mel

On day 7 we visited L’Arome by the Sea which is Michelin recommended fine dining location in Kathu (10 min taxi ride from Patong). It’s not a cheap experience but we have dined in places similar to this in other countries too, so we were prepared for sticker shock.

We had the nine course degustation with paired wines. The French food with a Phuket twist was amazing with only a few other couples in the restaurant. Definitely a romantic / couples vibe.

The view was also pretty next level.

Our last few days were spent visiting lots of food places in the markets, laying down at the beach or laying on our day bed next to the pool. We also visited Bangla Road for some people watching in the pouring rain one night which is always good fun.

I also got a photo with this super smiley beach attraction haha.

See you again soon (I hope! ) Thailand. Next stop….Vietnam somewhere in the middle of the year. I’m going to do a separate post about my one bag attempt for this trip as well.

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Phuket day 4-6: Old Town Food Tour

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Mel

Day 4 and 6 were very much just about relaxing. Day 5 was a new experience and something a bit different!

Days 4 and 6 were mostly spent at the Burasari Resort lazing in the pool or reading next to it. We also swam at Patong Beach. We went for a walk to the well known No 6 Restaurant where there was no lines…we are noticing it’s not very busy here currently but expect that to change in the coming week as peak season approaches. Already on Day 5/6 we noticed a lot more drunk and loud aussies at the bars.

On Day 6 we had a lovely “Burasari signature massage” at the hotel spa. More expensive than the street but 100% worth the cost! I got a pretty hair braid from my massage lady.

Day 5 was my first ever food tour. B recently went on one of these in Canada and was very keen to find a Thai equivalent, so I chose this one which is the most highly rated option in phuket. We got at least 15 food tastings and a walking tour of Old Phuket Town which has been on my list of things to do for ages. They do state they can’t support severe allergies (eg shellfish, peanuts) as street food is not controlled, but as my shellfish allergy is minor – and I eat street food here all the time – it was no issue for me. It was a southern flavours tour so explored some of the regional influences in southern Thailand food including:

A walk through the fresh food markets

Breakfast from Myanmar at Mingalar Coffee. Turns out I really like sweet tea!

Aunties street food cart which she has operated for over 30 years…the chicken skewer and waterfall pork salad was amazing

Baba coffee shop (now a restaurant) serving Chinese influenced Thai pork belly. Totally different flavour to anything else, very peppery. We also had honey lemon ice for dessert

The next place was a no name noodle shop informally called “3 siblings noodle” that made amazing egg noodles. We got to try them plain and then with different condiments added to create different flavours.

A shortcut took us to some authentic coconut crepes that apparently don’t cut any corners eg no use of yeast to quicken certain processes. These guys are in the Michelin guide!

We found an icecream bike which has been operating for 70 years!

We then finished off by sampling 5 curries and the best beef soup at Aroon Restaurant to round things off with the Muslim regional influence.

I may have had to be rolled out of the taxi coming home!

We also got to check out some of the great architecture around Old Town. Originally settled by traders from China, India, and Portugal in the 16th century, Old Town is the areas bustling trading hub. The fusion of these different cultures is evident in the town’s architecture, cuisine, and traditions, creating a unique blend of distinctly Phuketian.

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Phuket Days 1- 3: Poolside room, day trip with driver and food glorious food

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Mel

Since we have been here quite a few times now I’m consolidating my posts. There’s also only so many photos of me relaxing I can share haha. I will say this has been a well earned trip after an extremely busy year!

Day 1 and 2: travel, eat, pool!

We did a 6am flight from Perth this time via Singapore which was a lot better than the 1am one. Our 4hr Changi stopover was spent at the rooftop pool in terminal 1 airside (follow signs for transit hotel) which was lovely. Costs $27 SGD to enter but a really good way to spend a few hours on a longer stopover. We only brought carry on this trip (one bag life!) so just made sure we had a dry bag to put weather bathers in after a swim – they give you a towel.

We arrived in Phuket at 5:15pm local time and our pre booked Phuket Shuttle transfer had us at the hotel by 7pm. We have once again stayed at Burasari in Patong due to it hitting everything we want in a relaxing trip: pool, close to the beach, walkable to many food markets and they make great drinks. This time I spent a bit more and got a pool access room though with private entry point. Aaaaaaaah bliss.

Day 1 dinner was at Chino Yard which is a 2 min walk away facing the beach. We had pad Thai and a pineapple smoothie.

Day 2 was spent doing relaxing Patong Beach things. Sleeping in. Eating the included buffet breakfast. Swimming. Poolside reading. Food. Drinks. Dinner was at the attached restaurant to the hotel (Kantok) as they have a buffet, charcoal grill and Thai dancing on Friday nights.

