We Love Phuket

Fried Ice Cream in Phuket

2021-02-01T23:19:00.000+07:00

I first saw this so-called "fried ice cream" a couple of years ago. It's not actually fried in hot oil ... it's made on an ice pan. Ingredients are poured out, mixed, chopped and frozen on the ice pan. This video was taken at the Sunday walking street market in old Phuket Town.

House for Sale in Phuket - Our House! (Now Sold)

2019-01-21T02:40:00.005+07:00

House is sold now! More information and photos on my Phuket Blog - House For Sale in Phuket

Patong to Karon Beach back in 1988

2018-12-19T22:11:00.000+07:00

This post and video has moved to Jamie's Phuket Blog - see : Patong to Karon Beach in 1988.

Phad Thai - Street Food in Phuket

2018-10-04T20:49:00.001+07:00

This page has been moved to my main Phuket Blog - see Street Food - Phad Thai.

Cheers! Happy Eating!

The Best Local Restaurants in Phuket

2017-06-23T21:48:00.001+07:00

This blog post has moved to my main Phuket Blog - see 7 Great Phuket Local Restaurants!

The Memory at On On Hotel

2015-06-23T21:44:00.002+07:00

This blog post has moved to my main Phuket Blog - see The Memory at On On Hotel in Old Phuket Town.

Phang Nga Bay, Phi Phi and Phuket (Video)

2015-05-20T20:58:00.003+07:00

Here's a nice little video made by a couple of brothers while sailing around Phang Nga Bay, Phi Phi and the east of Phuket. Shows plenty of beautiful scenery. Phang Nga Bay is full of islands and I wish I had my own boat! Really should look into doing some more trips to different islands in the near future. This video is by Blue Eden. Yes, this is a very nice place to live! Enjoy!

Ratchaphruek Flowers

2015-04-07T21:29:00.001+07:00

April is when the ratchaphruek flowers bloom. It happens seemingly overnight in the hot season, yellow blooms bursting to life all over the country. The ratchaphruek flower is the national flower of Thailand, it's yellow colour is symbolic of Monday, the day when King Bhumibol was born. I just noticed the flowers springing to life last week, so I stopped for a few photos today! Certainly does brighten up the countryside which can look a bit brown at this time of year when rainfall has been scarce for a few months. These photos all taken on 50 Year road (Hasip Pee Road) which winds through the hillside above Patong beach.

Patong Back in 1993

2014-11-13T20:11:00.000+07:00

This blog post has moved to my main Phuket Blog - see Patong Beach in 1993.

Patong Beach Phuket Nightlife

2014-09-19T21:58:00.000+07:00

I'm really not a nightlife kind of person. A few beers with friends is fine with me. I'm not a young clubber and I'm married with kids, so the nightlife in Patong Beach is something I have little interest in. Phuket nightlife is one of the reasons some people come here and I'm not going into detail here or passing any kind of comment. Whatever floats your boat. I just want to show you a great little video that I found on Youtube which gives a very good idea of what you can expect on Phuket's party street, Soi Bangla, in Phuket's party town, Patong.

Rihanna - What Now - Video Made in Phuket

2013-11-18T21:35:00.001+07:00

So, Rihanna and Phuket were in the news recently .. she was here (I did not see her), and caused a stir by posting a photo of herself with a slow loris, which is an endangered animal, on Bangla road in Patong where touts always hang around with engangered animals and nobody cares. Well, some people cared once the Rihanna photo hit the news and a few touts were rounded up. They are probably back again now. I don't know, I have been to Soi Bangla once in the last 2 years. Oh and she Tweeted about a s3x show too. Really? They exist? Well I never! I am sure that was news to the local police! Anyways, while she was here, Rihanna shot a video, though it was all indoors and you can't see any of Phuket. The song is OK actually, and it was made in Phuket. So, what now, Phuket?

Heaven on Earth

2013-11-14T07:52:00.002+07:00

A very nice little promotional video made for the Kata and Karon hotels association to promote Kata and Karon beaches, which are much nicer than Patong, far less busy, and much prettier. The video was made by the team at Helicam. It's a nice little taster of what you can expect in Phuket. The Kata and Karon area has some great hotels for couples or families. More information is on my Phuket Blog, see links below.

• Suggested Karon Beach Hotels
• Suggested Kata Beach Hotels

Patong Beach in 1988

2013-11-04T21:09:00.000+07:00

This blog post has moved to my main Phuket Blog - see Video - Patong Beach in 1988.

