Vacation, Part II: Phuket
Our time in Khao Sok was short-lived and we already want to return and do more adventurous hiking and trekking. Our hike was an incredible experience that brought back a lot of memories of hiking in the Cascades in Washington. That said, it was time to change the scenery and spend the next nine or so days on several beaches throughout Phuket and Krabi.
We recognize that there are amazing and beautiful beaches and scenery on the islands of Thailand; however, we chose Phuket and Krabi because we wanted something easier to get to and have the option to change plans if needed. Phuket is the largest island in Thailand and has definitely been well-developed for tourists. While we were there we tried to spend time at some of the less visited beaches rather than the big touristy ones. Our goal was to travel to two to three beaches a day while in Phuket.
After we finished our stay in Khao Sok, we rode a charter bus back to Phuket. Our plan was to start at the northwest end of the island and work our way down the west coast and visit many of its beaches until we hit the southern tip before ending our journey. Our bus left us in Phuket Town which is towards the southern end of the island.
We decided to rent a moto to travel around the island of Phuket because it was the most economical considering taxis are quite pricey down there. Now that I had experience driving the moto in Khao Sok I was ready to test out my skills in Phuket traffic and roads. This was definitely the highlight of my time spent on the Phuket leg of the journey - driving through little towns, up and down hills, winding on the roads going from beach to beach.
A few more highlights from our time in Phuket…
Our daily routine was to wake up, pack our daypacks, hop on the moto, ride to the first beach of the day, pack up, find lunch, moto to another beach for the afternoon, pack up, find dinner, and relax back at our hotel.
We always had a beach (soi) dog nearby.
The first beach that we visited during the day was Nai Thon Beach. Our first steps into the ocean with the beautiful scenery around us was unforgettable. It was amazing to experience our first beach in Thailand as one of the only visitors there.
We will certainly not forget the surreal experience of spending time at these beaches that are some of the most traveled to places in the world. And we had them all to ourselves.
The award for our favorite beach goes to Banana Beach. One of the reasons we liked it was because it was a bit off the beaten path. After parking our moto in a random small parking lot (if you could call it that) on the side of the road, we found the start of a hiking path. We crossed a stream and walked past piles of coconuts. When we arrived, there were a few people on this very small beach. Both locals and farangs. It seemed to be a well liked spot. We found an area off to the side towards the far end to set up our chairs. Photos do not really do justice to how beautiful this and many of the beaches were. We went into the water several times that afternoon and enjoyed the scenery. The high hill to our left made for some nice shade from the sun. Although, when the hill was swallowed by the sun, we decided to leave to get dinner.
We can honestly say spending Christmas on the beaches of Thailand (during a pandemic) with no tourists will go down as one of our favorites. We went to a couple of beaches that day, one being what became our second favorite Phuket beach, Yanui Beach. It was a small beach that seemed to attract mostly locals. It was definitely a beach that was of interest to people who wanted to snorkel and kayak around the area. There were tons of big rocks you could climb and get up close and personal with crabs and such. We stayed for a while since the vibe was relaxed and fun.
On Christmas Day we decided to treat ourselves to the first delicious, great quality restaurant we had found, Rustic and Blue by the Sea. There is another location of this restaurant that we have been to before in Chiang Mai. We were shocked to see one here but apparently they have three locations and one is in the southern tip of Phuket! We were stoked to eat a meal we knew was going to be amazing. We ate there for lunch and because we were going to stick around at the beaches nearby for the rest of the day, we asked if they had any seats available for dinner. We wanted to come back and have another meal. The restaurant is perched on a hill with an incredible view of the Andaman Sea and Rawai Beach.
When we returned for dinner we got two tacos as an appetizer, one pork, one chicken. They came with a fruit salsa which was pleasantly tasty. We love dragon fruit and loved the fact there was some on it. Emily got the chorizo burger and I got their pork neck with peppered mashed potatoes. We got a slice of both crack pie and cheesecake for dessert. Very filling and satisfying meal.
On our way back from dinner, we bought ourselves a bottle of wine and drank it as we video chatted with our parents to end our Christmas night.
One of the days we were in Phuket it rained on and off throughout the day. While we were eating lunch that day it began to rain. We finished our meal and waited until it calmed down before leaving. Riding a moto in the rain or even after is never a good idea. The roads can get pretty slick, especially with the kinds of roads along this side of the island. Every few minutes there's a steep hill to drive up and down. Once it was down to a sprinkle, we decided to leave in case it picked back up. It was only a ten minute drive but it was a fairly nervous drive. We made it safely after driving slower than we normally would. Thankfully the roads weren’t too wet or slippery.
Once we finished our beach adventure we headed back to Phuket Town where we could return the rented moto. The guy we rented it from, Som, was very friendly and helpful. He generously took us both on the back of his moto, at the same time, to the bus station. We have seen as many as five people on a moto before but never did we think we would end up on the back of one together. It was a short ride but nonetheless exhilarating. I was safely secure and squished in the middle and Emily had enough space to fit herself and backpack on the back.
These are all the beaches we went to. Some were more memorable than others.
Because this beach-focused leg of our adventure (Phuket and Krabi) was not planned as a food trip, we made do with what was around us. Also considering a lot of restaurants were closed due to the lack of tourism, we ate where we could.
Some of the notable restaurants we did visit were:
Hotels we stayed at:
Chill House Nai Yang (Unimpressive)
Baan Karonburi Resort (Very nice)
Overall, Phuket was a nice, relaxing place to get ourselves accustomed to the beaches of Thailand. I am sure that the next time we venture to the beaches, we will find even better beaches.
Next stop on our vacation, we take a three hour minibus ride to Krabi to check out the beaches in that area of Thailand. See you there!
