Phuket Reports

Can anyone tell me the situation on Phi Phi? Has it been rebuilt since the Tsunami? I was in Phuket in April 05 and everyone said don't bother going there because it was still a mess.

I really liked it when I was there in 03.

[QUOTE=nocbj4me]Can anyone tell me the situation on Phi Phi? Has it been rebuilt since the Tsunami? I was in Phuket in April 05 and everyone said don't bother going there because it was still a mess.

I really liked it when I was there in 03.[/QUOTE]Yup, if someone could tell us about phi phi. I think it's going better and better and some bungalows has been build back but I am not sure (not so easy to find any informations). Are the new bungalows built near the sea?

Every information would be great. Thanks!

Nocbj4me,

When people tell you to go or not go somewhere, it is usually because they have an interest in you going or not going....

You can always book a daytour, either from Phuket, or the slightly cheaper route from Krabi.
Krabi-PP-Phuket is a posibility too. Most of these tickets are valid for more than one days aswell, so no problem if you want to stay on PP.

there a lots of day boats to the usual sites. i've gone out with lots of operators and find the nicest boat is with sea bee's. many operators load each others boats daily etc. i have no need for coaching and have probably more training and expericence than most of the people in phuket. i'm real hard judge of the lil scuba heros who work for nothing and want to be lord's of the deep. i find most of the boat people arrogant and looking to place theri comfort and well being ahead of that of their customers. that being said the diving in phuket is ok and seasonal.

my issue is that there are way too many boats on the sites. why do i think they all go to the same places everyday. two places that i think are really nuts are king cruiser and shark point. both open ocean sites where the boats drop off dive teams and then cruise in to do the p/u's. i have always wondered how many people the injure per year. way too many people at too few sites.

people have to remember that thailand is "on fire" in hatching padi instructors. i have found that way too many dive staff on the charters are far too inexperienced for my liking.

for those of you diving with enriched air/nitrox beware that i've never had a full load of 36% as paid for and promised. i would bring my own meter cause the lil stickers on the tanks are not correct. althought for most experieinced divers the group bottom time is way too short so you never get near any ndl's. i seldom use more that half a tank (whilst the dive staff use more and i'm a big guy) they seldom pair groups well.

liveaboards are better diving but fall short on an international scale. you ain't paying for and aggressor or a mike ball trip but be careful as the quality of the dive boats/staff varies greatly and if i'm living aboard i don't want shite habitats.

diving in thailand. forget pattaya as the water is dirty. the andaman sea has lots of good diving. i have been told there are good shore dives but my toes don't like sand.

take a dive monger vacation to thailand, up to you. if you are an afficanato or professional i would say go for it but don't expect it to be like cozumel or png micronesia etc. i keep comming back but not for the scuba diving. i don't like a combo of tank social life.

additionally, there are a number of day trips to the similans. some drive up to kho lak and go by high speed boat. there was an operation that had some hydrofoil boat but i don't know if they still run.

hidden secret. patong side dives. one of my objections to staying in patong and having 12+ hrs elapse between p/u and drop off for 60 min bottom time. however there are 2 tank trips out of patong that are just fine. the new floating pier set up in patong bay is great. a few weeks ago i did a 2 tnk patong trip and was back to my hotel before noon. had my gear carried to the boat from the truck at beach road. shop around as a few have trips. i have found that the shop near to the thara patong all 4 diving has been a good booknig agent.

[QUOTE=Freeler]Kekeke,

ST with Thai lady: B200
ST hotelroom for me and Thai lady: B80
Condoms and lube: B20![/QUOTE]Dream on,

Thb 200 for ST she must be 80 years old.

Thb 80 for a short time room, must be a chair on the beach.

Thb 20 for lube and condoms ,must be motoroil and balloons.

Summiteer, you are so right...

I was in Phuket in October, and noticed how much the place had changed in the post-Tsunami period.

I'd also add the Banana disco, which was teeming with babes from wall to wall when I was there. Bars seemed to be up and down in their action. Most of the regular places were still busy along Soi Bangala.