Bizarre Foods (Travel Channel) in Phuket

2013-08-03T16:57:00.003+07:00

This blog post about weird Phuket food has moved to my main Phuket Blog - see Bizarre Foods in Phuket (Travel Channel).

Phuket - Welcome to the South!

2013-07-30T20:45:00.003+07:00

This post has been moved to the Phuket Blog - see Welcome To The South! Thai Hip Hop From Phuket!

Snoop Lion ft. Rita Ora - Torn Apart ... Video shot in Phuket!

2013-07-03T21:57:00.001+07:00

This blog post has moved to Jamie's Phuket Blog - see Snoop Lion - Torn Apart ft. Rita Ora - Video made in Phuket!

Phuket Hotels - Booking Online

2012-07-11T23:03:00.005+07:00

The www is out there. The whole wide world is at our fingertips these days. The traveler no longer has to hope there might be a room available on arrival, no need for phone calls to far away places to make "reservations" that they maybe won't keep anyway. If you are reading this, that means you are online, and that's the best place to look for hotels in Phuket, Thailand, Asia, The World! I've been blogging since 2006. The original Jamie's Phuket Blog started in April 2006, followed closely by the Phuket Weather blog and this one and a few others too...

I'm sure you have realised there are hundreds of places to book hotels online. I would like to suggest a recommended website to check out if you are looking at coming to Thailand in the near future. You can book Phuket hotels or hotels anywhere else in Thailand, or pretty much anywhere in the world. Happy Holidays!

Phuket Hotels - Where to Book Online?

• Agoda.com - Phuket hotels
• Agoda.com - Thailand hotels

So what hotel is the best? I don't know. Ask 100 people and you'll get 100 answers. Everyone's taste is different. I have selected some recommended hotels on Jamie's Phuket, and you are welcome to check them out:

• Top 10 Hotels in Phuket
• Top 10 Family Hotels
• Top 10 Luxury Hotels
• Top 10 Romantic Hotels
• Phuket Hotels - Recommended by Jamie

Wherever you stay, whatever you do, enjoy Phuket!

Getting to Phuket - How do I get to Phuket?

2008-02-22T11:08:00.006+07:00

Simple enough question - how do I get to Phuket? Well, first of all, if you are coming from another country you have to get to Thailand. Phuket is an island and also a province of Thailand located in the south of the country about 800km south of Bangkok. Getting here is easy. Hope to see you soon!

Come Fly with Me

Most people will fly to Thailand these days, since a boat from Europe or America would take a very long time. International flights normally arrive in Bangkok, but you can also fly long haul into Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) or Singapore and get connecting flights to Phuket from there. There are a few direct flights from Europe to Phuket, mostly holiday charter flights.

From Bangkok you have plenty of domestic flights with a whole bunch of airlines. Most depart from the new airport (Suvarnabhumi), though some also depart from the old airport (Don Muang). See links below.

• Suvarnabhumi Airport Information
• Thai Airways
• Air Asia
• Nok Air
• Bangkok Airways
• One 2 Go
• Orient Thai
• Thai Domestic Flights - Shows all domestic flight schedules and routes in Thailand

Not running any more, but for a while 'Destination Air' did seaplane trips between Phuket and Phi Phi - I did a trip a few years ago :

• Seaplane to Phi Phi on Jamie's Phuket

Phuket Airport

Phuket International Airport is not very large, has a single runway, single terminal and the queues at immigration can be long in peak season. The airport is in the north of Phuket and it often surprises visitors that the taxi ride to their hotel is so long. It can take an hour to reach the south of Phuket where the main tourist beaches are found. It's also about an hours drive to Khao Lak, but in the other direction. The nearest beaches to the airport are Nai Yang, Mai Khao and Naithon.

• Phuket Airport Information
• Phuket Airport - Live Flight Status

From Phuket Airport, you have a choice of transportation to reach your hotel. Some people complain about taxis being a rip off, but I think 500 - 600 Baht for a 40km ride is pretty reasonable. There are airport limos, metered taxis (which tend to work out a little cheaper), or you can arrange pick up in advance with your hotel, dive center etc... Booking your taxi in advance is a great stress saver. Its nice to walk out of the terminal and see someone holding up your name!

Cheaper options - you can take a shared minibus which departs when full and charges about 160 - 180 Baht per person to the southern beaches. Cheaper, but slower. You might be lucky and be the first to drop off, or you might be the last. Also, you are almost sure to be dropped first at a travel agent who will try to sell you tours or a room if you've not already arranged it. The taxi and minibus drivers get commission. Again, a prearranged private pick up has the advantage - they will take you directly where you want to go.

