Thailand – Part 3 – Phuket

The last leg of our Thai adventure was a week of island hopping in the south of the country.

After an early flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket, we arrived at our hotel around lunchtime where we met some friends. We stayed at the B-Lay Tong Phuket, it is a nice place, the only downside is the road that separates the swimming pool from the beach, here is another option I heard great things about too.

Following a light lunch by the pool, some of our friends headed to the beach to chat to the local longboat owners and arrange an afternoon escape. The great thing about Thailand is that you can ask almost anything to the locals and they will happily organise it for you! One of them, arranged for us to be picked up at our hotel one hour later to head to the harbour where we sailed off on an afternoon mini-cruise.

I don’t recall the exact price, but for the transport, a private boat and beverages it was between 40 and 50 GBP per person, knowing that we were 5 people.

We loved every minute of it, swimming with fish and enjoying a fresh beer on our private little-yacht.

Back at the hotel, we had a couple of hours to refresh a little before a night out on Patong Beach.

 

It is good to note that we purposely stayed in the most lively part of Phuket, as we knew we would hang out with friends and go out. If you go on a romantic holiday, you may want to consider somewhere a little more quiet than Patong.

On the second day in Phuket, we decided to take it very easy and spent time by the pool and walking on the beach.

We also had an amazing Thai massage (one of many!) in one of the spas in Patong. In the evening, we met some friends for dinner and then headed to watch Thai boxing in Patong Boxing Stadium.

I very rarely experience homesickness or cultural shock. I seem to very easily adapt to culture in a country, however Thai boxing was one step too far for me. First of all, I have no interest in boxing, I just don’t like seeing people hitting each other, secondly live boxing is something else, the noise of hits on someone’s skin, the sweat, sometime the blood, it is a lot… Finally, I had NO IDEA that Thai boxing matches included some 7-years-old and 10-years-old, very young athletes fighting in front of you. So overall I would rate this experience as ‘interesting’, if you are like my husband though you can consider it as ‘exciting’.

After an eventful stay in Phuket we were ready to move on to a calmer land, so early in the morning we packed our bags, drove to the harbour and hopped on a boat. Direction? Koh Phi Phi!

Planning a trip to Thailand?

Check my other guides on Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the islands!