halfwhiteboy

"Please don't eat my tail. Please don't eat my tail. Oh please, please, please don't...please," begged the poor tiger as I held on to his tail, ready to take a bite. His eyes were closed, praying he won't be someone else's lunch. Yeah right, like I'm not supposed to be the one on the worrying end that this tiger would suddenly turn on me and I end up as his lunch! But I was confident the beautifully striped big cats at Tiger Kingdom wouldn't do such a horrible thing. They were so miming and just utterly adorable. Undoubtedly the highlight of our recent trip to Phuket, Tiger Kingdom is actually this specialty zoo's third branch in Thailand already, the original being in Ubon Ratchathani (which houses other animals as well) and the second in Chiang Mai. They had to expand to earn additional revenue and sustain their breeding program, which sounds fine to me as I couldn't imagine how much meat those cats consume in just one day.

Inside Vista , the resort's main restaurant. With hundreds of hotels scattered all around Phuket, it was quite the task to choose where to stay. And although we were already set at staying in the island's tourist central, Patong Beach , picking a hotel was still a challenge. So we decided on splitting our 5-night stay in 2 hotels, the first of which was the wonderful BYD Lofts and the other one set farther away from the beach atop the hills--the 5-star Avista Hideaway Resort & Spa , where we spent a very short 2 nights. Let me break our whole experience down into sections.

Yeah, I found myself a statuesque lady while we were in Phuket a couple of weeks ago. No wait, it's a boy. No, a ladyboy! We decided to watch Phuket Simon Cabaret on a whim. We just knew it to be a show featuring beautiful ladyboys lip-synching to some song in elaborate production numbers. Funny how quickly we dismissed the idea of watching it back in 2010, thinking marami namang ganiyan sa Pinas (referring to the fact that we also have a lot of lip-synching gay impersonators back in the Philippines). But after watching the show, I have to admit that Simon Cabaret is on a totally different level.

Parasailing in Patong Beach. Arguably Phuket's most popular beach, Patong is pulsating with activity and is, as expected, its most crowded. And for that reason, people either love it or hate it. On our first time in the island province back in 2010, we skipped the presumed crowds and opted instead for the much quieter Bang Tao Beach  and later, Mai Khao Beach up north. This time around, however, we decided to embrace the chaos and the loudness of Patong, and booked a really spacious suite at BYD Lofts .

A mere slice of our 100 square meters of rented space. It's no. 1 on TripAdvisor not just in Patong but in the whole of Phuket for a reason. Thanks to a sweet last-minute deal, we got to stay at BYD Lofts Boutique Hotel and Serviced Apartments for 3 nights last week. Here's a rundown of our experience. Reservation and check-in You can always get a room from a bevy of hotel booking sites but BYD has its own booking facility, which was no hassle at all. They also don't charge you the whole amount until you're actually there but of course cancellation policies apply. Guests also have the option to book airport transfers with them but because it's a Mercedes Benz sedan (two of them actually), it costs more than a regular cab. There's also a surcharge if your arrival or departure is between 10pm to around 5 or 6am I think.

Back in June 2010 when My Bibe and I vacationed in Thailand, we did Phuket and then  Ko Phi Phi . Going back to Bangkok from Phi Phi meant traveling by ferry back to Phuket first. We thought it was too much travel in one day so we decided to spend just one more night in Phuket. There are several beaches to choose from and we picked yet another quiet spot, Mai Khao, which was closer to the airport than were the other beaches. We were spoiling ourselves a bit at the time and booked a Garden Pool Villa at SALA Phuket Resort and Spa . Having your own private pool didn't actually come cheap, but we were glad we did it. A beachfront section of the resort, with one of two swimming pools in view. Here's an account of our experience at SALA Phuket and see why it's one of those places I wanna go back to: Reservation and booking This was done online, so there was absolutely no hassle. Confirmation was emailed promptly as well. Upon booking you get to choose your toilet...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin On our first day in Ko Phi Phi in Thailand ( see posts here and here ), My Bibe and I had the pleasure of meeting this little fella: He was such a gorgeous cat with a relatively thicker fur than most local cats here in the Philippines. We were instantly charmed. We got to pet him a bit and take photos before he sauntered off the beach like it was his domain. Little did I know that it would be the start of several more encounters with his kind, and I'm glad to show them all to you. There's a lot of them, and I mean a lot!