There is now an airport bus service too, but this runs only into Phuket City and not to the beaches. Very cheap - just 85 Baht from airport to town. If you plan on staying in Phuket Town, great. If you then want to get to the beaches, you have to take a tuk tuk or taxi from the bus station which will cost around 300 Baht. ** Update July 2013 - there is now a bus from the airport to Patong also.

• Phuket Airport Bus Service

Long Distance Bus Services

Thailand has a very good bus service. I have taken the VIP buses many times, you are well looked after and if it's a night bus you can almost sleep. Buses are the preferred method of travel for budget travelers, though the prices offered by the budget airlines these days are very tempting. Fly from Bangkok in 80 minutes or take a 12 hour overnight bus...? A bus in the day time means you can see some countryside, though the VIP buses tend to be almost non stop so you don't see much local life. If you really want to mingle with the masses, take a cheaper 2nd class bus or even a non aircon bus for shorter trips.

Warning: There are many reports on travel forums about bags going missing or items being stolen on long bus rides, especially those organised by private companies and especially those booked in backpacker areas like Khao San Road, Bangkok. Better to book the bus at the bus station yourself. The government run VIP buses are excellent. The private companies take advantage of the sheep mentality of many backpackers. If you take the buses that the locals take, you should not have any problems. But its common sense when traveling to carry all really valuable stuff on your person and not in checked luggage, right? A good way to put a thief off is to pack your dirty laundry on the top of your backpack. Makes sure it's nice and stinky.

The Phuket Bus terminal is in Phuket City within walking distance of many hotels and guesthouses. There is talk of building a new terminal north of the center which the taxi drivers will love! If arriving by bus and needing onward transfer to the beaches, there are plenty of taxis waiting for you.

• Phuket Bus Time Table (departures)
• Government Bus Website (Home Page)

Ferry Services to Phuket

Phuket is an island. True, but it's only just an island and is connected to the mainland by Sarasin Bridge. Nevertheless, if coming to Phuket from islands such as Phi Phi or Koh Lanta, you'll need a ferry. There's ferries from Krabi too, but you can also take a bus from there. There are 2 ferries per day between Phuket and Phi Phi. From Phi Phi departing 09:00 and 14:30. The ferry takes about 90 minutes. The Rassada ferry terminal is right in the east of Phuket City, not really walkable from the center, but if you buy tickets for the ferry in advance from a travel agent they will normally include onward transfer to your hotel. It can easily take 45 minutes in traffic to get from the terminal to Phuket's main west coast beaches.

• Ferry Services - Timetables and Online Booking

Choo Choo Ch-Boogie

Dear train lovers... Sorry there are no trains to Phuket. The nearest you can get is Surat Thani, which is about 3-4 hours away by bus.

• State Railway of Thailand Website
• Guide to Train Travel in Thailand

If there is any travel information I have missed here or any links that would be useful, please do leave a comment. Enjoy Phuket!

Google Earth - Phuket Images Updated!

2007-10-14T16:20:00.000+07:00

Finally! Now the whole of Phuket can be seen in high resolution on Google Earth. The last section was the South West Coast, including Patong, Karon, Kata and Laem Phromthep. The islands of Racha Yai and Racha Noi are also high res now. I guess the images are not 100% up to date, but now you can fly over the west coast and the whole island! A few new images below.

(above) Phuket and (to the east) Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi

(above) West Coast Beaches - Karon, Kata, Kata Noi

(above)Patong Beach

(above) Phromthep Cape and Naiharn Beach

Phuket on YouTube

2007-09-12T16:36:00.003+07:00

I don't want to dwell on the "YouTube was banned in Thailand" issue. But it was banned. The Ministry of Information blocked the entire site because some nonce had posted some videos that were insulting to the King. I quite like browsing You Tube, so going without it for nearly 5 months was rather a drag! Yeh, I know there's more to life... It still seems to be blocked by the TOT internet provider. Anyhow, it's now back and so I am looking through the mountains of vids to find some clips that show various aspects of Phuket... I will add more here as time goes by.

If you know any good YouTube videos, please add a comment with a link to the video...

A Brief History of Phuket:

Phuket Town Street Scenes:

Nightlife - Soi Bangla, Patong Beach:

Phuket Holiday Video

Surfing at Kata Beach:

Gibbon Rehabilitation Center:

Jungle Bungy Jump:

Muay Thai in Phuket:

Chalong Temple:

5 Fun Things to Do in Phuket:

Enough for now! YouTube has loads of videos that give you an idea of the place. You can search for Phuket : YouTube Search results for Phuket. If a picture is worth a thousand words, whats the price of a video?

