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Songkran (Water Festival) 2012 Phuket

We went to a short trip to Phuket recently (12th April to 15th April 2012) and it coincides with the Songkran festival in Thailand. This blog post documents the first day of Songkran (12th April 2012) and the location is along Thanon Ratuthit Songroipi. Going out during Songkran means getting wet but I still have to, as I still need to get lunch!

Along Thanon Ratuthit Songroipi, it’s really packed with vehicles. Do note the water all over the roads and it’s not because of the rain. It’s all man-made! Errm.. splash 🙂

Timing is around 2 pm and the fun is only beginning!

A few young ladies posing for the photos. Warm and friendly folks but that didn’t stop them from shooting me with water!

Walking through, note the guy with the white bucket, he dumped me with all of it! And that’s ice water! Burrr….Hahaha!

More ladies posing along the way to my destination, Jungceylon Shopping Mall.

Parties, music, booze and water! What more do you want? LOL

Well, that’s the scene at Bangla Road, famous for it’s nightlife and popular spot for nightclubs, go go bars, ice bar and beer bars. Is that a fire engine in the photo? It looks too havoc and I didn’t go in as it wasn’t the direction I’m heading to! Going through Bangla Road will lead you to Patong Beach.

Finally reached Jungceylon and not sure why but I always have the impression that things is going to be milder here….hell no! It’s like a mini-disco and the party’s hot!

Getting a bit more towards the crowd and was bombarded with water guns!

Check out the video for the wild scene at Jungceylon!

Got through the mob and went to the other side of Jungceylon, where things are much quieter but still can hear the distant music!

The scene beyong Jungceylon is not so wild! I guess the action stops at Jungceylon….but might not be the case as I didn’t walk any further.

War time! Busy shooting each other and I’m just waiting for the correct time to pass by without getting caught in the fire!

Walked back to Jungceylon to get lunch and the crowd is as still psych up as before. If you are thinking why that’s so much water around… look below for answer.

Well, they basically use a fire hose! That’s so awesome! LOL

Going back to my mission of buying lunch in Jungceylong shopping mall. Looking for Fuji Japanese Restaurant, one of our favourite food chain in Thailand.

More food and fun in Jungceylon but I’ll come back another day to explore.

Jungceylon Water Fountain Show, happening daily at 7pm and 9pm. The plan is to eat dinner and watch the show! Not today…

Some nice decorations at Jungceylon.

Walking back to resort is slow as I still get shot with water. Plus, this time round I have to protect the food, which I have also asked the restaurant to provide more protection. But basically, what I did was holding the food above my head, of course it comes with stares from some people, which I told them politely “It’s food!”. LOL

If you feel hungry after all the water fight, there are still food stalls around to have a quick bite to regain energy for next battle!

Fried Chicken, anyone? The Songkran celebrants usually leave stall owners alone so that they can still get on with their business.

Crowd at Tiger Inn Phuket = Happening!

Look here to see why!

By the time I got back to the resort, I was already soaked, dried and then soaked again! But at least the food is safe! Hahaha!

If you are curious about the white stuff on the face, that’s talcum powder, flour, or rice powder that is used by Songkran celebrants to smear all over your face, hair, arms and back ! I believe it’s said to protect you from evil!

Another thing, if you are curious about how my camera survived during the water fights, I’m using DiCAPac WP-610 Waterproof Case for LX3.

Looking forward to the next Songkran!

3 Days 2 Nights Trip at Harris Resort Batam

This short trip to Batam was made on 10th Sept 2010 (during the long weekend of Hari Raya Puasa), together with the same gang of friends that went to Malaysia (See “A Day in Kuala Lumpur 2” and “A Day in Malacca“). Our package at Harris Resort Batam is as below. It’s slightly more expensive than usual due to the holiday peak period.

