If you think Patong is Phuket and Phuket is Patong, think again.

I just spent a week in Phuket, staying at my friend Darth’s beautiful house.  Not being in a hotel creates an entirely different experience, and I think a whole lot more fun.  Driving around Phuket – (in Darth’s enormous truck), exploring beaches, restaurants, hidden corners – revealed a whole lot more than my previous experiences in Phuket.

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If you are heading to Phuket soon, I recommend you hire a car and wander around.  If, like me, you find the whole Patong experience dispiriting, revolting foreign men buying young vacant-looking hookers – then exploring the island can revive the pleasure of Phuket.

Check out my mini-guide to Bali:  Seminyak and Ubud

Phuket Roads

There really aren’t many.  Don’t fear getting lost.  There really are only a couple of central arteries, and coast roads.  The little lanes may be confusing but if you keep your sense of direction, you’ll do fine.

Driving is not aggressive or crazy speedy.  For the most part, locals drive either trucks, or little Honda Jazzes.  I am a truck girl myself so am totally in my element!

Beaches

The best part about being mobile is that you are not restricted to the main tourist beaches, with the constant hair-plaiting, beach massage offers.  Even if you are in a posh hotel, there’re still people around.  Get into a car and head to one of the quieter beaches.  Some have facilities like loungers that you rent for B50 a day, others have nothing and you need to bring towels etc.  You might have a whole stretch of beach to yourself.

To find lovely, empty stretches of beach, head North, once you get past Kamala Beach, you start finding fewer people.

Bang Tao beach, where Laguna is, seems busy as there are so many hotels clustered around there.  But walk up a kilometre or so to the Northern end of the beach, Layan beach is empty except for a few clusters of loungers.

Mai Khao Beach

Another great beach that’s long and pretty empty most of the time is Mai Khao beach, right up North, past the airport (for some reason it’s not on the map above).  It’s the stretch that hosts the JW Marriott and a couple of other big hotels, but as it’s Phuket’s longest beach, it’s pretty deserted.  It’s also the beach where turtles lay eggs, so there’s a distinctive turtle theme in the area.  I couldn’t see any facilities on the public beach as it’s a protected reserve, but then, I didn’t see people either! Nai Thon beach (between Layan and Mai Khao) is also pretty nice.  Not as empty, but more facilities.  Nai Yang beach has patches of empty, but there are patches of people plus long-tailed boats.

Eats

Ahh, Thai food!  Heaven.

You don’t have to eat at hotel restaurants. There are lots of local restaurants that are really good value for money, clean and honest fare.

We like Thammachat. (The Natural Restaurant), right in the middle of Phuket Town. Map here. It’s a bit of a madhouse as far as interior décor goes – wooden house, multiple floors and half floors, driftwood, cats, crazy fountains – it’s all there.

But the food is really good, basic Thai food. And fantastic value for money. We had 13 dishes, and drinks, for S$80. The best is the Curried Prawns. It’s red curry gravy, hot as chilli padi hell, and tasty. The little crispy prawn pancakes c also really excellent. And the giant jars of namana-soda (lime soda). Yum.

A bit of an excursion is Leam Hin Seafood. Finding it is part of the fun…it’s off the main 402 expressway, in an oblique turnoff that’s badly signposted, down a long dark road, past some kampongs and voila!

It’s picturesque, on the end of a wooden jetty. At night each table is lit with an overhanging light, so it’s not the usual picturesque-eat-in-the-dark experience. It’s really quite lovely, yet unpretentious. The food is fantastic.

Fresh fresh fresh seafood, salty, sweet, tangy, spicy… glorious. We had an enormous garoupa fried with ‘spicy chilli garlic sauce’. It was all that! Big chunks of crispy white fish with a tangy, hot sauce. You know when your mouth is burning but it’s so delicious you can’t stop? Like that! The prawn cakes were also excellent, crispy, light, hot. The crab omelette is also a must-have. Eggy, crabby, salty, and thankfully not spicy! The Tom Yam is the best I’ve had for a while. We had crab, garoupa, prawns, gong-gong, tom yam goong, veg – for 6 people for under $80.

There’s a fabulous dip that they serve with grilled seafood: chopped chilli padis, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar. I don’t know what it’s called (Thai readers please help!) but it is awesome. OH PEDAS!! Lip-burning, mouth -burning, but wow, fantastic, pungent, potent with sweet seafood like crab. They serve it with gong-gong (‘local shell’) too. I am squeamish about shellfish but apparently the gong-gongs were really good.

Map and more pictures here

Up the posher end of the scale, The Lotus Restaurant (http://www.lotusphuket.com/), on BangTao beach is literally on the beach.

The menu is fresh seafood, but the prices are double that of Leam Hin…you pay for the nice décor and the beachfront. Personally, I loved the atmosphere at Leam Hin.

Baan Rim Pa

It’s a Phuket staple, perched on a little cliff just outside Patong, serving good Thai food. Lovely ambience, food, but honestly, it’s overpriced. But worth going once.

