Phuket Reports

[QUOTE=Tim Bone]Depends on what you are looking for. The beach on Rai Leh West is very good, but mongering is non-existing. I was on Phi Phi 3 years ago and the diving was good. Any travel agent can help you with a boat trip there. You can also do day trips from Pukhet. Can really recomend a 4 day live aboard trip to Simlan Islands.

They usually go for free. But being almost twice their age now I have to work much harder. :)

I'm a good boy so I didn't stay up to see the bars close. About 2AM I think, but after that you've got the discoes.[/QUOTE]


There is more crime and killing in Copacabana or any Thai Beach than the places I name. Only people that act obnoxious or like high rollers get wacked.

Much more action, far better diving, cheaper and the Moslem girls are far prettier and sweeter. Much better command of English too. If you act like you aren't mongering, don't gawk or grab people will hook you up with family members. You just can't get drunk and act like your are at a football match.

[QUOTE=BuleDaddy]Phuket is one big clip joint. The beaches suck. The a-hole drivers would stop off at shops after agreeing to the "no-stop-no-shop" clause and sit and beg me to go in and look at crap. In fact, not one ever just took me to where I wanted to go without trying to get me to check out a tourist trinket hole. Only after screaming at them would they take me to their destination.

...I wouldn't go back there if somebody gave me a free ticket! Use your head and go to Bali instead![/QUOTE]


Wow, come on, tell us how you really feel :D

With all the negativity about Phuket, I wonder if I made a bad decision to spend five days there later this month?

My first time in Thailand was last May and I spent it in Bangkok and Pattaya and had a blast. Now I am bringing a friend with me this time for three days in Bangkok followed by another five in Phuket and wrapping up the adventure in Pattaya for another five days.

To the people who have been to Phuket before, how would you spend the five days? I am staying on Patong beach.

Any advice is appreciated.

[QUOTE=BuleDaddy]I wouldn't go back there if somebody gave me a free ticket! Use your head and go to Bali instead![/QUOTE]Couldn't agree more, although not for exactly the same reasons. Just back from a holiday in Thailand and had a great time, with the exception of Phuket. Will never go back there.

This will be my second time in Thailand and I am spending five days in Phuket May 21-25. Never been here before So many negative comments, let me ask:

I can't cancel my airasia tickets and hotel without incurring charges, so how would you guys spend the five days? I am staying on Patong Beach.

Which beaches are best to kill the time? Any info is much appreciated.

BP

Patong beach is where all the action is although there are some bars I have been to in Lamai Beach.

As far as non pussy hunting activities, there's parasailing, scuba diving, jet skiing etc in Patong. You could take a day trip out to Koh Phi Phi, which is beautiful and has good diving. It really depends on what you like to do.

I like Phuket and will be going there soon for the 4th time.

[QUOTE=Bronx Prowler]This will be my second time in Thailand and I am spending five days in Phuket May 21-25. Never been here before So many negative comments, let me ask:

I can't cancel my airasia tickets and hotel without incurring charges, so how would you guys spend the five days? I am staying on Patong Beach.

Which beaches are best to kill the time? Any info is much appreciated.
BP[/QUOTE]

Well I was in Phuket in Febraury and it was pretty good. Basically Patong is where all the action is, but also all the aforementioned rip-offs and scams too.

My Recommendations

Avoid the beach road - expensive tourist trap. Use bars and restaurants on second road instead, plenty to choose from and everything is much cheaper. Recommend 2 Black Sheep Bar for a good live band and reasonable prices too.

Find somewhere that serves beer for a decent price, best on Bangla Rd is the 60 baht all night place at the top, but you will find it full of cheapskate pensioners admiring the action.

Rent a motorbike and get out and about in the daytime, if you dont fancy driving yourself, get a girl to do it. There is no shortage of girls and the island has a lot to offer in terms of scenery and decent beaches all over.

Avoid some of the Rip-Off (Bangla Rd) beer bars, best get a girl to bar hop with and let her show you the decent places.

There is lots to see and do in Phuket, but some of the trips are very touristy, however each to his own, you may well enjoy them too.

Phuket is enjoyable, there may be bad reports, but there are also plenty of good ones.

Cheers, FF

Just back from 5 days in phuket. Bangla was rocking on fri and sat night and there was quite a bit of talent in the bars. imho the best was the tiger beer bar complex - bar fines were 400 - 500 with ST ranging from 1,000 - 1,500 baht - the better looking girls didnt drop below 1,500. ST hotel was 600.

