Plan your holiday in Phuket

A large island at the southern tip of Thailand surrounded by turquoise waters so pristine that even the opaque water feels transparent.  Truly a paradise but this popular holiday destination is so crowded it pays to go there having done some homework.

So here's a ready reckoner on Phuket.

Andaman Sea

Limestone cliffs in Phang Nga province

The Entry:

If you are directly flying into Phuket, mentally prepare yourself for long unorganised queues at the immigration. Visa on arrival(VOA) is promised to be a single window clearance but unfortunately it isn't. Get in the line at the VOA counter, visa fees of THB 1,200 per person (THB 1,000 for visa and balance for express service)is collected, the VOA application(with two 4cm*6cm photos) with passport and Arrival/departure card(issued at the airport)is checked and stamped for exit date (15 days hence). After that, get into the Immigration counter line for getting the passport stamped.

A Saturday morning 5.30 AM arrival took us 2 hours to clear immigration. The airport was not built to handle that kind of sea of humanity at the immigration, the air conditioning wouldn't be effective if there have been multiple arrivals so discard the warm cloths of the flight journey and have documents ready in hand before exiting the aircraft. 

No receipt is issued for the visa fees and no explanation offered for the additional THB 200.

To take a metered taxi, take right at the airport building exit and walk to the last counter. There are also shared vans which run by the hour near the metered taxi counter. 

The Stay:

The western coast of Phuket has lovely beaches and each beach has a character of its own - some are rocky, some have calm waters, the others with strong waves make swimming risky during certain season, and there are beaches which are so crowded that probably will remind one of the immigration area of the Phuket airport. So know your preference and research your options before you land in Phuket. (The eastern coast is rocky, not as beautiful as the western side and just has a couple of stand alone accommodation options.) 

Patong beach is the most popular place in Phuket and most of the good hotel deals will invariably be in Patong. If that's not what you want, then your holiday will be ruined. 

The quiet beaches are to the north of the island, near the airport but that makes it very far from the centre. Any tour that you book into the sea, the pickup cost for the tour increases the further you go from the main areas of Patong, Karon, Kata and Kamala. The crowd is also directly proportional to the proximity to these areas. So balance is the key. We stayed on Surin beach and it turned out to be just the right mix for my taste. 

Surin Beach 

The Transportation:

There is hardly any public transportation and Phuket is huge, The Tuk tuk rates are prohibitive and taxis are hardly any better. If you can hire a 2 wheeler on your international DL that would be the best thing to do, else you make sure you have selected a place of accommodation that's close to your 

object of interest. And that's one of the reasons why the area of accommodation is important. You choose wrong and a lot of money gets spent on travel. 

The Tours:

Phuket is mainly what surrounds it - the ocean but the land is dotted with hills which makes lovely vantage view points. There are a couple of national parks as well and apart from Phuket town area with its century old history of tin mining, everything else has been fashioned to attract tourists. 

Islands of Phang Nga province and a canoe tour of the limestone caves is not be missed, no matter how short your duration of stay in Phuket is. There are huge limestone rocks jutting out of water formed on what probably was coral reef ages ago and then there are caves with tiny passageways which lead to 'hongs' or 'rooms'. The silence within the 'hongs' contained within high rising limestone walls with vegetation on the walls and mangroves in the mostly knee-deep water in the 'hongs' feels like another world. The caves can be explored only by canoes, riding 3 per a narrow canoe, the expert canoe guides maneuver in almost dark through the passageways while the 'explorers' lie down as flat as possible in the canoe to avoid hitting the low roof of the caves.  

James bond island with a lone limestone boulder balanced on a pointed edge seemingly unsupported probably would have been nicer if not for the crowd on the beach, there are better uninhabited islands to explore and canoe around, gorgeous turquoise waters to swim and play in but having gone all the way one might as well peek into the James bond island and see what the fuss is all about. 

Limestone cliffs in Phang Nga province

Inside a Limestone cave, Phang Nga

Inside a 'hong', Phang Nga

A 'hong' seen from a cave, Phang Nga

The narrow entry point to one of the Limestone caves, Phang Nga.

The uninhabited islands with their vegetation on the high rise limestone cliffs make amazing birding spots as well. 

