Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Elephant Trekking and Rafting – By Marine Doom

A 7h45, nous sommes partis du Thavorn Grand Plaza en direction de Kao Lak. Alejandra, Elisabeth, Camilla, Fabienne et moi, étions vraiment très excitées à l’idée de faire du trekking en éléphant et du rafting. Il nous a fallu environ une heure pour atteindre notre premier objectif, le Temple Monkey.



Nous avons été étonnés par le nombre de singes présents autour de nous et à quel point ils étaient intéressés par la nourriture. Nous avions acheté quelques cacahuètes pour les nourrir, et un singe très intelligent, monta sur la jambe à Elisabeth, sauta sur son épaule, prit le sac de cacahuètes et s'enfuit avec le sac entier, vraiment culotté. On a aussi pu observer des singes avec des tout petits bébés accrochés à leur ventre, ils étaient trop mignons. Nous sommes après trente minutes d’arrêt, remontées dans le bus pur environ 30 minutes, pour nous rendre au trekking en éléphant.



Nous étions étonnées devant la grandeur de cet animal, très touchant. Ils ont sellé nos montures et nous somme parties en randonnées pour 30 minutes, dés le départ je suis montée sur son cou, se fut vraiment très impressionnant.



Nous avons ensuite dis au revoir à nos nouveaux amis, et nous sommes remontées dans le bus. Nous sommes arrivées, dans un endroit magnifique, au milieu de nulle part, on a enfilé des gilets de sauvetage, un casque et avons sauté dans notre bateau.
Ensuite nous avons rejoint les 20 bateaux, et ils ont ouvert les vannes du barrage et là, se fut une réelle course dans les rapides. On pagayait tous comme des fous, en essayant de diriger le bateau avec bien sûr l’aide de nos guides. Sur le chemin nous avons également eu la chance de voir des éléphants, des petits villages et la possibilité de plonger dans l'eau froide (en comparaison de l’eau chaude de l'océan indien de Thaïlande). À la fin de notre visite nous avons également eu la chance de voir une belle cascade. Nous avons pu observer un grand nombre de papillons dans ce domaine, ainsi que quelques oiseaux.



Ensuite, se fut l’heure du déjeuner, qui fut un régal. Nous avons ensuite rejoint le bus et après cette journée pleines d’aventures, regagné le Thavorn Grand Plaza. Ce fut réellement une excursion extraordinaire et qui restera sans doute, gravée dans ma mémoire.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Voila la suite de mes aventures à Phuket.

Dimanche 2 mai, ma mère est arrivée à l’aéroport de Phuket pour me rendre visite et profiter de vacances à Phuket. Nous avions loué mon copain et moi une voiture afin de profiter un maximum de la semaine avec ma maman. Le premier soir, nous sommes allés manger à Kata Beach, dans un restaurant de fruits de mer, Kata est une station balnéaire très animée, avec de nombreux magasins, restaurants et bars. Les deux jours suivant, j’allais la chercher le soir pour dîner, nous nous rendions dans des nouveaux endroits chaque soir. Le lundi nous avons diné à Fantasea (près de Kamala beach) pour ensuite admirer ce fabuleux spectacle d’acrobates, représentation avec des éléphants… Le mardi soir nous avons diné dans un restaurant situé sur un point de vue, entre Kata beach et Surin Beach, nous avons très très bien mangé pour moins de 20€ pour 3.

Le mercredi, c’était un jour férié en Thailande, on en a donc profité pour se rendre au Big Bouda, situé prés de Chalong. Le Big bouda de Phuket et le plus grand de Thailande, c’est aussi un magnifique point de vue sur le sud de l’île.



Ensuite, en moins de 15 minutes nous nous rendions au temple Wat Chalong, le temple le plus important de Phuket. C’est réellement un temple magnifique, on peut y voir des gens qui prient, des moines et bien sûr quelques touristes.





Nous avons ensuite passé l’après midi à Nai Harn Beach, une très belle plage située à l’extrême sud de l’île de Phuket. Le soir, nous avons diné dans un restaurant de fruits de mer à Nai Yang beach, une vaste plage au nord de l’île, à 5 minutes de l’aéroport. Le jeudi soir, après une journée intense et intéressante de travail, nous nous rendîmes pour dîner à Surin beach dans un petit restaurant très sympa avec un personnel très agréable. Le jour suivant, j’avais un jour de repos afin de profiter un peu plus de cette semaine en compagnie de ma maman, nous avons était dans le centre de l’île afin de faire du Trekking en éléphant, à la plage de Kamala, et ensuite faire du shopping à Patong.



