Woo Hooo!!!!  I never thought in a million years I would get back to this  paradise so soon but here we go again!! Thank you so much Ek for arranging to come here during my last few days of the journey for some serious R and R and reflecting time following a whirlwind adventure!

ABOVE: LIZ IN THE “HALLWAY” OF THE HOTEL 2008

I promise Liz I will bring you back a piece of Phuket!!! I promise!!!  My daughter didn’t want to leave this place in 2008 and I don’t blame her. We are staying in this same stunning hotel with rooms that walk out into the pool!!!

For those readers who are not familar with Phuket or the name rings a bell, this was the location of the devistating 2004 Tsunami on Christmas Day. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE signs of the devistation are hard to find but this memorial on the island of Phi Phi literally was a concrete reminder of the tragedy and lives lost that day

Above is my daughter Liz picking our our dinner. The best seafood on the planet is at this little restaurant on Phuket. The oysters on Ek and Pais plate were immense!!! We ate so much I thought we were going to burst!

I wonder if they finished building this giant Buddha on Phuket? I bought 2 marble tiles with Liz and my names on them that were to be installed in the Buddha.

CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE PHUKET ON THE GOOGLE MAP

BELOW IS A VIDEO I MADE OF OUR LAST TRIP TO PHUKET IN 2008.

FACTOIDS ABOUT PHUKET THAILAND

Guide to Phuket, Thailand

MUCH MORE HERE AT WIKI TRAVEL

Phuket (??????) [1], pronounced (roughly) “poo-get”, is Thailand‘s largest island. It is 48 km in length, 21 km at its widest, and is in Southern Thailand, on the west-facing Andaman Sea coastline, suspended from the southern tip of Phang Nga Province by a pair of short but substantial road bridges.

Cities

Only a few of Phuket’s cities are not on the beach.

• Phuket Town – The administrative center of the province, and the island’s main population center. Has the cheapest accommodation, but no beaches.
• Chalong Bay – On the east coast, home to Phuket’s most popular yacht anchorage and the primary gateway to the islands off Phuket

Other destinations

Beaches

The major beaches, alphabetically ordered:

• Bang Thao (Laguna Beach) — long, very quiet beach
• Cape Panwa — home to Phuket Aquarium
• Kalim Beach — a series of small beaches just to the north of Patong
• Kamala Beach — a quieter beach to the north of Patong
• Karon and Karon Noi Beaches — the second most-developed beach after Patong
• Kata Noi Beach — quieter sister of Kata Yai
• Kata Yai Beach — busy, clean tourist beach with good surf
• Laem Sing — small bay with stunning views, between Kamala Beach and Surin Beach
• Mai Khao (Sai Kaeo) — near the airport, very quiet (aside from the planes!) and far away from it all
• Nai Han and Ao Sen — a quiet beach (probably the best) in the south, near Phromthep Cape view point
• Nai Thon and Nai Yang — two quiet beaches in Sirinat National Park
• Patong Beach — the largest beach resort, known for its nightlife
• Rawai, Mittraphap and Laem Ka — set off point for lots of local islands, popular with locals for eating on the beach
• Surin and Pansea Beach — an up-and-coming upmarket destination
• Ya Nui Beach

Islands

There are dozens of small islands (ko) between Phuket and Krabi Province. The following have accommodation:

• Ko Bon — 10 minutes from Rawai, an ideal island for a day of snorkeling and relaxing.
• Ko Hae (Coral Island) — 15 minutes by speedboat from Chalong Bay, accessible all year.
• Ko Lon — quiet, mostly Muslim island with a few bungalows
• Ko Mai Thon — gorgeous little island with only one (expensive) place to stay
• Ko Maphrao (Coconut Island)
• Ko Racha (Ko Raya) — consists of two islands (Yai and Noi), popular with scuba divers and a relaxing snorkeling destination.
• Ko Sire (Ko Si Le) — Sea Gypsy colony, connected to the mainland by a causeway
• Ko Yao — two islands halfway to Krabi, with four upmarket resorts

Understand

Phuket nestles in balmy Andaman Sea waters on Thailand’s Indian Ocean coastline 862 kilometres south of Bangkok.

Phuket formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber, and enjoyed a rich and colourful history. The island was on one of the major trading routes between India and China, and was frequently mentioned in foreign trader’s ship logs.

In recent times, though, Phuket’s top earner has been tourism, which has transformed the island into Thailand’s wealthiest province. The west coast of Phuket was hit severely by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, but almost no evidence of the damage now remains.

Phuket enjoys great popularity as a travel destination. Most beaches are on the west coast, with Phuket Town to the south-east and the airport in the north.

Climate

Phuket is hot and humid throughout the year. The hot season is generally considered to be from March to early May. During the summer monsoon season from May to October, mornings and afternoons are still sunny and clear, but it tends to rain in the evenings and water clarity goes down. Locals consider November to February the “cool” season, and the weather is quite tolerable, much more so than in the tourism centers around the Gulf coast. It’s comparable to Florida’s summer weather in temperature and intensity of rain storms: 25-33 deg C, flying clouds, short and thunderous rainfalls in the afternoons and evenings. Surfing is possible off the western beaches.

Culture

Phuket is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Muslims and even sea gypsies. The majority of the population in the rural areas is Muslim. Outside of the provincial town, the rural folk speak with a thick Southern dialect which is difficult for even other Thais to understand. The provincial town’s economy having boomed over the past decade has lead to a lot of the youngsters leading similar lives to those in Bangkok. Altogether, the lifestyle of the urban Thai-Chinese resembles that of Bangkokians.

THIS EVENING AFTER WE SETTLE IN FOR THE NIGHT I WILL BE UPDATING THE BLOG WITH AUDIO , VIDEO AND PHOTOS FROM THE DAY!!!  I LOVE ALL YOUR COMMENTS SOOOOO MUCH SO PLEASE LEAVE THEM EVEN IF I DON’T KNOW YOU AND YOU DONT’ KNOW ME…I LOOK FORWARD TO MAKING NEW FRIENDS VIA OUR TRAVELS