Phuket Thailand breaking tourist arrivals records ...

I just read a report where Phuket is expecting a record 4,000,000 international visitors this year. Check the zeroes ... that's four million, folks.

That's like the whole population of Singapore visiting the island. Or the whole population of Sydney.
Or all the readers of Thailand Jing Jing.

And if you thought the queue at Burger King at the airport was a little busier, you'd be right. Those arrivals figures are a whopping 20% above last year's numbers and -- here's a funny thing -- if you add in Thai citizen arrivals too, the airport's actually running 22% over capacity.

Standing room only (even in the ladies' loo, jing jing).

Ok I've gone a little far this time ...

Point is, if you're looking for a great party island that's jumping and pumping with an international cocktail of Aussies, Thais, Swedes, Russians, Chinese, Koreans etc, head for Phuket. Patong is party central, of course, but the fun can break out in many other parts of the island too.

But make sure you book early. Otherwise you'll only get an airplane seat on the wing. Or you'll have to sleep in one of the dozens of hotels that are still under construction.

In any case, you'll have a great travel story from Amazing Thailand to tell.


(Source: C9 Hotelworks)

Songkran Round Up -- best photos from around Thailand

Try as I might, words don't really catch the flavour of Songkran ... there's a special feeling in the air (er, make that a flying fountain of icy water headed your way in the air).

So here's a round-up of great photo galleries and info of this great festival in various parts of Thailand.

First, from Pattaya Mail (http://pattayamail.com/pictures/songkran-festival-2011/)

And from Phuket (http://www.phuket.com/festival/songkran.htm)

And from Koh Samui (http://samui.sawadee.com/festivals/index.htm)

And finally from Khao San Road, Bkk. (http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/play/quick-guide-songkran-2011-thailand-386855)

Of course you can always check out Tourist Authority of Thailand's site at www.tourismthailand.org too

Now I know why the Thai word 'sanuk' (fun) was invented ...

They needed something to describe this, jing jing.

Phuket -- what's in a name?

The owners must have been up all night thinking of a name for this place. Hmmm, let's see, we're a resort and we're in Patong. Hmmmm ... Ooh, I know, Resort Patong. Hmm, no. C'mon let's think laterally folks. Um, hmmm ... Patong Resort? Yes, perfect! Genius!!!

In a way the name says a lot about this place. It is unpretentious and it does the job if you're looking for a comfortable and mid-range stay right slap-bang in the guts of Patong Beach. Walk out the back entry and you have shopping centres, restaurants, mini-marts, and massage joints ('MasssaaaaaAAAAGGGE!' a dozen girls chorus simultaneously). Walk out the front entry and you have shopping centres, restaurants, mini-marts, and massage joints ('MasssaaaaaAAAAGGGE!' a dozen girls chorus simultaneously).

If you're not distracted or sidetracked by the joys of the Bangla Road bars (Soi Eric is particularly fun, but each to their own), it's only about a two minute walk to the myriad of umbrellas that signal famed Patong Beach. Otherwise it might take you a couple of days to reach there.

This hotel must have been built some time ago. Not that it feels old, but certainly a little dated in style. But this is more than made up for by the space it affords. The corridors are wide enough for semi-trailers to drag race down, side by side. And the rooms, well, have a look at the photo for space (er, please ignore the boxer shorts in the bottom left corner which I just noticed. I think they belong to a previous guest). And what you can't see in this pic is the balcony -- I heard that the Superbowl final was once staged there. Jing jing! Well, it could've been, it's that darn large.

So nothing flash or fancy, but a comfy place to throw your head down and recover from rigourous bouts of swimming, bar-hopping, massaging and whatever-elsing.

For your information, I was up all night thinking of that last word.

Phuket FantaSea - Kingdom of Make Believe

Balls. Cojones. Call them what you like. But the developer of Phuket FantaSea has elephant-sized ones ... you see, Phuket FantaSea is the work of an absolute visionary. Someone who said You know what this beach-and-bar island needs? It needs a 57 hectare cultural theme park with a 4000 seat restaurant and parking for 200 tour buses. Think Las Vegas by the Andaman Sea.

Yes, you could be forgiven for thinking he'd been out in the sun too long. This could've been the biggest white elephant ever. But who's laughing now? Ten years on, and the place is brimming nightly ...

I'm immediately put in mind of Disneyland, albeit an Asian interpretation of it, and the Lost City. Bright lights beckon. It is magical. It is romantic. It's fun. There are sideshows and souvenir stalls. Animatronics. Jungle adventures. Elephant rides. Tiger petting (doesn't sound right -- should that be patting?). It's an epileptics' nightmare with a million popping camera flash bulbs per minute.

The evening starts with an every-man-for-himself Thai buffet, which is an extravaganza in its own right, with the cavernous hall adorned by gargantuan kinnaree winged figures. I was expecting Food Aid style C-Rations but the food is surprisingly tasty for such a mass venue.

Then, unbuckling your belt a notch or two, it's show time. Now here comes the hard part. I'm in a conundrum: you see, you have to check your camera in at the door but how do I possibly do justice describing a theatrical illusion show -- that has attracted even the likes of David Copperfield over the years -- with words only??? Hmmm.

I scarcely knew where to look there was so much visual richness and texture and action going on. From bucolic traditional Thai village scenes to ancient kingdom capitals to -- hahaha, here come twenty chickens scuttling across the stage, and a dozen goats, and one, two, three, four water buffalo -- and, wow, where did those glow-in-the-dark trapezing acrobats appear from? Thunderous applause. Vivid silk costumes in rich reds, blues, pinks, purples, blues and greens. Fire eating. Dancing laser lights. Rain showers. And then the rousing finale with a dozen elephants daisy-chained trunk-to-tail. (I think: if the one at the back loses his footing, he'll rip the backsides out of the other eleven! Siegfried and Roy would have nothing compared to that.) Wow! WOW!!! Bravo!!! Amazing Thailand!

Then it's back to the reality as the crowd shuffles out, scarcely believing what they've seen. Oh great, it's only 11pm so now we can go and see the other cultural theme park on the island: Patong. And that's a fantasy of a completely different sort ...