Places to visit and things to do in Phuket – Part 2
This is the sequel to Places to visit and things to do in Phuket – Part 1.
Phi Phi Island Cruise
I went for a half day tour to Phi Phi Island.
It was a Phi Phi Island Cruise tour, where many people set foot on a cruise boat and took more than one hour from a pier in Phuket to Phi Phi Islands.
Where is Phi Phi Island?
Phi Phi consists of six small islands 46km south of Phuket.
View Larger Map
It is a hot (temperature) place and also a major tourist attraction for visitors to Phuket. On the way to Phi Phi island, we can see a lot of other tour cruisers too.
There are smaller speedboats as well, and according to Mr Bandit (our earlier tour guide), it is more expensive to get a speedboat, but I think it’s faster to reach the Phi Phi islands for your water activities and you do not need to follow the tour schedule.
Click those images to see a larger version.
If you choose the Phi Phi Island Cruise tour, it will allow you to transfer to a smaller boat for snorkeling and water activities while the cruise ship (should you choose not to go for snorkeling), will proceed to the pier.
The cruise tour include lunch where both parties, that went for snorkeling and the rest that don’t, will meet at Phi Phi hotel for a sumptuous lunch.
There are many long boats along the Phi Phi Island beach.
And not missing out are the crowd that sun bath and enjoying the clear waters.
I booked the Phi Phi Island Tour (by Cruise) from Hotels2Thailand as well and they include round trip transfer to and from your hotel in Phuket.
You might want to get a speedboat if you would like to avoid the crowd and the flexibility of your own time but the advantage of joining the cruise is you get to sit or take a nap comfortably as it is air-conditioned. Drinks such as water, tea and coffee are provided free and Pepsi was distributed on the return trip.
The tour was very organized and team was very efficient.
Simon Cabaret
That night, we took a tuk-tuk to Simon Cabaret from Patong.
Simon Cabaret is a musical and dance show which is very entertaining. It is located near Patong beach and has a Simon Bar that serve drinks.
The Best Show in Town
Earlier, I tried to book the show from Hotels2Thailand’s website as well. Unfortunately, it was fully booked and I emailed Simon Cabaret directly : info [at] phuket-simoncabaret.com, and they reserved seats for me. The ticket costs 800 baht per person which include a drink that you can collect from Simon Bar and bring into the show.
Guess what I had?
Recordings are prohibited, but I found this video from YouTube. Somebody must have been secretly recording clips of the show.
The performances are different and changes periodically I guess. Although the dance was nice (I especially liked the indian dance song and the pretty lead), but the songs were a bit old.
That was until the later part, they came out and performed Nobody by Wondergirls!
If you have no idea about Nobody, check out the official video below.
By the way, did I mention that the performers are all men?
Yes, men dressed as ladies.
They are named ladyboys, some look prettier than ordinary ladies!
Phuket Carnival
It was a coincidence, during my visit to Phuket, it falls in the period of Phuket Carnival 2009.
It seems to be an annual affair but not on the same date every year.
There was fireworks, beach party and various food stalls all over the stretch of Patong Beach.
Mind you, the seafood are mostly XXL in size!
XXL Shrimps.
The XXL Grilled Fishes, looks too dry for me. I overheard they are selling for 150 baht each. It’s Huuge!
XXL Oysters.
Holiday in Phuket?
In my personal opinion, Phuket is a good place for sea activities. It is a major attraction for European tourists, thus the locals tend to make money by offering services at high price, especially tuk-tuk and taxis. Remember to negotiate with them.
One thing you need to try is their massage as well, somewhere around 300 baht for an hour of Thai massage.
There are many attractions and things to do, as my trip is short and being a first timer, I couldn’t list out everything nice in Phuket.
Have you been to Phuket and is there anything you liked there? Please comment below this post.
For more things-to-do in Phuket, check out Jamie’s Phuket blog.