Le samedi nous avons du rendre la voiture, après ma journée de travail, nous sommes allés au week end Market à 10 minutes du centre ville de Phuket, ce marché est génial, on trouve de tout, des souvenirs, des habits, de très bon petit plat…





Le dimanche matin nous sommes partis, ma maman, mon copain, une amie et moi, à Krabi. Krabi est une province situé au nord est de Phuket. On a payé 3 euros, pour 3 heures de bus, c’est vraiment pas cher. Ensuite nous avons pris le bateau pour nous rendre sur la plage de Railey, une presqu’il situé à environ une demi heure de la ville de Krabi. Nous avons séjourné 2 jours sur cette plage magnifique. Le mardi, fut le départ de ma mère.







Cette semaine nous (les étudiants) sommes en charge de différents projets, comme la mise en place du bar à l’étage backpackers, la restructuration de la réception… donc affaire à suivre !!!!

My Adventures in Phuket

Sunday, May 2nd, my mother arrived at Phuket airport to visit me and to enjoy a holiday in Phuket. I rented a car with my boyfriend to make the best of the week with my Mum. The first night we went to eat in Kata Beach at a seafood restaurant. Kata is a lively resort with many shops, restaurants and bars. The next two evenings, we went out for dinner in new places. On Monday, we dined at Fantasea (near Kamala beach) and then enjoyed the fabulous spectacle of acrobats, performance with elephants ... Tuesday evening we had dinner in a restaurant located on a view point, between Kata Beach and Nai Harn Beach. We ate very well for less than 20 € for 3 people.

Wednesday was a public holiday in Thailand, so we went to go and view the Big Buddha, located near Chalong. The Big Buddha in Phuket is the largest in Thailand. There is also a magnificent view of the southern island. There were renovations to the Buddha when we visited, but it was still very impressive.



Then,in less than 15 minutes we went to Wat Chalong, the most important temple in Phuket. It is truly a magnificent temple, one can see people praying, monks and of course some tourists.





We then spent the afternoon in Nai Harn Beach, a beautiful beach located at the southern tip of the island of Phuket. That night we dined in a seafood restaurant in Nai Yang beach, a wide beach north of the island, 5 minutes from the airport. On Thursday evening, after an intense and interesting day of work, we went for dinner at Surin beach in a small cozy restaurant with very nice staff. The next day, I had a day off to enjoy a bit more time with my Mum. We were in the center of the island to do an elephant trekking tour, followed by a visit to the beach of Kamala. Then we went shopping to the Jungceylon Centre in Patong and Central Festival near to Phuket Town.



On Saturday, after my work day, we went in the car to the weekend Market. The market is 10 minutes from downtown Phuket and is a great place to visit. You can find everything from souvenirs, clothes to very good food ...





On Sunday morning,my mom, my boyfriend, a friend and me went to Krabi. Krabi is a province located in the northeast of Phuket. We paid 3 euros for 3 hours by bus, which is really cheap. Then we took a boat to Railey beach, a peninsula located about a half hour from the city of Krabi. We stayed two days on this beautiful beach. On Tuesday my mother returned to France.







This week, we (students) are in charge of various projects, such as the establishment of the backpackers bar upstairs in the social area on the 4th floor and the restructuring of the reception... So stay tuned!!!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

My daily life at Thavorn Grand Plaza

Well, it's been 23 days since my arrival in this beautiful country called Thailand ...Since then I have had the opportunity to visit incredible places, and when I say incredible I really mean exactly this. Obviously all the amazing beaches and nearby islands you can visit in this island are the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. They are like a perfect and harmonious set of sun, sand, sea, flora and fauna. I am not going to tell you anything more about these beauties because we already described the scenery earlier in this blog.

But come on, the beaches are not the only striking attractions in this place, I must also mention its fascinating culture, which comes from their religion and their customs. If you are surrounded by these people you can really feel the deep respect and a friendly atmosphere, something really nice. About the typical Thai food I cannot say much except that Thai people really love spicy food. I can only mention that it's not my favorite type, but that's not a problem here, as you can choose from a wide variety of food. You will find a great and huge choice of restaurants to visit, from Japanese to Italian. If you really want to try something totally hot like traditional Thai food, you can enjoy it at local small food vendors which are everywhere on each street.



On the other hand something that has really caught my attention here is how important religion is. Here it is not only a choice of belief it is really a lifestyle. Every day early in the morning you can see the monks from their respective temples walking in different directions in order to collect food and other offerings off Thai people. The only things which they can not accept are monetary offerings.

The temples are really beautiful places, designed from the largest to the smallest detail. The last time I went with my friends to visit the Wat Suwan Khiri Khet in Karon, which was really unusual because the whole altar is surrounded by giant snakes, all were very colorful. Additional to the amazing temple, there were really nice people who offered drinks and fresh fruit at the end of our visit, which is definitely an experience to remember.





But don’t think we have always leisure time, still the main reason for my stay here is my internship at the Thavorn Grand Plaza hotel. So in my workdays I have to train professionally with the help of all my colleagues (I have to note that in our office there is a real mix of nationalities). I honestly find this whole experience is really nice and it is a pleasure to work at this hotel in this community with all these people!

