Phuket
After a long 14 hour overnight bus from Bangkok to Phuket, I finally arived at 6 a.m.
Me and another guy were waiting to check in and got to chatting a bit. Turned out we both were getting checked into the same room, so it was a cool to almost immediately have a friend. We started to hit it off with another guy in our room and we all decided to spend the rest of the day at Patong Beach, seeing it was only about a 15 minute walk away from the hostel. It was a nice beach, but nothing to rave home about. Definitely a good location to everything though. Me and one of the other guys rented jet skis. And I have to say, I think it’s impossible not to smile while on a jet ski. I was cheesing from cheek to cheek the entire time. We grabbed food, got ready and headed out for the night.
Most of my time in Phuket was filled with beach during the day, and then partying/drinking on Bangla road (busiest road in Phuket, filled with bars/clubs and people trying to sell anything and everything) during the night. Definitely a road to visit while in Phuket, but with caution. Plenty of people are either trying to scam you, or get you into do something illegal. I’d say it’s best to find a club and dance the night away, or grab a drink and watch everyone else get suckered into things.
The beaches, and friends are what really made this part of the trip memorable though. My two friends and I spent all 5 days at the beach. Exchanging stories and watching the waves crash. We went to Patong beach twice because of how close and easy it was to get to. We went to Karon beach for one day. Only about 20 minutes away by scooter, the water and beach were nice, but not very lively. One beach however, was the best of the three we went to, and that was Freedom Beach.
About a 15 minute scooter drive from our hostel takes you to the entrance. From there you gotta park, and walk about another 15 minutes through the woods. Then you’ll see it. This gorgeous white sand beach, with emerald colored water. The walk through the forest makes you feel as though you’ve come across this little bit of paradise, completely hidden from the world. There’s plenty of stands to get fresh fruit and quick bites to eat while down there. They also have stands to rent snorkeling equipment. The first day here, we only spent a few hours because we planned on doing the Big Buddha for sunset (more on that later). But the second time we came here, we spent about 6 or 7 hours, and watched the sunset over what seemed to be an endless horizon. It was absolutely breathtaking. And though I got some really good pictures of it, they seriously don’t do it justice.
Our experience to get to the The Big Buddha, a giant Buddha statue in Phuket, with a stunning panoramic view over the bay and the city, was a quite an eventful one. We took our scooters about an hour away to get there. Trying to navigate the roads, and follow the traffic in Thailand is definitely an adventure of its own. But we made it and the view was incredible. Our ride back however, we, as well as all the other obvious tourists got stopped by the police because they were checking for Thai licenses (something our scooter rental never told us about). After explaining to him the situation, and giving him 2000 Baht to look the other way and let us go, we got back to the hostel.
My last night in Phuket, I went to one of the Muay Thai fights. For only 1,200 Baht, or roughly 40USD, I got to spend a few hours watching these guys fight and it’s definitely something I recommend doing while in Thailand. Most big cities always have fights going on, and this not only gives you an entertaining night, but helps support them and the workers at the arena. Win-Win in my book.
My time spent in Phuket wasn’t anything crazy. No big tours or treks. But it was filled with beautiful beaches, lots of alcohol, and some really good friends, both of which I plan to stay in touch with. If you’re looking for a few days of good beach and good nightlife, Phuket is definitely the place for you.
Allie cat
12 Mar 2020Dude. So cool. Friends look nice too!!!! One looks like a muscular Paul!!!!! Bring him home. KIDDING!!!!! Beautiful Mikey. I love that big Buddha
Moose
25 Mar 2020It was awesome! The beaches were amazing there!