Day 3 started with breakfast where I have made friends with a Deaf server at the hotel named Suu…and she gave us sign names! Sign names are a big deal in the Deaf community and are not something you just make up, someone who is Deaf has to give it to you. So we both now have one! Mine is an M/E mix in thai sign language and then an L. Bs is the Thai sign for bread haha…amazing because our niece calls him Uncle Bread-Bread.

On Day 3 we booked a 4hr half day trip with Phuket Day Trip. This meant we had a private driver and were able to work with them to build an itinerary of where we wanted to visit which was all sorted out via whatsapp. I spent ages researching this because I didn’t want a group driving tour and there are certain things I wanted to avoid – island trips are out due to Bs motion sickness and I won’t engage with any of the unethical animal programs. I knew I wanted to see a few things (the big Buddha, promthep viewpoint) but let the driver make some other suggestions as well. I specifically chose this company as the driver was also a guide – I read a lot reviews where they were only a driver and people were left to their own devices.

We started with Big Buddha. This was about an hour drive from Patong and the roads are nuts, I was very nauseous by the end. You also drive past Tiger park and an elephant camp where there is a baby elephant on display – I found it distressing so just a heads up.

We then went to Wat Chalong temple which is beautiful and learnt some history about the monks.

After this we stopped at 2 view points on the way back – promthep cape and Karon viewpoint. Both had wonderful views of different areas of the coastline.

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Phuket – Singapore – Perth: Day 8 at Changi Airport

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Mel

Leaving Phuket we used an airport transfer with Phuket shuttles which all went fine. We arrived early to Phuket international (because I’m me lol) and I had arranged for us to use the Coral Executive Lounge before our flight. The lounge had good food, drinks and comfortable chairs – definitely much better than sitting in the uncomfortable airport chairs.

We had a 4hr stopover in Changi (3hrs really as you have to be at your gate 1hr early) and opted to explore this time! I had a list based on a blog post I found online https://trevallog.com/jewel-canopy-park/ so I knew I wanted to go to canopy park, the discovery slides, Butterfly garden, crystal garden and eat some Hainenese chicken at the hainan story chapter 2 restaurant in jewel. It is really hard to find info about Jewel and the Changi website just tells you it’s accessible from every terminal. Turns out, while that is true it’s accessible through arrivals. Which means you need a visitor visa and more time – I’m pretty annoyed it took random blogs and 40 mins of aimless walking to tell us this as the Changi info is so unclear.

Once we worked that out, we went to terminal 3 and visited the butterfly garden instead.

We also had lunch in T3 at “Singapore food street” which was delicious and I finally got my hainanese chicken I’ve been waiting for. It was also well priced at $7.50 Singapore dollars.

By that point we only had 1.5hrs to go so we just sat near the gate to wait for departure.

I will comment that every single time I’ve told someone we are flying Singapore air this trip I got the “oooh fancy” reply which I’ve found fascinating as I don’t think I’ve every experienced worse service! On the 5hr flight coming over (1am departure) it took them 2hrs to serve food and another 40 mins to clean it up so cabin lights were dimmed for about 90 mins in total on a very late flight. We thought maybe that was a one off but last night it was the same! 2.5 hrs to serve food and they ran out. Plus they moved our seat last minute and kept trying to give me someone else’s meal the whole flight. I wouldn’t be paying their full price to fly them again.

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Patong, Phuket: Day 5 -7 including La Gritta Restaurant

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Mel

We started day 5 with the included breakfast (of course – Omnomnom eggs) and then some pool relaxation time again. Just before 1pm we headed off for another Burasari signature Thai massage – no cocktail happy hour today due to what came after the massage! This massage is a 2hr treatment that costs around 4x nearby street massages but we both agree it is the best massage we have EVER had. They also accomodate my injuries extremely well so I feel totally comfortable and not anxious at all. Each massage starts with a 30 min purification ritual which is very relaxing.

After the massage, I had a short work call to attend to (a lecture actually – my students were not impressed I was in Thailand while they prepare for teaching placements next week lol) before we headed off to watch the sunset and have dinner at the markets again. Then we drank in the bar at the hotel for….about 4hrs. Oops.

Day 6 started with epic hangovers haha. We basically spent the whole day in bed watching TV. I was able to make it out of bed at 5pm to wander up to the otop markets and have the best Panang Curry ever and a pineapple smoothie for dinner….just.

On Day 7 (our last day) we went to the beach and spent 5hrs relaxing on the sun lounges, swimming in the ocean and eating pad Thai for lunch. The lounges cost 200 baht for 2 and you can stay as long as you want – they serve you food and drinks too. You do have to deal with the street sellers approaching you but we worked out ignoring them meant they stopped coming back.

