Phuket, Thailand

[Mulletizer]

Anyone been there? I'll be going in a few weeks, looking for recommendations for stuff to do, visit etc.

Will be staying in Surin, specifically after anything outdoorsy (except climbing and diving on this trip) but anything else any mags would highly recommend would be interesting too.

Thanks in advance.

Mullet

[Kevo]

Where are you staying? I was at the JW Marriott in March. Nice place and beautiful, but most people that visit that part of Thailand do not ever leave the comfort of their hotels/resorts.

Are you committed to staying in Phuket the entire time? If not, I'd highly recommend getting to Tonsai, but I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Tonsai doesn't really have the amenities of Phuket, which is why we liked it so much.

All in all, I spent a month in Thailand- a few days up North (but not far enough north) and then Koh Tao, Surat Thani, Satun, Koh Lipe, Tarutao, Krabi, Railay, Tonsai, and then a week in Phuket.

I was traveling with a college buddy of mine, his girlfriend, and my girlfriend. We are in our early 20s- we did a lot of active stuff- lots of kayaking, renting motorcycles, climbing. You can do most of this stuff in Phuket 9not so much climbing), but some of the resorts (Like the JW) are so far away from town that your only option is to do things through your hotel, which gets expensive.

Tarutao and Lipe were other favorites, but they are too far away if you don't have several days to get there. (They are on the Malaysian border)

Tarutao with literally no one else on the entire beach-


Tonsai


On the way to Phuket from Tonsai- it takes almost a full day of travel. Phuket doesn't really have rock formations like this.


Phuket





The two places we wanted to go to but didn't were the Simlan and the Surin Islands, north of Phuket. I've heard that they may well be better than anything else on the coast. After hearing what I heard and seeing some pictures from friends, I would definitely have traded most other places we visited to go to the Similan and Surins.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Fuck it, just go.

[Kevo]

Also, it doesn't make sense to say that you are staying in Surin Phuket. Two entirely different places. If you are going to the Surin Islands, AWESOME. Don't even bother going to Phuket.

[Mulletizer]

I've seen the name of the place written as both Surin and Surin Beach, which might be reason for confusion. It's a village/town on the W coast of Phuket, north of Patong. Said to be dominated by fairly high-end hotels/resorts.

The resort/hotel thing isn't normally my thing but is the right thing for this trip (although my inner dirtbag is having issues coming to terms with that). That said, I don't want to sit by the pool the entire time, hence the questions. Accommodation is booked so we won't head to other parts of Thailand, except on day trips.

Your pics look awesome. Kayaking sounds cool. Any places on Phuket that you'd really suggest are worth a visit? Or islands a short ride away?

[Kevo]

Gotcha on the location



The JW is on Mai Khao, far on the North side of the Island. While there, we mainly stayed at the resort because it was so far away from everything. We rented a catamaran and sailed around, which was awesome, but we didn't stop anywhere else on the island. We also did some kayaking and snorkeling in the vicinity of the resort.

To be honest, my girlfriend and I pretty much stayed at the JW while in Phuket. I had been traveling for 3 months at that point and wanted a break before 2 months of climbing/trekking in Nepal.

Check out wiki travel- http://wikitravel.org/en/Phuket

Things that other people do there-
-Golfing
-Visiting shrines
-Walking around Phuket town, which I heard was kinda blah.
-Shopping in Phuket town.
-Going on day trips to other islands.

[jtran10]

[ZG]

GET OUT OF PHUKET AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!! Phuket is a f*cking shit hole.

I recommend Railey beach and Koh Phi Phi. Also if you want to leave the area Luang Prabang Laos was the highlight of our trip to that part of the world.

[shaft]

Another vote for Railey/Tonsai

If you want something non-climbing to do...hike to the lagoon on Railey, and play freestyle frisbee with the thai-afarians.

[DoWork]

I hear you can get a nice 2-girl blowjob in Phuket for about $30. Sounds like a nice enough place.

[GFP]

Yo, A. Liz and I were just there last November. We flew in and out of Phuket but only spent about 4 days there on Kata beach. After that we hopped the ferry to Railey/Tonsai and spent about two weeks climbing there, then four more days climbing on Ko Phi Phi. If you don't climb (yet) there is no better place to learn! The limestone there is absolutely top notch and should not be missed. It would be a shame to be in that area and not try it.

Other than the climbing, make sure to catch a couple fire shows on the beach and do some island hopping. Sea kayaking around Phang Nga Bay is also supposed to be incredible but we never made it. If you really want to slow down and get away from the tourist trail, head to Ko Yao Noi just east of Phuket - low key, relaxing, and not a lot of attractions (although we could tell you where to climb there too :-).

FYI, if you do go to Railey/Tonsai, Tonsai is the younger, cheaper, more backpacker type crowd. E/W Railey is older, more $$$ and nicer hotels/food, etc.

Shoot me a PM if you want to see our pics and I'll send you the URL.

P.S. Drink a lot of Singha but don't bother with the other beers :-)

[G]

I hear you can get a nice 2-girl blowjob in Phuket for about $30. Sounds like a nice enough place.

You were cheated. Those were not girls.

[Mulletizer]

Thanks for all the advice.

Unfortunately various factors mean that I am tied to Phuket. Rai Ley looked very tempting but the logistics (combination of flights and travelling time, and mostly accommodation of the right standard and price) weren't working out with the timescale/dates I have and I got a screaming deal on somewhere very nice on Phuket.

