My last trip to Phuket, I went to the Raya Thai Cuisine for lunch in Phuket Town courtesy of Tourism Authority of Thailand. I was there on a medical tourism trip with Indonesian blogger Wahyu.

The restaurant itself is a beauty. It sets in the old Sino-colonial building which many mistaken it as a historical residence rather than a restaurant. Walking into the restaurant is like walking into an old house with a couple of tables set beautifully.

The vintage design includes the floor tiles, the bar, the windows and the stairs are well maintained. As we were impressed by the architecture and the history of the building, we expect the food will have the similar influence.

Not much tourists know about this place, mostly locals patronize this restaurant. This is totally different then the ever popular Baam Rim Pa.

We started off with their signature dish, Crabmeat curry served with rice vermicelli. This was interesting as the curry was cooked with crabmeat instead of the whole crab. I wrapped the crab meat with the rice vermicelli and dipped it into the curry, it was delicious.

The next dish was definitely influenced by the Chinese. It was the Caramelized and braised pork belly. It was similar to Chinese dish “tong por” meat in a way, unique by its own.

Lastly, we had the Deep fried sea bass with shallots and red chillies in tamarind and lemongrass sauce. I am always a big fan of shallots while Rachel had no preferences on it. The perfectly deep fried sea bass had crispy skin and topped with crunchy shallots and spicy red chillies. It was yummylicious.

We didn’t order much as there were only of us. We didn’t stay long at Phuket Town as we need to go to our next destination. However, Wahyu manage to do some shopping at the textile shop nearby.

The food at Raya Thai Cuisine was good, lived up to our expectation. Do visit them if you are in Phuket Town. Trust me you don’t want to miss this good restaurant. Thanks again Tourism Authority of Thailand for the lunch and the trip.

Raya Thai Cuisine Address and Contact:

48 New Dibuk Cross Road, Phuket 83000

Tel: 076-218-155

Email: rayarestaurant@gmail.com

Open Daily: 10 am to 10 pm

Phuket has always been my preferred destination for holiday. Not to mention, my recent medical tourism trip to Phuket was another eye opener. In this trip, I had the privilege to stay at some of the finest villa resorts in Phuket.

I was joined with Wahyu, an Indonesian blogger, we were chosen to stay at Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort for 2 nights in Phuket. Little did I know that Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort will be one of the most memorable stays in my life.

We arrived approximately at 9pm on our first day due to both of us were busy venturing around Phuket. The sky was dark however the internal décor outshine the villa resort.

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Interior

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort facing the sea

I was ushered to my room then I met Bob, the butler. Pardon me, but that was my first time that I had a butler assisting us.

Bob showed me the room, explaining every little detail there was while I recorded it.

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Room Walk-in

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Room Bathroom

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Room Bathroom – Bathtub and Standing Shower

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Bedroom facing the sea

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Bedroom – different angle

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Room Working Desk

The room was elegant, was hoping Rachel was there. The room’s lightings was soothing, I hope I can get such lightings for myself at home. The room is equipped with BOSE sound system which comes with an iPod that was playing soft and relaxing music. Not forgetting also the LCD TV and the FREE WIFI service in the room. Everything in the minibar is complimentary and the items get refilled the following day.

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Room – Night View from the Room

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Room – Night View from the Room Close up

Morning at Sri Panwa was greeted with the magnificent sea view. Since Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort is built on the Panwa cape, most rooms are designed to be facing the sea and it was one of the best rooms I’ve stayed, hands down.

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Room – Day View from the Room

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort – Overview

Breakfast is served in another area so there are buggies around to ferry us. Breakfast at Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort comes with ala-carte ordering with a variety of selections.

Staying 2 nights in Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort really changes my mindset on Phuket’s luxury villas. Most people associate luxury villas to Bali. I believe Sri Panwa can compete with some of the best villas in Bali. However, a luxury villa like Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort comes with a price. My room cost approximately 21000 Thai Baht or 650 US Dollars per night; it was the cheapest room rate and in my opinion, it was worthy of the money spent.

Cozy and private spaces in Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort

Lastly, I must thank Clare from Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort and Tourism Authority for the review. The stay at Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort absolutely top class and it will remain as something that I will bragged and feel proud for a very long time.

Sri Panwa Pool Villa Resort Address, Contact and Map:

27 Mu 8, Sakdidej Road,

Phuket, 83000, Thailand
Tel: 076-391123
www.SriPanwa.com

This is the place that I always wanted to visit prior to my earlier trips to Phuket. My first trip to Phuket was in 1992 and it was my first ever trip to Thailand. I can still recalled clearly that I’ve visited a beautiful cape and it was during this recent trip, I’ve realize that is called the Promthep Cape.

It was late, and the sun has begun to set. At the time, I was travelling with an Indonesian blogger named Wahyu. We both were anxious and hoping to get there before dark and during our ride, I managed to snap a few pictures of the beautiful skies.

Within minutes, we arrived at the parking bays of Promthep Cape. I quickly jumped out and ran up the stairs with my camera and almost slipped. I kept on running and Wahyu was not far from behind.

