Sa-wa-dee-kap....... is a 'hello' in Thai language. It is usually used for greeting customers, the elders and tourists but to friends they only say 'Wad-dee' and to be more specific,  Wa-dee-ka by  ladies and Wa-dee-kap by  men. The meanings stays the same but the impact is different.

I have been here in Phuket for quite a number of times. Yes, there are lots of places to visit and lots of activities can be done here. Phuket has everything from animal shows to  sports, entertainment and many choices of food which are very familiar to us especially the Tom Yum Goong! Halal food is easy to find here especially in Patong because of the big Muslim community here.

The famous, tasteful and spicy Tom Yum Goong!

Phuket brought back memories.  Two things happened in the same year! It was 2004.... When I visited Phuket in that year,  upon arrival at the the hotel, in the middle of the night, my mother passed away!  Losing your mum is like losing a part of you..... mother is supreme! Till todate,  I still miss my Mak.  My husband had to wait until Subuh prayer just to informed me of the sad news for he had to call our guide and MAS office to get the earliest flight home.... and it can only be done the next morning.

A photo from the net . Phuket hit badly by
2004 Tsunami when the earth shook in the Indian Ocean. 

 Towards the end of 2004, I  revisited Phuket and his time my children and my nephews tagged along. It was fun because the teenagers love adventures. I remembered we went for the white water rafting. It was funny when the boys reacted during the Simon Cabaret show.... first they thought that they were all good looking females but once they knew about it, you should see their reactions! hahahhhahhahhahahha. A week after we went back home, Phuket was hit badly by the Tsunami. The hotel where we stayed was swept away completely! I called, Faridah, our guide to know of her situation. Alhamdulillah, Faridah answered . Wonder where she is now???

Since Tsunami, lots of changes took place. With the new extended wing of the airport, shows that Phuket has more visitors. When I was at the airport I saw many  cocasions most probably Russian because of the language  they used. they recieved 7 millions tourists yearly and this year they targeted 12 millions  and 14 millions the year next!  That puts tourism as  Phuket source of economy..... no doubt!  Along the way to our hotel, we saw what was before rubber tree plantations are now developements.  Many  new buildings like shopping malls, hotels and high rises apartments came up like mushrooms!

Premier Outlet in Phuket.... very tempting!

Now, after so many years, I revisit again. I used to stay in Patong Beach in my last visits but not this time. I chose Karon Beach which further down south from Patong. My husband puzzled and asked in why I chose this place? I chose this place because it is not as busy as Patong. I just want to get away from everything..... just to be alone with him.  I want to do some readings and maybe sketching and painting ...... see how my mood is! hahahhahahha

Destination.... Phuket , Thailand

We took MAS flight into Phuket. Being with familiar faces and food makes your day. The flight attendants will greet Selamat Datang and asking simple friendly questions about us which made us feel nice. It took only an hour or less from KLIA to this destinations. Upon reaching Phuket, we were hit by a very heavy rain and the pilot was unable to land the craft. So we had to fly around and around for almost 30 minutes and at last we landed safely in the second attempt! . Syukur ALhamdulillah. The passengers ,(all seats taken) who were very quiet earlier, clapped their hands when the plane landed safely at Phuket International Airport and suddenly, everybody started talking! Phew..... what a relief!  As for me, I recite all the Surah that I know and never stopped making dua to Allah SWT for our safety.  In time of distressed and panic, Allah is the BEST place to talk to because He listens and He knows what is BEST for you. Alhamdulillah.

I pre-booked a private car to take us to Karon. It took 30 minutes for the car to come and worst of all, the driver speaks only a few words of English and he did not know the way to Karon because he is from Bangkok!  I almost lost my head but still able to composed because I did not want to spoil  my vacation.  After speaking to his boss through a telephone conversation, at last he managed to drop us at our hotel... Ramada Phuket Southsea in Karon Beach.  The lay out is something like the Holiday Inn Busakom  Wing in Patong but I prefer the later. No doubt, the room is comfortable with pool excess! Nice!! Most of all, the wi-fi is free! I am beginning to enjoy my holiday! 

My pool excess room in
Ramada Phuket Southsea.