From Bangkok we flew directly to Phuket – a famous holiday destination. Phuket island lies in the Andaman Sea and is the largest island of Thailand. It is probably the most touristic island as well, and so the wealthiest. 25% of the local inhabitants are foreigners that installed here. No surprise! The island offers wonderful white sand beaches with either party or calm resorts, as well as djungle and natural park, it is a great starting point for scuba diving trips and tours around some natural wonders of Thailand such as similan Islands, Phang Nga, and much more.
Large part of the surface is covered with hilly landscape and the beaches lie on the Western coast, where also tourists usually stay. There are minibuses that bring you from the airport directly to your hotel. We tried to avoid noisy party beaches such as Patong or Karon and so we ended up in Hat Kata, quite calm but pleasant resport with a nice long beach in the South of the island. We stayed in Nathalie House Resort that was situated out of the center of the resort, about 10 minutes of walk from the beach. It was a completely new building and I guess we were the first guests in the room.
We didn’t really get a chance to get to know Phuket that much as we only stayed 4 days out of which 2 days we were on trips (Similan Islands and Phang Nga Bay). The first day we spent completely on the beach Hat Kata, as it was our first beach stop in Thailand. As we were exhausted from the plane (Ryanair style) and minibus journey, we needed just to relax. 🙂 Hat Kata is a fine resort for that, with family atmosphere rather than parties, many restaurants, bars, massages and some small shops.
In the evenings, we loved to observe the sun going down above the sea.
The last two nights we stayed in the capital – Phuket town. In order to get there, we took a minibus from Hat Kata. We stayed at Chinotel – a charming hotel in Chinese style. Morning we got up early to get into the port and start our excursion to Phang Nga Bay. In the evenings, we took walks in the town.
The island of Phuket used to be a place where tin was mined and therefore attracted merchants and entrepreneurs from the Arabian peninsula, Portugal, India, and China. We can still see the multinational influences in the capital – Indian and Chinese restaurants, houses in Sino-Portuguese style.
We found a hidden restaurant in a street not far away from the hotel, with a very nice owner who appreciated speaking English as apparently we were the only foreigners there. I ate one of the best Thai meals here: a pineapple filled with rice, vegetables, and tofu. Such a delicious dinner!
In the morning, we took a minibus direction harbor and took a ferry to the Phi Phi Islands.