11/2/25
We slept solidly. Best sleep of our lives. The air conditioning definitely made it possible. How we were going to sleep without it was a mystery. A problem for future us. We had a cup of instant coffee then packed some beach attire and headed to the bus stop. We could easily have got a taxi but doubted it would be faster given the traffic.
The bus stop was in downtown Phuket about a kilometre away. It was an open backed, open windowed bus with cushioned benches either side. Big fans rotating on the ceiling. It left about 10 minutes late with and a few locals and one guy who looked like a well accustomed tourist. It took about an hour. At some point the driver stopped and walked around the outside collecting the money 40 baht each, about a pound.
The bus passed over a steep 9% hill on the way. We couldn’t help but question the possibility of cycling such a thing in the heat. Another problem for future us.
Frankie wanted to buy some new swimwear and perhaps a light dress. It wasn’t clear how you stopped the bus, or even if you could, but when we were close to the huge shopping mall called Jungceylon someone else jumped off the back and we copied them.
There were some markets along the way that we popped into. The sellers were all selling essentially the same thing. Slightly different designs, but all the same shape and size. Irritating ‘one size fits all’ dresses that didn’t fit at all. After trying a few, we went to the shopping centre and found a shop selling slightly higher quality swimsuits. It was possible to find different sizes at least.
There was a market a couple of streets away and there we were able to peruse a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Well those are what greet you. At the back is a weirdly cruel area dedicated to sea faring animals. It was pretty bleak stuff. Back to the fruit. We bought mini pineapples, mango, watermelon, and the lady even chopped them all up for us. The amount of plastic bags we were consuming was horrific though.
It was time to visit the beach. Which was down a long street lined with cannabis cafes and bars. A truck went past selling tickets to the boxing via loudspeaker. Patong was definitely a party destination. The beach was crowded. We sat where we met the beach, right at the end of the swimmable area, near a jet ski renting area. Picturesque it was not. We stuffed our faces with the fruit we had bought and then took a dip. It was glorious to be in the warm but still cooling water. We felt we had to watch our rucksack carefully though.
When we sat back down the sand inevitably found its way into every possible location, assisted by our wetness. We were probably sat there, saying no thanks to sales people, for around 30 minutes. Then we decided to head back to Phuket town and find a hike to do. By the time we’d got our shoes on, and dusted as much sand off as we could, we had to run awkwardly down the street, half naked, to catch the hourly bus. We just made it.
Back in Phuket town we headed for Rang Hill. It’s a short walk from the centre of town, along a road with no pavement, up to a beautifully colourful temple. Also with a giant Buddha statue. You’re supposed to take your shoes off but irritatingly most tourists don’t. The temples aren’t examples of great craftsmanship and appear to be relatively new. But they are interesting to look at. We even saw our first monk.
Following the road uphill further we reached a view point where you could buy coconuts to drink and witness monkeys stealing ice creams. Hilarious to watch but the shopkeepers then start throwing stones at them. The monkeys, to their credit, just climb trees and lick away. The woman gave us a spoon to eat the coconut meat which we didn’t know you could do. It’s a very thin jelly like substance.
We walked back down, feeling fairly exhausted, and headed straight back to the hotel for a shower. On the way we got sidetracked by a temple. We could head the sounds of praying and saw a few people inside. We popped into a supermarket too. Finally found some soya milk that was edible. They seem to put milk in a lot of it. We’re unclear why.
Around 8pm we went back out for dinner. We walked through Phuket old town once more. It was always busy, roads and pavements. Restaurants, bars, shops, markets. They’re all open late. We went past the Michelin recommended pork offal porridge restaurant to a place called Nong J. It’s a fully vegan restaurant with prices that suit our budget. All the dishes are about £1.50 to £2. And they aren’t small. When we were ordering the woman even told us it was too much!
It was a delicious spread of fried tofu, massaman curry, salted ‘fish’ and kale, papaya salad and battered mushrooms. Washed down with a nice broth. The whole meal was £9. On the way home we stopped to buy some fruits. Sweet jackfruit and dragonfruit. We ate them back at the hotel on the bed. It was almost midnight by the time we went to sleep.
Surly They Won't Make It 