24
May
2008
Back from two beautiful weeks in Phuket.May
2008
The trip was very long and tiring, but absolutely top with Singapore Airlines. Short layover at Changi Airport at 06:00 AM (midnight my time!) and then on to Phuket with Silk Air.
Transfer from Phuket airport down to Kata Beach is about an hour. Arrival at the village by 11 AM. Warm welcome by some reception GOs and one of my GM friends. Hot towel, refreshing tea and a gorgeous flower welcome necklace. Nonetheless, I am done. That journey is a killer.

My friends and I were all in the H building (Haadyai), very conveniently located and not far from anything. Also, one can get to the village center (reception, theater, restaurant, bar, etc.) without getting wet in case of downpours. Not sure, if they take into consideration the nationality for whatever reason, but there were no Asian GMs in our building.
The room is huge and well appointed. A large double bed, enough closet space, TV, fridge, safe, coffee and tea making facilities, two life vests and a flashlight in one of the closets. Hm... the Tsunami was here in 2004!
A nice exotic fruit arrangement and a wonderful orchid bouquet on the night table together with a large artisanal fan on the bed (most likely the Millésia gift) and a word from the CDV.
The bathroom could need some renovation though. Toiletries were regularly replaced, also the orchid and jasmin blossoms.
What I really liked is that one doesn't hear anything from the neighbours, nor from above, nor from the rooms next door. I really appreciated that, especially when you want to sleep in recovering from jetlag in the beginning.
The village is of a good size, not too large, nor too small. Extremely well kept, lots of exotic trees, plants, beautiful flowers, small ponds with fishes and frogs (!). Beautiful typical Thai architecture. Very zen!
The food is everything you can dream of. The very classical Club Med buffets plus all the Asian dishes, already for breakfast. We particularly liked the enormous choice of exotic fresh fruit, including the freshly squeezed juices (pineapple, water melon, orange).
The buffet 'Around the world' even included Swiss raclette with boiled potatoes. Given the sticky weather, resisting wasn't all that hard. Later on, Jeremy, bar man, joined us for dinner with a huge plate of raclette topped with ham. I couldn't resist to ask him for a sampler to taste. It was absolutely delicious, as was the foie gras we decided to have as a starter.
The bar was very well run and usually no wait at all, even at 'rush hour'. At the aperitif time, usually just the Europeans hanging around. Good international labels such as Baileys, Absolut vodka, etc. The hot beverages came with a very nicely wrapped small dark chocolate (out of the fridge!). I did not count how many espressi and caffé latte I had, but lots I'd say.

The village occupancy was pretty low, 50-60 % at most. Asians vs. Europeans and others (a few Australians and South Africans) was around 50/50. Age range 30-60 I'd say. Very few kids.
GMs from Europe were mainly French of which some expats. Then, some Italians, Dutch, Germans, Swiss. That's about it. We more or less all knew each other or had at least had a small chat at breakfast or so.
The Europeans would usually eat outside, while the Asians preferred the restaurant pavillons with air condition.
Two days before leaving, arrival of some 50 Chinese GMs from a company. They didn't know anything about Club Med. Consequently, lots of work for the GOs. They looked pretty lost in the beginning. They didn't know what deck chairs at the beach were for the CM GMs and wanted to pay for them...
Sports choices are enormous. Archery, circus, power yoga, zen yoga, wake-up gym, abs/thighs, Thai chi, step class, aqua gym, body bump, stretching, relaxation yoga, golf, power walk, sunset power walk, pool games, snorkelling, tennis, scuba diving with Eurodivers http://www.eurodivers.com/DivingCenters.aspx?ID=5
However, although we knew it before going, we terribly missed the beach activities such as sailing, to start with. The sea is just too rough and so is the streaming.
We had some rain, but the team is well prepared for such surprises and quickly sets up lots of alternatives. We took cooking lessons with Moka, chocolate bread baking with Nicolas, lotus blossom leaf folding, learning some words of Asian languages, played ping pong on mini tables, etc. Nonetheless, we got a very nice sun tan which comes in very hand, now that we go into summer!

Regarding the excursions, I just did Phi Phi Islands by speed boat, since I had been in Phuket before. The trip was nice, especially the beach of 'The Beach'. Our boat arrived always the first and we left, when the others arrived. Snorkelling was fine. We saw some cute 'Nemos'. Monkey feeding at Monkey Island. We had brought some bread, bananas and water melon. They just loved it and we could take nice photos.
However, I had seen similar, if not better sandy beaches before, mainly in the Caribbeans (mainly the Grenadines), so the wow factor was a bit limited with regard to myself. Phi Phi Island itself was extremely crowded and I found it just too touristy and slightly tacky. My friends seemed more thrilled though (Thailand first timers). Anyway, been there, done that (Price THB 3,800 full day).
Other excursions:
Phang Nga Bay by junk: THB 3,600 (full day)
Elephant ride: THB 1,900 (half day)
The route of the lost temples: THB 3,400 (full day)
Golf green fees:
Range between THB 3,250 and 4,000
For shopping, we went to Patong. Taxi was THB 400 one way. I recommend the shopping mall Jungceylon http://www.jungceylon.com. A pretty new, large mall with A/C, very clean and convenient to do the shopping at one single place. The very recently appointed basement is mainly for typical artisanal Thai stuff. You can also have all types of massages, in case you need a rest.
Kata village is nearby, including a Starbucks (just in case

For massages, we did not use the CM spa itself. We found it just too expensive, but went to a local place right outside the village recommended by some GMs. A one hour oil or Thai massage for THB 300 roughly US$ 10) including a beverage at the end. A very clean place with nice background music. When you go back for the second time, you'll be greeted just like an old friend.
We just loved it and really got hooked.
We mainly hang out with the European and Mauritian GOs. It was just easier to communicate. The Asian GOs do not really stay around the bar a lot and have dinner too early for us.
When we headed to the restaurant around 08:00 PM, they had already finished and left.
The shows (start at 09:30 PM already) were of good quality, usually followed by some crazy signs (Li Tourné, Abdel Kader and other classics) in general animated by Christelle or Bazz.
Crazy signs were also done after the aqua gym in and at the pool. Pretty funny to do, when you're in the water.
One of the best events was the presentation of the different home countries of the GOs. They had set up stalls around the bar, at the pergola and in the lounge and presented their countries in local costumes in a brilliant way (things to do and visit, food, music, etc.). We mainly stayed with the Mauritians for the ti punches, but also for the live performed Sega music we love so much. It was a superb evening. Thanks guys!

The Asian show was mainly dancing and acrobatics followed by a snake show. King cobras and alike. We decided to have a seat on the balcony in safe distance.

Since circus is the main activity - around 12 GOs being trained under Adam - lots of circus shows that seem to please especially the Asian GM crowd. Also, easy to understand. Unfortunately, no café theater for the francophones. I would have loved to see one.
On the other hand, some kara