Phuket. An Island of Tricks and Treats

I start the day with magic!

Located in Phuket town, the Trickeye 3D Museum is an interactive experience that stimulates creativity and imagination. I, along with everyone else, was asked to remove our shoes and walk in barefoot. The cement floor is spotlessly clean and cooling. But it is what’s hanging on the walls (and some parts of the floor) that captivates the imagination.

Covered in 3D paintings, visitors can imaginatively pose, act out, pretend, invent and contrive various situations through these images. It’s actually a load of fun for all ages and brings out the ‘child’ in everyone!

Gosh! What a view.

No visit to Phuket is complete without dining at the famous Tung Ka Cafe and Restaurant, located at the top of Rang Hill. Apart from the amazing 180-degree panoramic view of Phuket below, the iced coffee served here is quite a hit. And the prices are pretty decent, so it’s all worth the visit.

Street Food. No visit is complete without it

Patong Beach is buzzing with people, many of whom have come to catch a glimpse of the sunset. But while waiting, the vendors open up their ‘motor-shops’ (little food carts attached to the sides of their motorbikes) and soon the smell of frying, grilling, and sizzling of street food wafts into the air.

I love street food and always ignore the chances of consequent indigestion. But touchwood…it’s been fine so far! Apart from the smells, it is the colour of the various dishes that makes my mouth water.

Fabulous fun at FantaSea

Day 2 ends with a visit to the magical Phuket’s FantaSea theme park. This is a feast of lights, sights, sounds, games, theatrics, cultural parades, street shows, fireworks and even a safari walk. If you can imagine yourself immersed in a virtual fantasy land, then this is it.

After dinner at Banquet Kinnaree, the largest banquet hall that I’ve been to (with lots and lots of food and drinks), it is time to go for the FantaSea show. Much like a local version of Disneyland, FantaSea showcases Thai culture infused with cutting edge technology, pyrotechnics, acrobatics, folklore, song and dance, fire and smoke and much more to bring out a surrealistic odyssey of a mythological bygone kingdom.

This 65-minute show is held in a huge theatre that accommodates 3000 people, and all the seats were full. So yeah…it’s pretty popular.

But regretfully, I love elephants and I was very uncomfortable having to watch them perform. I believe that elephants belong in the wild or in a safe sanctuary and are not meant to perform for human entertainment. Visit the theme park by all means, but please don’t ride the elephants or encourage this type of crass entertainment.

Thanks to #TATSriLanka for inviting me to Phuket and to the launch of Family Fun Thailand. All opinions are, as always, my own.