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From various sources, Phuket has received very mixed reviews. The high majority of backpackers, I have met so far, have slammed The place. This is mainly due to the lack of culture and the nature of the tourists. Apparently, it is made for holiday makers rather than a person living out of one bag for half a year. On the other hand, friends who have been to Phuket on a few weeks holiday, have loved the vibe. They even would like to go back again. I got the impression I would lean to the former, although I have learned I am unable to comment unless I experience for myself.
I gave myself the best chance to enjoy island so I based myself in Phuket Town. This is the colonial area where historically the Dutch, Portuguese and British all "set-up camp". The town was located as far away from the beach as you can be, on an island. The European styled buildings and parades were very similar to those I saw in Melaka, Malaysia. In Thailand, or at least the street I was in, gave the styling an extra twist. The Chinese added their influence with red lanterns making the area
a global mix of architecture and culture.
Phuket was to be a place to prepare for my northern journey ahead. I spent much of the initial days doing odds and sods, such as writing and uploading photos for the blog, replacing broken headphones and a bit if market shopping. It was hard to do a lot during the day because it was scorching. There was only short relief when I dived into the local shopping complex. The title of the piece suggests this: to stay out of the sun I frequented the local KFC on three separate occasions. Awful I know but so damn tasty. I indulged further by having to hour long full body massages after. Simple pleasures that were highly beneficial, physically and mentally.
After a couple if evenings being practical more than touristic, I visited a couple of the local attractions. The Big Buddha is The Project of Phuket. It has continuously been in the process of being built for the last twenty years. When I arrived into Phuket harbour, a few days before, I could see the faint outline of this religious monument in top of a large hill. As impressive as this was
from down below, it did not prepare me for what was to come. I hitched a ride on the back of a motorbike taxi, which was incredibly enjoyable in itself. We navigated up the steep, winding hill road on various terrain. At times we were nearly going backwards because the gradient was too high for the low powered bike. Eventually we reached the site's car park. My driver was exhausted and went straight to the nearby veranda, for a well earned snooze. The first clear sighting I had of the Buddha was from down below. The enoromous marble statue glimmered white in the sun. This was just the beginning. I climbed some steps to be at the foot of the statue. What greeted be was three hundred and sixty degree views of the island. One side land and the three other sides were coast and Indian Ocean. Exquisite views! Highly recommended considering it is free and very quiet.
After a swift decent I popped into seeing Wat Chalong. This is a complex of various Chinese style Bhuddist temples. This was my first taste of Bhuddist temples, in Thailand. Not a bad start. Very unique architecture with a warm atmosphere,
as worshippers come to offer blessings to Bhudda. One word of warning, at Chinese temples, be wary of firecrackers being let if every fifteen minutes. I nearly browned my nice clean white boxers because if these.
Overall, the reputation of Phuket has gone up, in my book. It was a completely different experience to many but rewarding nonetheless. Only one gripe: I got bitten to pieces by bed bugs. The itch factor nearly killed me during my stay. Onto the big city of Bangkok!
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