All my other friends already did theirs wtf... I've been too busy. :(
Cheesie's blog entry
Qiuqiu's blog entry 1, 2, 3 (spoil market)
Sophie's blog entry 1, 2
Initially the previous entry was supposed to be about Andara/Phuket and the renovations bit was supposed to be a short update snippet but it turned out to be so freaking long so here is the entry proper!!
Just a little background before I start!!
I got invited to Andara Resort in Phuket back in 2010, and it was so super fun!!
It was truly the biggest "hotel" room I've never been it because it was a fully functional apartment with 3 freaking bedrooms!!
So fast forward to 2012, the awesome peeps from Andara invited me to go again.
This time round I thought it would be such a waste to go alone with Mike again and not utilize the rest of the bedrooms, so I asked if they wanted other bloggers to go as well!!
And thus Andara gave us 2 suites with 3 bedrooms each so I could get 10 of my blogger friends and free-loading friends to go too!! LOL
They are...
Mike (obviously),
Qiu,
Cheesie,
Sophie,
Sophie's boyfriend Alaric,
Gillian,
and her husband Bryan,
Eekean,
Huiwen,
my bff Shuyin,
and her sister Binbin.
It's hard to pick people to travel with... You have to consider group dynamics and you don't want to ask buay paiseh/needy/unhelpful people so I'm glad I went with this bunch! Everyone had tons of fun and got along so well! :)
(Except for the second day when I had one of the biggest fights I've ever had with Mike which made everyone feel quite awkward but everything was ok after that. Sorry about that peeps!!)
Gate D32. So coincidentally that's my bra size. (Kidding)
Vain girls galore!!
Lousy camera... Shot is so blur I didn't even bother photoshopping it.
Me on the plane!
Finally arrived at Phuket!! Cheesie was flying in from Malaysia and her flight got delayed. So Andara kindly arranged for transport for her separately...
The rest of us got into super spacious vans that can seat (sit?) like 10 people... Drinks and cold towels served to us in the vans!! Such VIP treatment. :)
Pic stolen from Qiu's blog
Horrific group shot which also turned out blur. And Gillian and Bryan's faces are half hidden. But look we all got lei-ed!
My white lace dress from Abercrombie and Fitch teens outlet in USA at only $6.90USD wtf... I don't understand why the A&F in Singapore is so freaking expensive!
We were then driven by buggies to our apartments... Expected to hear everyone being very impressed and I wasn't disappointed!!!
The place is so freaking huge... Awesome for a group of friends or family members to enjoy an awesome beach holiday together and bond.
Sometimes I feel a holiday isn't always about exploring a new place but to spend quality time with your loved ones.... Even just inside a house chilling and lounging is fun.
Bryan immediately lying down on the couch and watching tv
Gillian walking back into the living room after exploring the rooms.
Corridor to the HUGE master bedroom.
Awesome view...
And awesomer bathroom with giant jacuzzi for two... How I wish my toilet is this size!!
One of the other bedrooms with twin beds. Shuyin and Binbin took this one.
Gillian and Bryan took this one!!
Best thing?
ALL the rooms have ensuite toilets PLUS one additional toilet in the living room for guests! Total of 4!
Oh and did I forget to mention?
Each apartment had its own PRIVATE INFINITY POOL:
This is how it looks like, on the second floor of our apartment!! WTF RIGHTTTTTT
AND AND AND.........
WIFI! Free, precious, glorious wifi!!
*hyperventilates* too awesome to be true.
We stopped by a supermarket on the way to the hotel and bought some stuff to cook/snack!!
Look what we whipped up in our kitchen:
Broccoli and mushrooms with minced meat in fish sauce. Shuyin and her sister cooked it!
While I cooked tom yam instant noodles and added cabbage + fishballs + eggs into the soup.
Silly Eekean loves to cook and wanted to help out but she was caught taking out a pot from inside the cabinets and she ATTEMPTED TO COOK SOUP WITHOUT WASHING THE POT.
She insisted that the pots in the cabinets are not dirty wtf!!!!!! How can, dunno when was the last time they were used plus confirm have the occasional roach/lizard crawling over it!! And so dusty!!
After that she was bodily thrown out of the kitchen and barred from cooking anything. LOL
Anyway the kitchen is SUPER impressive!!
They have EVERYTHING from pots to pans to knives to scissors to chopping boards, sieves, oven etc. *jaw drops*
Everyone getting dozy after the food and snacks... Loving the fact that Andara also gives a huge platter of tropical fruits!! :D
Huiwen ladling soup
It was already almost midnight but we stayed up to play Cranium!!
Gillian was the judge lol. It was super fun even though my team lost both times. Not due to incompetence mind you but due to the fact that our dice luck was very bad *ahem*
We actually still owe the other team forfeits which includes snapping photos in compromising positions but we managed to weasel out of it by pretending to forget. :D
We played until 4 am and everyone crawled out of bed next morning sleepily and had breakfast at Silk, Andara's restaurant:
During breakfast Mot from Andara briefed us on the itinerary...
