Phuket at Christmas time; what a crazy place! If you want a lot of action in your holiday, make sure you fly to Phuket on Christmas Day, it is a big eye opener, and you won’t be bored.
We flew into Phuket with Jetstar, which was definitely one carrier I won’t be flying internationally again. The only bonus was is that it is a non-stop flight to Phuket, no flying via Bangkok. The flight times are also very good. Depart Sydney approx 3:30pm and arrive Phuket local time just before 9pm.
Jetstar was late in departing. If you haven’t ordered a blanket and pillow at time of making your reservation, then you will you be both freezing and uncomfortable. They sell the neck pillows and thin blanket with eyeshades for approx $12.00. They hire their in-flight entertainment TV for approx $15.00 but only has a 6 hour battery, but the flight is 9 hours. You have to pay for your meal, approx $20.00. This includes a typical meal you would expect on a flight. If you haven’t pre-ordered this at time of making your booking then you may end up starving as they don’t have enough meals for all passengers.
So, this is what we did; my partner bought 2 pillows from Kmart for under $10.00, I brought a blanket for 2 from home, and we bought a smorgasbord of food from Woolworths consisting of Salada biscuits, cold cuts meats, cheeses, tomatoes, chocolates, chips and our own soft drinks & juices. I think we were the ones that ate and slept the best out of all the people on the plane. The trolley took 2 hours into the flight to come past and offer a drink, so I bought 2 bottles of wine at one time, as I couldn’t imagine waiting that long again for another drink. I later asked for a cup of tea and couldn’t believe they charged me $3.00. I later discovered they charge $3.00 for a bottle of water as well. However we did miss out on the in-flight entertainment as there weren’t enough by the time they got to us – so I kept myself entertained with my Ipod, which later was left on the plane and never found.
We stayed at the Patong Beach Hotel, which was approx 45 mins from the airport. A great place, I was there 2 days prior to the Tsunami and there were a lot of changes. The American breakfast was still scrumptious and inclusive in our room rate. A great location, across the road from Patong Beach and around the corner from Banglor Road. Rated as 3-3.5 star, I could honestly say 4 star.
We dumped our bags as soon as we got to the hotel and went for a walk through Banglor Road, and it was like Oxford Street. So full of everything and everyone you could imagine.
We were dragged in a back street for a wonderful show!!!! Mmmmmmmmmm maybe this show is not for everyone!! This street was full of pubs that had Australians pouring out of them. There were fireworks, there was loud music, and it was all happening.
After a while, we called it a night and retired back to the hotel and finished Christmas Day with a bottle of Moet on the balcony.
The next couple of days were full of shopping, shopping and more shopping. I ended up buying 3 suitcases to bring my shopping back to Sydney. We also spent time at Patong Beach, just sunbaking and talking to the locals. Enjoyed parasailing and jet skiing, the water was crystal clear and had the perfect temperature.
By the 3rd day we decided to take a tour to Phi Phi Island and picked the best day for it. Probably the hottest day during the week we were there. For about $125.00 we enjoyed visits to 4 beaches around Phi Phi Island, included snorkelling gear and a packed lunch. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who visits Phuket. If you can get round to it, enjoy an elephant ride in the jungle for about $20.00 for a 1 hour ride, or just take a ride on a tuc-tuc for 100 baht anywhere around Patong.
Summing up, I probably wont be returning back to Phuket for a while, as after 3 times visiting the area, I think besides the shopping and beaches, it’s a bit too crazy for me. It’s become pretty dirty and things you don’t want to see, you are forced to see. I think you can read between the lines on that one.
Upon arriving back to Sydney on New Years Eve, we received the same lack of service from Jetstar, approx 40kg excess luggage each and 2 drug traffickers on board. Enough said!
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