And although it’s not strictly Thai, we found the best fro-yo ever, at Red Mango, in Central Festival, by the food court. Creamy, no fat, and so tasty. And after spicy food, soothing!

Shopping

There’s more than you think!

First off, the food – fresh-made nam prik (my latest crush food), green mangoes, pomelo, pineapple, in the supermarkets. In the carts outside – candied coconut, ikan bilis snacks, sweet potato chips, floss and rice cakes. And cheap!

Tops Supermarket, basement, Central Festival, Phuket Town

Carrefour, JungCeylon Shopping Centre, Patong

Premium Outlet – on the Phuket Town bypass.

This place is HUGE. It’s designed like a Southern California mall (like Century City in LA); with outlet stuff from American Eagle, Quiksilver, Adidas, Nike, Titleist, Jessica, Hollister, and many many more.  An American Eagle t-shirt is about S$10. Shorts from Calvin Klein were $12.  It’s mostly clothes, but I didn’t get round the whole thing…I actually got shopping overload.  Me!!

See the guy in the picture below? Unbeknownst to me, I was taking this pic to show you when this guy came running up to me all aggressive, to stop me…apparently the Thai Princess was shopping there that day, and they weren’t just being sensitive about the mall!

Lemongrass House

You can find handmade toiletries all over the place. But I liked visiting The Lemongrass House, between Cherngtalay and Heroine’s Monument. They make it there on the spot, body and face formulations, soaps, sprays, masks, candles. It’s not too expensive, and all natural. The shop itself is lovely and you won’t be able to help yourself…you will leave having bought something!! Especially when the mini heart bars of soap are B15 each (that’s 70cents). The pomegranate handwash is lovely, and I really like the texture of the soaps.

Ceramics of Phuket

While you are in the area, head up the road to Ceramics of Phuket and White House. They are in the same compound, a couple of kilometers up the road.

Ceramics of Phuket makes and sells all sorts of tableware with the most gorgeous glazes. Clay with blues, greens, brown glazes. The bigger the dish, the more expensive, same with the glazes. But an average rice bowl is around S$5-10.

White House

White House had just opened when I dropped in. It’s MY KIND OF SHOP! All sorts of things for the home, mostly (of course) white, with different textures and hues. Delicious. Silk quilts from Vietnam, mirrors from Thailand. I forced myself out of there. Just gorgeous. The whole shop is out of an Elle Decoration cover it’s so lovely. I was told that the lady owner is an interior decorator, and it shows. (sadly, now closed – Oct 2011)

Ginger

Ginger is a Chiangmai brand that has a branch in Phuket. It’s full of groovy things, although I have to say it seemed a bit bare this trip. Clothes, jewellery, accessories, homewares, knick-knacks, designed and created in-house.

Boots the Chemist is available in Thailand, which means the fabulously-priced range of skincare products under the No 7 brand and a new dermatologist house brand is in Asia! You’ll find branches in Central Festival, JungCeylon, Tesco Lotus.

What to do

I really loved walking the beaches in the evening. Hour-long fast walks with a strong sea breeze and gorgeous sunsets (the beaches on the Western side of the island are perfect for sunsets). Great for all the leg muscles (especially if the sand is soggy and sinky), great for your feet (barefoot of course) and fantastic for your soul. All the cobwebs in your brain will be blown away by the sound of the surf and the stiff breeze.

And of course, massages. You can either do the expensive spa ones, and most are truly worth the money, or find a drop-in place at one of the malls or in the tourist clusters. A foot massage while shopping in the mall at Central Festival is a must! Also good, get a back massage at the airport on your way home (but ask to be lying down).

There are yoga studios scattered around the island (including hot yoga); there’s horse riding on the beach in Bang Tao, canoeing, rock climbing, elephant rides, golf…tons to do but I think a bit of sun, sea, walk, shop, read and eat is enough!

Where to stay

If you don’t have Darth’s number, there are lots of hotels at all price ranges.

The Banyan Tree Phuket is one of my favourite spa hotels. Splurge and get the pool villa (shown above). The interior is gorgeous, with an outdoor sunken bath, wooden floors throughout, and really well-finished. They are also incredibly private. So you can have a romantic or sensuous experience.

When you wake up in the morning you can open the blinds and stare at your pool from your bed, right to the sala at the end of the pool. Get out of bed, shedding any clothing, and roll right into the pool. DELISH.

The spa is fantastic, great massages and treatments, and excellent spa food.

The golf course is supposed to be excellent too, so males need not be bored or underfoot.

Overall the ambience is luxurious zen, one of my favourite ambiences to be in!

The swankiest resorts on the island are the very lovely Amanpuri and the swish  Trisara.

If you like big hotels/families with kids – you’re well-served by the Laguna hotels – the Dusit, the Sheraton. Up North, the JW Marriott is fairly new and supposedly nice.

A trendy destination is the Twin Palms hotel; and at S$200, it’s not crazy expensive.

Cottage beachfront and luxury: The Chedi.

There are also decent family hotels on Kata Beach and Karon Beach, which means you can avoid the mess of Patong altogether.  Have a look on www.sawadee.com

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