For dinner today, I had booked “La Gritta” at Amari Phuket Resort. It’s about a 15 min walk from us (including going up a small hill) and has a view out over the Patong Bay. Beautiful!! Not the cheapest dinner option (especially compared to 100 baht satay or 150 baht curry at the markets) but well worth the booking ahead for the view and amazing Italian food options. It’s not often we find a 5 course degustation for under $100 AUD!

Home tomorrow. I’m going to do a separate travel home post about our trip home as we are going to try out the paid lounge at Phuket international and explore Changi air port a bit more.

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Patong, Phuket Day 4: Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Mel

Today we visited the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. Last time we came to Phuket we went to what is referred to as an elephant retirement village in search of ethical animal tourism. Those places absolutely do rescue them and look after them and give them freedom…but there are also usually a lot of human interactions expected from the elephants. They aren’t hit or forced to do it but they also aren’t exactly free to roam. Which brings us to PES!

This rescue have a 600-metre-long and 6-meter-tall canopy walkway which is the only one of its kind in Phuket. It provides the elephants with maximum freedom to naturally roam, forage, bathe and socialize in the jungle below. Visitors observe them from above as well as from a safe and respectful distance whilst hiking through the 30-acre sanctuary as part of our guided tours. The elephants are free to move around wherever they like and there is no pressure for them to approach or interact with people in anyway.

We paid for the private half day tour which meant individual transport, private jungle walk and feeding for the elephants (if they felt like it) and then private vegetarian lunch. Well worth it for people like us who….don’t like other people haha.

After our walk and visits with the elephants, we went up into their canopy walk and watched them from above for awhile. Then it was lunch time! Such an amazing vegetarian feast….we were stuffed. Over lunch we were able to see the “not social” elephant in the background who has her own poolside villa. She has been at the sanctuary for 3 years but doesn’t like to leave the sleeping pen at all, she’s very scared. So they built her a big pen with her own pool.

After lunch we went back to the resort and I had some poolside reading during happy hour again.

For dinner we went up Bangla Road to the food markets there and then I finally got to go into Tiger Night club and drink! We also saw beach fireworks. Bangla Street Eats is very pushy – much more pushy than other markers we have been to for food – so I think this is a one time visit for this trip.

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Patong, Phuket Day 3: resort relaxing, No 6 restaurant and more markets

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Mel

Day 3 started with a small sleep in and then we skipped the provided breakfast and walked up to No 6 Restaurant just past Bangla Road – so about 15 mins away. We opted to go early as people happily queue up here and I was hoping to avoid that! Lucky me, 10:30am seemed to be a good arrival time as it was busy but not full.

We ordered massaman curry, pad Thai, stir fried corn and two drinks which came to about $15 AUD (370 baht). It was all delicious! The flavours were so good, service was fast and although you were at communal tables you could still just ignore people and focus on your food.

On the way back to the hotel I got my beach swing photo and then we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool with books and cocktails. We also enjoyed some snacks and drinks from our minibar which gets refilled daily – 2 beers, soft drinks and Oreos!

For our early dinner, we walked about 10 mins up the road to the Malin Plaza where the markets were delicious and VERY cheap. We had skewers for 50 baht each (B had crocodile – eek) and cocktails for 100 baht! B also got to try his favourite icy snack.

We walked back to the hotel via Dragon Night markets which looked super colourful and interesting but was basically empty….and then again through the street eats Patong section full of very empty bars. Not sure if it is the time of year or just lack of tourism returning to the country yet? Very quiet though.

We had dinner number two around the corner at Chino Yard – I finally found some chicken satay!

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Patong, Phuket Day 2

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Mel

Day 2 started quite early after way too many cocktails the night before and a solid 12hrs sleep. We had complimentary breakfast at the hotel (always so many food choices here!) and then went for a wander around the area to see what’s changed since 2018.

We walked down to the beach which is only 50m away and still has the awesome lounges and beautiful water – 200 baht is about $9 AUD. The area is a lot more “pretty” than it used to be with more small shops, markets and even fancy apartments.

After some poolside lounging at the Burasari (it’s hard to get a lounge here as they only have 12 so we got lucky today) we had a Thai massage in the afternoon before heading to the “street eats Patong” just up the road for dinner and drinks.

We then walked up the street next to our hotel (Prachanukhro Rd) and discovered a strip of small bars including the 24hr “dolphin bar”. From there we explored further and just a 5 min walk away we came across Patong Otop Shopping Paradise – including an open air food market “street eats patong” with many small bars included! Ooooh that’s going to be a good dinner spot.

So many food options! B was absolutely torn on what to have. We ended up going with pad Thai and beer.

We then did some people watching and bar hopping before joining lots of other people for a beautiful sunset on the beach.

After sunset we headed to another night market (Chino Yard) which is just across the road from Kamala Beach for more people watching and cocktails. It was quiet but the drinks were an awesome price.

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