PHUKET IN A NUTSHELL

If you’re from Asia and looking for a short getaway trip for the weekend or a long-weekend for that matter, then Phuket in Thailand is a perfect idea. And even if you’re not from Asia, Thailand is always a good choice but you gotta spend at least a week or two to make it worth your visit. But for now, let me talk about Phuket and save Bangkok and Chiang Mai for another discussion.

Well, I have only been there twice and I’m not claiming to be an expert but with that two occasions i spent in Phuket, i somehow developed a know-how on getting around the area and would be delighted to share with you a perfect way to spend a three or four days in this tropical haven.

I’m not gonna give you a-long-list-of-things-to-do-and-see as this is supposed to be a vacation and itinerary should out the picture. With that said, i just want you to remember these three items which i think will make you feeling recharged and rejuvenated after your visit. And I hope this will help you decide to finally go and spend a few days in Phuket and here they are:

 

 

1.) SPEND A DAY AT PATONG BEACH

Since Patong is the center and the main tourist resort on the island of Phuket, it’s just logical that you spend a day on the beach. As for my recent visit: arrived in the evening, called-it-a-day after my late dinner, woke up very early for this awesome penthouse view,

ate my breakfast, and headed to the beach and spent the whole day of totally doing nothing. Well, not literally i would say, but just do-as-i-please-kind-of-activities.

Rented out one of those colorful beach umbrellas and a sun bed for about 100THB or 200THB which you can utilize for the whole day. Just don’t forget to bring a bottle of water or a snack in your beach bag or if you choose not to, there’s always those food vendors that will approach you few minutes after you settle down to do your thing. You can read a book after you apply your sunblock or tanning lotion just like what I did while having a bottle of beer and coconut juice for a couple of hundred baht. You can have a massage on the beach, take a nap, people watch and most importantly soak up in the water to make you feeling cool for the humid summer weather.

And I bet you, just after a couple of hours of hanging out by the beach, you will already feel relaxed and as if you’ve been there for a couple of days. I mean, beach in general has that effect on me or for everybody i guess.

Puff a cigarette while drinking Tiger or Singha, take away some food for lunch or have ’em delivered to you, snap some photos, wait for the sunset,

play frisbee or anything that pleases you and forgetting all your life’s problems for that moment are some of the things you can do which i think will make you feeling calm and relaxed at the end of the day.

 

 

 

 

  2.) NEVER MISS A DAY-TOUR-ISLAND-HOPPING

OK, so after a whole day of relaxation at Patong Beach, then you’re now ready for another beach. Hahaha. Well kidding aside, it’s now a good time for you to do some real activities which I suggest to do on your second day and i think will be the highlight of your short vacation.

You have 2 options here: either take a Speedboat Tours or a Ferry Tour on your island tour. But i suggest you take the speedboat. And here’s the reason why:

Speedboats are typically smaller compared to ferries and you have to literally sit side-by-side with the passengers but will take you faster to get you from point A to point B and at the same time, speedboats can dock at the shore and you can get off it and shoot your photos along the shore with the classic Phuket background whereas ferries can’t. And once the ferries makes its stop before the water gets all shallow, then you will start to feel the sea waves and will start to make you feel sea sick like me (so better get a pill from your tour provider if you are like myself.) and all you can do from there is just jump in the water and snorkel. So got the picture?
As for me, i managed to try both on two occasions I visited. On my first visit via speedboat and the recent one was via ferry and i must say that I like the speedboat better and ended up being disappointed with the latter. I was expecting the same experience the first time but ended up kind of trapped inside the ferry far from the shore. And this is probably the reason why i made this post so you guys won’t do the same thing i did the second time.

Via speedboat, you also get to truly experience what island hopping is, since you will be docking on the islands and appreciate its beauty. So if you decide to do so, this is how its gonna look like more or less if you choose this tour package Phi Phi – Maya – Khai Island by speedboat

08:00 – 08.30am	Pick up from your hotel and transfer to Chalong Bay
09:00am	Departure from Chalong pier to “Phi Phi Ley Island” for swimming and sightseeing at “Maya Bay” (where the movie “The Beach” was partially filmed). Enjoy snorkeling and feeding colorful fishes at “Loh Samah Bay”. Sightseeing at “Pileh Cove” and “Viking Cave”
11:00am	Arrive at “Phi Phi Don Island” enjoy feeding monkeys by a piece of bananas.
12:30pm	Have lunch at “Phi Phi Don”
13:30pm	Enjoy swimming with crystal clear water and snorkeling with plentiful coral reefs and feeding fishes at Monkey Beach
14:00pm	Arrive at “Khai Nok Island” enjoy your activities like a swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing and feeding fishes.
16:00pm	Depart “Khai Nok Island” to “Chalong Bay” and transfer to the hotel.

 

The activities above are really enjoyable and i think worth the money I spent. If you’re gonna ask me which I enjoyed the most? I would say all, but the stand out for me was the “Khai Nok Island” cause I like how its been set up: properly-aligned-colorful-umbrellas with sun beds which you can rent for the 2hrs stop over before heading back to your hotel. It’s breezy and sunny and you can either go for a dip, just lie on the sunbed, have a beer and snack, walk around the shore of this little cute island.

Nonetheless, the last part of the itinerary of the day is time for you to just relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon and maybe reflect on the beautiful day you got to enjoy. The feeling was absolutely refreshing and relaxing.

 

 

 

 

3.) PARTY LIKE CRAZY AT BANGLA ROAD

Finally, never ever leave Phuket without ever dropping-by or simply walking-along the stretch of Bangla Road for your last night in Phuket. It doesn’t matter if you go to Bangla Road on your first night or last and I think it’s impossible to miss this one out. Reason being:  ‘Bangla Road is the busiest street in Patong and Phuket. The entire length of the road and small sois are full of bars, shops and discos. The road is open to vehicles during the day but restricted to pedestrians only from evening until morning. Thousands of visitors can be seen walking the street at night. Bar girls, lady boys and hawkers are everywhere.’

But why is this road very famous? Well, if you happen not know, let me tell you that Bangla Road has this Ping Pong show which made it very famous for.

You can have a couple of beers to any of the bars along the stretch of the road with your company or friends while having a good chat or do people watching especially the lady boys that will make you really turn your head twice in confusion to confirm whether you’re seeing a boy or a girl. Occasionally, some riots with those drunken and wasted tourists.

Nonetheless, it’s a must you spend some time at Bangla Road at night to see how happy and bright the road is.

 

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So just to recap, three things to remember when you go to Phuket? (1) Spend a day at Patong Beach (2) Do Island Hopping Tour by Speedboat (3) Party at Bangla Road.

Tell me what you guys think and do comment below or anything you wanna add on the list?

Let’s be friends. Say hi to me on Instagram:TravelDestinationsby7AM and alvintravis1

See you all there 🙂

Cheers!

7:AM