TopTen

The South

Of the five million tourists who visit Phuket annually, the majority flock to Patong, Karon, and Kata on the island’s southwest coast. Here, they find an array of world-class restaurants, activities, and hotels, all set amid the tropical backdrop of rolling green hills and crystal-blue waters. But most of southern Phuket doesn’t pretend to be an escape. Rather, it represents total engagement with its busy beaches, seaside restaurants, open-air bazaars, and throbbing nightclubs. Phuket Town, with its historical architecture, Chinese heritage, and southern Thai cuisine, represents a destination almost wholly distinct from the island’s more populated tourist areas.

1. Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Dating back more than 150 years, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival originated in Kathu after members of a Chinese opera contracted a fatal disease and sought ways to purify themselves and please the gods. For most visitors, the highlight of this entertaining nine-day event are the bizarre acts of piercing and self-mortification practiced by participants, who plunge spears through their cheeks, walk across burning-hot coals, and perform other jaw-dropping displays of self-sacrifice.

2. Patong Beach

During the day, sun beds stretch down the entire length of this beach, while watercraft buzz across the bay and parasail riders glide overhead. The island’s best dining can be found along the waterfront, with top restaurants commanding impressive views overlooking the bay. The legendary nightlife in Patong needs little introduction. It runs the gamut from pulsating dance clubs to transvestite cabaret shows and open-air beer bars, along with the well-represented adult venues ablaze in neon lights (for further details see Patong Beach).

3. Wat Chalong

The island’s most famous Buddhist temple, located about 4 miles (6 km) south of Phuket Town, Wat Chalong features a number of brilliantly colored buildings, including a glittering pagoda that supposedly enshrines a bone fragment from the Buddha. During an uprising of migrant tin workers in 1876, the local Siamese fled for protection to this temple, where two monks offered them shelter and helped resolve the dispute peacefully. Today, many Thais visit the statues of Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang in the temple’s sermon hall to seek their blessings.

4. Naiharn Beach

This picturesque bay on Phuket’s far southwestern coast, Naiharn remains one of the island’s better-kept secrets. With just one beachfront resort, the landscape doesn’t feel like it has been encroached upon. Tall screw pines populate the area behind the beach, providing a buffer between the nearby Buddhist monastery and Naiharn Lake. The charming Naiharn Town is a short motorbike or car ride from the beach, but is well worth a visit for its cafés, coffee shops, and art studios.

5. Phuket Town

The cultural and historical sights of Phuket Town offer every-thing from world-class beaches and natural scenery to a traditional urban home, fascinating 100-year-old Straits Settlements mansions and shop houses, traditional open-air markets and shops, as well as the vividly hued Chinese shrines built during the tin boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries when thousands of Chinese migrated to Phuket for work. Walking tours are generally the best way to explore the town.

6. Phuket Fantasea

This theme park is enough like Disneyland for kids to love it, and enough like Las Vegas for parents to enjoy it too. It is packed with fun activities, entertainment, and shopping. The spectacular Fantasy of a Kingdom is the longest running live show in Asia. Before this dazzling show, you can enjoy one of Asia’s largest buffet dinners in the 4,000-seat dining facility at Golden Kinnaree restaurant.prac_info99 M3 Kamala Beach Kathu • 07638 5000 • Open 5:30pm–11:30pm Fri–Wed • Adm • www.phuket-fantasea.com

7. Muay Thai

Two venues in Patong host regular bouts in which south Thai fighters pummel one another with elbows, shins, knees, and fists. Patong Boxing Stadium and Bangla Boxing Stadium witness plenty of vicious knockouts. The music accompanying the fights sounds like something composed in a madhouse – a haunting windpipe, tribal drums, and tiny finger cymbals encourage the boxers. Many foreign fighters come to train at the muay thai gyms on Phuket, and they often test their mettle in the rings here.

8. Phromthep Cape

On clear nights, a west-facing hilltop on Phuket’s southern tip feels like a public gathering in anticipation of what could be a space shuttle launch or a fireworks show, with all eyes on the horizon. However, there is no such spectacle – the crowds are here to witness the end of the day, and who’d have thought it could be so spectacular (for further details see Phromthep Cape).

