Phuket: Booze, Buses, Meusums and Madness

Solo traveller mode officially activated, and with no real plans other than the next 2 nights of accommodation, and a flight out of Thailand in 4 weeks I struggle to distinguish if I have butterflies or a bad belly from a spicy curry the night before.

Checking into my hotel (courtesy of my dad) I am delighted to have my own room, shower and bed. Shower and washing done, I head down to mingle. The night ends with a bar crawl, with me and Alex, another English chap, abandoning ship and going to a nightclub, which ends up being an incred vibe. Patong itself though is a bit rough around the edges, the magaluf of Thailand I’d say, and with this in mind I decide that I won’t be extending my stay here and instead will head towards the old town. Navigating the Phuket bus system was as difficult as one could imagine, especially with no Internet (my refusal to get local SIM cards will one day be the end of me). However, 20 minutes later I was on the bus. You may be wondering why I wouldn’t just get a taxi, well the bus is cheap, and I fancied the personal challenge, and this way I got to go the scenic route… moving to the old town was a refreshing change, even with the weather being awful due to a current storm. Spending the day in museums followed by dinner at the vegetarian festival was a lovely way to introduce myself to the town.

The next day me and my bunk mates head out on a tour, seeing all the major sights. The big buddha, Wat Mongkhon temple, old town and the night market. The night Market was ace, specifically seeing a kid band who sounded amazing! Then we headed out to a local festival (after a 2 mile sprint through the city to try and catch the parade). It was absolute madness, fireworks, fire walking, music and chanting. I have honestly never seen anything like it in my life… After the festival, we head to the bar, and then eating my own words a little, we decide after the bar that we will be going out in Patong, so we head back with beers in hand. The night is an absolute blast, meeting old pals, and new. Ending the night with war wounds as my Australian friend gets a little too excited and accidently throws me onto a shisha pipe… The next morning, as I didn’t quite make it home, I braved the journey through town. The festival is still continuing so it’s a delicate walk to say the least… With the weather at least looking bright it’s time to move on to the islands. Phuket has been absolutely insane!