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| "I am Research Bunny, how can I help you today?" |
Weather
Phuket has a tropical monsoon climate and, located close to the equator; it is both hot and humid in equal measure and doesn't cool significantly at night.
The period between April and May is the steamiest (avg. 25-35° C).
The Southwest monsoons arrive between May and October, and with them pouring rain and thunderstorms.
Important Phone Numbers
-Police 191-Tourist Police 1155
-Ambulance 1554
-Fire 199
-Bangkok Phuket Hospital 076 254 421-20
-Phuket International Hospital 076 212 853
-Mission Hospital 076 237 220-9
-Operator-assisted overseas calls 100
-Directory Assistance 1133, 13
-Phuket Airport 076 327 230
-Immigration 076 221 905
Phone Calls
Pre-paid SIM cards are available for purchase at most convenience stores (you will find 7-Elevens everywhere) as well as at the service operators’ shops – DTAC, AIS and TRUE – located inside shopping malls. |
| "Do I need to dial 9 or something?" |
Transport
Phuket’s public transport consists of the airport shuttle bus to and from Phuket Town, and colourful ‘song-teows’ – converted pickup trucks than run in daylight hours between Phuket Town and the island’s beaches.After dark there is no public transport on the island. The island’s tuk-tuks at present are a lot more expensive than Bangkok’s three-wheeled icons and are not inclined to bargain flexibly. Travellers arriving at Phuket Airport have a choice between the airport bus, metered taxis, minivans or tuk-tuks.
Once settled in to their hotels, many visitors find it cheaper and more convenient to rent their own vehicle. Motorbikes start at 150-200 baht a day for the basic models while car rentals start at around 800 baht a day.
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| Picture for illustration purposes only - this is NOT necessarily the right bus |
There is an hourly and inexpensive bus service to Phuket Town from 06:30 to 21:30 but none to the west coast.
You can buy tickets at a counter on the ground floor and the grey-red-and-black buses marked AIRPORT BUS are to be found outside in the parking lot.
Tickets for minivans are for sale at two counters on the ground floor. Minivans take longer than a taxi to deliver you to your hotel as they drop off other passengers at hotels along the way. A well-signed taxi stand is located just outside, to the right of the main building. The taxis are red and yellow and are supposed to use their meters but you will probably have to insist that the driver turns his meter on instead of bargaining and haggling for a price. There are also two car rental counters where you can hire cars from Avis, Alamo, National and Hertz. Please make sure to take along your passport and driving license. Many more companies are located just outside the airport.
Beaches!
Patong Beach |
| Patong - here you can pay to see a transgender penis! |
Wild, exciting, unpredictable and sexy: Just a few words that describe the maelstrom that is Patong. With a carnival-like atmosphere by night, the central drag of Bangla Road and its many bars and clubs is an explosion of colours, sounds (some would say noise) and movement as hawkers and touts work the passing crowds.
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| She kinda looks like she wants to get down now... |
ACTUALLY... I'm not sure that I really want to see the 'sexily dressed girls' enticing Nic into their 'lairs'!
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| Ohh err - a risqué game of... Connect 4?? |
Kata Beach
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| Kata Beach in Phuket - are these beaches all beginning to look exactly the same?? |
The best part of Kata is its lush crescent of white-sand beach. Nodding palms, gin-clear sea and balmy tropical breezes all conspire to create the welcome cliché that is Kata Beach. More family orientated than its bawdy neighbour Patong, Kata at nighttime is a quieter affair with shopping and dining figuring large on visitors’ agendas and the beer bars and their girls nowadays marginalized to a small area near the Club Med.
Karon Beach
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| Another awesome looking beach... yawn! |
Kamala Beach
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| "No more pictures of beaches are allowed on this post. People will get jealous." ~ Research Bunny has spoken ~ |
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| It's a 'banged-toe', geddit? |
In this area you can shop for antiques, works of art, fine textiles and fashionable clothes in one-off, trend setting boutiques as well as choose from an extensive array of restaurants ranging from five-star hotel establishments to simple beach restaurants serving spanking fresh seafood and classic Thai specials.
The beach itself is classic: rolling waves, shady causarina trees and sun beds.
