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.
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.
Day 3 was Bs actual birthday! Woohoo! We started with a lovely breakfast view from the accomodation.
It was time then for yet another birthday present for him – a surprise surfing lesson with Crystal Wallace (and her husband Tim) at Yallingup Surf School. I supervised from the beach haha. Unfortunately surfing triggered Bs motion sickness so it was a very short lesson followed by a long nap – the company were great though and I recommend them.
We had a 90 min couple massage at the Empire Spa Retreat in the afternoon. You have to book quite far ahead to get into their only couples room but they were fantastic – super accomodating for some unexpected injuries I had as well.
Bs birthday dinner was at Lamont’s at Smiths Beach with a (allegedly) a lovely beach view and some amazing food choices. I arranged a 6pm booking for sunset. Unfortunately while the restaurant is on the beach, it does not have a view once you are inside. Food was okay – not terrible, not amazing. The pavlova dessert was HUGE!
On day 4 we did a self checkout (which meant we got a delicious breakfast hamper pictured below!) and then drove 3hrs back to Perth. We would definitely stay at this accomodation again, we both really liked the bush/privacy vibes.
On the way home our halfway stop was at Myalup Miami Bakehouse to admire all the kangaroo art.
Home today! I booked TICBALI on the way out again. This time I paid:
– $275000 IDR ($27 AUD approx) for the private transfer from Ayana Segara to the airport . The driver was early and very professional
– $800000 IDR each ($75 AUD approx) for priority VIP service and access to the Premier lounge. The lounge on its own was $580000 IDR each
Both costs were well worth it. The transfer cost was comparable to other private companies and the VIP service meant we skipped the queue at checkin and used the diplomat queue at immigration! Our guide then walked us through the airport and to the Premier Lounge.
Premier Lounge is not a business lounge, it’s a pay per use one. If you are used to business lounges it may come as a shock as it’s definitely not the same. Think the equivalent of the air Asia lounges at KL. Despite being a bit more casual, it had comfortable chairs, power points, free food and free soft drink – all of which are very nice when you are travelling home on crappy Jetstar.
Can’t wait to see the fur babies in about 7 hrs time!
We spent the day at the resort today. We enjoyed the included breakfast at Sami Sami and then were lucky enough to snag a cabana next to the Ocean Beach Pool again.
After some reading and fresh juice, we walked up to the spa for our “gifted” 90 minute couples massage to make up for the noise on our first night. It was a lovely pressure point massage in a very peaceful garden setting.
After the massage we were lucky enough to score a cabana back at the ocean beach pool again (very lucky, I may have stalked some people) and spent another few hours listening to the ocean crash while lazing near the pool.
We then caught the little shuttle bus which runs around the different parts of the resort over to “Rimba” which is the more family focused area. We checked out the huge pool system (complete with water slide!) before heading up to the rooftop bar.
Up at the bar “Unique” I finally got my beautiful sunset. We ate some delicious Mexican food and I had the infinity pool pretty much to myself as I floated around drinking mojitos and enjoying the view.
We then caught the shuttle bus back to our part of the resort (Ayana Segara) where I discovered A TOWEL ELEPHANT WITH A FRANGIPANI! Amazing.
We arrived at midday yesterday after a 15hr (yes I did say fifteen hour) delay – thanks Jetstar you giant bag of dicks. I used the TICBALI service on arrival who meet you in arrivals, priority pass you through all sections and then transport you to your hotel. That was $50 well spent as we were walking out of the airport 45 minutes after we arrived and saw on social media afterwards that wait times were closer to 2.5hrs for others.
We checked into Ayana Segara which only opened about 4 weeks ago. It’s part of the Ayana resort which is four different locations all near each other and with shared facilities – which means 17 restaurants, 12 pools, many bars and a beautiful day spa. Plus a private beach! They also do towel art. I love towel art.
After check in, we enjoyed the view from the room and the closest pool, before heading to Rock Bar for dinner. Rock Bar is built into the cliff rocks near Jimbaran and is pretty amazing. No beautiful sunset for us *shakes fist at clouds* but the view was still lovely and the food was great.
Our first night was rough with 5 star resort pricing not stopping bogan jerks from carrying on. I spoke with a manager this morning who was apologetic and arranged for us to move rooms and have a free massage. Hopefully tonight is better!
After our included breakfast we headed to see how busy it was at the Ocean Beach Pool which is the much instagrammed infinity edge pool that overlooks the ocean. We got lucky and scored a cabana as well as a very empty pool!
After laze in a cabana and a refreshing fresh juice we went to try out the Thalassotherapy Pool. I had never heard of one before but apparently it is the therapeutic use of sea water and minerals to promote health and wellness. You basically work through over sixty different jets at 32 stations over an hour and oh boy, am I sore afterwards! We will likely do this again though, it was amazing after 8hrs in airports and on a plane.