I hope I am not alone with my opinion, because there are no words to describe this wonderful place. So hopefully we can meet during the next months here in Phuket ... LA PERLA DEL SUR!
By Alejandra Lopez

Monday, May 3, 2010

My daily life at Thavorn Grand Plaza

Now again “my daily life at Thavorn Grand Plaza” from another point of view!

After my first month working under the shining sun of Thailand I must say, that I have seen a lot of things that impressed me totally! I don’t only mean all the white beaches around Phuket, I also mean the whole restaurant and bar scene. I think it is not possible to see in another place in the world the so many different kinds of restaurants with such a great choice of delicious food. Here you can find in addition to all the Thai restaurants, many Korean ones, many Chinese ones, Japanese ones as well as German restaurants, American restaurants, Italian restaurants without any problem.

Furthermore, it is possible on nearly every corner to find freshly cooked snacks or whole dishes. A very special thing here is also all the markets, but especially the weekend market. At this market you can not only go shopping for clothes, you can also buy a lot of different small gifts, souvenirs, decoration, jewellery, DVDs and stuff like this, you can also purchase food, fruits and all kinds of vegetables.



The next impression which I want to share with you concerns the amazing beaches around Phuket Island and also all our Thavorn Hotels! I really don’t know with which beach I should start, but in my opinion, the beaches on Similan Island are the most impressing ones in the near area! I have never seen such amazing white beaches and light turquoise water. It really made me and everybody else speechless! The water seemed to be clearer and purer than any water elsewhere in the world…





Another inimitable place for me was Phi Phi Island with all the colorful corals and shining fish around the unbelievable underwater world.

But I must add on this place that you don’t need to go on an island tour to see such beautiful beaches. All the beaches directly on Phuket Island, there are around 20 different mind-blowing beaches, like Kata Beach, Karon Beach, Patong Beach, Surin Beach, Nai Yang Beach, Bang Tao Beach and many more are amazing. On these beaches you can take a bath in the warm sea, sunbathe under the stunning sun or observe huge waves dashing against the fine white sand. You can also watch surfers riding on the waves, drive a jet ski, do parasailing or enjoy one of the popular and relaxing Thai massages directly on the beach!





All in all, I can only tell you my impressions, but if you really want to know what is going on here in Phuket, please don’t hesitate to come and form your own opinion!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Sea Cave Canoe Tour to James Bond Island

Yesterday on the 29th of April we started early at half past 7 to get ready for our next tour, going to James Bond Island, which is in the area of Phang Nga. We arrived at Phang Nga Bay at around 10 o‘clock and then our adventure started by boarding a big boat. After we got on the boat, the crew, which consisted of 12 people, welcomed us with cold and hot drinks and a big basket of fresh fruit. While the boat was leaving from the pier we got a short briefing about what we would be doing during the whole day, which made us all very excited. The tour guide then introduced us all to our personal boat guide. There was one boat guide shared between two of us, who would be responsible for the canoeing for us.

All in all it took us around one hour to get to our first stop which was our first of 4 total adventures. First was an Island called Lawa Island with a beach with lots of shells and crabs. There we had the opportunity to swim, relax on the beach or canoe on our own.


After 40 minutes it was time to get into the canoe again and go back to the big boat. There it took us around half an hour to get to James Bond Island. We stopped the boat again in front of amazing, huge rocks, which really seemed to climb out of the water. The boat guide drove us to a small bay with a beach full of shells and stairs on one end of the bay. The pathway we passed by some beautiful viewpoints where it was possible to see the famous rock, which is called James Bond Island, or Ko Tapu or Nail Island. These rocks are famous because important scenes with Roger Moore and Christopher Lee in the 1974 Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun" were shot there. At the beachside of this island it was possible to go shopping and bathing again.


Back on the boat a delicious Thai buffet lunch was waiting for us followed by fruits and drinks.

After half an hour additional driving we reached another beautiful island called Koh Hong, which we discovered by our private canoe. We saw a lot of impressive rocks, which sometimes looked like piranhas, fingers, an old monk or a gorilla. The impressing and amazing rocks made us really speechless.

Back on the boat we arrived after a 2 minute drive to our last stop for this day. Here we were exploring amazing sea caves, sea tunnels, lagoons and hongs by sea cave canoes. Sometimes it was necessary to lay down in the canoe because the rocks were very narrow for us. But after each small sea tunnel we arrived at a beautiful lagoon with a lot of different plans, like mangroves or palm trees. For us it was also very interesting to see the amazing bat cave or all the oyster fossils.

To sum it up, this exciting trip was a very beautiful insight into the scenic world of the mysterious “hongs” (Thai word for rooms), by canoeing along the amazing landscape of Phang Nga Bay.