Hello readers! This would be my first post for this year!
I just came back from my Phuket trip that was on 8th-9th Jan, but was on mc for 2 days as i was feeling nauseous and having the runs after i came back.
This was the first time that i visit Phuket as it was a team building retreat that were fully sponsored by the company. Yay! I was fine during the trip but was unwell after we returned. For me, i think my stomach is quite sensitive whenever i visit any country for the first time.
It could be that the food i ate during our short stay over there. After i came back from the trip, i get to know that several of my colleagues also faced the same issue and it happened we was the same group that was hanging out together so there could be a possibility due to the food we had together during our free & easy time . I was feeling nauseous for the whole day and i couldn't eat anything at all. I think it lasted me a whole day before i finally able to vomit something out and feel much betetr after that.
For this trip, initially i was feeling awkward because i do not know anyone as i was still very new in the company. I don't even know who to find as my roommate but i guess i was lucky because one of my colleague approached me later if i want to share the room with her as her original roommate couldn't go for the trip. We took the morning flight, so we had to reach the airport by 7am. Thank god for bf for sending me to the airport!
Our plane preparing to take off!
We reached there around 10plus, as we do not have any check in luggage, it was easier and faster to get everyone to clear the immigration, group photo taking before we was waiting for our driver to send us to the hotel. It took about 45min-1hour for us to reach the hotel. We was on a teambuilding retreat and i think i was very lucky to join this retreat as i get to know more colleagues that we rarely work together and i wouldn't know if not for this retreat.
We reached Patong and the hotel that we check in was called Baumanburi which i won't visit this hotel again if i am travelling to Phuket next time. They claim that to be a 4 star hotel, but in my opinion, it should be a 3 star rating only.
Welcome drink was served for everyone upon arrival at the hotel, follow by lunch at the restaurant.
The food were quite disappointing, nothing much to rave about as their food are just not appealing at all. But well, i do still appreciate since its fully sponsored and i don't have to fork out a single cent. Just that, if its for my own personal travel, i would expect myself to live in a better hotel. Haha.
As this hotel is located just directly opposite the hard rock cafe, you could hear the live band music at night and the room is not soundproof, so basically you could hear other people opening the door, and you would thought someone is entering your room, the sound of water running and the kettle boiling when you are sleeping.
I was sharing a queen size bed with my room mate even though the others wanted to change room when they realised its a double bed as majority are not comfortable with sharing a bed with their roommate, but both of us were pretty ok so it save us the hassle of moving our stuffs and changing to another room.
Some of the rooms were not ready so they give the ladies the priority of checking in some of the rooms first.
this hotel don't used key card okay, they use key. Lao Kor Kor hotel room. haha
Each room only have one key and probably a card just for you to slot in for the aircon electricity etc. When i first entered,there was a strong musky smell in this room.
There were this two chair in this room which i rarely sit on it because the cushion is too hard.
I got a shock when i turn on the basin sink tap and there was a loud sound before the water could flow out smoothly, i thought something exploded, this makes me super awake the next morning.
It was a good thing we stay for only 1 night. They allow us to extend our stay, i was not sure if i would like this place as my initial plan was to extend and bf could join me at Phuket, but when i google the reviews and photos of this hotel, i was not that impressed thus we decided to go together next time instead of him joining me halfway at Phuket.
After we placed our stuffs in the room, we gathered at the hotel function rooms for our teambuilding activities. It was really an easy one and it was quite fun. We ended the activities around 3pm, so all of us went back to the room to rest, get changed before its our free & easy time!
I did not went to the beach because the weather was really hot. We was just walking around the market, saw lots of souvenir items,fake branded items for tourists etc. Most of the times i was waiting for the others to shop as we went out as a group.
We went to Big C, and that's when majority of my expenses was incurred from this supermarket!
Bought lots of snacks back because it was cheap!
I bought some tea, bath salt, some dried mango etc
and decided that one of my hot pink cabin bag was not enough and i ended up buying another hand carry with wheel bag which my roommate and i went out after our breakfast the next day to buy just before checking out.
I got it for $40, was selling for 1200 baht, but the person was only willing to sell it lowest at 1000 baht, so in the end i got it!
i love this kind of hand carry bag because its unique and its rare that you ever get the same bag as others, and able to differentiate your bag from others!
my bag was all so striking such as this one below that when i check in, it was very easy to distinguish mine from others.
Got this bag from carousell at $25.
This was the bag that i bought in phuket at $40!
We went back to the hotel for our dinner after our free & easy time is over.
Buffet dinner at night.
Everyone choose the table they would like to sit, and during the lucky draw time, the table that i was seated had all the top 3 prize winners including me!
Previously they mentioned the previous batch top 3 winner was sitting the same table as us, so it was too much a coincidence this batch has the same top 3 winner sitting the same table.
I got this fitbit charge item
After the lucky draw ended, we had more free time to ourselves again.
We were just walking around the street and we went to the famous bangla street to see ah gua. It's really hard to differentiate if they are really char bor or ah gua.
The next morning we went to chill around, we had some free and easy shopping time before we had our lunch and prepare to board the plane back home!
le bf came and pick me up from the airport as i was buying 3 bottles of moscato.
Before that, everyone was saying that we cannot purchase liquor as we did not left the country forr more than 48hrs, and when i told them to try, all were very stubborn to insist, no, cannot buy la. they ask to check passport one la.
But i decided to try and ask, i mean how worse can it get if they really don't allow me to buy?
so once we landed in singapore, everyone were dispersed, so i went to buy my laneige products at the usual store, before i went to the DFS shop.
Even when my colleague say "we just try", but there is one or two that stubbornly insist it cannot be purchased and i just kept quiet because i find it no point arguing unless i try it myself and that its true to what they claimed to be.
I think none of them actually went ahead while i went to try eventually and bought back 3 bottles of moscato as i love moscato. Nobody stopped me, in fact the staff were telling me how i can actually buy more than 1 when i initially wanted to buy 1 bottle only.
This was me back home when i start unpacking all the snacks that i bought in Phuket!
Overall i do enjoyed myself even though it was a short trip, i get to mingle and bond with everyone who went for this team building retreat.
till then!
