Phuket 28th to the 31st June

So Phuket is a very well known part of Thailand and is in all respects quite touristy. A bucket and spade type place, with families and all that terribleness. Indeed it was even voted the 4th worst place to visit in SEA (although you can say that about any part of SEA there are so many polls out there). Most backpackers avoid it, except as a gateway to some of the islands including Phi Phi where the famous James Bond beach is (although you may have missed the stunning bay behind Daniel Craig)…

Liam’s plans brought us to Phuket so Laura and I just tagged along to his hostel – while Celine stayed somewhere far more upmarket. First order of business was doing a load of laundry together, we were paranoid about shrinking our clothes so set the dryer to medium low. Which didn’t do the job. They were about to pay for another dry cycle, but Hugo ‘the boyscout’ Jones brought two 4m cords, so we erected (ehehe) two clothes lines between our bunks. This actually really brought the room together, and gave the impersonal dorm a homely feel. A bit like a den or pillow fort.

The next day was actually Laura’s 25th birthday, so the plans were in her hands. The three of us did some sightseeing around Phuket’s old town, including a somewhat interesting stop at Phuket’s stamp museum. I couldn’t believe it when she wanted to go in, but I was well up for it. A boring oddly specific museum – yes please. Laura also dragged us through lots of knick knack shops, so went back down in my estimation.

Having seen the old town and with the day heating up Laura and Liam head back to get some rest in, while I took myself to ‘Amsterjam.’ See what they did there. It was the nicest weed shop I’d ever been in. The thing that made me go there in particular, beyond their great name, were the words ‘ice cold bongs’ in neon letters. Like who says no to that, and indeed they delivered. So I smoked a small bowl and headed back to the hostel to paint for a few hours while the others napped. 

Once they were all fully rested and ready for the evening, we popped out and bought a load of beers. Celine rejoins us as well and we play some Irish Snap, which Liam was terrible at. Laura took great pleasure in getting him pissed – poor guy – but tbf he seemed to be having a great time.

We headed to a market for some dinner, and some more beers before searching for one of Phuket’s famous jazz bars. The first two we tried were completely empty, but the third was great. We grabbed a table, and continued the bevving, but now with live music. The band was playing all sorts of bangers. There were guest singers, even some dancing! It was a really fun night that I remember up to a point.

The two Ls head to bed around 12, but I stay out as the german girls from the slowboat were in town and told me they were on their way to the bar (they were the ones I played penguin chess with and who stopped the boat leaving without me on the second day). They joined perhaps five minutes after the Ls left. We had a couple of beers and caught up, which was nice. I forgot to mention it in the N thailand blog, but I bumped into them in Pai and where we also had a few beers too. It was quite late when I returned home – but I made it in one piece.

The next morning, Liam left us continuing on with his plans but Laura and I enjoyed some phenomenal recovery pancakes. Which really hit the spot, along with a cuppa. We then rent a scooter with the plan of exploring some more of Phuket’s sights and rendezvousing with Celine at some point. We journeyed up to the big buddha which was a, well, it was a big Buddha on a hill. But worth seeing I guess. It was a rather grey day, so the grey Buddha didn’t exactly pop.

In the afternoon we headed to the beach for an explore, and meet up with Celine before getting some dinner on the beach and then finally heading to a viewpoint for sunset. The beach was full of surfers and we sensed a plan forming for the next day.

The next day Laura had a 2pm flight to get, however the plan was an early start, surf get brekkie then get Laura to the airport. Simple…

We manage the early start and we rent some boards without a problem. Laura could already surf but it was a first for me. She asks for ‘rashie’ from the rental dudes which they give her. I assumed it was for sun protection more than anything else. So I didn’t bother and decided I’ll get a bit of a tan instead. For any first time surfers out there, it’s not for the sun. It’s for the friction. Its called a rashie for a reason.  We ‘surfed’ for an hour or so, by which point I was exhausted – a mix of getting battered by every wave going and the paddling which is brutal. Despite the short surf I’d managed to rub off my skin across my chest and stomach. And my god, my nips! To top it all off, my back was a little sunburnt too. Lesson learnt there. So in case you’re wondering what the moral of that story is, wear a rashie.

Surfing wise though I had a great time. The hardest bit by far is just paddling out beyond the waves. But once out there it’s very peaceful, floating over the rolling unbroken waves. Laura’s guidance was to look to the horizon, pick a wave, then paddle like a madman. Truthfully I had no control at all which waves I took and which I didn’t. But when a wave started to take me I just paddled like a madman. I almost stood up a couple of times which is progress I guess.

Laura’s other bit of advice pre-surfing was at points you’re gonna feel like you’re kinda drowning, just go with it.

We have some brekkie, and it’s about 12:00. Laura is incredibly calm about her flight. She was so confident on the time front she decides to go for another swim lol. I took a nap. And needless to say she didn’t make the flight. We didn’t leave the beach until gone 1.

The gang eventually parted ways, I headed north east towards the Thai gulf islands, and Laura does get a flight the following day to Vietnam with Celine.

So that was Phuket. 

It would be poor form for me not to crack a joke at the name. Which is pronounced poo-ket. So either way it is funny.

The jazz bar’s vibes