Monday 12 May 2008

Phuket Town








We took a much better mini-van from Koh Lanta all the way back to Phuket Town. Sadly, it was our last night with Jenny and Guy. Phuket Town is inland and away from the beaches on the island of Phuket. Because of this, there are far less tourists staying here and prices are much cheaper. When we arrived at the guest house we had randomly chosen in the Rough Guide, it was full. Fortunately, the mini-van driver noticed how lost we looked as we pondered our next step. He took us to the Crystal Inn- an inexpensive and perfectly comfortable hotel, albeit a bit ordinary. I think Stephen was relieved that we were no longer in a 5 star resort. Too much luxury makes him uncomfortable...We had a delicious Italian dinner in a restaurant highly recommended by the 'Rough Guide' and everyone managed to relax now that we were within taxi distance of the airport. The restaurant was in a charming old building that was very tastfully decorated. The next morning we wandered around the historical streets of Phuket Town. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday and everything was closed...at least we managed to find a place that served breakfast. After getting slightly lost a local woman on a moped helped us find our way back to the hotel.
If I were coming back to Phuket my first choice of places to stay would be Kata Beach. I still think it is my favorite beach and the high street is charming. Stephen and I went there for the day on Sunday and discovered a really cool reggae bar overlooking the water at the southern end of the beach (see the photos of the beach in front of the brightly-colored styrofoam beer holders of the reggae bar). It was a very windy day so we didn't stay in the ocean long because the conditions were so rough. At least the water temperature was still pleasant and it wasn't raining. We returned to Phuket Town that night and ate at a hole in the wall Thai restaurant that served up a delicious chicken with cashew nut dinner. They even arranged our rice in the shape of a teddy bear...and it was super cheap, much to Stephen's delight! I would recommend Phuket Town for its brightly painted historical streets, the convenience of the post office (my best post office experience so far...), the inexpensive shopping and delightful massage parlours (like 'Kim's' next to our hotel). In fact at 'Kim's' it was beautifully decorated with colorful floating flowers and lovely smells of mint as we reclined in leather chairs whilst having our feet rubbed with warm, minty oil. It was heavenly. They have fixed it up really nicely....so Phuket Town is not a bad option for a place to stay on Phuket and the taxi ride to the beach is pretty inexpensive.