OUTSIDE BANGKOK: PHUKET FANTASEA

If you're looking for an experience in Thailand that combines a little bit of Disney World with a little bit of Las Vegas than look no further than Phuket Fantasea.



A winner of a Best Attraction Thailand Tourism Award, the main draw here is Vegas-style production that details Thailand's history and culture through dancing, magical illusions, aeiral ballet, acrobatics, pyrotechnics, special effects, stunts and over 30 elephants. Photographs were not allowed in the theater (all cameras and cell phones were confiscated before the performance), so if you want to see what all this looks like please visit www.phuket-fantasea.com. I also couldn't get a decent shot of the outside of the theater because it was so dark, so that can be seen on the website as well.

We had to go to this show a bit early, since we were traveling from the hotel through an organized tour. Most people who go also have dinner there at the Golden Kinnaree, a place that's billed as "The World's Grandest Buffet!" We were told that it was a bit expensive and the food was mediocre, so we skipped the buffet and just hung out in the park section of Phuket Fantasea for about an hour and a half.



The park has a lot of things to do, but unlike Disney World, there are no rides. Like Disney World, there are a multitude of shops that reak of commercialization. Most of the stuff contained in them were trinkets and t-shirts and one would be amazed and the variety of different stuffed elephants one company could produce.



Note: this shop had nothing to do with the Beatles.



Phuket Fantasea also shared another common thing with Disney: people running around in crazy costumes in the extreme heat. These costumes ranged from traditional Thai dress:



To offbeat characters:



And one character in particular that wouldn't go over very well at Disney in today's politically correct world (Disney won't even re-release "Song of the South" on DVD for its 60th Anniversary this year):





There are also elephant rides, an activity which is achieving "No Big Deal" status for me the more I see it.



And elephants made out of Pepsi cans:



The Buffalo Band was playing at an outdoor beer garden. This rock group's set was an eclectic mix of covers including "The Breakup Song" by the Greg Kihn Band, "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett and "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple.





All in all, Phuket Fantasea was a good time and worth a visit if you're vacationing on the island. The show was entertaing, but it was no Cirque Du Soleil. But in all fairness, those shows in Las Vegas are in a league of their own, so based on its own merit, Phuket Fantasea is a fine family attraction.