Official language: Thai
Time zone: UTC +7
Currency: Baht (THB)
In Buddhist temples it is necessary to walk without shoes, you can tell fortune from bamboo sticks, remember though to first offer lotus flowers and fire a incense.
It is best to book holidays in Phuket from November to January, when it doesn’t rain. When blows southern monsoon, there are boards on beaches informing, if it is allowed to swim.
Make sure to visit one of markets in Phuket Town, for instance Ranong. Remember that prices can be inflated, so it is worth to bargain over them, as well as compare offers from different stalls.
More and more cheaper flights, beautiful beaches, delicious food and – no need to hide it – effortless and not expensive access to sexual services made a Thai island Phuket one of the favourite holiday destinations for people from all over the world. Each year even a million tourists arrive there, who want to taste exotic things.
Phuket is the second most popular place in Thailand, right after Pattaya. Seaside resorts are considered the best in country, as they offer beaches with well-develop infrastructure, as well as great conditions to do water sports. Tempting for long rest is white, silky sand, azure of water and palm trees casting shadow. If you are a party type and you are looking mostly or fun, go to the beach Patong. Lovers of relax in silence will appreciate calmness of beaches Kamala and Surin, whereas fans of diving and sunbathing should go to beaches Kata or Karon.
How to sightsee the island? The best way is to rent a car or a scooter, that is the most common mean of transportation there and visit Buddhist temples (e.g. Wat Chalong) or see a huge, 45-metres statue of Buddha. In the city Phuket definitely you have to visit the 19th century part of the city, especially by streets Thalang and Krabi, where are situated town houses in Portuguese style. Must see are also Chinese sanctuaries (Jun Tui, Put Jaw), as well as the Chinese district and markets, on which you can, or actually have to, bargain over prices.
Thai cuisine its popularity owes to unusual mix of tastes, for instance, fish with meat or delicate coconut milk with spicy seasoning, as well as fresh, high quality ingredients. On Phuket you can try typical, Thai, spicy dishes, like Som-Tam (salad from green papaya), Tom Yam Goong (broth from shrimps), Tom Kah Kai (chicken soup with coconut milk), Gairng Pet (red curry), Gairng Kee-Ow Waan (green curry), Pad Tai (fried pasta) or Khao Pad (fried rice). There is plenty of Chinese restaurants, as well as people cooking on streets or on beaches, e.g. seafood. Where to eat? In restaurants Kin Dee and Takieng Thai in Mai Khao, also in Ging Restaurant in Karon.