June 20-23, 2014 ---- Phuket is probably the wealthiest and most famous island in Thailand because it's a dream vacation destination for a lot of foreign travelers. For us, it's too touristy and expensive, so we had never wanted to go there until Nathan's friend moved to Phuket many years ago. Therefore, this trip happened because we were already traveling in the South and thought it would be nice to quickly visit our friend in Phuket.
We took a long-distance bus from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Phuket City. The trip took longer than we expected, so we didn't get to our guesthouse till late in the afternoon. We stayed at "99 Oldtown Boutique Guesthouse" located on Thalang Road right in the middle of Phuket Old Town. It was a really nice hostel, and the owners were so kind and knowledgeable about the city. They even drove us to the Bus Terminal when we checked out.
I chose to stay in Phuket Downtown instead of at the famous Patong Beach because it was during the rainy season and the beach wouldn't look as pretty as in December-March. Also, our goal on this trip wasn't about going to the beach, but visiting a friend and seeing some local life.
Phuket Old Town เมืองภูเก็ต
Phuket Old Town is very interesting. The majority of residents are Chinese-Thai whose ancestors immigrated from China a very long time ago. They settled down in Phuket Old Town and started trading business for many generations. If you are interested in learning more about Chinese immigrants, there's a museum called "Thai Hua Museum" located on Thalang Road showing an interesting exhibit about the history of the Chinese immigrants in Phuket.
Southern Thailand is also known for having a lot of Thai Muslim communities. When we walked around Phuket city, we also found many Thai Muslims running fabric shops and restaurants. I don't know much about their history, but I think their tradition is closer to the Malaysian Muslim than those in the Middle East.
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| Thalang Road |
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| Thai Hua Museum |
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| Thai Hua Museum |
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| Thai Hua Museum |
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| Wat Mongkol Nimit |
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| Phuket Police Sub-Station |
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| Thalang Road |
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| Sunday Night Market on Thalang Road |
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| Sunday Night Market |
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| Sunday Night Market |
Phromthep Cape แหลมพรหมเทพ
Phromthep Cape is well known among Thai for being the most romantic place to see the sunset. We asked a Song-Thaew driver whether his route would pass Phromthep Cape or not, and he said it would pass, but with an extra cost if we wanted him to drop us off right at the main tourist spot. I don't remember how much we paid, but it wasn't cheap compared to the Song-Thaew fare we paid in other provinces. It was about 20 km from the city, and he stopped a lot along the way to pick up or drop off other passengers, mostly Burmese who work in Phuket.
It was very windy when we were at Phromthep Cape. The view was just okay, nothing really special. It was cloudy and the sunset wouldn't be pretty, so we decided to leave early to go to Rawai Beach for dinner. There was no Song-Thaew or taxi to be seen, so we just walked down hill all the way to the Seafood Market on Rawai Beach, which is about 3-4 k.m.
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| Song-Thaew |
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| Phromthep Cape |
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| Phromthep Cape |
Rawai Beach หาดราไวย์
Food in Phuket Town อาหารเมืองภูเก็ต
Staying in Old Town Phuket is an advantage for having real good food with a lower cost. Our hostel's owner gave us some recommendations, and we really enjoyed every meal we had there. Here is the list of restaurants we went to during our stay.
1. ร้านข้าวต้มหมูภูเก็ต (Khao-Tom-Moo-Phuket) -- This breakfast eatery is located on Phuket Road next to Se-Wa-Na restaurant. We ordered Khao-Tom-Moo (rice porridge with minced pork) and Khao-Tom-Pla (rice porridge with fish) and they both were very delicious. I think this place opens only for breakfast, though.
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| ข้าวต้มปลา Khao Tom Pla |
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| ข้าวต้มหมู Khao Tom Moo |
2. ตลาดโต้รุ่ง (To-Rung Market) -- This market has an alley of street food vendors and a sitting area that is open all night. It is a great place to find great food with the price for local people. Nathan and I walked around and picked one vendor to order some southern food. We got Pad-Bai-Liang-Koong, Fried fish with garlic and pepper, and Kua-Kling. Super delicious!
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| Pad Bai Liang Koong ผัดใบเหลียงกุ้ง |
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| Kua Kling คั่วกลิ้ง |
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| Fried Fish with Garlic and Pepper ปลากระพงทอดกระเทียมพริกไทย |
3. คุณจี๊ดราดหน้ายอดผัก (Kun Jeed Rad Na Yod Pak) --- This restaurants is located on Phangnga Road in Phuket Old Town. Its special menu is "Rad Na Yod Pak" or fried noodle with pork and broccoli, but there are a lot on the menu you can try. The "Sa-te" or "Satay" (BBQ pork/chicken) is highly recommended.
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| Satay or Sa-Te สะเต๊ะ |
4. ร้านอรุณโภชนา (Aroon Restaurant) --- This is a great place to try Thai Muslim food. We ordered "Ro-ti" and "Ma-ta-ba" and they were really good. It seemed to me that Thai Muslims eat these for breakfast and with some sweet milk tea.
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| Ro-ti with banana |
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| Ma-ta-ba |
5. ชายเล ซีฟู๊ด หาดราไวย์ (Chai-Lay Seafood, Rawai Beach) --- Rawai Seafood Market is located near Rawai Beach. It's well know to locals and Thai tourists as the best place to get fresh seafood directly from the fishermen. There are many restaurants that offer to cook the fresh food you buy from the market with a small cost, or you can just order from the restaurant's menu. Nathan and I didn't bother picking fish or shrimp from the market. We just ordered food from the restaurant menu and we were very satisfied with the freshness of seafood and the combination of all flavors in each dish. The best seafood EVER!
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| ชายเล ซีฟู้ด หาดราไวย์ |
6. Sunday Night Market in Phuket Old Town --- If you stay in the Old Town, don't miss its famous "Sunday Night Market." There are a lot of food vendors, handicrafts, souvenirs, and some shows on street you can enjoy.
7. ร้านอาหารระย้า (Raya Restaurant) ---- This is a very nice sit-in restaurant where Nathan and I had dinner with our friend. The food was very delicious and the atmosphere suits for a relaxing evening with friends or family.