It Is Good Deal @ Harris Funky Room (Old Wing Room)
Adult twin sharing: $127.00 per person
Child without bed: $36.00
Infant: $18.00

Package price includes:
– 2 way ferry tickets
– 2 way land transfers
– 2 nights stay with daily breakfasts
– FREE one time lunch or dinner for paying adults and children.
– FREE one time 30mins bicycle ride for two per room per stay.
– FREE one game of bowling for two per room per stay
– FREE access to sauna, cold plunge pool at H Spa & fitness.
– FREE access to Wi-Fi internet within hotel premises.
– FREE one time two-way shuttle services to Nagoya Hill for all paxs.
*Depart hotel 1100hrs & 1400hrs (Batam Time)
*Depart Nagoya Hill timing 1430hrs & 1730hrs (Batam Time)
*FCFS basis, guests MUST register at bell counter soonest or at least 02hrs before departing time.

Package excludes:
– Singapore terminal tax $20.00 per person pay at Harbourfront Centre
– Batam terminal tax $7.00 per person pay at Waterfront City Batam Terminal

The ferry ride was rather fast and we reached Waterfront City Batam Terminal in less than an hour but getting through the immigration took some time due to the bulk of travelers. Above shows a shop selling variety of products, just as you walk out of the immigration. We bought tons of food, snacks, beer, etc here!

Land transfer from Harris Resort Batam. It was only a few minutes drive from the ferry terminal.

We were given twin rooms despite requesting for double bed rooms during our reservation. I think those who took the first ferry out from Singapore manage to get the limited double bed rooms as there were lots of travelers checking in. We checked-in to our rooms and then took a walk around Harris Resort Batam (mostly pool area). Then, we went to the restaurant to have a small bite as we missed lunch and it almost nearing dinner time (4pm).

The pizza looks great but we didn’t eat it as the portion is rather big and we were going to have dinner pretty soon. Our dinner will be using the “FREE one time lunch or dinner for paying adults and children” which is included in the package. The free dinner was …. 🙁

Harris Resort Batam – Old Wing (we are staying here).

Harris Resort Batam – This is the new wing and it will cost a tad more than the old wing. We had a sneak peek at one of the rooms (during housekeeping) on the ground floor and it seems smaller than the old wing rooms.

We went to the bowling centre to play the “FREE one game of bowling for two per room per stay” in our package. You have to rent the bowling shoes but it doesn’t comes with any socks!

Nice swimming pool at Harris Resort Batam.

If you are early, you can grab one of these sheltered seats. How nice it would be to relax here (with beers)!

Lobby area of Harris Resort Batam. The lifts that we used daily! Hehe…

Beach area near Harris Resort Batam.

Small yacht berthing at nearby dock near Harris Resort Batam.

We took the free one-time return shuttle services from Harris Resort to Nagoya Hill for shopping. We had made the reservation for the shuttle service one day earlier.

We wanted to try the original Ayam Penyet Ria but it was closed. By the way, there is a Ayam Penyet Ria in Lucky Plaza (Singapore)!

Food street at Nagoya Hill. Lots of food for you to choose!

77 Es Teler – We tried one of the desserts which is very much like Ice Kacang. There is also a Es Teler in Singapore too! It’s at Far East Plaza Singapore.

Our bedroom at Harris Resort Batam, we wasn’t able to get the double bed room so we improvised on our own. Haha!

The rest of the area in our bedroom at Harris Resort Batam.

Bathroom at Harris Resort Batam. It’s clean but the hot water is pretty inconsistent, sometimes it’s hot and most of the time it’s cold! Wahaha!

The sun is setting soon. Taken at a seafood restaurant near to the Waterfront City Batam Terminal.

Dinner at a kelong-style seafood restaurant near to the Waterfront City Batam Terminal. I can’t seem to remember the name…

Fried chicken and Sambal Kang Kong.

Chilli crabs.

Hot Plate Tofu.

Black pepper crabs.

Daily breakfast at Harris Resort Batam was rather lacking but not entirely not consumable.

A pet monkey at a restaurant beside Harris Resort Batam.

The restaurant beside Harris Resort Batam, where we had our lunch, before leaving for our ferry back to Singapore. We had actually requested for early ferry departure in the morning but it was already full so have to settle for the afternoon one.

Fried Chicken Rice Special.

One of the ferry at Waterfront City Batam Terminal where we were waiting to board our ferry back to Singapore. The trip went by without a lot of photo taking as there wasn’t really much to shoot! Also, we didn’t venture far away from Harris Resort Batam to engage in other activities as we were traveling with children. It’s really a “getaway”! Haha!