As soon as I reached the cape, I began to capture the beautiful sunset with my camera. It was difficult to express how nostalgic it was to come back to Promthep Cape again after more than 18 years!

Natural colours of the sunset.

Another sunset picture.

I was there for less than 10 minutes before the sky turned dark.

The sun set within less than 5 minutes but I was happy enough to be able to capture few great shots. After feeling amaze with the view once more, Wahyu and I had called it a day.

I am so in love with Promthep Cape mainly due to the amazing view and Wahyu can attest to it. Promthep Cape is one place in Phuket I wouldn’t mind going again, and this time it will be with Rachel.

How to go to Promthep Cape:

Most hotels and local tours offer Promthep Cape sunset view tour. Promphet Cape is located at the southern tip of Phuket so traveling there might take some time. Remember to bring your camera or video camera, the scenery is a killer!

Never at once in my life that I would dream of getting a teeth whitening procedure. Well, I was off my chair when I was arranged for a teeth whitening session at the dental clinic in Phuket courtesy of Tourism Authority of Thailand. It was part of the Thailand Medical Tourism Experience that I need to cover. It’s hard to believe that Phuket offers dental services and in fact medical tourism in Phuket has been booming in recent years. In fact,the  Bangkok Hospital Phuket is voted as one of the top hospitals in Thailand.

Promjai Dental Clinic Patong Beach Phuket

As I mentioned earlier, I had my appointment for my teeth whitening session at Promjai Dental Clinic Patong Beach Phuket. The clinic has a strong history in Bangkok as they have been operating for decades and in Phuket, they have 3 outlets. I went to the Patong Beach outlet which has the best view of the beautiful sunset.

After an interview with the owner, I was told that Promjai Dental Clinic is popular for its highly invested equipments. The owner believes in quality and giving the best for their customers. She believes in delivering the extra comfort in services to her customers.

For teeth whitening, there are 2 popular teeth whitening procedure. The SmileBrite and the Zoom! Teeth whitening procedure. After checking my teeth, the dentist advised me on the Zoom! Teeth whitening procedure. By the way, the dentist was cute.

That’s me in the middle of teeth whitening…

For those who is looking forward for teeth whitening, please aware of this. The procedure in most cases will causes stinging sensation in your tooth due to sensitivity. Most Asians will suffer this stinging pain. This includes me. The stinging sensation will come and go but it was all better on the next day. Yet again, this depends on individuality. For most Caucasians, the procedure might not even hurt a bit. This is due to the difference of the teeth structure. You have been warned.

Dentist explaining the Zoom! Teeth Whitening process.

After the Zoom! Teeth whitening procedure, I can’t believe my eyes how white my teeth are. However, it wasn’t pain free. I guess this is called no pain, no gain.  For the procedure it cost 12,000 Baht on actual rice but they do have on-going promotion for 7,500 Baht. Please contact them for more accurate pricing.

Overall, it was a great experience having my teeth whiten up in Phuket and I must say the dentist in Promjai Dental Clinic did a great tremendous job. For those who didn’t know about teeth whitening, the teeth can turn back to yellow depending on a person’s lifestyle such as smoking, coffee etc. So far, my tooth is still white but due to overdose of coffee, it’s slightly not so shinny as it used to be. I am also using special whitening tooth paste provided by them.

If you want to have a reliable dental clinic in Phuket, look for Promjai Dental Clinic and the address and contact as below.

Promjai Dental Clinic Phuket Patong Address:

Patong Merlin Hotel, 44 Thaveewong Rd, Patong Beach, Phuket 83150

Tel: 076-294 38102, 09-18934304

Fax: 076-294118

Email: promjaiphuket@gmail.com

URL: www.promjaidental.com

Patong is one the most popular tourists attractions in Phuket, Thailand. On top of the white sandy beach, Patong is also popular with its nightlife, hotels and resorts, restaurants as well as shopping.
Although Patong is usually crowded, it is still fun to be around that area. Patong is quite similar to Krabi Ao nang Area if you ask me. They both have a very good sunset view. Please check out the sunset in Patong I filmed recently below. Play in 1080p HD mode for the best quality.

I stayed there for dinner to watch the sunset at the balcony of the restaurant. The view caught my attention there. Having dinner with sunset view like this in Phuket Thailand, priceless.

The most common thing you heard about medical tourism in Thailand is plastic surgery. Well, that is so 1990s. It didn’t surprise me if Thailand is going all out in medical tourism. Malaysia is promoting medical tourism in this few recent years. India is also promoting medical tourism. Not forgetting Singapore is also offering medical tourism.

So what is Thailand offering for its medical tourism?

On top of their famous cosmetic surgeries, Thailand is also offering organ transplants, cardiac and orthopaedic treatments to dental and cardiac surgeries. Personally I experienced the dental services in Phuket and it was outstanding. Other treatments include spa, physical and mental therapies. My visit to Phuket’s exclusive spas has raised the bar for other spas companies in the region.