The trip is a honeymoon, hence a greater than normal desire to stay somewhere very swanky and enjoy that. Only there for a few days, so a very nice hotel will satisfy us some of the time (wedding planning = the stress so will want to zone out of everything for a while) - but not all the time, hence looking for mag opinions. I am aware of what Phuket town and Patong are like and am pretty confident we'll be somewhere much nicer.

So, I guess we'll do a little sightseeing, some kayaking, maybe go out fishing and snorkeling. Any one have any insight on islands that are visitable in a day from Phuket or good places to do the above? Also looking at possibilities for learning a bit more about Thai food and cooking.

The future Mrs Mullet and I don't climb well together which is why that is off the menu. She mentioned massages and I questioned the possibilities for happy endings and it didn't go down well. At all...

[Kevo]

Cooking schools-

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ol-Phuket.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ol-Phuket.html

Also, a list of things to do in Phuket ranked by customers-

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ol-Phuket.html

[Mulletizer]

Awesome. Tripadviser was great for booking the accommodation but I didn't even realise that they have an activity search function. Cheers.

[Helldawg]

Mmm, honeymoon, so no whoring. Bummer.

My only advice is that if you see the local animals heading for higher ground at a rapid pace, you follow suit.

[PrankMonkey]

GET OUT OF PHUKET AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!! Phuket is a f*cking shit hole.

I recommend Railey beach and Koh Phi Phi. Also if you want to leave the area Luang Prabang Laos was the highlight of our trip to that part of the world.

I haven't been but had a buddy who went to Phuket and had pretty much the same opinion of it, a made-for-tourism resort island. A bit later we toured the northern part of the country and I second the vote for Luang Prabang. Fucking amazing is the only way I can describe it. French Colonialism meets Modern Laos...which fortunately hasn't really caught up to "modern" elswhere. It is still a communist country and they have fairly strict policies on things like drugs (possession supposedly carries a maximum penalty of Death, i'm not sure you can make it more "maximum" though) so if that is an issue, you may wish to avoid. Also, stuff all shuts-down about 10pm-ish (the communists...sheesh!) so if you are primarily there for the nightlife, you'll need to start early. But there seemed to be a shit load of stuff to do, I only spent three days poking around the town, and it wasn't enough; i could have chilled for a month easy.

Chaing Mai was also a freaking blast and a half, and Bangkok itself is a damn good time in it's own right. If I can get them to upload, here's some pics from Luang Prabang.



The Town as seen from Phu-si (pronounced puu-see)


the mighty Mekong


The main drag in Luang Prabang

[carvedog]

Anyone been there? I'll be going in a few weeks, looking for recommendations for stuff to do, visit etc.

Will be staying in Surin, specifically after anything outdoorsy (except climbing and diving on this trip) but anything else any mags would highly recommend would be interesting too.

Thanks in advance.

Mullet

Congrats on the Nuptials. Haven't been, but I have a buddy living there right now who is teaching English and he loves it. He is not one for "touristy" types of things, and I don't think he is paying $30 for blowjobs.

PM me and I could make the connection for you. He will undoubtedly have suggestions that will take you into parts of town that you will not find otherwise.

We guided together for years ( river tripping ) and I would trust him with my family. So not a casual acquaintance but one of my bros.

[Dug]

Stoked for you. Phuket and Thailand in general is awesome.

[jm2e]

... A bit later we toured the northern part of the country and I second the vote for Luang Prabang....

Chaing Mai was also a freaking blast and a half, and Bangkok itself is a damn good time in it's own right....

Sorry to bust your dick here, but WTF! The guy has already said he's committed to a hotel on Phuket island. He can't make the two hour ferry to Phi Phi and he can't take the four hour van to Krabi>Railay. And you're pushing for fucking Laos? Or maybe a 24 hour overnight bus to one of the world's premier child prostitution destinations followed by another 24hour overnight bus to the other end of the fucking country?
Don't get me wrong. Your trip sounds totally epic and I'm sure you'll be psyched about it for the rest of your life. But maybe not what the OP was fishing for when he asked about half day kayaking from ritzy hotels on Phuket and day hikes through patches of jungle between sandy beaches.
Seriously.

[Mulletizer]

Finally, someone with reading and comprehension skills! Nice beatdown.

Thanks for all the info, especially the on-topic stuff. Certainly plenty to do, should work things out. If anyone has any more personal recommendations please do chime in.

[Fritz]

I'll second Kho Phi Phi. I think it was about 45min by boat from Phuket.

[carvedog]

I'll second Kho Phi Phi. I think it was about 45min by boat from Phuket.

Wow. Phuket looks good. Or Kho Phi Phi or whatever....

[Mulletizer]

Just thought I would post back. Had a great trip, thanks for the advice.

The area where we were staying was ideal: pretty calm, nice beach, no hastle, no crowds. Did go to Patong once and - if that is where you base your ideas of Phuket upon - I can understand why people recommended getting the heck off the island. Pretty grim. Luckily it was pretty easy to find some fantastic places on the island that were quite the opposite.

Other stuff done (other than sitting by the pool, on the beach, and the other usual honeymoon activity): Phi Phi islands trip and cookery school. Both were cool, the cooking in particular was a blast. Now looking forward to going back and seeing more of the country.Singha tastes even better in Thailand.

[Dug]

Singha is badass beer.