Phuket

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I was only in Phuket for a day and a half, but it really exceeded my expectation. After going to Bangkok, I had kind of assumed that most Thai cities were a bit slummy, and the real beauty was found on the islands. Happy surprise - the beaches in Phuket are really beautiful, maybe even better than some of the islands. Phi Phi felt a bit claustrophobic - the beaches weren't wide and the streets were narrow. Phuket, by comparison, felt really open and it was nice not to feel crammed in.

Our hotel was on Karon beach, which was about 45 minutes from Phuket Town, but most people stay on the west side of the island at the beaches. The entire area is really just made for tourists and relaxing.

On our first night there, I went and did a fish spa. If you haven't heard of "Doctor Fish," it's this weird thing where you can put your feet in a tank of fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. It was a pretty weird sensation. It felt like being tickled and lightly zapped at the same time. When I stuck my feet in, the fish immidiately swarmed to them, so I'm guessing I had a lot of "delicious" dead skin for them to enjoy.

After the fish spa, I felt like treating myself and went and got a foot massage.

Our only full day in Phuket was entirely dedicated to relaxing. I slept in, and then spend most of the day reading at the beach. There are free sun umbrellas and chairs on the beach, and I was lucky enough to find an empty one.

After the beach, we wanted to go to Patong Beach for dinner. Patong is the more famous beach in the area and known for it's bar street. The tuk tuk situation on this side of Phuket Island can be described as a mafia, and they charge really high prices. So, to save some money, my friend and I rented a scooter for a mere $6 (24hour rental) and set off for the other beach. I was too terrified to drive both of us, but luckily my friend turned out to be a really good scooter driver while I just hung out on the back.

There are apparently some nice attractions and sights around Phuket as well, and one day might have been cutting it a bit short.

I actually started getting pretty annoyed at Thailand when I was leaving. It's annoying that there is so much over-charging and scamming. The transportation, food, etc. And then, leaving the airport, I didn't have my departure card (you know that thing you fill out at like every airport) and when I asked for a new one the guy told me it was 200Baht! Usually they're free. In fact, I've never been ANYWHERE where they didn't just have big stacks of those lying around. So that bothered me a bit.

I still like Thailand, but now that I've done Phuket and Bangkok and some islands, I think it'll be awhile before I come back.

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Photos

Architecture
Phuket has a blend of Portuguese and Thai architecture, which is really interesting to look at.

Comments

[polux]

Phuket
My ex-neighbour lives on the beach somewhere in Phuket. I have never been there so one day soon! Have a wonderful visit with your mom and dad. regards to all.