Phuket
Introduction
Phuket, which has for a long time been Thailand’s premier beach destination, has now evolved into one of southeast Asia’s two most glamorous and jet-set islands (the other being Bali). The many top-flight resorts vie with each other in opulence, often to exquisite effect: Thais tend to have a good sense of aesthetics, so the masterpieces far outnumber the monstrosities. If you have money and like to spend it on stylish restaurants and resorts, this is the place for you. The better Phuket gets for the well-heeled, however, the worse it becomes for budget travellers, who have now been mostly banished to scruffy doss-houses in noisy, smelly back-streets.
Beaches
Phuket is blessed with an abundance of gorgeous beaches, the finest of which lie along the west coast. Phuket has a lot going for it, unless your idea of bliss is an empty, spotless, soundless beach. Whilst strenuous efforts are made to clean the beaches, the visitor volumes mean that it is inevitable that some traces of the packaging industry’s products will usually be on display on those stretches of beach which are not controlled by a single resort. Never mind, if you ever get fed up with the mess and the crowds, you can always cheer yourself up by going to an internet café and checking out the weather back home.
Patong Beach
The best-known of these beaches is the infamous Patong, which used to attract hippy backpackers like filings to a magnet but now, since the one-hour hotels moved in, mostly draws in a different sort of tourist. Whilst Patong is now a den of dissolution, it is also paradoxically a place where families with young children can have a great time, provided they don’t return to their resort too late, due to the outstanding family facilities in many of the superb hotels located there.
The nightlife is as raucous as that in the other two of Thailand’s trio of pandemonium P’s (Pattaya and Bangkok’s infamously seedy Patpong being the other two). For families with teenage children who want to be out and about later at night than do families with younger children, the vulgarity of Patong’s sex tourists as they troop in and out of short-time hotels make Patong an unsuitable destination. High-rolling party people should stay at the Millenium, whilst those with shallower pockets are advised to head for the Patong Premier.
Kamala Beach
This is a more wholesome place, and is particularly popular with familes. It has a good range of mid-range hotels, of which we reccommend, for families, the bizarrely-named Print Resort.
Pansea Beach
This is Phuket's most exclusibe beach, and is effectively the private home to to the exclusive Chedi and Amanpuri resorts, both of which go to lengths to protect their guests’ privacy.
Nai Harn Beach
Nai Harn beach is still relatively pristine, thanks to its bodyguard, the Samnak Song monastery, which has repeatedly refused to sell out to developers. From the top of nearby Promthep Cape, the island’s most southerly point, the sunsets are often the fieriest imaginable, but make sure you arrive in plenty of time so that you can find a place to park, as you will be a long way from being the only one enjoying the sight.
Laem Singh Beach
Laem Sing beach is in a small, curving bay with rocky headlands at the foot of forest-fringed cliffs and is among Phuket's most beautiful spots. It's a bit of a hike down to reach it from the road, so is not recommended for small children or people with mobility problems. This difficulty of access has kept the beach quieter than other Phuket beaches, and a visit is highly recommended.
Bangtao Beach
Ao Bang Thao is a large open bay with one of Phuket's longest beaches. It was once used for tin mining, but has since been developed into a luxury resort. Most of it is occupied by the huge Laguna complex, which comprises a golf course and five luxury hotels, including the Sheraton Grande Laguna. Family facilities here are excellent, and some decent coral has somehow survived the multitude of visiting snorkellers’ fins.
Nai Yang Beach
The often nearly empty Nai Yang beach is fringed with casuarina trees, which provide shady spots on which to spread a beach mat and collapse. Off-shore is a large coral reef which serves as a habitat for several species of sea life; if you are lucky you may even see a turtle or two, particularly in April, when baby turtles are released by the Fisheries Department. If you have some time to kill before your flight from the nearby airport, here’s a good place to do it.
Layan Beach
This is Phuket's romantic hideaway beach, and is home to the Bundarika Resort.
Environment
Your first impression of Phuket depends on where you have arrived from. If you have just stepped off a plane from a bleak European winter on your first visit to Thailand, you will no doubt shortly conclude that the only thing separating the place from paradise is the lack of contralto-singing women with large wings flying around in white robes. If, on the other hand, you have just come from a pristine island like Koh Yao Noi, Koh Jum or Koh Lao Liang, you may find Phuket over-developed. Not that this matters if you have deep enough pockets to stay in one of the lovely luxury resorts, which zealously clean their beachfronts every morning before their guests arise.
Sports
Phuket is superbly equipped and placed for devotees of Thailand’s three main 5-star sports, sailing, big-game fishing and golf. Plus it is one of Thailand’s best dive bases, from where you can reach the magnificent Similan Islands, and many other top dive sites. It is a convenient base from which to explore one of the best tropical kayaking destinations in the world, the stupendous limestone kart cathedrals of Phang Nga bay. Contact us for advice and bookings.
Island Hopping
Phuket is ringed with 39 fine little satellite islands. Of special interest are the following.