See related posts: Looking back at Phuket FantaSea Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The animal attractions Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The restaurant and theater I've decided I was done with my posts on Phuket FantaSea. But I just couldn't resist showing you an extraordinary restroom that had surely put a huge smile on my face. It was the restroom near the park's exit, and it was just downright charming. So see for yourself.

See related posts: Looking back at Phuket FantaSea Looking back at Phuket FantaSea: The animal attractions In this post I'll show you Phuket FantaSea 's gigantic buffet restaurant and the show's extraordinary theater. Our tickets covered both the show and a buffet dinner at Golden Kinnaree. I already forgot how much it cost but as of writing, it's at 1,900 baht according to their website. You also can purchase tickets for the show only if you don't fancy having dinner there. There are also options for upgrade to a seafood buffet dinner and for the show, a "gold seat" upgrade, which guarantees you premium seats. Golden Kinnaree boasts of an impressive facade, consistent with FantaSea 's grandiose and detail-oriented design. Gold paint is, of course, very prominent here. The restaurant is fronted by water, with fake giant lotuses afloat. The huge -- and I mean really huge -- catfish, however, are real. A footbridge leads you across the wa...

See related post: Looking back at Phuket FantaSea I made it clear yesterday that everything at Phuket FantaSea  is all about grandeur. Simplicity simply does not exist in this theme park. Apart from the rides and shops, the park also has a place where guests can check out some fauna. How they present them to the viewing public is just over-the-top! I was thrilled to see baby elephants and for (I think) 500 baht, photo op! Well, they did build a backdrop. The pachiderms were just so cute even if they smelled. My Bibe was a bit uneasy. She said, even if they were babies, they were still elephants that could trounce you with ease. Me? I was just happy. Look at my smile. We went inside what the park dubbed as "Tiger Jungle Adventure." Upon entering you're welcomed by the sight of t-shirts, stuffed toys, and all these merchandise for sale.

A few weeks ago, I started blogging about my Phuket experience ( see the posts here and here ) while on a reminiscing mode about beaches and vacations. Well, my Harry Potter fanaticism was rekindled when the last film came out, and so I failed to follow up with more posts. So I'm back at it starting with the first of four posts about  Phuket FantaSea . We bought a pair of tickets to Phuket FantaSea from a tourism counter at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok while waiting for our flight to Phuket, which was delayed. I already knew about FantaSea somehow from the internet, and the tickets they were selling us were a bit cheaper than the price I've checked on the internet. What's more, we got a complimentary half-day city tour around Phuket. Sweet deal! I only thought FantaSea  was a Las Vegas-style production that featured elephants. I was surprised it was more than that -- it was actually a cultural theme park of sorts. There were a couple of rides, shops, a glammed-...

Last week I was missing the beach so much and I blogged about our trip to Phuket, Thailand a year ago ( see post here ) . I mentioned staying at Best Western Premier Bangtao Beach Resort and Spa ( what a long name! ). So here's what I got to say about the resort. To sum it all up, My Bibe and I enjoyed our stay at Best Western Bangtao. We arrived somewhere past 9pm already and check-in was swift. To our surprise, a Filipina was working at the reception and was more than eager to have Filipino guests in their resort. The lobby was spacious with high ceilings, and where Thai architecture was obviously prominent. The lobby, a showcase of Thai architecture. I was especially fond of the their seats that curved from the center towards all four semi-pointed corners, framing them in the process. Our room was on the second floor, if I remember it right. There were no elevators as the resort was no skyscraper but a sprawling property along Bangtao beach. It was spacious enough for...

Save for buying suman  ( this kind of suman ) for our team for tomorrow's afternoon snacks, I pretty much had nothing to do over the weekend. There were no movies to watch since I already watched Transformers: Dark of the Moon . Nothing! Browsing through lookbook.nu , I see nothing but summer outfits everywhere. Although I've had my share of sun, sand and sea months ago, I still envy those who are enjoying it at the moment elsewhere around the globe (sigh!). Then I went reminiscing about my various trips to the beach -- with My Bibe of course -- and I thought of sharing them on my blog. First stop: Phuket, Thailand. The whole length of Bangtao beach in view. Phuket has long been a top tourist draw for Thailand, and I had the chance of visiting it with My Bibe only last year. From Bangkok, we flew in via AirAsia, which operates several flights a day to the province. Yes, Phuket is a province. Years ago I thought it was just a small island but lo and behold, it was hu...