Scootering around Phuket

One week ago we decided to leave Bangkok finally behind and continue our journey to Phuket. We searched for the flights one day before flying (I use Skyscanner almost always) and got the tickets with Thai Airways for a reasonably good price. We also booked a hotel near the Phuket airport because the most popular beaches are still a long way from there and our flight landed after 9 pm.

In the hotel we searched for what would be the best place to stay in Phuket and decided to go with Kata Beach first. Patong is the most touristy one with all kinds of attractions (particularly for single men...), Karon is a bit smaller and Kata's the most quiet one. When we got to Kata next day we stayed at Little Mermaid Guesthouse & Restaurant. It was budget friendly but we had to change rooms because of a bad smell in the bathroom and some little bugs all around the room. Also it was located a little further away from the beach. No thumbs up.

Kata Beach in Phuket 

When it rains, it pours

Our next hotel, Pro Andaman Place, was in Karon and it was a way better place to stay. It had an excellent location near the beach and some good restaurants (nice live music at Two Chefs, good Thai dishes in Schlusslicht and Ying to name a few), and the two always smiling aunties who run the place made us feel very welcome. Only downside was the noise coming from the street outside but other than that it was a bargain being a thousand baht per night. There was also a temple within walking distance, Wat Suwan Khiri Khet, that we paid a visit on the second day in Karon. Later that night they held also a night market there in the temple grounds. You can find some good deals there, we bought some clothes and a couple of sunglasses 100 baht per piece.

Wat Suwan Khiri Khet

The best way to see around in Phuket and many other places is definitely renting a scooter. It's cheap, it's fun, and you easily bump into places you would never otherwise see. 24 hours rental cost us 200 baht (~5€) plus gasoline. Considering that the local Tuk Tuk drivers charge 300 baht just to go from Karon to Patong, it's a no-brainer. We drove to Patong Beach and had some lunch in Nicky's Handlebar (good memories there, cheers Darab if you're reading this!) and then continued towards north until we noticed some food stalls and people gathered around so we pulled over. The sun was getting low and it turned out to be a wonderful place to check out the sunset. Around Patong Beach the traffic can get somewhat crazy so remember to stay alert at all times if you decide to drive there.

Cheesy deliciousness at Nicky's

Kalim Beach sunset

We had rented the scooter around 4pm, so we still had plenty of time to use it on the next day. After a late breakfast we turned on the ignition, fired up the engine and rode our 125cc beast to Phuket's Big Buddha, which was about 16 km away from our hotel. The views were nice, the buddha statue was big standing 45 meters high, and the monkeys near one of the viewpoints were trying to steal everything they could including our water. We won that battle, at least this time.

The Big Buddha

A monkey and the view

A cup of joe on our way back

Our route so far