Yes phuket isnt on the same scale as pattaya but the ratio of girls to mongers is about the same - plenty to go round and a variety to suit all tastes. i think phuket is a much more relaxed environment than pattaya to pick the girls up and much less the hard sell. have to admit though it is no Soi Cowboy!!!

i saw a previous report say there were no isaan girls - well they must be back from songkran cause bangla was full of them.

Rock City was cranking along well on sat night and the bands are pretty good.

i also went to some of the beer bars in kata beach for a change of pace and they were really laid back and prices were very good - got a great BBBJ at the bar for 500 baht from a cute 20yo spinner - took her 20mins as i had been pretty busy banging away earlier in the night. the other girls in the bar were offerring her all sorts of advice on how to get me off quick - quite entertaining really. the girls in these bars were mainly from phuket and preferred to stay away from bangla - but they can sure suck mean cock!

WOW!! so many negative comments about Phuket - but am really wondering if those disparaging Phuket has really truly seen and enjoyed all that Phuket has to offer? And not just been around Patong - which admittedly IS a bit of a dive - and which is generally recongnized as being THE arm pit of Phuket!

What about the fabulous beaches all over the island - Kata, Bangtao, Karan, Surin Beach - even those at the Laguna estates where beachside one can get very very nice food and drink etc - there must literally be dozens of fabulous beaches in Phuket

Or the other areas besides Patong -
Old Phuket town - all bustling and with lots of interesting Sino-Portuguese features, some world class restaurants - and of course Entertainment venues which caters to the Locals (who prefers lighter skinned gals and basically more sedate surroundings than the arm-jerking, aggressive and dark skinned Isaan gals of Patong).

Cherntalay - and the Bang Tao/Surin bay area - where most long term expatriate residents live at. Relaxed, up-market dining, shopping etc

Laguna - where the five 4 to 5 Star hotels and the Golf club are located at - pretty close to Honolulu standards - at least world class failities. This enclave actually don't feel at all like the rest of Phuket - its that much higher standards! The same thing applies to the Boat Lagoon and the Royal Phuket Yacht club/the new yacht basin next to it - also world class standards. and howzabout the Chedi and the Amanpuri? Uber deluxe??/ Ya betcha!!

Golf - at the Laguna, Blue Canyon, Mission Hill and a few other GREAT golf courses - enough for overseas visitors to want to come to Phuket if only to play golf.

Views (Sunset/sunrise over Promthep, various beach/cliff side restaurants etc), Dining (some VERY good Thai AND European restaurants in Phuket - and usually NOT around patong!!), Nightlife other than Patong (come on - those LBFM's and their agressive manners around Patong gets old REAL fast!!), temples, waterfalls, scuba diving,.... the list goes on and on. and you'd never even need to even come close to Patong to truly enjoy Phuket. but of course 'THAT PLACE' is also very available and nearby from any points in Phuket.

And NO, don't get on the taxis or jeepneys or the motocyclos - rent a car for cheap!! (as low as THB7 or 800/day) and just explore Phuket.

Whaddya think??

SEAJ

Ps. Damn - I should try to get a job with the Phuket Tourist authority!!

SE Asia Joe,
Those words sound prophetic!!! I have followed your views since the 1980’s. I use all of the incredible options Phuket has to offer. There are so many options to utilize to one’s advantage. Me, I like the southern section, Kata and Karon. I love the lookout and Kok chang safari, both are awesome. I also appreciate all that Laguna Phuket has to offer, it does seem a lot like Miami or Hawaii. I go every year for the Triathlon. I have stayed at the Marriott property to the north (great property but out of the way). Kamala has a great place @ Kamala Beach estates; we rented a house (3 bedrooms) and filled it with a party every night. Patong is great but not the main attraction, more like a side show to visit when you need to see a carnival like atmosphere. Great job on Phuket, all of Thailand has great options to visit. Just RTFF and knowledge will follow!!!

I couldn't believe the reports I read on here about Phuket either. I've been to Phuket before, and I enjoyed myself. Phuket isn't for mongering, it's catered solely for tourists to do the touristy thing. If you want cheap sex, Pattaya is for you.

And the comment I read that stated you should go to Bali instead of Phuket................you must be joking right. Bali is the dirtiest shithole I have ever seen, full of high pressure sales people who reckon you are a millionaire because you're a tourist, and the women who work the bars there are skanks

I agree with SEA Joe. I live on Phuket. If you really want to be squeezed take many tuk tuks in patong (they charge you the same for a 2 minute ride as a metered taxi in BKK will bring you all the way to the airport from downtown). Drink and eat where all the other "I am a tourist and used to pay european prices for a pizza" people eat.
Mongering you have almost everywhere, but cheaper and not so hard selling as in Patong. True, not on the scale of bangla road, but so is the number of mongers :-)
Already Karon and Kata are much better, but for the nice more "real" Phuket stay outside of all 3, rent a motorbike, ride around and "just go with the flow" of where you will end up. Satisfaction guaranteed :-) You will also d****ver that Phuket is 100 times more beautiful than Pattaya.