9. Big Buddha

This religious monument on top of Nakkerd Hill has become one of Phuket’s iconic landmarks and attracts hundreds of visitors each day. The 148-ft (45-m) tall cross-legged white marble Buddha makes an awesome sight when viewed from sea level, and offers even greater appeal from the hilltop, from where visitors enjoy sweeping views and pleasant breezes. You can also enjoy a sunset dinner at Nakkerd Sea View Restaurant.prac_infoOpen 8am–7:30pm daily

10. Kata Beach

Increasingly upscale, Kata draws positive reviews for the way it harmonizes its tropical beauty with ever-growing crowds and infrastructure. Indeed, the beach here offers many of the same joys as Patong, such as parasailing and jet-skiing, yet it retains a decidedly more relaxed feel. At night, Kata has enough restaurants and nightlife to feel like it’s got a pulse, but it isn’t overbearing. With a wide selection of shopping, both on the beach and off, it’s easy to see why Kata’s popularity endures (for further details see Kata Beach).

Tourism Boom

In the mid-1980s, southern Phuket experienced a wave of development that is widely credited with sparking the island’s tourism boom. First, Club Med opened a new resort on Kata Beach in 1985. It proved so popular that THAI Airways soon introduced a daily non-stop flight service from Bangkok to Phuket. The rest is history.


Exploring Phuket’s Southwest Coast

Morning

Start your motorbike journey in Patong, the tourist center of the island. Follow the road signs for Highway 4233 towards Karon, Kata, and Phromthep Cape. This coastal road takes you to the island’s southern tip. Make your first stop at Karon Beach, one of Phuket’s largest tourist beaches. Buy a coconut from a beach vendors and enjoy the sweet water inside. Continuing south on the road, you will pass the shop-lined streets of Kata. Stop if something catches your eye. After Kata Noi, the road ascends a steep hill that winds its way up to the famous Karon Viewpoint, from where you can enjoy breathtaking views and take great photographs, so bring your camera. Continue to Naiharn, where a delicious seaside lunch awaits you under the shade of umbrellas and casuarinas behind Naiharn Beach.

Afternoon

After a relaxed lunch, follow the road signs to Phromthep Cape. You’ll drive around Naiharn Lake, and then up and down a hilly, tree-lined road. At the bottom of the hill is Yanui Beach, a charming place to swim, snorkel, and relax under the trees. The road then continues to Phromthep Cape, with its magnificent views over the Andaman Sea. Just be sure to reverse course and reach Patong before it gets too dark. The journey takes about 45 minutes, and you don’t want to drive your bike on these roads at night.

Best of the Rest

1. Phuket Orchid Farm

This heavenly nursery and greenhouse displays more than 1,500 different hybrids and species of orchid.prac_info67/1 Soi Suksan 1, Viset Road, Chalong • 07628 0226 • Open 9am–5:30pm daily • www.phuketorchids.com

2. Karon Viewpoint

With breathtaking views of the island, this viewpoint is usually populated with vendors selling drinks, snacks, or photo opportunities with exotic birds (for further details see Karon Viewpoint).

3. Phuket Zoo

Children love the animal shows starring macaque monkeys, crocodiles, and elephants at the zoo (for further details see Phuket Zoo). You can also have your photograph taken sitting next to a tiger.

4. Phuket Aquarium

Part of the Phuket Marine Biological Center, the Phuket Aquarium introduces visitors to an enchanting underwater world with stingrays, sharks, and sea turtles.

5. Chinese Shrines

A testament to Phuket’s Chinese legacy, the colorful shrines throughout the island play an important role during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival.

6. Ao Sane Beach

This rugged, secluded little beach, not far from Naiharn, offers great opportunities for snorkeling and has a peaceful vibe (for further details see Ao Sane Beach).

7. Paradise Beach

Not far from mega-crowded Patong Beach, this delightful little stretch of sand emanates tranquility with its soft sand and palm trees; there is a coral reef not far off shore.

8. Yanui Beach

This lovely cove (for further details see Yanui Beach) – an ideal setting for kayaking, snorkeling, or reading a book under the shade of palm trees – is located just past the windmill visible from Naiharn Beach.

9. Emerald Beach

With abundant sunshine, this 1,640-ft (500-m) long beach, called Hat Tri Tra in Thai and located south of Patong, offers a quiet place to hide out and work on your tan.

10. Rawai Beach

A non-swimming beach, Rawai is known for its seafood restaurants along the beach. Speedboats and long-tail boats can be chartered at Rawai to visit the smaller islands nearby.

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