Beach Week, Phuket Edition!

I took a week-long hiatus from the blogosphere while Nate, Matt, and I enjoyed southern Thailand’s gorgeous beaches and islands. I also celebrated my 28^th birthday during this portion of the trip, and it ended up being a memorable one to say the least! We stayed two nights each in Phuket, Koh Lanta, and Krabi which are all located along Thailand’s southwestern coast on the Andaman Sea. When planning the “beach week” we sought to explore a few different destinations rather than stick to one strand of coastline; it’s tough to select from the countless beautiful islands and peninsulas that Thailand has to offer! We found that each place we stayed was extremely different from the others. You’ll better understand this diversity as I characterize the three destinations in this blog series.

After four action-packed days in bustling Bangkok and Ayutthaya we caught an early-morning flight from Bangkok to Phuket. From the airport we took a two-hour bus ride south to Karon Beach and checked into the Pineapple Guesthouse. The hotel owner, a British man named Steve, was extremely accommodating and updated our booking to the largest room in the facility which had a balcony and two large beds. Modest but comfortable (and affordable), the Pineapple Guesthouse was located just a six-minute walk from Karon Beach, so we were very happy with the selection. We ate a late breakfast and hit the beach immediately. As we walked down the main drag of restaurants, shops, pharmacies, massage parlors, and more we quickly realized something: Everything was translated into Russian! Somehow we booked our first destination in the unofficial Russian capital of southern Thailand, as it seemed that the vast majority of the tourists were traveling from Russia. Three generations of Russians were enjoying the beach, many of which donned tight speedos, tattoos, and religious paraphernalia. They were a key feature of the area and local shops knew how to accommodate to their needs. Many of the restaurants even served Russian food like borscht—who knew!? Also crammed along the main roads were countless massage parlors with fish tanks lined up on the sidewalk. Five dollars and you could put your feet in the tank so that the tiny fish will eat away your calluses! Needless to say, we didn’t participate in that activity.

Despite this rather unexpected beach culture (we had assumed the beach would be filled with young, hippie-looking backpackers), the coastline itself was stunning. Karon Beach is two miles long and its soft, white sand was comfortable for laying out and for long walks. The water itself was a beautiful, sparkling turquoise. It was warm and refreshing in temperature and almost crystal clear while we swam around, playing monkey in the middle and floating on our backs. There were soft waves with only a bit of white water cresting at their tips, which was perfect for me—I tend to be less of a “waves” person and more interested in swimming amidst calm waters. On either side of the long beach were jungle and rock-like peninsulas jutting out into the water and creating a gentle sloping bay. The beach was fairly crowded—especially in the cooler parts of the day: morning and sunset. We borrowed towels, mats, and umbrellas from the Pineapple Guesthouse and spent quite a few hours on the beach the first day. Matt and Nate had intense sunburns to show for it!

Watching the sun set while swimming at Karon Beach was marvelous!

Matt and Nate hanging out on the sand. They were badly sunburnt during this portion of the beach week. 

Sunset at Karon Beach.

Our time in Phuket was relaxing, beach swims punctuated with meals at the tourist-oriented restaurants in the few blocks surrounding our hotel. We primarily ate curries and Pad Thai, though Nate had a disappointing experience during one meal when he decided to venture towards the “International” section of a menu and order a pizza; apparently the tomato sauce was appalling. We also spent a sweaty couple of hours miniature golfing at the Dino Park Mini Golf located just 15 minutes from our hotel, which was a goofy and seemingly brand-new development featuring large-scale dinosaur sculptures and a volcano that “erupted” periodically. The golfers ahead of us were extremely slow, so we skipped a hole to finish the course instead of waiting our turn each time. I also squeezed in two morning runs along the beach, first traversing the length of Karon Beach and the next day exploring a neighboring beach around the peninsula called Kata Beach that was a bit more private and resort-oriented but also beautiful. Matt and Nate spent one afternoon at a local reggae bar playing pool, sipping Chang beers, and serving as “DJ” for the empty joint.

Dino-themed miniature golfing one evening near Karon Beach.

View of the beach during one of my morning runs. 

Jungle-like peninsulas marked each end of Karon Beach like this. Photo taken during one of my morning runs.

Karon Beach’s unforgettable beauty made up for its crowds, and we very much enjoyed our time in Phuket. Two days passed, and our time there was up! We arranged a van to the pier across the peninsula and boarded a ferry across the Andaman Sea to Koh Lanta, our next destination. The ferry was enormous, but we arrived on the later end and the only seats available were in the bowels of the boat—no windows aside from small portholes high above. It made for a fairly unpleasant three-hour ride to Phi Phi Island, our mid-way stopping point. Nate, Matt, and I grabbed lunch in party-orientated Phi Phi and an hour later boarded a nicer (and smaller) ferry for the final two-hour stretch of the trip. After that journey, we were relieved to finally reach Koh Lanta, our next destination. More on that in the next post!

Boats lined up near the pier in Phi Phi.

Even the water in Phi Phi was sparkling! I almost wanted to stay there instead of continuing on our journey to Koh Lanta!