August 2011
Holiday is one my favourite things to do, but the painful bits before jetting off is doing research days & nights to know where to go/ what to do etc. Lemme share my version of lonely planet to save you from researching days and nights & having panda eyes =)
P H U K E T (2 nights)
I classify Phuket as an ideal place to do massive R&R, suitable for couch potato like me - eat, sleep, shop, spa, massage etc. Phuket is not that big & it is divided into several areas: Karon, Patong (really popular amongst tourist, similar to Kuta in Bali), Surin, Phuket town. I stayed in Phuket town area during my 2 nights & I feel it was too short. Overall I reckoned I did OK, quite efficient for 2 nights trip, thanks to our tour guide Num.
FOOD
- Natural restaurant aka Thammashadd restaurant- traditional authentic Thai food, reasonable price and casual atmosphere, on 62/5 Soi Puthon, Talat Nuea, Mueang Phuket town, phone. 076-224287
- Open Air Food Market on Talad Khaset (I hope I spell this right) - find anything from appetisers, mains, dessert, fresh fruits, anything cooked with internal organs, home made soya milk, dried fish etc.
- Pornthip Snack Shops - massive shop, more like a mini supermarket selling all Thai snacks from chilli sauce, shrimp paste, cookies to dried fish in any forms. They also provide professional packing service if you have big shopping spree like I did, ie. I came out with 2 big boxes and 1 small box. Address: 108/1 Moo5, Chalermprakiat Rd., Tumbol Rassada, Muang District.
- Cookie House (Chinese style cookies) - similar to Tau Sar piah, flaky pastry cookies with mung bean fillings. After 5 days old, still flaky and moist fillings. Address: Soi Soon Utis (dead end small lane), phone. 076-258050.
- Mee Ton Pho - mini hawker centres, several food sellers located in 1 place, open air, fantastic food and suppa cheap. Address: Ong Simfai Road (roundabout), infront of Clock tower, next door to temple.
- The Beach restaurant on Patong Beach - a little touristy and quite pricey for Thai standard but I had to do some touristy stuff sometimes. Dine on the beach whilst watching the lantern man. You will see several lantern sellers, they said by litting & fly the lantern to the sky, your wish will be granted. Trust me I didn't buy the lattern, I was too hungry to be bothered with this lantern business.
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| Deep fried bread sticks with coconut sauce or pandan sauce, crispy breadsticks and fragrant sauce |
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Home made soya milk with toppings, costs me 30 Baht = AUD 1
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| Pornthip snacks shop |
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| Pornthip entrance - grab your trolley & start piling up |
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| Spice/ Seasonings/ Dried Fruits? |
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| Bottled chilli sauce/ Dried Squids/ Dried Fishs |
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| If you like tau sar piah, you will like cookies house, flaky pastry with mung bean fillings, I should have bought more boxes to take home |
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| Mee Ton Pho Hawker Centre on Ong Simfai Road - in front of the Clock Tower |
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| Mee Ton Pho - satay seller, charcoal grilled satay, I cant resist ... the aroma is such a killer |
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| Fresh eshallots (not sure why it's on every table) and pork crackles |
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| Mee Ton Pho - Pad Thai, best seafood pad thai ever |
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| Mee Ton Pho - Oyster omellette with rice (comes with some red sauce), simple dish yet flavoursome |
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| Mee Ton Pho - Fried rice stick noodle, fragrant and cooked to perfection |
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| Mee Ton Pho - Pork satay, tender and tasty, served with cucumber pickles |
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| The Beach restaurant on Patong beach - serves Western and Thai food |
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| The Beach restaurant - shrimp paste fried rice with dried pork & shaved green mango & egg |
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| The Beach restaurant - Fried Fish with garlic sauce, crispy fish with vampire antidote sauce |
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| The Beach restaurant - Tamarind prawns, very fresh prawns with tangy, sweet & sour sauce |
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| The Beach restaurant - Larb Gai, minced chicken salad, light and refreshing |
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| The lantern seller - ready to fly the lantern to the sky |
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SHOPPING
ACCOMODATION
- Westin Siray Bay Resort - LOVE it, yes it is in the middle of nowhere but Phuket is not that big and you can go around anywhere with hired car pretty easy. The Hotel is massive and very scenic. All rooms are located on the hilly part of the hotel, they provide Tuk-Tuk to take you to your room...or you can walk & be healthy. For my case, Tuk-Tuk was my bestie during my stay.
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| Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa - gorgeous view of Siray Bay from any part of the hotel |
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| Watersports activity |
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| Happy Birthday to me ... Choc cake courtesy of Westin =) |
TOUR GUIDE
- Jirawat Choojit (Num) - I can't handle the stress of looking for taxi, bargain, waiting etc under the heat & as my trip is really short, I need to make it super effective. Num has made my life easy during the trip. He is such a fantastic tour guide, he has never leave Phuket in his life, knows Phuket ins and outs. He can arrange airport transfer, city tour/ shopping, eating tour, massage/ spa, island tour. Phone. (+66) 089-7274863, Email. num_230e@hotmail.com
TIPS
- Taxi in Phuket has no 'TAXI' sign - taxi is mainly private cars with driver, bargain is a must. If you are planning to go to several places within a day, you will be better off hiring a tour guide & they can drive you around.
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| Bye-bye Phuket..will come back for another visit |
We are planning to visit Phuket in mid-Dec.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting.
I've been looking at some of the posts on this website to get an idea about travel in Phuket for my next vacation.
Hey I know I am too late to update you but for you and for other readers who are/will plan next vacations you can trust http://www.awayholidays.co.uk/thailand/bangkok/. They are good and reliable.
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