L and I flew with Bangkok Air down to Phuket to spend a couple of days relaxing before heading back home to go back to work.
We were quite surprised by Phuket. We’d expected it to be like Chiang Mai but on the beach: quite quiet and relaxing. We were pretty shocked to see that Patong was closer to Vegas, as we drove through on our way to our resort, and we were thanking our lucky stars that we’d chosen to stay at Karon Beach, which had a much quieter reputation!
Since it wasn’t high season, the beaches in Karon were pretty deserted. We were interested to notice the signs giving instructions in the event of a tsunami, and amused that it basically said to go uphill as far as possible. Definitely common sense.
The Movenpick resort we were staying in was lovely – a huge gated resort with lots of pool areas and different styles of accommodation. we’d chosen villas, which was great – our own space after being in close proximity with the group was nice, and the surroundings were relaxing and luxurious.
We spend one day wandering around Patong, and decided we didn’t need to go back. Since it was daytime, the party atmosphere was more hangover atmosphere, and while avoiding the strip joints, I tried to find some reasonable places to get clothes made.
The tailors were mainly purveyors of men’s suits, and all the women’s fabrics were polyester. I asked at a few places for silk chiffon, thinking that somewhere hot and sticky probably would have some natural fibres, but not one, although they tried to pass off polyester as silk more than once. Prices weren’t very cheap, so I stuck with getting a couple of pairs of work pants made from a place near the hotel. Unfortunately when reassuring me the fabric they were going to use was cotton, there was a fair chunk of artistic license, so I ended up with more polyester instead of the cotton I was after. Disappointing.
The highlight of the Phuket trip was the speedboat tour we took to Phang Nga Bay with Phuket Sail Tours. They’re run by an ex-pat Aussie, and had the best reviews and safety records that we could find. We’d originally wanted to go to another area, but due to bad weather, we were swapped to this tour, and we certainly didn’t regret it. Such beautiful scenery, and a quick stop to a village on stilts!
We did manage to sneak some shopping in at the markets, but all too soon it was time to pack up our things and head home.
Two Weeks Away 
Hi Liz,
thanks for your great blog. We are heading to Mövenpick Karon in 4 weeks from now. We realized that you need gluten free food, as well as our 9yr old daughter. We were just wondering if you have some good experience with restauants for dinner at Karon or Kata understanding what it means to prepare gluten free food. It is not our first trip to thailand with our daughter and we have a thai card expressing what gluten free means, but still it happens that we are not entirely sure that it is really understood and ensured. Thanks for your feedback and best regards from snowy germany.
Ane
Hi Ane,
The hotel definitely understands gluten free, so do show them your card and especially, send them an email before you arrive to let them know. At breakfast speak to a member of staff and ask them to bring GF bread etc for your daughter. She will also be able to eat the eggs and omelettes etc because they make them fresh for each person. I generally ate at the hotel since there was so much choice there, and can’t remember any stand-out restaurants elsewhere. I do remember that I asked the pizza place in the hotel restaurant near the beach end of the hotel if they had GF pizza, and they said that they could arrange to have some GF pizza bases the next night if I wanted. They said they couldn’t guarantee no cross-contamination, but I was OK with that.
Have a wonderful time on holiday!