Phuket?!

Going traveling without doing any homework whatsoever is a strange experience. About six months ago our friends invented us to go on vacation with them over Chinese New Year and we agreed. Since we didn’t have any strong preference, they selected Phuket in Thailand as the destination. During the months before taking off, we were too busy to do any research so when we landed, the only piece of information we had was the location of our hotel. Luckily my wife had booked a villa with a private pool so we spent the first morning relaxing poolside while trying to figure out what to do and where to go. That afternoon we rented a scooter from one of the many shops that are available all over the island and headed out on the road.

Here’s my first note about Phuket: the traffic is rather chaotic and, seemingly due to some bad traffic planning, the major roads become completely jammed at certain times of day. Despite this, many tourists rent scooters just like we did. However, I would only recommend it if you have some previous experience. Phuket is not a good place to learn how to ride.

I find that riding around on a scooter without a clear goal in mind is a great way to get a feel for a place. My first impression of (northern) Phuket is that it’s quite rural and kind of messy in a way that I find charming though other people might not. Actually some pictures might explain it better, 1000 words and all that:

Random shots from the streets of Phuket

The next day started pretty much the same way, relaxing in our private pool. Then in the afternoon we set off to a waterfall at a place called Ton Sai. As far as waterfalls go, it’s not particularly impressive and the fact that you have to pay a 400 Bhat entrance fee doesn’t help. If it’s your first trip to Asia, you might find Ton Sai exciting, but I’ve seen far more impressive waterfalls in other parts of Asia, and most of those were free. Despite all that, I kind of enjoyed riding the motorbike out of the city and getting to see a bit of nature.

Due to some issues when booking our flight, we arrived two days before our friends. When they finally arrived my son was incredibly happy because our friend’s son is the same age as him, and those two have a lot of fun playing together. By then, spending the morning in the hotel pool was starting to turn into a daily ritual, and we had a nice time relaxing while the kids played in the water. That afternoon we all bundled into a taxi and headed off to Phuket Old Town. This is an area full of old colonial-style buildings, most of which have been turned into shops, cafes or restaurants; in other words, a really touristic area. I’m generally weary of such areas but once in a while it can be enjoyable.

Here’s my second note about Phuket, or rather Thailand in general: Cannabis has been decriminalized in Thailand since 2022. Strictly speaking it’s only products with a very low content of THC (the substance that gets you high) that are legal but high THC products seem to have fallen into a bit of a legal gray zone and are now sold openly in many places. This became exceedingly clear in downtown Phuket where shops selling weed are extremely common. Anyway, on to the pictures from old town.

Phuket Old Town

The next day we had actually done a bit of homework, so we didn’t spend the morning in the pool. Instead we followed a tip from a friendly taxi driver and went to Aquaria Phuket (not Phuket Aquarium). I haven’t been to many aquariums but in my opinion it’s very good; it’s a decent size, they have interesting animals on displays, and the displays are well designed. The highlight however is the mermaid show which was amazing; it’s worth going just to see that.

A few pictures from Aquaria Phuket

When we got out from the aquarium is was just about time for lunch. The day before I had been checking Google maps and found a floating restaurant which sounded cool so we decided to give it a try. I’m really glad we did because it was a great experience. A short boat ride brings you out to the restaurant which is built on top of a large raft that’s anchored in a sort of sheltered lagoon behind Coconut island. Each table is in a little pavilion which provides some much needed shade, and since the sides are all open, the sea breeze will keep you cool. We had a nice meal while enjoying the view of the turquoise sea and the lush slopes of Coconut island.

Despite Phuket being a tropical island, we spent surprisingly little time at the beach. During our last days there however, we made sure to rectify this problem. The first beach we went to was a place called Freedom Beach. We rode there on our rented scooters, and when we got close there were big signs saying “free parking” so when I saw an open spot I took it. We then followed a trail marked as “free walking trail” down to the beach. This turned out to be a mistake. The path was far steeper and more difficult to walk than we had expected, and the free parking was far higher up the hill than we could imagine. This meant that we ended up doing a surprisingly long and difficult trek down to the beach, and an even more arduous one going back up again. This was not a good choice for two families with young children. The beach however was nice, though far more crowded than the images on Google Maps would have you believe. The kids enjoyed playing in the water and I had fun snorkeling, while my wife relaxed in the shade with her book.

We forgot to take photos at the beach but I did get a few while snorkeling. Unfortunately my supposedly waterproof camera wasn’t completely waterproof and it died after a while.

Our friends were too tired after our ordeal at Freedom Beach, so they decided to spend the last full day relaxing by the hotel. We on the other hand were still thirsty for new experiences, so we booked an island hopping cruise for the afternoon. A minibus picked us up from the hotel and brought us out to a dock on the east side of Phuket. From there we joined a small group of other tourist and went by speedboat out to three small islands, Khai Nai, Khai Nok, and Khai Nui. Each island is little more than a cliff poking up from the ocean, with a band of white sand surrounding the base of the cliff – a miniature paradise island if you will. It was perfect for relaxing on the beach or snorkeling in the turquoise water. Of course the locals have taken full advantage of this, renting out parasols and beach chairs, and selling overpriced drinks. Normally I avoid this kind of business but in this case I didn’t mind paying because it was exactly what we needed to enjoy our stay. If you’re in Phuket I highly recommend an island tour of some kind. My only regret is booking the half day tour, a full day would have given us a better ratio between spending time on the islands and time spent on transportation.

Overall the trip to Phuket was good but not great, and I think that comes down to the lack of planning; with just a bit more homework we could have swapped Freedom Beach for a more child friendly one; with a bit better planning we could have avoided paying to see a mediocre waterfall, and so on. But then again, those less than perfect experiences are part of what makes traveling so exciting, so I can’t really complain.