Phuket - never try, never know

I know I blogged about the places that I've been to but I have not blogged about Phuket - where I have resided for 3 years. My life was pretty boring here. My schedule was quite uneventful. I work for 9 hours a day, went to the grocery to get some needs, eat somewhere and come home. Repeat this for 5 days a week. I am not complaining. In fact, this is what I like and gotten used to. My work has blessed me with enough annual leave to travel and so I had time to explore. But this blog is not about my routine life. I want to talk about how lovely Phuket is and how it has captured the hearts of foreigners who come here to have a holiday or those who stay for work. In one of my tour guiding role with some visiting friends, I saw the sign: Phuket - Never Try, Never Know. Yes, I agree. Let me enumerate some of the places to visit in Thailand's largest island. 

1. Beaches

Patong Beach

This is most probably the first reason holiday goers are here in Phuket. And why? Because of the pristine beach and fine white sand that the island has been bestowed. I still remember the first time I saw Patong Beach, my jaw dropped because of its beauty. Beach lovers would surely not get enough of it.

Kata Beach

2. Island Tours

Phi Phi Island Tour

Numerous companies allow tourists to book for day trips in the many islands near Phuket. These options are online and there are also a lot of booths town or in Patong. Even hotels can help make a booking. Definitely worth having as there are a lot to choose from.

Similan Island Tour

James Bond Island Tour

3. Viewpoints

Karon View Point

These are sites usually in elevated parts of Phuket to see from the bird's eye view. Aside from seeing a lot of places from afar, it is also very cooling and lovely.

Rawai Viewpoint

Promthep Cape

Big Buddha

4. Dining Options

A restaurant in Chalong

There are a lot of dining options in Phuket nowadays. From Thai food to Japanese to western food. You name it, I'm sure you will find it. It is lovely to dine in places where there are nice views such as my favorite restaurant in Rang Hill. 

Tunk-ka at Night

4.Night Markets

Best to hunt for souvenirs or outfits. The first market I knew was in Naka (near Phuket town). For me it was big and like a maze but definitely way smaller than Chatuchak Market in Bangkok. I can easily spend 2 hours just by walking around and seeing different clothes, food and souvenirs here. I feel that the most interesting stall here is the one selling  cooked insects. Exotic food at its finest!

5. Pagodas

What is a trip to Thailand without seeing its majestic temples and Pagodas? I'd say it would be incomplete. There are a number of temples around Phuket but I think the biggest cluster is in Chalong. Interesting place to see how Thais pay respect to their monks and their beliefs.

6. Other Activities

If unfortunately there is rain on your holiday, don't fret! There are still things to do in Phuket and I have enumerated them here

Come and give Phuket a try! You'll never know you'll have so much fun here!

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog :)

Seeing Similan Islands

image courtesy of www.goandamantravel.com brochure

20 February 2014– I woke up early today. No, I am not going to work. I am scheduled to go with a few friends to a tour going to Similan Islands.

The word Similan is derived from the Malay word “Sembilan” meaning “nine”. Similan Islands is composed of a total of nine islands which has a name and a corresponding number. The high season is from December until April, when the monsoon stays far away. It usually closes from mid May until mid October.

We paid 2,500THB to our tour operator the day before. We had a discounted price as the usual fee is around 3,500THB. I think it was a little bit expensive than the other Phuket Island tours as it includes 400THB for the National Park Entrance fee to the islands.This already includes the pick up from a place near our workplace. We waited at 7am and our driver arrived at around 7:30am. We were not upset with him being late. We were just excited to go and see what Similan offers.

The travel to Phangnga Pier was about 1 and a half hour. We were ushered to a waiting area where other tourists were also itching to see the islands. Our tour guide provided an orientation on what will be the course of the trip. There were complimentary tea and toast for everyone. They even gave out anti-vertigo medication for those who are the dizzying types.

After the orientation, off we went to the pier. We were asked to leave our foot wear in their basket.

Riding the speedboat. From the pier,we went to Koh Payu Island (Island No. 7). It took about an hour ride to the island.

This island is where we had swimming and snorkelling. It was my first time to snorkel but I was not afraid because I have a life jacket on J The weather was very sunny at that time. The waters were crystal clear and so you can easily see the corals. The coral reefs are about 5,000 years old and is said to be the oldest in Thailand.

Next stop was the Koh Miang Island (Island no. 4). This is where tourists can really enjoy the beach.

We had a great time eating the delicious buffet lunch prepared for our tour. 

Postcard scene

Paradise :) 

We also explored Koh Ba Ngu ( Island no. 9) and Koh Similan (Island no. 8). Koh Similan is the largest island. The right side of the bay of the island has a towering rock formation.

We climbed to the Sailing Rock Viewpoint

This is what I saw.

Zoomed in my phone's camera for this

Today, the Mu Koh Similan National Park is a candidate for the United Nations World Heritage Site.

We went back to Phang nga Pier at around 5pm and was dropped back to where we were picked up. It was a long travel going there and back. Despite of this, we were happy to see nature's beauty through the azure waters of the Andaman Sea and of Similan Islands.