We only had the weekend so Saturaday was our only full day. Nonetheless it was packed with fun activities!
First stop - to Andara's private beach for some sun, sea and sand!
Headed back to apartment to finish getting ready:
This is the view from my bedroom...
Super gorgeous!
My outfit/hair/makeup of the day!!
Got the rose headband from F21, love it!
WHEN ARE THEY GONNA SPONSOR ME?!?!?!
This tanktop (also f21) has such a large armpit hole that it can only be worn at like... beach resorts.
Happy us is happy!!
Omg super chio photo of me on the bed... Mike just had to photobomb the pic with his crotch. Click to enlarge!
Me + BFF
Group shot again at the lobby
Short 5 min drive by Andara's atas looking buggies.
"Pui! The camera focused on you and not me" I said to the bff after this photo was taken.
She said, "Come lah I take for you and Mike." LOL
Happy happy happy!!
Solo shot
AND TADAH... AWESOMEST BEACH EVER:
It was so pretty and clean!!
A huge section for only Andara's customers. :D
So many comfy lounge chairs and beds for you to choose from omg... Whether you like the shade or to be under the sun.
Plus you can do all sorts of fun beach activities like parasailing and banana boat etc... I'm not so adverturous... I just snapped pics and chillaxed the whole time.
AND A BAR AT THE BACK... Serving you ice cold drinks!!
Just when you think it cannot get better than this...
Like so many people around were TOPLESS!!!
Hahaha!! Can you see the woman in the middle of the pic is not wearing a bikini? Mostly wrinkly angmohs but still it's good entertainment. They are super unabashed about it and would just walk around with nipples showing and all!!
We were all served cocktails and were already very happy but the most internet addicted of us (I think it was Cheesie) soon discovered something that will make this beach TRUMP all other beaches...
THERE WAS WIFI.
WIFI ON A BEACH. I'm sold.
Sophie and her drink...
Qiu camwhoring while Huiwen gazes off into dunno what... Mike and Alaric doing manly talk.
From Cheesie's blog... Camwhoreception
ME!!!
Yes I'm wearing makeup with falsies on the beach!!
Usually I love to tan so I'm typically really hideous at the beach looking super oily with bunned up hair and a skimpy swimsuit (nicer tanlines) but this time round I'm not interested in tanning because fair skin looks nicer with lilac hair...
Plus I'm with so many bloggers and they will post my ugly photos so better not lol. It's not always that I get to camwhore with them in such a nice setting!!
SEE??!
They are techically my colleagues right? Never expected to have gained such valuable friendships out of blogging. Love!!!
Eekean, Huiwen and Qiu playing some game...
Qiu got bored of it in a bit and she did a $15/hr massage with me!!
Pics from her blog... The massage was ok only... Done by freelancers and not by Andara's staff.
Love this photo of the bff probably uploading a picture...
Shuyin striking a pose
Ultra LOVE this pic of Shuyin and me...
I was editing it and just felt so grateful she is my friend that I started to cry wtf... She's just so awesome and always there for me when I need her and nobody understands me like her!! To 10 years of friendship and 50 more to come.
And I'm also super grateful to all of my awesome awesome friends!! I'm just thankful my life is so fantastic wtf how can anyone be so happy all the time I MEAN LOOK AT THIS FREE HOLIDAY *fans self*
Xiaxue x Cheesie 1
Xiaxue x Cheesie 2
So super happy for Cheesie that after years of dating wrong dudes she's finally found The One and is getting married!!
And Qiuqiu just got proposed to as well!! I'm just so happy for my friends' happiness omg I'm gonna cry again what's wrong with me
Ok hilarious picture of Eekean doing her usual weird stuff so I stopped feeling like crying hahaha.
She's holding Andara's spade that's meant to be for kids to build sandcastles with lol. Eekean didn't know most of the peeps on this trip but at the end of it everyone loves her coz she is so funny wtf. I don't know how people can take her seriously as a lawyer!
Inspired by the awesome pics with Cheesie I told Eekean to help us 4 bloggers snap a shot with us lying down but it turned out so horrible...
After massive photoshop... Not too bad
I guess I looked normal but Cheesie looked intensely uncomfortable wtf (at least got cleavage) and Qiu had the most spectacular green vein pop out in her forehead. I left it there because seriously it's an impressive vein. Sophie's eurasian eyes couldn't take the sunlight and she was squinting and shielding her eyes.
I blame the photographer who is either Huiwen or Eekean.
Ok this photo taken by Huiwen so photographer is Eekean
LOL not so glamourous anymore after you see the behind the scenes...
After this was lunch!!
We went to some seafood place with Bryan's recommendation:
End off this entry with Qiu's pic of heart shaped mango sticky rice.
WANT TO GO TO ANDARA TOO FOR THE PERFECT BEACH HOLIDAY???
Andara is now running a STAY MORE, SAVE MORE promotion from March - October 2012. This means you can get 20%-30% discount!!
If you are referred from our blogs you even get a $50usd spa credit. :D
Find out more about their promotion HERE.
Stay tuned for part 2 soon! :D