Ko Racha Yai or Raya Yai’s gleaming beaches can be reached by shared or chartered boat from Phuket’s Ao Chalong. A hilltop viewpoint offers a magnificent view of the whole island. On nearby Ko Racha Noi or Raya Noi there are more rocks than beaches; it is a great fishing, but not swimming, destination. Ko Mai Thon, off Phuket's southeast coast, is highly prized for its fine white beaches and crystal-clear waters and is ideal for swimming, diving, or fishing. Busy little Ko Hae, part of a marine preserve, is so well known for its coral reef that it is often referred to simply as Coral Island. In addition to the splendid reefs there are two fine beaches on the north and west of the island. Ko Nakha Noi is popular for its pearl farm and has fine sandy beaches suitable for swimming and a good seafood restaurant. Ko Bon has a white sandy beach and is just ten minutes offshore from Phuket.
Dangers & Annoyances
Particularly in the monsoon season, there are strong currents on many of the beaches and drownings are not uncommon, especially on Surin beach, due to its large waves, turbulent currents and steeply-sloping seabed. Because of the hilly island’s winding roads and poor visibility, Phuket gets more than its fair share of traffic accidents. Most days someone, often a foreigner, dies in a Phuket road accident, nine out of ten of which involves a motorbike.
Having your photo taken with a cute gibbon on one of the beaches is very dangerous, not to you but to the species. During Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival celebrants go into hypnotic trances and become mediums for spirits from beyond the grave, who instruct them to pierce their bodies with all manner of household objects, Kalashnikov rifle barrels, and very large knives. If you think that you too will feel no pain with a light-bulb sticking out of your tongue or a sword out of your cheek, then by all means join in, but maybe ask your insurance company for their approval first.
Phuket – Top Ten
Dive with Elephants
Phuket is not infrequently associated with the bizarre and the unusual, but now the province’s peculiarity has now been elevated to new heights - the land of smiles is now the only place on the planet where you can dive with elephants. Off Racha Yai Island is located one of the latest dive sites in the area, The Siam Bay Marine Park, a mammoth artificial reef that includes two concrete elephants 3 metres in height.
As you approach this bizarre dive site you’ll swim through a temple gateway guarded by a giant mythical sentry, known in Thai as a ‘Yak’, who is believed to defend the gate from evil spirits. Next, diving inwards and upwards, you’ll swim through a pair of elephant legs. Not only is this regarded as very good luck in Thailand, it's also great practice for your buoyancy skills too. The water is generally clear here so some fairly unusual photo opportunities are possible, particularly underneath the male elephant. While you are there, have a look in the elephant’s ear, where a white-eyed moray eel is usually in residence.
Simon Cabaret
At a crossroads between the airport and Phuket Town there is a statue of two famous female warriors called Muk and Chan who, in 1785, repelled a Burmese invasion by dressing up all Phuket’s townswomen as men and then lining them up on the ramparts to seemingly swell the defenders’ ranks. These days, however, the cross-dressing is more the other way around. The Thai word ‘katoi’ can mean either ‘transvestite’ or ‘transsexual’. If in doubt, don’t ask. Whatever they exactly are, the katoi performers of Simon Cabaret have been amazing foreigners and turning Western catwalk queens green with envy for decades. This hugely popular and often hilarious cabaret wows audiences with stunning sets, glittery gowns and choreography so balletic that it would do Broadway justice. These boys who are girls stiletto-strut their stuff to full houses every night of the week – not to be missed. www.phuket.com.
Liveaboard Dive Boat to the Similan Islands
Click here for a feature article on Similan liveaboard diving. For a search engine of all the departures dates, go to www.liveaboardthailand.com.
Phuket Fantasea
The very biggest of all Phuket's extravaganzas, Fantasea brings Las Vegas-style entertainment to the island. Remarkable acrobatics, amazing animal antics, dazzling light work and stunning set designs combine in a song and dance spectacular that brings to life Phuket’s history and mythology in a spell-bindingly unique way. www.phuket-fantasea.com
Big game Fishing
Phuket is the only place in Thailand which offers truly big game fishing. www.wahoo.ws
Phuket Aquarium
This offers the opportunity to observe local marine life up close and without the necessity of diving beneath the waves. More than a hundred aquatic species are housed at this facility, which is one of Thailand's principle centres for research into the whales, dugongs, sharks, dolphins and sea turtles that make their homes in the nearby waters. The best time to go is in the late afternoon so that you can afterwards watch the sunset on the nearby seafront, which has a few modest and never over-crowded restaurants. www.phuketaquarium.org
Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Conservation Centre
22 square kilometers of virgin forest conserve a number of wild animals which would otherwise be extinct in fast-growing Phuket. Wild boar grunt as they forage around giant trees supported by huge buttresses thick with creepers. Towering tall, these mighty trees are alive with the cries of gibbons, civet, macaques, squirrels, flying squirrels, bats, flying lemurs and chameleons. Nearby, the park’s Ton Sai Waterfall is a bit of a disappointment, even when in full flood during the rainy season.
Thai Village and Orchid Farm
With 20,000 varieties of orchid and tropical trees on display, this tour follows a typical southern Thai lunch with a spectacular cultural show including Thai dances, boxing, southern customs and elephant antics. Relaxation is aided by the lilting sounds of Thai classical and folk music played on traditional instruments.
Resorts
We reckon there's a hotel recommendation for every type of traveller here, but if you would like some advice, please contact us.
Villa Rental
For a great selection of villa and house options, click below:
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