Work has taken us to many places, and this quick trip to Phuket in Thailand for a supplier product launch and training was a great opportunity for some sight seeing.
We stayed at the Holiday in at Patong Beach in Phuket. The Holiday Inn is ideally located opposite the beach and right on Patong Beach where all the restaurants, cafes, bars and shows are located.
The beaches are great, but the one at Patong is rather polluted unfortunately, floating debris etc. As a result, we took a tuktuk to either Surin Beach or Kata Beach for a swim. In fact, Surin was great because there were street food restaurants directly behind the beach where we had lunch. Banana lounges and umbrellas are a must (and cheap) to rent and there is service on the beach. Of course, there are plenty of hawkers selling goods on the beach, but sometimes they have some great bargains!
We spent a day at Surin Beach (above and below pics) and a day at Kata Beach. It is quite a relaxing and easy holiday in Thailand. The people are friendly, the food is good, the drinks are cold, the scenery is beautiful and it's not an expensive place to live and holiday in.
We also signed up for a couple of tours to see some sights including some temples, visit an elephant sanctuary, a cave tour, a village that is wholly on the water (floating), a cashew plantation - you won't believe the effort it takes to get a single cashew nut! No wonder they are so expensive! Each one of the yellow fruit (below top right pic) produces one single cashew nut which is extracted by hand!
Of course, you cannot visit Thailand without doing a long-boat tour and seeing "James Bond Island" which is depicted in a scene from "Man with the Golden Gun"
Walking around Patong Beach is an interesting way to kill time. Shopping at the street stalls and bargaining with the locals is great fun. The place is much different to Australia and it seems little regulation or rules apply in Thailand.
If you haven't been, you should go. If you have been, no doubt you'll go again! It's just such a nice, easy fun place. It is a relaxed and inexpensive holiday with great food, beaches, scenery, hospitality, shopping and experiences to be had. Though it can appear to be chaotic at times - but that's part of the excitement!
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