My trip was
Day 1 - landing day - Night Market
Day 2 - James bond island
Day 3 - Similar islands
Day 4 - Tiger park, elephant ride, go karting & temples ( buddha)
Day 5 - phi phi islands
Day 6 - Aquaria & return
All trips are booked in Klook a day advance. And almost every day went to night market.
Thanks
Nope
Did you try some legal reefer
Pretty sad when Thailand has a more progressive policy than we do.
Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
Nope
Yeah
No R&R for OP
No time to relax, enjoy and chill out
No time for a sunbake or swim at the beach in the 30 degree water
No time at the swim up pool bar
No nice cheap Thai street food or any of that wonderful seafood (maybe at the night markets)
No time to enjoy those nice cheap $4.50 (500ml) Chang beers or those $4.75 cocktails at one of the nice bars
No "City tour" to enjoy the local culture and architecture.
No evening shows or caberets?
You missed the amazing Simon (boy-girls) cabaret???????? The biggest and best show in Phuket!
No $15 massages ? OMG what a sin!
Fly in
Vroom around
Fly out
I feel sorry for OP
I think OP missed the point of going to Phuket.
No problem with doing some tours but should have stayed at least 10 days to enjoy some R&R as well
I mean the flight is 9 hours each way flying direct and closer to 11 or 12 if not direct.
Plus the mandatory 3 hours at the airport both ways.
Especially considering 2 of the 6 days were spent on 9 hour flights!
And the cost of the flights for a family???
So really only 4 full days in Phuket….Vroom!
So sad.
No time to enjoy those nice cheap $4.50 (500ml) Chang beers or those $4.75 cocktails at one of the nice bars
Crap, the prices have gone up?
When I went in late 2000's, the cheapest I got one of those 500ml Chang Beers was for 50c AUD! I was blown away. That was on a ferry between mainland and Koh Chang.
But yeah, sounds like a wasted tropical holiday to me
Just to bring you up to date….
60 Bht in convenience stores for 500ml Chang
89-100Bht at bars
Not sure if prices have gone up or is AUD has gone down since then.
Certainly, AUD has gone down from 28 Bht to 23 Bht since 2017.
Not good when your currency goes down against 3rd world countries including Fiji.
@Amayzingone Thanks for your itinerary but just let you know the life/holiday is not the ONLY way YOU THINK.
Didn’t realise the OP gave a minute by minute breakdown. Some of those things they could’ve added in but didn’t want to bog down what they’d planned.
Once you’ve done a swim up bar once, they’re all the same.
He or she?
Yes.
Hse.
All trips are booked in Klook a day advance
How much did you pay for for the activities through Klook?
Would it have been cheaper to go via the tried and true "give a random person on the street money and a van will be at your hotel the next morning" method?
That method always worried me. But every time a van rocked up.
Klook is definitely cheaper than paying local at the spot. I did compare prices and always Klook is better.
Average adult price per day island trip is 80 AUD including lunch/refreshments.
Prices on the street vary considerably.
Sometimes down to 50% of the published prices.
But OP didnt have time to shop around with such a tight agenda.
Probably just checked the overpriced hotel tour shop prices against Klook.
But when you are rushing around like OP did, the convenance of Klook both time wise and credit card wise is wonderful
They probably try to give you a better experience if you booked thru klook as they need good reviews.
I travelled to Asian countries before klook and most of the time, they don’t fully deliver what they promised as they don’t care and know you won’t be a repeat customer anyway.
Did you consider the animal cruelty aspect of the tiger park and elephant ride beforehand?
WTF
There's always one…
What do you mean? Like as in animality cruelty is an extra charge or covered in the admission price?
Depends if you like to inflict the suffering or just enjoy watching?
Yes I thought about but hey what I think is no one cares.
I see so you are ok with inflicting pain and suffering on animals for your own enjoyment as long as your social circle doesn't care.
I'm always interested if the people that do these are ignorant or choose to ignore the issue.
Okay. Pain is part of human/animal life. It does not matter whether I'm okay with suffering on animals or not.
There is always an animal/human is going through difficult situation (or pain).
@ppp13: So your argument is that you'll support said suffering because it will 'happen anyway'? Okay.
@thrillhouse: The comments reads like a sociopath. How much pain and suffering is OP willing to personally inflict on animals/humans because "it's a part of life" and "noone cares"?
This. Riding Elephants? Come on …
Why are humans like this still?
Go back to history and see how humans were/are
What a terrible argument.
We are supposed to be getting better and smarter with time though.
Agreed. I went to Thailand this year and heard bad reports of the tiger park and the elephant walk businesses are terribly depressing. I did the ethical elephant tour where you visit an elephant sanctuary where they rescue elephants from places such as the elephant ride places. They look after them and let them run free in a large native space. You're able to get very close on the tour and feed them some healthy food as part of it. You also learn about the terrible things that happen to them in these tourist elephant rides and circuses etc.
I'd highly recommend the ethical elephant sanctuaries. The money you pay also goes towards the health of the animals unlike the other tourist trades.
Lots of people avoid these so-called attractions for that reason.
Instead visiting an elephant sanctuary and having fun washing down the retired elephants.
And so contributing to thier ongoing welfare.
Obvious not OPs cup of tea.
OP is a Vroom, fly in, Vroom, fly around, vroom fly out person…
Did you experience the Phuket life?…ahh no!
More like a Japanese or Chinese tourist.
Spends more time on the airplane going places.
Not your typical Australian overseas holiday person.
Are there Russians everywhere now?
Nyet!
right way to say this -Нет. But Yes
Did not try that side of things :)
There were russians everywhere when i was there earlier in the year. Probably worse now.
