 |
 Hotel Club Net |
|
|
Patong
Patong is made up of hotels, upmarket bungalows, European restaurants, beer bars, nightclubs and lots of locals on the make. The beach is beautiful but far from quiet – it's lined with restaurants and stalls full of tacky or weird souvenirs. It may not be very Thai, but it can be fun in small doses. The sort of people drawn to the bustle of this teeming, neon-lit atmosphere will adore Patong, while the more peace-loving souls (you know who you are) might want to stay far, far away. Bang Tao Bay
Within close vicinity are some of the island's finest restaurants, shopping and local markets - Close by are some of the island 's finest shopping areas, markets, restaurants and bars. So it's surprising that visitors find it necessary to venture out of the district at all.
|
Phuket Fantasea
Combined with state-of-the-art light-and-sound techniques that rival anything found in Las Vegas (think 20 elephants, acrobats, magic and rain), the show takes place on a stage dominated by a huge replica of a Khmer temple reminiscent of Angkor Wat. Kids especially would be captivated by the spectacle. There is also quite a good and varied collection of souvenir shops and bars in the park offering Thai-made handicrafts, fire juggling and elephant rides. The Thai and Western dinner – served in a 4000-seat buffet restaurant (erghhh) – has mixed reviews. Some nights, apparently, it's quite nice. Tickets can be booked here.
Phuket Gibbon Rehabilitation CentreFinanced by donations and run by volunteers, the centre cares for gibbons that have been kept in captivity and reintroduces them to the wild. Visitors who wish to help may adopt a gibbon for 1500.00, which will pay for the animal's care for a year; you'll get updates on your adopted gibbon's progress. Check the website for more information. Phuket Town
The provincial capital, Phuket Town is a bustling, commercial town that sprawls further than any other island town in Thailand. The point of arrival for most watercraft, Phuket Town has some large hotels, shopping centres and great beaches nearby. For many it's a town to go through on the way to the western side of the island, although there is much here – restaurants, craft shops, markets and surrounding villages – that are worth attention. Also of interest – if you can keep your eyes off the chaotic traffic – is some beautiful architecture. In the older town centre you'll see some Sino-Portuguese architecture, characterised by ornate two-storey Chinese hâang thăew or 'row companies' fronted by Romanesque arched porticoes with 'five-foot ways' that were a 19th-century tradition in Malaysia, Singapore, Macau and Hainan Island (China). For a time it seemed this wonderful old architecture was all being torn down and replaced with modern structures but in recent years a preservation ethic has taken hold.
|
 Ko Taphao Noi -
 The island has not seen much ‘people traffic’ so the forest is thick and a large number of various kinds of bird including hornbills are found on the island. The beaches are beautiful and shallow coral is abundant. The top of Taphao Noi mountain is a good location for viewing Phuket town. The forest here is lush and green. There are a large number of birds, particularly several couples of hornbills. There are long stretches of sandy beaches around the island where tourists can enjoy swimming or snorkeling.
|
Khao Sok National ParkKhao Sok National Park, near Khao Lak. Khao Lak is 190km north of Phuket and its coastline was badly affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. But here in the hinterland, in this long, shadowy tunnel of swift river and trees sweeping their leafy skirts in the water, the tourists are back in force and all is peace and dappled light. Khao Sok National Park covers almost 750sqkm; it holds the largest expanse of tropical rainforest in southern Thailand – older than the ecosystems of the Amazon and central Africa, guidebooks claim – and the canopy is pierced by phallus-like limestone peaks, one soaring to a misty 960m. There are gibbons in the greenery, hornbills and white herons, wild elephants, sun bears and squirrels, and the faint possibility of spotting tigers, leopards and jungle cats if staying overnight in the park's various lodges, treehouse huts or floating raft-houses on Chiaw Lan Lake. The world's largest flower, the rare rafflesia, is found here, as are waterfalls, caves thick with bats, and an Amazonian display of muscular vines, creepers, orchids and ferns.
|
|
These two beach towns draw visitors who are looking for comfort without
the noisy frenetic of Patong to the north. 
Phi
Phi Island By Express Boat
On the west coast, this large curved beach is the epicentre of the
tourist earthquake that rattles Phuket throughout the high season (December
to March). Over the last 10 years, Hat Patong has been turning into another
Thai sex scene, although it's fairly mild and by day it's fine even for
kids. 
is
a long stretch of soft white sand beach north of Surin, which has been
carefully developed and dominated by Laguna Phuket. A complex of five luxury
hotels, together making up Asia's first integrated resort, provides guests
of the 
This multi-million-dollar 'cultural theme park' has been voted best
tourist attraction in Thailand from 2000 to 2004. Despite the billing there
aren't any rides, but there is a truly magical (if undeniably gaudy) show
that manages to capture the colour and pageantry of traditional Thai dance
and costumes. 
Phuket
Fantasea (Show and Dinner)
Aside from the port, Phuket town was not damaged by the tsunami. 
