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The majority of tourists that arrive in Phuket head straight for the nightlife district of Patong or the long sands of Karon or Kata Beaches. Little do they know that one of the best beaches in Phuket is located just next to the airport, Nai Yang.

While being next an airport might not be everyones idea of serenity, Nai Yang is distanced enough to not hear any noise.  Relaxing on the sand, one can watch more toursts arrive by the plane load without being disturbed.

In this quiet little community, beach goers can also enjoy some great little beach bars and restaurants.  Food is always reasonably priced here (espeially in Summer Season) and outstandingly delicious.  At times, the usual beach vendors walk around selling weavings, wooden elephants, nick nacks and even ice creams but this area is way quieter than most other beaches.

Many local expat residents frequent this beach as it gives their families access to stunning beauty without being bombarded with the, while sometimes fun, hassle of the tourist spots. Nai Yang is also home to one of the islands new popular sports, Kite Boarding.

Swimmers in Summer Season must be careful here as the waves and water do get quite rough however, at the other end of the scale the water can be crystal clear and great for family swimming. For anyone energetic, this area is also home to one of the islands national parks and is great for a nice walk.

Several large hotels have cropped up in this area but have still not managed to damage the serene atmosphere down at Nai Yang Beach.

Skippers Bar Phuket

Inside the Royal Phuket Marina is a fun pub/restaurant that overlooks the boats in their berths, giving both a great place for a drink and some entertainment as well. Skippers recently underwent an identity change from a more upmarket style restaurant to a plush “sports bar” kind of theme.

Still on offer are some great westeran and Thai foods, as well as a good variety of beers and drinks, but now Skippers has installed a large snooker table, darts board and a large projection tv for those big sporting events.

While being quite some distance from the tourist hub of Patong, Skippers clientelle tends to be more of the expat kind than tourists and the busiest times are for the happy hours after 5pm where Skippers offer two beers for the price of one.

Tags: Add new tag, Bars & Clubs, Restaurants, Royal Phuket Marina, Skippers Phuket

Great Aussie Pies

Anyone that craves for home grown Aussie pies when they are away from home needn’t crave any more.

Lady Pie in Cherng Thalay bakes the best pies that you can find in Phuket or even Asia for that matter.

Positioned just down from the Cherng Thalay Police Station, Suzie offers a range of flavours from Aussie, Steak, Steak and Bacon, Chicken, Steak and Mushroom and even other treats like sausage rolls, cheese cakes, pasties and some great bacon and sausage rolls.

For a good Aussie treat, try Lady Pie and say hi to Suzie.

Patong Beach

Back in the 2004 high season, Phuket was hit by a force of nature known as a Tsunami or Tidal Wave that was caused by an underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia.

This event is now well documented with thousands of lives lost in many countries in the region. I consider myself as very lucky to have missed being directly involved in the Tsunami.

The previous day I was down at Nai Harn beach with some friends having a very enjoyable Christmas BBQ. If the Tsunami had hit this day, I am not sure if I would have survived.  We enjoyed walking through a waist deep inlet that leads to the lake/reservour behind the beach, carrying the food, drinks and bbq onto the sandy shore.

The day of the Tsunami, I managed a sleep-in with my wife and after being woken by siren after siren that we could hear along the main road of Phuket, we decided to have a nice lunch up on Nai Yang Beach, still unaware of the cause of the sirens..

When we arrived, the scene was chaos. All the beach restaurants, where we intended to eat, were gone.  People were running around all confused and we could see debris including many sun beds on the opposite side of the road to the beach.  Some local Thais were collected things such as long tail boat engines and driving off with them on their motorbikes with side cars.

When we asked a local what was going on, they simply said “water come in”. We still didn’t know what this meant at this time but decided to take a look at other beaches around the island and headed directly south to Nai Harn where we were the day before.

The scene at Nai Harn was similar to Nai Yang with the concrete boardwalk being all but destroyed.  We could see trees, bent and broken in half at the back of the beach, well over head height.  The inlet to the lake was now empty as the water was still receding with many aftershocks causing mini Tsunamis.

As we were still not sure what was going on, my wife and I stood in the now empty inlet wondering what was happening.  The next thing we knew, there was 2-3 foot of water charging up the beach and swiftly heading towards us in the inlet. This is a good indication of the speed that the actual Tsunami hit and we managed to jump to safety without even getting wet. We now could see what had happened earlier and after speaking to some friends were confirmed that a Tsunami had hit Phuket.

This sad occasion was visible up the entire coast of Phuket Island. Luckily, inland areas were not affected however, with much of the islands population, especially tourist hotels and shops, being located on the beaches, many lives and livelihoods were all but destroyed.

Back to the present and in 2009 visitors are enjoying the sandy shores once again in Phuket.  Without previous knowledge of the events back in 2004, nobody would be aware of the devastation and loss of lives.

Beaches are back to their best and improvements have been made to upgrade many areas around beaches with nicer shops, restaurants and fun areas now all well and truly established.  The government has also invested in Tsunami warning systems that should announce the approach of another such event.  Signs have been posted around beaches showing people where to go to higher ground and with more knowledge, if another Tsunami comes, hopefully less lives will be lost.