What To See in Phuket
Phang Nga Bay |
| James Bond Island |
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| See... There's James Bond |
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| James Bond Cave! |
Phuket FantaSea
An intoxicating blend of legend, myth, imagination and pure show business with a twist of history thrown in to make the final result even spicier, Phuket FantaSea is a heady brew that fascinates visitors to Phuket. Flying elephants wisecracking Siamese twins, jaw-dropping airborne spectacles performed by acrobats and mock battles are just a few elements of this extravaganza. FantaSea is also a theme park and contains a bazaar, one of the largest buffets in Asia and a ‘Palace of Elephants’.
Open: 17:30 – 23:30 Closed Thursday -Location: Kamala Beach
Bangla Road Nightlife
To some, it’s depraved, others claim they can take it or leave it, but to others Bangla Road’s night life is the height of sensual pleasure. Every night starting about nine o’clock, someone takes a figurative firework, lights it and steps quickly away as the whole place ‘burns’ fast and bright with sexy girls beckoning passersby into their ‘bar beers’ while music – live or otherwise – pounds out of doorways and mingles with other sounds of the night creating a chaotic and exhilarating atmosphere in which anything goes.
Open: Daily 21:00 Drunk?? -Location: Patong Beach
Old Phuket Town
Once the hub of island life, nowadays visiting the old quarter of Phuket Town is akin to touring a real-life museum. With its distinctive Sino-Colonial architecture, the quarter displays what life was like over 100 years ago when tin was king in Phuket and immigrant Chinese families threw their all into the tin mining industry. Slowly but surely old Phuket Town is being restored and a stroll down Thalang, Phang Nga and Dibuk roads as well as Soi Romani is time well spent if you are interested in history.
Open: Best to go late afternoon when the heat of day has subsided.
Simon Cabaret
This is a spectacular display of originality and fun by an all-transvestite cast. Patong’s Simon Cabaret is one of Southeast Asia’s outstanding entertainment attractions. A single show runs the entire range of musical theatre from cultures around the world. Okay, so it’s not Las Vegas but for many it’s the first time they’ve been up close and personal with a ‘ladyboy’ or katoey as they’re known locally. Please note that performers are renowned for collaring members of the audience after the show, posing for a photo with them and demanding money for it.
Open: Daily 19:00 and 21:00 -Location: Sirirat Road, Patong
Big Buddha
Phuket's Big Buddha is one of the island's most important and revered landmarks. The huge image sits on top of the Nakkerd Hills between Chalong and Kata and at 45 metres high it is easily seen from far away. The lofty site offers the best 360-degree views of the island (think sweeping vistas of Phuket Town, Kata, Karon beaches, Chalong Bay, and more.) Easily reachable via a six-kilometre road leading from Phuket's main artery, it's a must-visit island destination.
Open: Daily -Location: Nakkerd Hills
Thai Boxing
Often exhilarating and always riveting, Muay Thai -or Thai Boxing -is the most intensive body contact sport in the world, Muay Thai has taken on a new twist in that a number of foreign fighters have come to train and compete in Thailand.
Patong has two Thai boxing venues, one on Soi Sai Namyen that has shows every Monday and Thursday -showtime 21:00 to 23:30 and at Bangla Boxing Stadium behind the Millennium Hotel at Jungceylon on Sai Kor Road which features fights on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 21:00 -23:00
Wat Chalong
Wat Chalong has been extending a warm welcome to visitors for over a century. Locals come to pray and Westerners come to learn something about Buddhism. The most revered and impressive of Phuket’s 29 temples, it is dedicated to two highly venerated monks, Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang who helped heal many miners with their knowledge of herbal medicine during a tin miners’ rebellion in 1876. When visiting please dress respectfully with no revealing garments.
Open: 07:00 -17:00 -Location: Chao Fa West Road
Phi Phi Islands Tour by Speedboat
Phi Phi Islands -Tour Duration: 9 hours
Our Number One tour gets you away from it all to one of the world's most beautiful islands and its surroundings in a matter of minutes. While everyone else is on their way to Phi Phi you're already there, island hopping, dropping in on the monkeys at Ao Ling, snorkeling the crystal clear waters in Hin Klang.
Sea Kayaking – Hong by Starlight
Phang Nga Bay -Tour Duration: 10 hours
The best of both worlds; Phang Nga Bay is rated tops in the 'Wow' factor by day but just imagine exploring it by night…
Head off after lunch to discover the unforgettable sights of this scenic wonderland.
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| "Fuck it. I have done A LOT of research about Phuket!" |
Seriously, it goes on and on... If you want to read this all properly, go check out Phuket.com
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