Phuket, Thailand

After a delayed flight by Air Asia to Phuket and the most boring six hour layover of my life in Kuala Lumpur, I met up with my friend Jessica at the hostel. She'll be with me for just the Thailand and Cambodia portion of the trip. I haven't once felt lonely so far because of the great people I've met and the generally friendly vibe in the backpacker's scene, but it's nice to see a familiar face from home. Our first night we ended up in a Thai karaoke bar where we were the only westerners and the cheap beer and cheesy Thai music made for a good time. We spared those folk the pain of listening to us butcher some Thai song, despite the many efforts of the people at the bar, and so didn't partake in the singing. The next day we took a bus out to the infamous Patong Beach on our first day (we were staying in Phuket town). That's when we decided to get out of Phuket. Patong is giant, dirty, westernized, over-crowded and many other things besides, like the capital of Thailand's sex tourism. If you like touristy places with McDonalds or Starbucks on every corner and tons of sheep-like package deal connoisseurs, then Patong is your place. We rented an umbrella and beach chairs for a few hours, then decided to get out of there. That night, we had our first Thai massage, AMAZING and only $8. Thailand must be worth it for that reason alone. Anyways, we left Phuket the next morning for Ko Phi Phi, an island about one and a half hours into Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. Below is Patong beach and a little spice stand in a Phuket town market.



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I flew Air Asia from KL to Phuket ($19) and by the time I arrived, the shuttle to town ($3) was already done for the day, so I had to take a taxi ($11) to my hostel, Phuket Backpackers. If you can manage to get into Phuket early, it would be quite easy to book a boat straight to Ko Phi Phi and skip out of Phuket, but don't pay more than $12 for it. To get to all the beaches from Phuket town, just hop on the bus from outside the Seven Eleven right next door to Phuket Backpackers for whichever destination you'd like ($.50). People have recommended Kata or Karon beach as some of the better ones. Usually transport to the ferry for Phi Phi from your hostel is included in the price of the ticket. Below is the time schedule of transportation at Phuket and a map of the town.