A Morning in Old Phuket Town
On Thursday morning, the fifth day of our trip, we once again tried (and failed) to sleep in a little. Being abroad is just too exciting to waste time sleeping! We ate breakfast at our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Kamala Beach, which allowed us the option of pre-purchasing our desired number of breakfast coupons when made the original booking. The breakfast was presented buffet style, with both Western and Thai options to choose from: hot meats, pancakes and waffles, fresh fruits, omelette stations, Thai noodles, various fruit juices, and much, much more. We really enjoyed the breakfast on two separate occasions and found it to be a great value and convenience.
Old Phuket Town offers a different glimpse into Thai culture and was how we planned to spend Thursday morning. With interesting architecture, street shops, museums, Thai shrines and temples, Phuket Town was a change in pace from the primarily beach-centered outings that have made Phuket famous. We took a taxi for the hour-long trip arranged by our hotel for 1200 Baht (about $40 USD). There are cheaper options available, mainly the tuk-tuk, an open-air type of modernized, motorized rickshaw that frequently transport tourists all over the island. We were concerned about the heat for such a long ride, but tuk-tuks acutally provide a very nice breeze and are much more fun for the journey.
We struggled a bit to find things to keep us entertained in Old Phuket Town. After walking through the streets, shopping at some street-side boutiques, and admiring the interesting Sino-Portuguese architecture of the Old Town, we found ourselves wondering what to do next. We had planned to visit Monkey Hill, where visitors can freely feed macaques and take in the view from Phuket City’s highest hill. Unfortunately, we were disappointed to find out that the monkeys typically sleep during the day and are much harder to find before the late afternoon. To us, the trip wasn’t worth the long hike in the immense heat without the monkeys, so we skipped Monkey Hill and altered our plans a bit. We grabbed some delicious gelato at a place called Thaivetro (Emily went for pineapple while I couldn’t resist trying passion fruit) and flagged a tuk-tuk to take us to our next location.
Patong Beach: We're Too Old for This
Our next stop couldn’t have been more the opposite of the first. Unlike Old Phuket Town, Patong Beach is full of things to see and do, truly a sort of sensory overload. Patong Beach is known for its raucous nightlife, crowded bars, and cheap massage parlors. Its reputation is also quite risque due to talk of live sex shows and illegal though tolerated prostitution. I’m happy to say that as day visitors to Patong Beach, we didn’t encounter any risky business worse than some masseuses offering “more than just a massage”. Patong Beach was pretty much what we expected. It was dirty and smelled like a mix of Bourbon Street and hot urine. Public restrooms were scarce and cost about 20 Baht to use (so make sure you have some coin currency in addition to your larger paper bills). Food was cheap but not spectacular. And everything was fake! Don’t buy anything in Patong Beach and expect it to be real.
We ventured to Patong Beach for one main reason: to let fish nibble on our feet. Often called doctor fish or nibble fish, these little guys eat the dead skin off of feet, which is supposed to make them feel silky smooth. It was easy to find a massage spa that offered the fish pedicure, and we paid 100 Baht to put our feet in the fish tank for ten minutes. Emily went first and easily giggled throughout the first half of the treatment, which I’m pretty sure scared all of the fish away from her feet. The fish liked my feet more (is this a good thing?) and even worked their way up my calves. The fish pedicure was a fun experience, but as far as spa treatments go, don’t expect much.
After a walk down Banglala Road, the main drag of Patong Beach, we set out to each get a traditional Thai massage (and just a massage). There are massage parlors on every block, and prices are pretty similar between businesses. So pick one and go for it. For 400 Baht (about $13 USD) we got 60 minute traditional Thai massages. We took our places lying on thin mats on the ground and for the next hour were kneaded like dough and folded like a pretzel. The whole experience was oddly relaxing, though, and we had a lot of fun with it.
Before leaving Patong Beach, we stopped to get ice cream rolls from a street vendor. We also found a McDonald’s that sold cheesy dip, and I’m still note sure how Emily resisted trying it. A tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel cost 500 Baht and dropped us off with plenty of sunshine remaining before sunset.
Phuket Sunset and a Romantic Beach Dinner
Feeling relaxed following our Thai massages but also somewhat dirty after leaving Patong Beach, a couple hours of sunshine and a dip in the pool were a must. We stayed long enough to enjoy the sunset from the westward facing infinity pool. Since we had a scheduled pickup very early the next morning, our evening plans didn’t extend far beyond an authentic Thai meal. As it turns out, White Orchid was located adjacent to the entrance to our hotel and offered a perfectly convenient option. A restaurant that is known around Kamala Beach for offering the best Thai cooking class seemed like a great place to indulge in the flavors of Thai food. White Orchid is an open-air restaurant that is charming and simple, decorated with natural foliage, Thai lanterns, and various flags from neighboring countries. We walked down from our hotel and were seated immediately. We were delighted to find out that the restaurant has a few tables across the street by the water where we ate by candlelight while enjoying the sound of the calm ocean waves. Our meal was excellent. We ordered spring rolls, chicken curry and garlic prawns and were presented with large portions for a great price. The prawns were enormous, about the size of Emily’s hand! Just beware: don’t order a margarita even though they are dirt cheap. Mine was so terrible that I poured it out (yes, it was THAT bad).
After wallowing in the tastiness of beautiful beach dinner, we had left just enough room for a little something sweet. White Orchid didn’t offer any dessert options, so we returned to our hotel bar and ordered some churros and a baked apple dish. We enjoyed them while listening to some local entertainers sing covers of American pop tunes. They were very talented and humbly thanked us for listening as we left. It was a long day full of many new sights, sounds, and, unfortunately, smells, and we were ready for a good night’s rest before the day trip of a lifetime the next morning.
