We were there for 5 days in late April, and I immediately felt the difference once we have landed in Phuket. Somehow the air was denser maybe due to the heatwave or my brain was playing tricks on my mind. I was glad that our flight was on time, and everything went by smoothly. Even our van ride to the hotel was smooth and luckily it wasn't as crowded. Maybe the peak period has passed as we went after Songkran.
Anyway, here is a summary of what I thought, the good and the bad, of my recent holiday in Phuket: -
1. I am happy that I managed to tick my bucket list! We have somehow missed out Big Buddha Temple from our previous visits so this time we made it happened! We just hired a tuktuk near the beach for THB1200. It's a 2-way trip, to and from the temple. The driver waited until we have finished our tour and sent us back to where he picked us up. As the weather was sunny, it was an amazing ride!
2. The hotel we stayed in, Ramaburin Resort in Patong, was near the beach, about 5 mins walk. So, taking the bus was convenient. The bus ride from the beach to Phuket Town was about an hour drive and it's cheap! At THB40 per pax for each time we take, we can either go to Phuket Town or stop at Central World Mall, the only huge mall in Phuket.
3. As we are familiar with the area, we walked everywhere! To the malls, to the beach, to Bangla Road, even to the post office which was so convenient! Even though it was far, about 20 mins walk to the malls, there were many to sightsee and distract us. I loved walking on the beach at night where the sand was cooling to my feet with windy sea breeze and serene clear night.
4. With the current heatwave, it was just too hot, so we made sure to use lots of sunscreens and sunblock's since we walked a lot. Also drinking lots of water helped but we tend to go to the mall more often for the aircon. Unfortunately, Jungceylon was under renovation, so half the mall was closed with nothing much to see. The Central Mall opposite has fully opened and food court downstairs was a good alternative since it has aircon though the food was more touristry level and not as localized.
5. There are lots of cannabis clinics sprouting at every corner, as many as 7-11. It made me feel insecure, uncomfortable and I didn't like the after taste from the smoke whenever I passed by someone smoking pot. As such, Phuket has slowly descended down my list of go to beaches.
6. It is sad that we have encountered some rude tourists especially at the temple. For instance, we were praying in front of the statue of a Buddha and these ignorant tourists just walked over the barrier to take some photos, right in front of us while we pray! Also, while we were queuing for the blessing rope ritual by the resident monk, this idiot whom I presumed is not a Buddhist, just jumped the queue and sat in front of us! I was like what the heck! Behaving worse than a monkey at a holy place, nonetheless. If you can't behave properly in a holy place or country, please do not bother visiting. I totally understood how the Balinese felt!!! Thankfully, most of the tourists we met there were friendly and kind aside from those few black sheep.
7. Thailand is well known for delicious street food, good Thai massage and latest manicure/pedicure experience. These are what we look forward to whenever we travel, especially since we have good experience pre-pandemic.
- Unfortunately, Covid has totally affected the Thai's indirectly as out of the many foods we had, only a handful was good. We couldn't even find the regular few we had the last time. Either they have shifted or retired or ???
- Massage was better at an alley we discovered as opposed to the popular one in the mall. Hubs had body pain after one at Central World Mall and even though he told the masseuse to soften, the said masseuse still continue with brute force ignoring the pain my hubby endured!!!
- I had a bad experience with nail care at a shop along the street opposite Jungceylon which was cheap. Though I found my favourite mauve colour, my manicure was short-lived as it started peeling the next day. My pedicure was not as clean as there was some ingrown not cleared and it hurts when I walk. In the end, I had to redo my manicure at another shop and the kind manicurist even cleared my ingrown toe for free.
8. Wherever we went in Phuket Town, it totally reminded me of Melaka, a historical state in Malaysia. The way it was furbished and with the many souvenirs on sale, it was just like on Jonker Walk, Melaka. Unlike the last time which was more authentic Thai with many interesting shops to sightsee.
9. Last but not least, whoever says that Covid has affected the economy badly for most countries, but I think not for Phuket. Bangla Street was so hyped up at night that it was more busy, more exciting and more robust as compared to pre-pandemic time. Also with the booming cannabis clinics, more than tattoo parlours mind you, I think the businesses along here are faring better now. I did notice the costs, be it food or stuff, has increased tremendously. We definitely spent more as compared to pre-pandemic days.
Oh well, that's my take on my recent trip to Phuket. This are my own opinion and what I have experienced during my 5 days stay. I hope you have a better experience than I have. Thank you for reading my blog.
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