After the Thalassotherapy spa we lazed around another pool with some cocktails…then a 4th pool with yet more cocktails….it’s kind of the theme for this trip! After an hour in the pool number 4 which was an infinity pool on the roof, I declared it “my pool” and refused to get out so we had dinner at the Luna Rooftop Bar. I ate from my spot in the pool in case you were wondering. We almost got a sunset tonight.
Plans for tomorrow include more pools, more cocktails and a massage!
This morning we enjoyed a lovely sleep in and some baby goat watching from the warmth of the cottage. The miniature horses were also chilling out the front of the cottage so I made sure they got some love!
It was a bit of a gray and drizzly morning so while we waited for the rain to clear up we headed to Duckett Mill Winery and cheese factory. We had a delicious tasting board with wine/cheese pairings as well as one of their famous toasties for an early lunch.
After lunch we headed to the Denmark Animal Farm to pat and feed some very cute baby animals. It was very muddy (yay rain) but still pretty cool to get to interact with all the animals.
After the animal farm we took advantage of a slight break in the weather and explored Elephant Rocks and Green Pool beaches. There is some amazing rock formations down this end of WA.
We then headed back towards Denmark with a stop at Bartholomew’s Meadery (yummm honey and mead) and some beer paddles at Boston Brewing. Phew! Now back to our farm cottage for some relaxation, treats and goat pats. Home tomorrow
Today we checked out of our accomodation in Albany to head to a farm stay in Elleker (halfway between Albany and Denmark). On the way we stopped at the Whaling Station for a walk around and history tour. Definitely worth a visit! We arrived right on 9am when they opened which was a good call as by the time we left at 11am the car park was completely full.
After the whaling station we drove out to the Treetop Walk in Denmark. It’s about an hour drive from Albany but it was absolutely amazing! When it’s busy there are some wait times but the 600m long walk up 40m through the tress was accessible, easy and really pretty. I don’t like heights but felt okay the whole time as it feels secure and has a good height on the enclosed railings. We also walked through the ancient tree walk which had some red eucalypts that were over 600 years old.
From here, we drove to our farm stay and checked in. It is a gorgeous little cottage on a working farm with a bath overlooking the paddocks. They also have baby goats!!! Dinner was homemade scones and a cheese platter from the farm owner as well as some bubbly.
Today we started off with the free breakfast at our bnb – the name of this accomodation is Beach House by the Bayside. The brekkie was delicious! They even made me a small one as I wasn’t too hungry. We then set off to play tourist for the day – and take lots of photos.
We started at the mounted memorial at the top of Mt Clarence.
From there, we drove back down to the National Anzac Centre. We visited the newer part (which is paid entry) and also did the free one hour tour up the hill to the gunner mounts.
The views were spectacular there and it was such a lovely morning (glorious sunshine) you could see way out into the bay. After our visit here, we drove about 15 mins out of Albany centre to Monty’s Leap Winery. We did a wine tasting and enjoyed their vineyard platter for lunch. They are quite an expensive option for a meal but the food was really good – they were also totally booked out even for a Friday lunch so worth planning ahead. We also bought some wine mmmm wine.
After lunch we visited a bunch of the natural tourist sites including the gap, the natural bridge, misery beach and the blowholes. The blowholes weren’t blowing sadly so we will have to come back again to that one on another visit.
Tonight, we booked dinner at the top rated restaurant in Albany – it’s called Majuba Bistro. The food was amazing. So good in fact we missed a mains photo. Delicious local wines accompanied delicious food. Definitely book ahead for this one as they were booked out all weekend by the time we arrived on Thursday night.
After dinner, we had a nightcap at Liberte Bar (best walk in sign ever) and then were in bed by 8pm. We booked a ride home with Albany Taxi Cabs and even though it was a busy night they were on time for our booking and the service was fantastic.
Tomorrow, we change accomodation and are off to a farm stay (WITH BABY MINIATURE GOATS) halfway to Denmark.
We drove from Perth to Albany today with a few stops along the 4.5hr drive at Riverside Roadhouse (mmm pies) and Kojonup. The drive was a fairly quiet one despite the unexpected public holiday for the Queen.
Our first two nights here we are staying at Beach House by the Bayside in Middleton Beach. It’s a lovely little bnb with a 2 min walk to the beach, 5 min drive from the main restaurant strip and a spa bath in the room.
Tonight we opted to walk down the beach (which took about 30mins) to have dinner at “WAs best fish and chips” Hooked on Middleton Beach Fish and Chips. The walk was just lovely along the dog beach. Plus….dogs!
Our walk brought us down to Rats Bar which has some…interesting….google reviews. We thought the service was good and they had all local wines which was lovely. It was quiet while we were there but had definitely picked up when we walked back past at 6pm.
The fish and chips for dinner was delicious! You definitely need to book as they were almost fully booked from 6pm and the only reason we got in was because we were quite early. They also use home made tartare sauce which was nice and thick. Yum.
Now I’m off to drink champagne out of a water glass while I sit in the spa.
Mel's Travel Blog 