Phuket, Thailand

November 22 - 24, 2012

As I mentioned in my previous post about Railay - I did a lot of research in preparation of my trip to Thailand. One thing multiple people told me was they do not recommend going to Phuket and instantly I thought they were crazy.  Who goes to the Thailand beaches and does not go to Phuket?  From magazines to TV shows -- everyone talks about Phuket and it has become a staple for Thailand tourism.  Well they were right - even though I only spent a short amount of time there I can honestly say by bypassing this stop on your trip - you are not missing anything.

To get from Railay to Phuket we took the Ao Nang Princess Ferry.  Included in the 800baht ticket (25 US dollars) was a free transfer from the docking location of the Ao Nang Ferry to one of the following locations in Phuket: Patong, Kata, Karon, or Town.  Based on your end destination, each passenger wears a sticker with the name of that location.  Upon the arrival at the dock, there are many vans and buses waiting and the workers are guiding you into these vehicles based on your sticker.  Surprisingly it is really well organized and they take you to whatever location you request.  For us this was the Blue Ocean Resort and Spa in Phuket.  To my surprise transportation ride took around 35 - 40 minutes to get into Patong Beach.  There were 5 other groups in our van and we were the 2nd to last stop for the driver.  By the time we got to the hotel the sun had gone down and the rain had started.

The calm Andaman sea - on our way to Phuket.

Sunset on the Ao Nang Princess Ferry to Phuket. 

We picked the Blue Ocean Resort and Spa in Phuket based on the high reviews from TripAdvisor and Agoda.  Needless to say I was not impressed - the service was just okay, the elevators were not in sync (so for both elevators you had to press separate buttons to go up or down which made for alot of unnecessary stops to other floors because the guest got in the other elevator that got their first), the wifi had a lot of dead spots in the room, and the interior decor of the lobby and rooms was mediocre at best.  The hotel offered a free breakfast buffet which served foods similar to the Railay Village Resort - a combination of American and Thai cuisine - which was surprisingly decent.

After checking into the hotel, we decided to walk down the main street and head over to JungCeylon Center where we were recommended to go to for good, cheap facials.  The walk down to the mall was loud - there was everything from advertisements for Muay Thai fighting blaring out of car speakers to stall owners trying get you to come in and buy a suit or Thailand souvenirs.  The street had homeless people (including kids) begging for money and a lot of younger drunk tourists stumbling around - as every other stall seemed to be a bar of some sort.  We had hoped to find a restaurant to eat at, however, I was very uncomfortable after the walk and we ended up at a Burger King next to JungCeylon.

Main street in Patong Beach, Phuket. 

Burger King dinner. 

Post our Burger King dinner - we went to the 3rd floor of the JungCeylon Center.  The 3rd floor is a collection of spa like stores which offer facials and massages.  We got an hour facial for 399 baht which equates to about 13 US dollars.  It was very similar to a facial in the US - but much cheaper!  :)

JungCeylon Center in Phuket.  

First Spa facial special at the JungCelyon Center.

Our main reason for the short stay in Phuket was to do a day trip out to the Phi Phi Islands.  This area is known for being in the movie 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio, for Monkey Beach and for being on of the hardest hit locations in the tragic 2004 tsunami.  About 2-3 weeks prior to the start of our trip we booked our Phi Phi full day tour through phukettour.com which was recommended by friends.  We opted for the speed boat option vs the ferry boat - although it was more expensive the speed boat takes about an hour to get to the Phi Phi Islands compared to two hours by ferry.  The speed boat day trip was 1600baht per person which is approximately 53 US dollars.  The trip includes pick up and drop off at your hotel, snorkel gear, drinks (water and soda) and snacks/lunch.

Pick up at our hotel was between 8 - 8:30am - when we were still in the lobby at 8:30am we assumed they were on Thai time and just running late.  However, not wanting to spend the day in Phuket - we asked the front desk to call phukettour.com to make sure we weren't left behind.  The front desk proceeded to tell us this would cost 20baht per minute (!) and we said we would pay the charges.  As assumed, the driver was just running late as we were the last group to be picked up.  We made it to Rassada Harbor where we met up with the rest of the people on our tour and were given a run down of safety tips and an overview of our itinerary.  As we were walking to board the boat people were selling bread for the monkeys for 30baht (~1 US dollar) - which of course we bought - and snorkeling fins for 100baht (~3 US dollars).  Given that in the safety talk they mentioned it was common that for people snorkeling to step on sea urchins and be in extreme pain for the next couple of days - most people opted for the fins, including us.  Once everyone boarded the boat we were off to the islands.  We sat in the front open aired section of the boat which worked out perfectly for the overcast day.  I would recommend trying to sit in this section as the back portion of the boat was very crowded and the views were not as good.  Our first stop was Phi Phi Leh's Viking Cave and Pileh lagoon. Viking Cave is most well known for the housing the Swiftlet birds which make the nests that are used to make bird nest soup.  It is off limits to tourist as they scare the birds from coming back and is guarded by live in workers who protect the nests from poachers.  Pileh lagoon is known for the massive limestone cliffs which surround it and the warm turquoise water.  I would have loved to spend more time here - possibly swim around and see the fish - however - it was almost low tide and the boats cannot get in and out there during that time.  I would definitely recommend this as a must visit location in Phi Phi Leh.

