Mini Guide to Phuket
Friday, 19 January 2018
I visited Phuket for the first time almost six years ago. It was my first venture to Asia and after a few days in Bangkok, we headed down south to the island to relax. My budget was a bit bigger that time since it was a holiday so we stayed in a really lovely resort up in the mountains and didn't really leave it that often. I guess that's always the way with resorts; five restaurants, a bar, a spa and a swimming pool, was all that we needed. This time around, I’m backpacking which was a whole different experience. Phuket is a very touristy part of Thailand but I enjoyed my time there all the same; it's my first destination of 2018 so to start off this years posts here’s what I’ve
been up to this week!
Sleeping & Partying at Slumber Party Hostel:
I stayed at Slumber Party Hostel by Bodega and it was the perfect base for my trip. They are a well known chain around Thailand and I had big expectations after everything I'd heard about them through my travels so far; and I can confirm that they delivered.
The Phuket hostel is in a great location near the infamous Bangla Road and also the beach. The accommodation part was perfect. It was clean, quite and comfortable and the beds were freshly made every day - I managed to get a good night’s sleep every single night. The best thing about this hostel though, is its atmosphere; if I wanted to be social (and I did) there was always the opportunity to party downstairs. They run a bar crawl three times a week and beer pong every other night which always gets everyone going. Also, like all good party hostels, there is free alcohol at the bar most days and at 6pm like clockwork you can expect a knock on your dorm door from one of the staff with a bottle of vodka.
I stayed for 8 days in total and even then I didn't want to leave. By the end of it, I had made good friends with some of the staff and it just felt like home - definitely a sign of a good hostel!
The Phuket hostel is in a great location near the infamous Bangla Road and also the beach. The accommodation part was perfect. It was clean, quite and comfortable and the beds were freshly made every day - I managed to get a good night’s sleep every single night. The best thing about this hostel though, is its atmosphere; if I wanted to be social (and I did) there was always the opportunity to party downstairs. They run a bar crawl three times a week and beer pong every other night which always gets everyone going. Also, like all good party hostels, there is free alcohol at the bar most days and at 6pm like clockwork you can expect a knock on your dorm door from one of the staff with a bottle of vodka.
I stayed for 8 days in total and even then I didn't want to leave. By the end of it, I had made good friends with some of the staff and it just felt like home - definitely a sign of a good hostel!
Touring in a Tuk tuk:
A couple of us from the hostel got together and hired a tuk tuk driver (we went for a pink one obvs) to take us around the southern part of the island for one of the days. We decided what things we wanted to go and see and spent an hour bartering for a reasonable price. I love how hostels bring people together. You can be complete strangers one second and the next you've spent all day having fun together.
The White Buddha:
This was one of our stops with the tuk tuk driver and is one of Phuket’s most famous attractions. Surprisingly, it was free entry to visit. The buddha itself it 45 metres tall
and kinda sorta unfinished at the moment - you can give donations to buy the
white tiles (White Burmese jade marble apparently) that cover the buddha and
you can also buy the little bells that surround it. I loved the atmosphere
these gave, the sound of bells in the wind at the top of the island was very
serene.
It sits on the top of a hill so as well as going to see the
iconic buddha, you get a pretty cool viewpoint as well.
Wat Chalong:
I’ll admit it, a lot of people, myself included get a bit
templed out after a few weeks in Thailand but I really liked this one - it’s
the biggest and probably the most popular temple in all of Phuket, you could tell it was very well looked after. And again, this was free entry which was actually quite surprising because otherwise, I have found Phuket to be the most expensive part of Thailand.
We bought candles and incense which we lit outside the
temple, before taking our shoes off and wandered around inside.
Kata Beach:
Phuket is famous for its beaches and whilst Patong beach was
walking distance from the hostel, we decided to stop off at Kata beach for
lunch after our morning of sight seeing; not before having a little splash
around in the sea.
Phuket Bar Crawl:
This is the one I mentioned earlier and I did it again and again. It happens every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and was such a great opportunity to get everyone together, meet people and just have fun. The price includes a free t-shirt (which honestly is all you usually need to convince me - I do love a customised tee printed for a specific event) but you also get food at the hostel before you go out which is a pretty clever idea really. As well as that, and shots at each bar, you get a bucket and that was me done for the evening; I didn’t have to buy any more drinks for the rest of the night!
Also, the staff from the hostel always make sure you get home safe which is super reassuring, especially when you're travelling solo.
Also, the staff from the hostel always make sure you get home safe which is super reassuring, especially when you're travelling solo.
Visiting Koh Phi Phi & James Bond Island
You can do day tours that go to both Phi Phi and the famous James Bond Island and then back to your accommodation in Phuket but alot of people like myself, like to stay overnight on Phi Phi. It super expensive compared to the rest of Thailand but definitely a lot of fun - sometime too much fun! I can only handle a couple of days there at a time before I have to retreat back to normality. Saying that, the boys and I managed to get alot of rest during the day because while the beach is the home to some of the craziest parties on the island, it's pretty serene and beautiful during the day. We did one night partying on the beach and one night in a nice resort away from the madness.
You can do day tours that go to both Phi Phi and the famous James Bond Island and then back to your accommodation in Phuket but alot of people like myself, like to stay overnight on Phi Phi. It super expensive compared to the rest of Thailand but definitely a lot of fun - sometime too much fun! I can only handle a couple of days there at a time before I have to retreat back to normality. Saying that, the boys and I managed to get alot of rest during the day because while the beach is the home to some of the craziest parties on the island, it's pretty serene and beautiful during the day. We did one night partying on the beach and one night in a nice resort away from the madness.
After Phi Phi we headed back to Slumber party for a couple more nights of fun in Phuket before leaving for the next destination!
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