Cheap Places to stay in Phuket - Hostels and Guesthouses

2007-09-09T16:25:00.009+07:00

Phuket does have that reputation of being very expensive - only resorts and tourist restaurants. This is wildly inaccurate. Phuket has it all - OK, so there's not really a "backpacker" scene here any more, but there is plenty of cheap accommodation, food is as cheap as you like - just go where the locals go, there are local buses and you can rent a motorbike for 200-250 Baht per day. I will try and list some less expensive places to stay below - not a complete listing by any means, but hopefully useful. You can find some links to other sources of information below.

Try Agoda for low budget places to stay

Phuket Town is often said to be the cheapest place to stay, rather than any of the beaches. The town is quite nice actually, and there are also some nicer places to stay, but it has always been where you are likely to find the odd backpacker passing through. Back in 1999, I arrived in Phuket and the first few nights I stayed at a hotel called "Thai Inter", also a night at the well known On On Hotel, which was used during the filming of "The Beach". After a few nights I realised I could stay in Patong for 300 Baht a night and save all the bus or tuk tuk rides. The buses only run until about 5 - 6pm - after that you are at the mercy of the taxi drivers who'll charge you more than you pay for your room to take you back there.

Phuket Town is good for exploring and using as a base especially if there's something going on like the Phuket Vegetarian Festival.

• Old Phuket Town
• Vegetarian Festival

Cheap places to stay in Phuket Town

On On Hostel
Phuket Backpacker
Old Town Hostel
Thalang Guesthouse

More Phuket Town Accommodation - see Agoda.com

One day if I have time, I must take a walk and check out all the guesthouses in the old town area.

On The Beaches of Phuket...

It's not all expensive, you know. Patong has quite a lot of guesthouses - you can find some in the Agoda link on this page. But since I am not a fan of Patong, let's ignore those - Kata and Karon Beaches are slightly more laid back and have a good choice of lower budget places to stay. I have featured the Pineapple Guesthouse on my blog already (Karon Beach). You can book Pineapple Guesthouse online here. The Fantasy Hill Bungalows in the center of Kata are often praised, and the Doolay Hostel on Karon beach road is another good lower budget option.

Cheap Places to stay - Kata and Karon Beaches

Pineapple Guesthouse
Divers Inn
Baan Suay Backpackers
Southern Fried Rice
Fantasy Hill Bungalows
Doolay Hostel
Karon Sunshine Guesthouse
Hotel Kata Center Inn
Karon Living Room
NB House

Oh, there's more if you wander around - and depends on your definition of "low budget"! In Karon I could also mention Casa Brazil, JJ Inn, Nice Residence, Holiday Village, Robin House, Anan House... all within a few minutes walk of the beach.

Phuket Hotel Listings

HotelsCombined.com
Agoda.com
Booking.com

Wet season in Phuket - Great time to visit!

2007-06-04T21:33:00.004+07:00

As April turns to May, people in Europe, North America and more northerly parts of Asia are thinking of the coming summer, with sunny skies, warm balmy days and BBQ's in the garden. It's summertime and the livin' is easy... Here in Phuket, the weather doesn't have the same 4 seasons as "back home". We don't get cold weather, I have no use for warm clothes save for the occasional early morning ride on the motorbike, you can wear polo shirts and shorts every day. We don't have a spring with the bluebells flowering in the woods, we don't have an autumn with golden leaves. But - we do have weather!

Now, there are many reasons why people choose to take a vacation in Thailand. Could be for scuba diving, could be for the culture, could be for the great food, for the nightlife, for the beaches, for the chance to sample Asia in small easy to manage pieces or because it's cheap... but the weather is also an important factor. Bob from England wants to go home with a tan, so does the Eriksson family from Sweden. They all want sunshine. So, for the convenience of Mr and Mrs A Tourist, we can divide the year into two parts: HIGH season and LOW season.

High season is when (on average) you get the best weather - meaning more sun and less rain. This is approximately November to April. It can rain anytime, but the prevailing winds at this time are from the North East, bringing little in the way of storms and rain. Also it means that the west facing beaches in Phuket are sheltered and calm. So, this is when most of the tourists come. It's also when all the hotels are more expensive!

• Low Season Hotel Prices are Great! Check @ Agoda.com

Low season .... From May to October we enter the South West monsoon season, meaning prevailing winds are from the South West, coming across the Indian Ocean bringing (on average) more rain than the high season. The winds also mean that the beaches are sometimes too rough for swimming. Many guidebooks and travel agents will tell you the weather is always bad at this time of year and many people believe it. Of course, that's nonsense.

