Sawadee Phuket! – Day 3
Today would be the third day of our Phuket Adventure. As we had an ATV ride scheduled later in the day, we had an early breakfast and hopped onto our arranged transport to the ATV area, with the van picking up other customers on route. When we reached, we went to the counter to pay for the “ATV 60 minute ride”, and we were instantly guided to our ATVs. I drove with my Mom riding with me, and Ashley rode with Daddy. We ascended the mountain towards the “Big Buddha”, where a giant Buddha statue was being built on the peak of a mountain. After taking a short break there, we soon drove down the hill and onto some mud. We had loads of fun traversing the challenging terrain, with ditches, sheer drops and puddles of sinking mud to conquer. Besides a small scolding from our tour guide, we thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience of the ATV. It was our first time driving an ATV, and it was a little weird with a hand-throttle and the sensation of riding a bike, but with 4 wheels and also a motor ripped from a dirt bike.
We endured the 45 minute ride back to the hotel, and went to the pool bar for some food as Ashley was starving by the time we had arrived back at the hotel. We got Fish n’ Chips, Fish Nuggets, Chicken Sausages, Chicken Wings and a Beef Burger. Funnily enough, we found out that the burger was from the restaurant, and that ordering it here would save quite a bit of money. After this, she went swimming with my dad, while my mom and I opted to just kick back and relax in the hotel room, as we had a long event later in the day.
We booked the acclaimed “Siam Niramit” show from the tour guides “SRC”, which apparently would save us 700 Baht (32 SGD) per person in fees, compared to the official website. This also included transfer to and from the event. We were really worried that there would be some form of catch, but when we arrived, it seemed like everything was the same as the others. We were chauffeured by the driver to the venue, where they had a buffet consisting of Thai food, Chinese fusion and also Western inspired dishes like Bruschetta and various salads. Some of our favourites are the glass noodles, Green Curry, Phad Thai (which was fried on the spot!) and Fried Fish. We also opted to get a 1.5 liter bottle of sprite, as we were all very thirsty. It was only 90 Baht ( around 3 SGD), so it was priced decently.
We then headed to the pre-show arena, where there was a Thai Boxing area, where we were treated to an reenactment of real Thai boxing, with a ring setup and even a referee. After this, we were treated to a introduction of the three elephants that were on-set. They played Tug-Of- War with 10 men volunteers, and the elephant didn’t even break a sweat dragging all the men. However, my favourite pre-show event has to be the elephant war-procession. There, the elephants and performers were all donning war-clothes, and the music and atmosphere was amazing. We also had our photos taken with the procession, which was very cool.
We proceeded then to the theatre, which, after surrendering our cameras, we were treated to an amazing 1.5 hour show, displaying the Thai history, from the Khmer empire to the introduction of various foreigners to the lands, and also the growing might of the Thai military and government. Also, we were treated to the “3 Stages of After-Life” act, where the good and bad acts of a person determine the place you reside in your after-life. From Fiery Hell, to Himmapan Forest, to Blissful Heaven, we had a beautiful rendition of their beliefs and culture. We decided that this was a very good value show, as we had a lot of show for our money. We came out happy and headed back to the hotel, as tomorrow would be a lazy day for all of us.