Advantages of Thailand medical tourism

It is undeniable treatments and operations in Thailand are far cheaper than in United States, Australia and Europe. In some cases, medical operations in Thailand will cost probably less than 20% than in United States.

Bangkok Hospital Phuket Thailand

There is also an increase of hospitals in Thailand that are in accreditation with Joint Commission International Gold Seal of Approval^{TM .} JCI accreditations are evaluated through stringent procedures, based on over 300 standards, including onsite inspections and personnel examinations. Only hospitals showing a strong commitment to continuously improving service quality and patient safety goals are awarded this distinction. Above all, the international standards are intended to stimulate continuous, systematic and organization-wide improvement in overall performance and outcomes.

On top of having international standards, some hospitals in Thailand also have the latest medical facilities and specialties. They have also interpreters and translators for their medical tourists.

Personal experience in Bangkok Hospital Phuket

Bangkok Hospital Phuket lobby

I went to Bangkok Hospital Phuket to try out the facilities there. I was very impressed with the facilities and services there. The Bangkok Hospital Phuket opens 24 hours a day and it invested on many medical equipments as well as having qualified local and foreign medical doctors and specialists. The coordination with travel agents as well as insurance companies lessens the burden on the medical tourists. Not forgetting the 5 star hotel ratings like bedroom and services.

With international accreditations, latest state of art medical equipments, qualified medical doctors and specialists, top notch services and value for money charges, medical tourism in Thailand looks very positive and very attractive.

Interview with Gary Arndt on Medical Tourism

My recent trip to the beautiful island of Phuket in Thailand was memorable. I stayed at one of the top luxury resorts in Phuket. It is the Sri Panwa Resort.

This is how it looks like from the balcony of my room in Sri Panwa, the pool and the sea view. Ultimate experience!

Staying 2 nights there are one of the best resort stay experiences I had. On top of top class facilities, their top notch services opened my eyes.
Let me show you one teaser picture I took at Baba Restaurant in Sri Panwa.

Picture is taken at the Baba Restaurant at Sri Panwa Resort Phuket Thailand.

My best friend, Peter who is residing in Bangkok has an admiration of Sri Panwa. He fell in love of the place after he watched this Thaitanium feat Bank Clash “Long Loey” ไทยเทเนี่ยม หลงเลย Music Video on Youtube.

I’m still working on the pictures I took at Sri Panwa. I hope you love the preview picture and the Thaitanium feat Bank Clash “Long Loey” ไทยเทเนี่ยม หลงเลย Music Video. I learned a lot during this trip to Phuket and Bangkok. I would also thank the lovely Clare for helping me so much in Sri Panwa.

Please check out my MedBlogContest Entry HERE! If you want to know about the MedBlogContest info, click HERE.

Thank you for reading!

(Jan ’05) – Recently I wa backing up a lot of my old pictures to my new laptop. I would like to share some of the interesting pictures I took a few years ago.

This was taken in January 2005 at Patong Beach, Phuket Island. Well, the stories goes like this:

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. The resulting tsunami itself is given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Asian Tsunami, Indonesian Tsunami, and Boxing Day Tsunami. -Wikipedia

Phuket Thailand was the places that was hit by the tsunami. I was invited back then for a media trip to the affected areas of tsunami in Jan 2005, app. one month after the tsunami. The media trip includes tour agencies representatives and reporters.

We were greeted graciously by the local governor and we were explained the details of the damages caused by tsunami. We were told, the locals had started rebuilding the affected areas days after the incident. By 1 – 2 weeks, most beaches were cleaned up. Many would not believe such claims.

For that, we were then brought to areas that were affected by tsunami such as Patong beach.

Its hard to believe this the beach that has been affected by tsunami weeks ago.

More than hundreds of people died on this beach a few weeks ago during our visit. Unbelievable.

If you could see the uneven sand area throughout the beach were caused by the devastating tsunami.

At one of the nights, there was a huge memorial of tsunami victims at Patong Beach. Each light on the beach indicated a single life that was taken by the disaster. We were joined by medias from around the world during the memorial.

It was one of the most unforgettable trip I had. Phuket remained one of my favourite destinations up to date. I’ve been there 3 times.

The 2004 tsunami killed thousands across Asia and Africa. The destruction caused by the tsunami impacted millions of people up to today. Sadly, Phi Phi Island off Phuket and Krabi was one of the infected areas.

Rachel and I and a few friends went to Phi Phi Island 3 months after the event. While many strikes fear of going there, we enjoyed the Phuket Island trip.

Beautiful Phi Phi Island

This was me back then and fellow friend Jerry

Rachel giving a peace sign as we reaching Phi Phi Island
We hopped on the small boat and sailed to Phi Phi Island. We had lunch there with the beautiful sandy beach of Phi Phi Island. Most of the resorts were still rebuilding and the beach was clean and beautiful. The white sands were smooth and we couldn’t stop ourselves for dipping into the crystal clear water.

The white sandy beach of Phi Phi Island: 3 months after 2004 tsunami

It was amazing how they manage to rebuild everything so fast in Phi Phi Island and Phuket Island. The Thais really worked together to bring back the tourism to the islands. My salute to them!