17 Feb 2013

Cruise to Phuket and Krabi

Two weeks ago we went on a cruise to Phuket and Krabi. - a four day three nights deal. What  was best about it was that we won the cruise when we bought our new car! Our names were chosen out of a number of new buyers, which made us the lucky winners ( it was a cruise package for 2)
So on the 3rd of February which was a Sunday we set sail for Phuket, an island off the coast of Thailand . We set sail from Penang.
The ship was called the Superstar Libra and to me it was rather big at almost 300 metres long. We boarded the ship at about 1pm but the ship only started sailing at 5pm. Meanwhile we checked into our cabin and explored the ship. The cabin is fairly spacious - it had a double bed, a small 2 door wardrobe and dressing table and bathroom. Not too bad actually.
Our cabin


view of the swimming pool

That's me






 A group dance by the crew


















The first night on board there was a kind of welcome party organised by the entertainment sector of the crew. There was a barbecue set up by the pool on the topmost deck and after the ice breaking session, there was some singing and dancing led by the crew. There was a lot of laughter and I noticed that a number of the passengers had come in groups - either family groups or friends. Repin and I were one of the few couples who had joined the cruise not in a group.At about midnight they set off fireworks which brightened the midnight sky and made us realise that we were now in the open sea!

The next day dawned bright and clear though it was very breezy. Repin and I went for a walk on the exercise deck which was Deck 6 - there was a jogging track, a fitness centre, a basketball hoop and a mini golf centre. Then after breakfast (buffet - Asian and Western) we went up to the 10th deck to watch the passing boats and other islands.

Our first stop was Phuket in Thailand. We disembarked at about 12 noon and since both Repin and I had never been to Phuket we decided to take a tour of the island. The beach is beautiful but it was jam packed with people - mostly Europeans who love to come here to escape the cold winter. There were people everywhere - you can hardly see the beach because it was covered by the beach umbrellas and deck chairs. I think there were people on every square inch of the place! It spoiled the fun for me - I love our beaches because its quieter and less crowded.
Krabi island 


The beach front too was totally crowded with shops - all juggling to be the first to be noticed. There were basically 3 types of places: hotels, massage parlours and restaurants. There were also some shops selling beach wear and other stuff but what dominated were the massage places (all advertising the best massage) and restaurants. Most of the sea facing hotels were the large ones - very exclusive and pricey looking.

Krabi was smaller and also quieter. This time instead of going round the island I decided to sit under a tree on the beach and finish reading my novel.
Under a shady tree with the cool breeze blowing and a book in my hand