Decided to escape the craziness of Bangkok and spend a few days relaxing at the beach. Phuket is close, just an hour flight from Bangkok, and my research told me that Kamala Beach is less crowded than most of the touristy parts of Phuket. So far it’s been a great choice.
I’m staying at a hotel a bit far from the beach. It’s much cheaper than the beachfront hotels and close enough to walk or bike. There’s a beautiful mosque just down the street here. The call to prayer woke me up early the first morning but it wasn’t a problem.
To get around, I rented a motorbike for 250 baht ($8 USD) a day. It’s fun being on a motorbike again, even just a little 125cc bike. You drive on the left here but that’s easy to get used to. And I’ve done a lot of cycling in left-drive countries: Australia, New Zealand and Japan. I even drove once in England without hitting anyone and causing only minor damage to the vehicle.
Motorbike is a fun way to travel here and they’re common enough, though not nearly as common as in Vietnam. Luckily, traffic rules are adhered to more closely in Thailand so you don’t feel like you’re navigating a chaotic free-for-all as you do in Vietnam. So far I’ve felt perfectly safe, but I’ve been taking it slow, not letting my pride be injured when a school girl zooms past me.
Kamala beach is about 3 minutes away from the hotel by motorbike. You can rent beach umbrellas to escape the sun for 1,000 baht per day. You can also buy or rent inflatable rafts and tubes. There are also jet skis, parasails and chartered boats. The water and beach are clean and the view of the sea is spectacular. And there’s an interesting mix of tourists from all over the world here, primarily Russian, French, and Chinese from what I could gather.
There are a ton of restaurants along the beach, all catering to tourists of course. The Thai food I had was expensive and nothing special but perfectly adequate and that’s about what you expect on the beach. It was worth it for the view and the generously poured glass of wine. If you want to pay more, there are a lot of culinary options: steak, pizza, Indian food.
Today was all about the beach. Tomorrow is about exploring temples. Stay tuned.