You can mostly avoid them though.
How to avoid Russians?
Depends on the resort and the area.
A few scattered around Phuket.
None up around less touristy KhaoLak.
You didn't say if you enjoyed it or not.
hmm yes different experience, that was my first overseas trip - it was great, sweaty, tired, and enjoyed too :)
Thank you for your bog standard comment.
I love these - feel free to ask any questions you like, just don't expect answers…
here you go
did you visit girly bars after night market? if so, which ones
nope - did not.
Pretty much tired after day trip & night market and travelled with a young kid so not into such things
Where you stay… in a hotel?
Yes in Phuket Old Town
Was the hotel "Guest Friendly"?
I did not see any where mention that or denying that.
But my guess is as long as you book double occupancy they should allow.
Haha… I think your comment went over the head.
What was James bond island like? Is really worth visiting?
Did get to set foot on any of those islands or just pass by them?
is it english friendly?
I never visited islands so definitely it was worth for me.
The sceneries are really good. Great for photos.
Basically in the day trip, they take group of people to the different spots by speedboat/other boats. Kayaking is also included once your reach that island in this trip.
Yes in all places, they give time to roam by foot. There you can even do other stuff like Jet boat, skydiving, water landing but these are all not included in your day trip price.
Yes the day trip guide can speak in english.
How many people addressed you as "Boss"?
haha no one. I felt everyone friendly except that everything is pricey may be because it is tourist place.
Cost break down might be helpful. Flight, hotel, food costs.
2 adults + One 5 Yr old
Flights - Scott - 1427 AUD
Hotel 6 nights - 10200 THB
Cab from airport to hotel and return - 80 AUD
Local misc expenses like snacks, SIM, some food places only cash allowed, street food, laundry - 500 AUD (exchanged to THB at airport)
All day trips as mentioned above booked in Klook with AUD and in restaurants used HSBC global card ~ 2500 AUD.
So total around 5000 AUD.
Exchange rate is shit so tried to use HSBC whereever possible else cash.
Thanks. That'll help in a few months when/if I go on a holiday.
Wow, Phuket has become expensive.timing is everything going between seasons. We went end October a long while ago just before high season so tours were cheaper. We got cheaper taxi by walking past all the ones at the front door and getting metered ones down the right side. Got a tuk tuk back. Never exchange money at airport. 5 days and you did laundry. $500 for the misc items is pretty steep to. You said you averaged $80 per adult but spent $2500 on 5 tours.doesnt calculate. We also checked a few tour vendors near our hotel and compared tour prices. Found a good one and booked through them with discount. Glad you had a good time. See a place once and do it well. A lot of money just to drink beer and sit by the beach. Never understood that mentality.
How close to spot price was it using HSBC vs exchange?
It really depends on where you exchange.
Airport at that time - 1 aud = 21.30 thb
Night market 1 aud = 22.10 thb
HSBC 1 aud = 22.60 thb
These were approx and I always compared, and HSBC was better than physical exchange.
How many bedbugs?
Did not have such issues.
Phew
How are the Russians?
Did not try that side of things.
Also… Good tip… ATM will charge you A$8 every withdrawal, so if you do that… Max it out. Grab app for taxis is awesome and cheap. Get away from tourist hot spots and everything is cheap.
What was the reason for staying in the old town and not at one of the beaches?
But if you were filling your days with trips perhaps it didn't matter on such a short trip.
Thanks for your info. FYI, while Old Phuket Town is a handy location for catching boats to other islands, most tourists opt to stay in the many hotels/resorts along the beaches, particularly on the west coast (Patong, etc)
whats begging and pickpocketing like in Phuket? is it and issue?
I did not see such stuff at all. Felt like everybody is working seriously.
Horrible place, stayed in Patong for a week years ago. The beach was horrible and busy, the water polluted due to too many boats and jet skis etc. Also did the boat trips, JB island Phi Phi etc, too many boats, too many people, busy busy. Street food and restaurants in Patong ordinary and the Bangla Road bar precinct just there to see how far it can reach into your pocket.
Had a better time when we went to Krabi, Samui (specifically Choengmon Beach) and Chang Mei.
Shame on you for going to the tiger park and riding elephants, you directly supported animal cruelty
At the tiger park they drug up the tigers so loser tourists like you can take photos with their sedated Bodies, they're also kept in tiny cages
The elephants that are ridden are also beaten and not fed enough and kept chained up all day, you can see they're visibly disturbed. They're also not meant to be ridden, it damages and hurts their spine
If you did 30 seconds of research you would know all this and also know there many ethical options for seeing elephants where you can feed them, play and bathe them where they are allowed to roam free on large plots of land. But you're probably too lazy / apathetic for that
@TheCunningLinguist I did not encourage any of that stuff - yes, I paid for tickets and involved in the experience that they provided.
Do you think animal cruelty would have stopped if had changed my plan? There is close to 33 million visitors to Thailand every year and can you stop them by your meaningless comment for a general helping hand post on a bargain site?
We need to start educating community first where we live/study regarding animals and taking care of them. That's how you start a big initiative (not by commenting like you). And is much wider issue to be solved than just concentrating on tigers/elephants.
The houses that we live are built by killing many trees - did we stop them from dying?
We have many slaughterhouses for feeding our hungers - did we ever think about those animals?
The pollution that human created is killing many lives on Earth - what have we done?
I'm not encouraging any of that cruelty but what I'm saying is there are many animals go through that cruelty everyday around the world. We humans are responsible for that. We need to change from the ground level by bringing policies and governance into the picture.
By commenting on a random post in an ac room - not going to stop animal cruelty.
Did you ever say F#&kit in Phuket?