As for the Ladyboys, a friend of mine and I called one of them "The Worker". Amazingly, she only tries to bag Japanese guys and always seems to have someone in her arms. Incredible. Sit at the U2 bar and have a couple of Heinekens with the girls (especially one who is half Cambodian/half Thai with a body like Venus) and watch the festivities..

One last note, don't be keen-e-ow with the girls if they're great when you drag em back to the hotels. They can always use the extra cash...

Over and ut....LN

[QUOTE=Summiteer]All,

These are my thoughts having just returned from Phuket a couple of days ago.

I agree that a good place for Freelancers is Tai Pan or Tiger Disco's.

The normal beer bar's are all located in an area around Bang La Rd to the North End of Patong Beach. The quality of ladies varies enourmously. Word of warning ... there are several Lady boys around .... That tall stunning looking girl of your dreams .... might not be !!

As for Prices, I found that they varied enourmously ... it really depends whether a girl likes you. I was working on a cute cute "serving" girl in one of the bars... After a week I had never seen her leave with anyone ... but its Thailand, so you know NOTHING is impossible !!.

After 3 more days I persuaded her and she only wanted dinner and 800B for LT. She was superb the full GFE and more !! Sometimes the long game and not turning up in a bar with a new girl everynight pays off.

Good luck and enjoy
The Summit[/QUOTE]

Bigboy,

Are you into trains or something?

It's a good thing to have a newbie over who takes the time to RTFF and come up with yet another famous Freeler quote.
Domino will be fukken jealous:).

How about a report?

The Bigboy,

Freeler is our resident expert on doing Thailand on the cheap. He knows his stuff, jing. do you know yours? care to share it?

Has anybody been to Soi SeaPearl lately? I am looking for a bar there called Star Dust. It's owned by one of the close friend. Trying to see if I can get in contact with this guy.

Dear friends,
i will be visiting phuket for my first ever mongering trip, i have been there earlier for a vacation with my family when i was much younger, i am a regular at bangkok though.in comparison phuket seems to be quite backward vis a vis bangkok ( in the regard of mongering), please advise good massage parlors/soapies, the only one i hear from the forum is chirstine's, please advise if there are any more of these and what are the good girl friendly hotels there, i am looking at stayiong in the ban thai resort or the patoing bayshore resort, please advise if they are girl friendly and worth the price.

looking forward.

boy

P.S. Good to know i am a senior member here, instills a feeling of great pride .

Does anyone have any dive shop operators in Patong beach that they have used and would recommend for day trips? I have done extensive research on the web and found several that seem reputable. But word of mouth is the very best way I have found.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

LK

i did some diving with a company called "South Siam Divers" back in Sept 2004. They had a dive shop in Patpong and provided transportaton to the pier. In my opinion the boats were in great condition and the instruction was inline with all PADI requirements. I do not know if they survived the tsunami but worth looking into.

[QUOTE=Lion Killer]Does anyone have any dive shop operators in Patong beach that they have used and would recommend for day trips? I have done extensive research on the web and found several that seem reputable. But word of mouth is the very best way I have found.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

LK[/QUOTE]

99% boat diving. The shop won't determine who you dive with as most ***** this about. I like seabee's as they have a nice boat and sell beer for the long ride home. You can e-mail them or ask at any shop. Where are you stay as I can point you in the right direction. If you go to the PADI. COM site there is a place to locate shops and e-mail them. Many, not all, but many shops are on 2nd road near Christins Massage, (Patong only soapy) and another bunch near Soi Sea Pearl/ Thara Patong Hotel and on to the beach near there. I have dove around the world for about 40 years a chose SeaBeas.

I go out almost every trip to Patong. PM meto get a good opertator!

HJ & 777,

Thanks for your imput. I did research Seebeas's as one of the dive shops I would use, thanks for the back up Honolulu. I will do some research on South Siam Diver also, thanks, Pampurs 777.

I am thinking of heading there in July, will be my first time to Thailand. I have dove the Philippines 6 times, looking for some place new. Thanks for the imput guys, have a nice day.

LK

Lion Killer,

Due to rough sea conditions in the rainy season (July), no trustworthy dive operation will go out to sea...
You might want to change your plans and go muffdiving instead:).