Low season rocks. Low season is a great time to visit Phuket and the rest of Thailand. That is, so long as you don't mind occasional rain and don't want to sit on a beach for 2 weeks. You'll get sun much of the time, most days are hot and you start to wish it WOULD rain just to cool things off! The rain that does fall mostly comes right at the start and end of the season. May, September and October are (on average) the wettest months in Phuket. Now you might be unlucky at any time and get a few days of wet weather but don't worry - there's plenty you can do here on a wet day.

• Things to Do in Phuket on a Rainy Day
• Top 10 Tours in Phuket
• Tour Booking - Ask Easy Day Thailand

The "low season monsoon rains every day" myth (and it is totally a myth) is why I started a weather page on the Sunrise Divers website many years ago. To record the weather and show what it's really like, rather than relying on averages and forecasts that always say "chance of a thunderstorm". My parents have visited from the UK a couple of times in July and I guess we had 80% good weather and the little rain that fell never stopped us doing anything. They also visited one time in April and there was more rain than the low season! Ah, Pacha Mama playing tricks on us.

In 2006 I started my personal Phuket Weather Blog. If you take a look at the blog archives you'll see what the weather was really like. As for what it will be like - it's anyone's guess, I don't trust forecasts, though you can find a whole load of forecasts and other weather related links on my weather blog that may help.

You can do anything in low season that you can in high season. And there are advantages. Main advantage? HOTEL PRICES - a bargain can be had in the summer as hotels compete for limited numbers of guests. Big resorts drop prices dramatically, while cheap guesthouse rooms can be down to a few hundred Baht. Another plus - the colour Green - many locals call this time of year the Green season, as the rain that does fall is lapped up by the tropical plants that cover Phuket. Another plus - less crowds. Yep, this is not package tourist season, so you have more space to move, more room on the beach, less crowds at the main sights, less divers in the water, more breathing space in the restaurants.

Sure it rains sometimes, sure you will have wet and windy days now and then, but you will almost certainly get way more sun than rain. Check out my weather pages for the reports and I hope to see you in Phuket this summer! Bring your umbrella and factor 30.

Useful Links:

My Phuket Weather Blog
Jamie's Phuket Blog
My Phuket Hotel Recommendations
Phuket Hotels - Online Booking
Phuket Tours with Easy Day

What's New on Jamie's Phuket?

2006-12-16T08:43:00.004+07:00

The Feed below will show the latest posts from Jamie's Phuket...

My main blog - Jamie's Phuket - is ever expanding, I only wish I had more time. In the last couple of months, we've had the Vegetarian Festival, Loy Krathong and we have been out and about round the island.

Recent Photos:

Thailand Photos - Nan

2006-11-29T08:59:00.000+07:00

Yes, we love Phuket, but the rest of Thailand is not bad either.

Some years ago, when I had time and no kids, I made a tour of the country. One of the first stops was Nan, which is a rural town with lovely scenery and very few tourists. I rented a bike and drove around the surrounding countryside, through the rice fields and looking for small villages where I might be able to buy some textiles.

Here's a few photos (sorry about the quality, these are scanned from prints):

• Hotels in Nan

I think when I was there I found a cheap guesthouse, but there are some better places to stay - click these links for information and booking:

• City Park
• Dhevaraj

Let's go on a tour of Phuket Prison!

2006-11-16T23:38:00.000+07:00

For most societies, prison is an undesirable place to which law-abiding citizens send the the community’s undesirables, i.e., the deviants, perverts and miscreants. But in Phuket, prison has become just another tourist attraction.

Helping to keep alive the strong local tradition of anywhere-anytime tourism, Paisarn Suwannaraksa, Director of Phuket Prison, told the Gazette that the 1,500-inmate prison is now open for public tours, both to educate the public and to change foreigners’ perceptions that Thai prisons are as atrocious as popular media depict.

“The leaders and management of the prison adhere to international standards, which means our living quarters, food and officers all have to meet high standards for the prisoners,” he said.

“We welcome visitors from any country to come and see our prisons. We are happy to show the high quality of the cells, and we would like to dispel any misconceptions foreigners may have, to show that [our facilities] are not as terrible or unlawful as they might think,” Director Paisarn said.

“We can have a maximum of 30 visitors per day, divided into groups of 10, but we ask visitors to please dress well.”

For tours you can call the Prison officials - Tel: 076-212104 or 076-214689.

• Source: www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=5340

• Map - How to get to Phuket Prison
• More about Phuket Prison

• Thai Prison Life Blog