Phuket has a reputation for craziness, parties and prostitutes. We hadn't liked being in the middle of the craziness, aren't much for the debauchery parties here (there's no middle ground - only go big or go home vibe), and saw the prostitutes in Chaing Mai (and were grossed out). But we still opted to come see it.
To try and get a little of middle ground, we chose to stay in Karon, which is supposed to be quieter. It is calmer, but it's still pretty much without unique character or culture. The town and streets resembled a very western tourist town with a pretty beach. There were some bars but there is definitely less action at night. There are lots of cheesy restaurants serving a foreign cusine plus a Thai menu. There were also a ton of electrical wires and tour stands. The beach was nice. But we again had hazy weather - I guess to be expected in September (rainy season).
We booked a nice hotel (Simpletel) off the main road for $22 / night. When we arrived we weren't feeling well so we went spent the afternoon in the AC and thinking about where to end our trip. We ended the day to the beach for a late afternoon swim.
That night I tried the fish massage. It was SO weird with them sucking my feet!!! It tickled and then kinda felt like bubbles. My skin felt softer but I didn't feel a lot of dead skin removed.
I think I'll stick to the regular massages!!
I think I'll stick to the regular massages!!
We walked through a market that was in the main temple. It was the standard market. Nothing different or impressive. We still weren't feeling a 100% so we got to go pizza and ate it in bed.
I really only wanted to be in Phuket a night to see the craziness but Josh wanted to have two nights so we didn't have to travel back to back. Good thing because we did stay longer because we would not have enjoyed it if we pushed ourselves to go out the first night.
The next morning we went on a tour to Pha Nga Bay. I didn't realize how far it was from Phuket. It's at least an hour drive. It was pretty. But the tour felt very herded and there were just so many people doing the same thing, and seeing the same sights. Again, I couldn't imagine how crowded Thailand would be in season, if this is off season. Besides that feeling, it was something I'd recommend if you were in the area, but not something to stay longer for.
We saw a lot of limestone cliff islands which we had seen in both Phi Phi and Railay Beach. They were pretty! We went to an island to canoe into caves and under the limestone over hangs. I thought we were getting to do the canoe but you are paddled around by a worker. The caves and everywhere we went were really cool though.
We then went to the famous James Bond island - it's a rock in a lagoon that is known because it was featured in a film. No more pretty than any other rock islands.
The best part of the tour was our lunch stop at Panyee Island. Lunch was awful, but the muslim Island fishing town was so cool to see. Much of it is built on stilts, over the water.
We saw a lot of limestone cliff islands which we had seen in both Phi Phi and Railay Beach. They were pretty! We went to an island to canoe into caves and under the limestone over hangs. I thought we were getting to do the canoe but you are paddled around by a worker. The caves and everywhere we went were really cool though.
We then went to the famous James Bond island - it's a rock in a lagoon that is known because it was featured in a film. No more pretty than any other rock islands.
The best part of the tour was our lunch stop at Panyee Island. Lunch was awful, but the muslim Island fishing town was so cool to see. Much of it is built on stilts, over the water.
That night we were went to see the craziness and went out to Bangla road.
The street is crazy with go go bars and strip clubs.
Our goal was to see a show, so we asked around.
It's an experience to say the least.
We did see the famous ping pong show, along with other tricks such as shooting darts.
We learned a lot about the whole process of that side of tourism by talking to a gentleman from England.
Josh wasn't feeling 100%, and there was no way to deal with more of the experience without alcohol, so we saw, checked the box, and went home.
As a whole, Phuket reminded me of a Daytona-esque beach town with only strip clubs and go go bars. Not really worth it in my opinion.
Going in to Phuket, you need to know:
The street is crazy with go go bars and strip clubs.
Our goal was to see a show, so we asked around.
It's an experience to say the least.
We did see the famous ping pong show, along with other tricks such as shooting darts.
We learned a lot about the whole process of that side of tourism by talking to a gentleman from England.
Josh wasn't feeling 100%, and there was no way to deal with more of the experience without alcohol, so we saw, checked the box, and went home.
As a whole, Phuket reminded me of a Daytona-esque beach town with only strip clubs and go go bars. Not really worth it in my opinion.
Going in to Phuket, you need to know:
*Embrace the Patong area for a night or skip Phuket - we stayed outside of it to be close but avoid it. But we wanted to see it. So we spent too much money on cans
*Be ready to spend - the most expensive area of Thailand, especially if you want to experience the strip bars (add more money if you want to participate in that side of tourism haha)
*There is more to explore outside of sex shows. I wish I would have explored the area more (we meant to but weren't feeling well). There were lookout points we should have rented a scooter to go see.
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