And please.... Bali is nice, but too small for me.... and isn't Kuta exactly the same in everything as in Patong for Phuket?

[QUOTE=Fslag338]
And please.... Bali is nice, but too small for me.... and isn't Kuta exactly the same in everything as in Patong for Phuket?[/QUOTE]

My humble opinion, Kuta far is worse than Patong, but the rest of the island is maybe more beautiful and exciting than Phuket.

Having a place in both Phuket and Bali, I have to say that SEAJ is right about Phuket. The sex is probably better (for me anyhow) in Thailand in general. I've had freebies in non-Tulip type MPs because the girls are horny. Fair enough to say freebies are everywhere but somehow the PI and Thai girls are much more forward about it which is great.

Yes the thai tourist industry is more expensive in general but the beauty of Phuket beaches with the white sand is much nicer than the short beaches of Bali and more in line with Boracay. Thailand is generally more expensive but for many things quality is much better. Plus you don't have to worry about dengue as you do in Bali. The worst thing is just to stay sober enough so you don't pull a lady boy by mistake (some of them look better than the real women). Mongering is as easy as can be. Go to a bar, pull a waitress for THB1000 for ST and go back out.

Comparing the 2 islands is pretty useless, both have pros and cons and it's preference. The great thing is their high seasons are flip so I can have great weather for 4-5 mths at a stretch.

[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]WOW! So many negative comments about Phuket. But am really wondering if those disparaging Phuket has really truly seen and enjoyed all that Phuket has to offer? And not just been around Patong. Which admittedly IS a bit of a dive. And which is generally recongnized as being THE arm pit of Phuket!

What about the fabulous beaches all over the island. Kata, Bangtao, Karan, Surin Beach. Even those at the Laguna estates where beachside one can get very very nice food and drink etc. There must literally be dozens of fabulous beaches in Phuket

Or the other areas besides Patong. Old Phuket town. All bustling and with lots of interesting Sino-Portuguese features, some world class restaurants. And of course Entertainment venues which caters to the Locals (who prefers lighter skinned gals and basically more sedate surroundings than the arm-jerking, aggressive and dark skinned Isaan gals of Patong).

Cherntalay. And the Bang Tao/Surin bay area. Where most long term expatriate residents live at. Relaxed, up-market dining, shopping etc

Laguna. Where the five 4 to 5 Star hotels and the Golf club are located at. Pretty close to Honolulu standards. At least world class failities. This enclave actually don't feel at all like the rest of Phuket. Its that much higher standards! The same thing applies to the Boat Lagoon and the Royal Phuket Yacht club/the new yacht basin next to it. Also world class standards. And howzabout the Chedi and the Amanpuri? Uber deluxe? / Ya betcha!

Golf. At the Laguna, Blue Canyon, Mission Hill and a few other GREAT golf courses. Enough for overseas visitors to want to come to Phuket if only to play golf.

Views (Sunset/sunrise over Promthep, various beach/cliff side restaurants etc), Dining (some VERY good Thai AND European restaurants in Phuket. And usually NOT around patong! ), Nightlife other than Patong (come on. Those LBFM's and their agressive manners around Patong gets old REAL fast! ), temples, waterfalls, scuba diving, . The list goes on and on. And you'd never even need to even come close to Patong to truly enjoy Phuket. But of course 'THAT PLACE' is also very available and nearby from any points in Phuket.

And NO, don't get on the taxis or jeepneys or the motocyclos. Rent a car for cheap! (as low as THB7 or 800/day) and just explore Phuket.

Whaddya think?

SEAJ

Ps. Damn. I should try to get a job with the Phuket Tourist authority! [/QUOTE]

Phuket is a lot different than the last time I visited On my last trip to here 3 years ago, I had no trouble finding P4P, for ST or LT, in the Bangla bars.

Now, the Mamasans in the beer bars won't let the girls go before closing at 3 AM. They figure they make more money on drinks, than bar fines. By then, I'm asleep! I tried to pull a girl out of Tiger Entertainment the other night, but they wouldn't let her leave 'til after 1 AM.

Phuket is a much cleaner place than Pattaya, but Patong sucks. I think I'm going to try Phuket town. Does anyone have any P4P bar recommendations there?