Pileh Lagoon, Phi Phi Leh.

Pileh Lagoon, Phi Phi Leh.

Viking Cave, Phi Phi Leh.

Our next stop was Monkey Beach.  Who doesn't want to get up close with these adorable monkeys who come down from the mountains of Phi Phi Don every day to get free food from tourist like us. As mentioned previously we bought bread for 30baht for the monkeys like every other tourist there.  Well these monkeys were carb'ed out.  They wanted nothing to do with the bread - and the tour guides handed us peanuts to give to the monkeys instead.  The bread was basically a scam - but it was perfect for snorkeling later in the day.  We spent about 15 minutes at Monkey beach and then went out into the ocean via boat to snorkel.  The water we snorkeled in was about 15 - 20 feet deep and filled with fish.  We used the bread in the water to attract the fish and hundreds if not thousands of them swam right up to us to nibble on it.  Unfortunately a lot of the coral on the bottom on the ocean was killed during the 2004 tsunami and is just starting to grow back so this location did not offer the colorful snorkeling scenery that other spots in Thailand do.  There was brightly colored sea urchins poking out from the coral - however - none close enough to touching our feet.  We snorkeled for about 45mins - 1hr which was way to short of a time but we had to board the boat to get to our lunch location.  Lunch was a buffet on Phi Phi Don Island filled with mass produced Thai food.  It wasn't bad but wasn't great.  They gave us about an hour to eat and walk around the town.  The town was cute - similar to the walking street in Railay but on a larger scale.  Lots of food places and mini marts - David got corn and a coconut and I got rottee.

Monkey Beach, Phi Phi Don. 

Monkey Beach, Phi Phi Don.

Monkey!

Monkey!

Tired Monkey. 

Snorkeling.

Fish!

Snorkeling w/ bread.

The next stop on the tour was Maya Beach - this is the set location of the movie 'The Beach.'  Although crowded the scenery was beautiful - words cannot describe it.  The water was crystal clear and the limestone cliffs surround the bay.  We got off the boat and spent about 30 mins in the water or walking around.  To use the restroom here it cost 20baht - this money goes to the local Thai people and is used for upkeep of these national parks.

Maya Beach. 

Maya Beach.

Maya Beach. 

After departing Maya Beach, we traveled 45mins away to Khai Nok Island.  This location was basically a tourist trap.  There was maybe 20+ speed boats and ferries dock here and they try to get you to rent a chair in the shade or buy food for a crazy amount of money.  The current was pretty strong around here so they recommend you wear you life vests cause you can easily drift out towards sea.  They recommend snorkeling here - however - there were only two spots to do this as the docked boats took up most of the space.  Since we had half a loaf of bread left that we wanted to use - we went out into the water with our fins and sure enough hundreds of fish came right up to us as soon as the bread touched the water.  At about 430pm the tour wrapped up and we took the 15min boat ride back to the harbor.  The same car which picked us up in the morning was waiting for us when we arrived and took us back to the hotel which again was about a 45min ride.

Fish and Bread.

Once back at the hotel in the Patong Beach area - we opted to eat at an American/European restaurant, Shakers, close to the hotel since it is nearly impossible to find Thai food in Phuket.  (A compliant many friends told me prior to going.)  We got chicken nuggets and a cheese pizza - which was pretty tasty.  On the walk back since it was our last night in the beachy area of Thailand - David and I decided to get an Aloe Massage at a massage shop by our hotel.  BIG MISTAKE!  My take on an Aloe massage is instead of using oils during the massage they use Aloe Vera.  The Thai take on an Aloe massage is that rub your body down in ice then apply LOADS of Aloe on you while you lay in an air conditioned room with a fan on your body.  In all seriousness I was about to cry but I was so cold I couldn't.  My teeth were chattering and I had goose bumps all over.  I am pretty sure they thought we were crazy because we were not even sunburned.  We thought we were getting a little after sun skin care - and we thought wrong...we got a lot more.

Shakers Restaurant in Phuket. 

Chicken Nuggets at Shakers. 

Cheese Pizza at Shakers. 

Green Garden Massage. 

Aloe Massage for 450baht.  

Back at the hotel we booked a car service to take us from the hotel in Patong Beach to the Phuket airport the next day.  They told us we should be there about 1.5 hours prior to the flight and it takes about an hour from Patong Beach to the airport.  Our flight left for Chiang Mai the next day at 10am so we had a 7:30am pick up downstairs in the lobby.

Highlight of my trip:
- Phi Phi Leh - Pileh Lagoon
- Phi Phi Don - Snokeling and Maya Beach

On my to do list next time:
- There will not be a next time unless I am using it as a lay over.

If I could do the trip over again - I would have stayed the extra days in Railay and gone through a tour company there or booked a private boat to take us to Phi Phi Islands.  (After looking into it you can book these from the hotels in Railay or online.)  The cost of a day trip through a tour company is generally the same leaving from Railay or Phuket as is the time it takes to get to the islands (about an hr from both via a speed boat).  Personally next time I would pay extra to have a private tour where you can dictate where you go and how long you stay at each destination.  I would have also liked to go on a snorkeling adventure off Railay or the Phi Phi Islands - as the snorkeling time on the day trip was not long enough for me.

All and all I highly recommend visiting the Phi Phi Islands but I would not recommend using Phuket as a hub to do so.