An uninhabited island in Phang Nga

A tour to Phi Phi Islands is the next most popular option. The only reason to make this 40 KM journey from Phuket is for seeing the underwater life. Phi Phi islands are also surrounded by huge limestone cliffs. Having seen the beauty of it in Phnag Nga, I would say skip Phi Phi and the long boat journey altogether and go someplace closer like the Coral island to the south of Phuket and have more time on your hands for seeing the under water world.     

There are lots of other one day and multiple day tours to various islands with a wide spectrum price range. The cheaper ones would invariably be crowded with less time for activities like snorkeling, For the TBH 950 tours,the tour companies act just like agents and tourists are consolidated and booked into 150+ people capacity big boats of a cruiser company. The ship we travelled by belonging to 'phiphicruisers' was quite nice, with very nice air conditioned cabins on 2 levels, food and beverages being sold onboard and the vegetarian food arranged by them at Phi Phi hotel in Phi Phi was surprisingly good but there was just 45 minutes of snorkeling. The THB 3,900 expensive tours are just 15-20 people in a boat/speed boat, lots of snorkeling, better snorkeling spots. Read, explore and pick your options. These are 3 of the tour companies I communicated and toured with. 

Elizabeth Andaman Tour - www.elizabethandamantour.com

Phuket Alternative Tours - www.phuketalternativetours.com
Phuket Travel Company - www.phukettravelcompany.com

Make sure you have the contact details ready for at least 3-4 companies. Once in Phuket, if weather changes, the winds pick up and speed boat tours get cancelled, the bigger boats would still operate and having back up details would help making alternate plans hassle free. Also have a couple of days free in which to accommodate any change in tour plans.

Even on the tours there is a pick up cost for hotels outside the main areas of Patong, Karon, Kata, and Kamala. The further away from the main area, the higher the cost of transportation on tours.

For exploring the land, you can take a city tour in a car or a group tour in a van. There are lots of options from just the essentials of Phuket town, Wat Chalong, Big Buddha and Cape Phromthep to tours which include a whole lot of unnecessary animal based entertainment. 

The Big Buddha as seen from Cape Phromthep

If hiring a taxi on your own, enquire with a few taxi guys. THB 1,800 seems to be a good price for an 8 hour outing.

The Extras:

I never have and never will understand the thrill from watching wild animals separated from their habitat, perform 'tricks' for us to be entertained. I can imagine the mindset of the people who derive fun from it - indifferent, uncaring and addled in the brain who cannot even make the connection between their patronage of such performances and the further plundering of the forests and its inhabitants to cater to the need of more such uncaring people. It's an endless circle of cruelty.

Be it the snake shows, tiger kingdom(remember the one near Kanchanaburi which was closed down in 2015, the one in Phuket unfortunately is still open) elephant shows, monkey shows which are part of many city tour itineraries or the evening shows of Fantasea or Siam Niramit which use elephants for their shows - a jungle has been recreated in the city and the people who go to watch these shows are the 'animals'.

I also think it's a joke that the many tours labelled 'eco tours' feature elephant treks in them. What's 'eco' about a tour that has separated an elephant from his/her family and upset the balance in the natural habitat? More people who go on elephant treks, more elephants will be taken out of the forests. Tourists have also lost lives in pursuit of an elephant ride - Please see the Peta report on use of elephants in Thailand.

My list of to do's

1. Watch birds. Go on bird watching tours. There are companies that conduct bird watching tours in Phuket. If not a tour, all over Phuket there are wonderful birds. 

A Pacific Reef Egret, Pansea Beach

A Pink-necked Pigeon, Cape Phromthep

Perched on the boundary wall on top of Cape Phromthep to watch the sun set, saw among others a majestic White-bellied sea eagle by the base of the hill about 10 feet from the water clutching a fish in her legs, fly by the hill on her gorgeous tip to tip at the very least 5 feet wide wings. That's something I will never forget all my life.

A White-bellied Sea Eagle with her dinner, Cape Phromthep

2. Watch the sun set everyday. Though it's the same sun and it's the same sky, no 2 sunsets are the same. 

The magic at Sunset, Pansea Beach

3. Explore the exposed sea bed at low tide. It's quite another world.

A crab resting in a shell till high tide

4. Watch crabs. On the beach, pick a crab at work and sit down motionless next to it and watch the crab in its search for food, sift through grains of sand, roll out sand into neat little balls and stack it around its hole. 

A crab having dinner while another one watches.