I am thankful that I managed to avoid this devastating time and think of the people lost often as I drive around Phuket Island while I enjoy this little piece of paradise.

Patong Beach

Patong restaurant

Patong Beach

Patong Beach Road

Patongs Bangla Road

Nai Harn Beach with emply inlet.

Tags: Bars & Clubs, Beaches, Phuket Tsunami, Restaurants

Karon Sea Sands Resort

Literally across the beach at Karon is the Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa.

This perfectly positioned hotel offers some very tidy rooms at very reasonable prices.

Most rooms have balonies that overlook a large swimming pool with terrace area that is perfect for relaxing and enjoying your holiday.  The beach is just across the road and shopping, bars and some fine restaurants are just around the corner.

GM Raju has some fantastic Indian cuisine available as well as local favourites from Thailand.

Contact me HERE for more information.

Tags: Beach hotels, Karon Beach Phuket, Karon hotels

Red Mountain

Golf in Phuket is a popular activity and Red Mountain Golf Course is one of the newest courses on the island.

Carved literally through the red cliffs of the mountains behind Patong beach, Red Mountain course is stunningly beautiful but is reserved for the experienced golfer and at around 5,000 baht per round, it’s reserved for the wealthy too.

Narrow fairways, smooth slick greens and plenty of water make Red Mountain a challenge for any golfer. It’s very important to keep the ball on the fairways as much as possible.

Facilities here are top notch with the clubhouse overlooking the 18th green and 1st tee it’s a great spot for a pre or post drink.

In my opinion, this is a play once for the experience type course.  If the price was reasonable, I would be there more often.

Contact me for discount green fee advice.

Red Mountain

tropical landscaping

Making your private villa’s garden as beautiful as possible and making it fit in with the local surroundings is extremely important and that’s why tropical landscaping your home can help to ad value and improve its overall looks.

It’s not always easy to find a company that can provide tropical landscaping to the highest class but The Phuket Reviewer has done just that and can direct your enquiries to the relevant person, depending on your needs.

Feel free to contact us for more information on how to ad creative tropical landscaping to your home.

central Phuket

The Phuket shopping experience varies quite a bit depending on where you go.

For upmarket brands, western food, movies and the odd bargain, Central Festival is a good choice.

Some big name brand stores can be found here in what can be classed as Phuket’s first luxury shopping mall.  Set over three levels, walking around is easy and the choice of stores varied.

A very modern and well managed cinema can be found on the top floor and features all the latest releases of movies from around the world and the local Thai movie industry.  Something to take note of is at the start of each movie, the cinema plays a tribute to the Thai King and everybody stands up in respect.  It is considered rude if you do not participate in this.
Remember that in big shopping malls in Phuket, there is no haggling on prices. Usually, the price that is listed is firm.

Tags: phuket bargains, Phuket shopping, shopping in phuket, shopping in thailand

Phukets Kata Noi Bea h

Situated just over the hill south of Kata Beach is possibly the best, or one of the best beaches in Phuket.

When I first arrived on this tropical paradise, Kata Noi was my favourite hang out of all the beaches here.  Then, apart from the large hotel covering most of the land behind the beach, there was little there except small beach restaurants.

Now, the whole grassy area has been taken up by hotels and their up-market restaurants. The small local Thai eateries can still be found, but parking a car or accessing the beach is sometimes blocked by the hotel security.

Nonetheless, this beach is still a great place for a hang out.  The water during the high season is crystal clear and swimming is great. Even in high season this beach does receive a small wave which can be fun for a body surf.  During Summer, Kata Noi gets a really nice wave, especially at the northern end.

Snorkelling can be fun at Kata Noi too. The southern end has rocks which are ok to check out.

Things to note here are that Kata Noi does get very crowded during the summer season so get there early if you want a sun bed.  Also, swimming for inexperienced swimmers anywhere in Phuket during summer can be very hazardous. Be sure to take not of the beach flags and ensure there are lifeguards on duty.  If you are not sure, DO NOT SWIM!

Kata Noi

Tags: Beaches, Beaches in Phuket, Kata Noi Beach, Phuket, Swimming Phuket

Kata Beach

Just south of Karon and Patong beaches is the very lovely and popular Kata Beach.

This stretch of white sand is quite long and the southern end can become quite crowded during the high season.  Positioned just over a small road which runs the length of the beach is the Club Med resort.  Access to Kata Beach is at either end of the resort and a small road runs inbetween the resort and the sand.

Many new restaurants and bars have cropped up here in Kata as well as the ever increasing residential property developments.

However, Kata Beach remains one of the best places for sunning and swimming during the high season and with some nice waves coming through in Summer Kata Beach is one of the favourite spots for surfers with a fun surfing contest being held in September each year.

The southern end of Kata Beach has some good snorkelling areas along the rock with great visibility during the high season.  There are several scuba diving stores around Kata which can both teach the open water scuba course as well as take divers on boat trips to the regions best dive spots.

Kata Beach

Kata Beach