Trip Facts:
- 5 nights
- Kata Beach Studio
Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. Situated on the West Andaman Coast, it is one of the most naturally beautiful places the country has to offer. What we found was a spectacular island with some beautiful coastline including white sand beaches, rocky outcroppings and outlying islands, and a mountainous interior. Sadly, we also found a place that continues to be overdeveloped, overrun, and polluted with vehicles and trash. We still loved it for the remnants of famous Thai hospitality and appreciated the natural wonder that remains there. Our 5 nights there started out with a recovery from a tummy bug that unfortunately made it hard for us to eat whatever we wanted (except coconuts!) and kept Tushar in bed for 24 hours with a high fever, but the R&R of beach time helped and we felt well enough to make a great comeback to full health and spicy Thai food.
Our hotel was the cheapest one so far – and fit the bill well. At 700 Baht(about $20) per night, it was a steal. We had a balcony, large fridge, and rooftop pool. It was about a 15 minute walk to the beach, which I only did one time before we got wheels.
Mopeds:
Mopeds are overywhere in Thailand – they are a cheap and quick way to get around. At only 200 Baht (about $6) per day to rent, it beats out trying to get taxis and is WAY more fun too. Just beware, after a couple weeks of it, your butt will hurt – if its not well padded! You are also more exposed to the wrath of Mother Nature (she’s pretty mad in Thailand sometimes) – more to come on this in our Koh Phangan post. If you visit, be sure to make note of or photograph any scratches prior to renting. As with most Asian countries, you need to constantly be aware of locals trying to make an extra buck off you. This is especially true in Phuket, where it seems the youth in particular, seem to resent tourists for taking advantage of the cheap travel and sadly (you see it quite often), the local women (more on this in the Bangkok post).
Kata Beach:
Kata beach is where our hotel was located. It is a medium sized beach town and the southernmost of three consecutive bays on the west coast of Phuket. It is more chill than nearby Patong, but large enough to offer a good range of shopping and dining options. The beach scene wasn’t crowded at all – but you could tell it does get busy in the high season (Dec-Jan) by all the beach loungers. We were there at the beginning of the low season – also known as the hot season – and the rainy season was right around the corner. We visited this beach and while swimming around, were bowled over by some large waves. I was quite surprised at this and then Tushar suggested we try to do some boogie boarding. I had never done it before but thought it was a fantastic idea so 15 minutes later we were paddling into the waves trying to wait for the big perfect wave to ride in. Well I guess I had some beginner’s luck and my patience paid off. I saw a large peak approaching – much larger than any of the others. I followed Tushars instructions to quickly turn around and paddle towards shore, building up enough speed to ride the wave in. All I have to say is WOW what a rush!! I must have done it all right that one time and the wave carried me in so fast. Seconds later, I was washed up on the sand with a massive smile on my face. It was incredible and I chased that rush for the rest of the afternoon but didn’t have the same luck or skill again. It made my day though! If waves are your thing, then the West Coast of Thailand is where you should head for in the region.
Kata is also home to a famous viewpoint – the scene graces many a postcard and you can see the three bays I mentioned earlier. We were there for the sunset and joined many other couples and youngsters there to do the same. It was a beautiful view – probably one of the best in the area.
There is also a large Buddha statue at the top of a hill in Kata that you can see from most of South Phuket – we didn’t make it there but could see the back of it from our balcony. We also saw it many times on the day we drove the moped in a large circle around the South side of the island.
Patong Beach:
Patong Beach is Phuket’s largest beach town and is filled to the brim with tourists, touts, and bars. Its one of those places that you either love or hate, depending on your style of vacationing. The beach is full of rows of loungers and jetskis, the beachfront road is jammed with Tuk Tuk drivers and aggressive sales people.Tuk Tuks are basically pickup trucks that have two opposing rows of seating in the bed that you access from the aft. They are a taxi alternative (similar to rickshaws in India) and the drivers constantly bug you into overpaying for a ride. North of Patong is home to some of the most scenic and least busy beaches on the island so we stopped by Patong for lunch on our way back from a gorgeous beach, Neam Singh. As usual, we were on the hunt for a relatively clean, veggie-friendly joint, but this proved difficult, so as much as we try to avoid the chains, we decided to settle for a Hard Rock Cafe lunch, popping both our Hard Rock cherries to satisfy our rumbling bellies! Once done, we were glad to leave Patong, only considering to return to check out their infamous nightlife, but failing to follow through because we were just not feeling it there.
Neam Singh Beach:
Neam Singh Beach is a tiny cove that you have to hike down a steep hill to get to. I found it after doing some googling for best beaches on the island. When we went, there were about 20 people there – mostly locals. We chatted to some kids that work at the lone restaurant on the beach and enjoyed some relaxing afternoon swimming. There was a local man charging for streetside parking before the hike down (we think he was a hustler) so we backtracked to a clearing and parked for free under a tree next to some local bikes. One of the things about traveling for 3 months is you learn real quick when people are trying to get money from you that you don’t owe them. Our guard is always up and rightfully so – especially in Asian countries where touts and scam artists are relentless. On the few occasions when we get good vibes from local people or sellers that don’t quote us inflated prices, we will gladly give them our business and not haggle hard – these are the people that we want to support. We’ll chat more about this in our Bangkok post.
Phuket Town & Cape Promthep:
One day we decided to drive to Phuket Town to scope out the scene and check out the bus station where we would be catching a ride to Koh Phangan from. On the whole, the town is polluted and probably good for shopping and catching a couple of small local attractions but it is mostly used as a transition point for tourists heading to other places or for local business people to acquire goods and resources. We didn’t stay for long but left after lunch to take a long leisurely drive back to Kata along the Southwest coast of Phuket. Cape Promthep is a rocky cape that extends off the corner of the island and offers spectacular views of Phuket and its outlying islands. The hike down to the cape is about an hour each way if you take your time and is well worth the effort. We enjoyed every second of it and snapped some great pictures in between watching crabs and waves breaking against the rocks. We unfortunately didn’t have water with us and were parched by the time we returned to the top. Each of us killed 2 coconuts – it was incredible and probably the most enjoyable coconut treat of many in our time in Thailand.
Mom Tri’s Kitchen Royale:
This restaurant is attached to the Villa Royale hotel. It has a prime beachfront location on Kata Noi beach (Yai means big, Noi means small) which is the smaller and nicer of two beaches in Kata. I read about this restaurant on Tripadvisor and without exaggaration, it was our best dining experience EVER!! The combination of food, ambiance, service, and views was incredible and blew us away. This place will always hold a special place in our heart because it was magical. We went there for lunch on our last day and were so blown away that we returned the same night for dinner. We spent time enjoying the property, snapping pictures and walking around. The prices are higher than most restaurants on the island, but still a steal if you look at what you are getting. It worked out to about $20 each for lunch and $25 for dinner. If you are on a super tight budget, you can go for happy hour 5-7pm daily just to check the place out and enjoy half price drinks. It would make a fantastic place for a celebration with some family and friends and we highly recommend visiting if you are ever in Phuket.
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