We arrived to Phuket and joined a minibus of people to get to the area (Patong) we were staying in. We were staying at D’feel hostel, and had a huge room to ourselves for only £5 a night each!
Phuket is full of bars and shopping, and the next day we went to check out the Jungleceyon shopping centre. The centre had a few high street shops, but the basement was filled with small vendors selling an array of items and gifts. After some shopping we had lunch at the food bazaar that’s there, with so many different small eateries selling different types of Thai food, you get a card with credit on and go choose whatever you want. Later that evening we decided to have some beers by the beach and watch the sunset, which was really nice to have some time away from the crazy streets of Patong.
The next day we took a 20 minute taxi to Karon beach. We had read that the beach is supposed to be really nice and a bit more touristy, and it was nice but the waves were huge. This meant we didn’t really go in the sea much, as when Laura went in for only a few minutes she was battered by a wave and lost her sunglasses! After some time sunbathing through the clouds, we went for a wonder round a market where we decided we just had to buy a handheld fan, as the heat was too much to shop in! Before heading back to Patong we had a tasty green curry, and I had the best passion fruit shake ever.
The next few days were mostly spent down Bangla Road. In the day we would walk round looking at the fake designer goods on offer, and then returning in the evening for some drinks. However one day we did opt to do a cooking class which was a great experience! It was a small group of just me, Laura and one other man, and we learnt all about the different ingredients that go into Thai food, and what to add to balance the flavours. We then cooked 3 dishes, a green curry and two soup dishes – Tom Yum and Tom Ka. It was so interesting to see how quickly these can be made, and they all tasted delicious; especially the green curry, it tasted so fresh, I will definitely be making it when I’m home!
On our last evening we met an American guy at a bar, we ended up spending the whole night with him and his danish friends drinking buckets of mixers, having tequila shots and playing pool. We then ended up going to this huge club called Illuzion, which was really cool to see the amount of production and effects they put into it. I had mixed feelings about Phuket, I wasn’t a huge fan at the fact that the majority of people are out to take your money, trying to get you to buy something or get you into some kind of show. I have heard that there are some great places to go in Phuket though, as it is a huge place, so I guess we just picked the most touristy location. With that being said though, I did like how there was plenty of shops, restaurants and street food, and lots of bars; so I guess it balanced out.
Lee Teivans Travel Blog 