Why I miss Phuket

PHUKET may not have been in my bucket list but I am glad I made it there. The supposedly jump off point to THE bucket list entry, Phi Phi Island, presented itself with more than what I expected it would. Boy, I had fun, lots of it.

I am not too hard to please, just take me to the beach and voila— instant gratification, fail-proof! The beach is one of my comfort zones and in Phuket, it’s very easy to get me into that. The shoreline stretches for kilometers and each beach area bears its own charm. Making it there on a low season was definitely a plus, the beaches were not crowded, thus, not a soul blocked my sun.

Or maybe because I was with the right company? A good friend from my hometown found herself settling in the island and turning local (until she feels the need to move to another spot). I am truly grateful that she lives in the island, took me in, and showed me “her place” through the eyes of a local. So I got to eat and chill at the good spots where more locals dine and hang out than tourists. The unbeaten path is always far more interesting to take.

The visit turned out to be an educational tour that deleted my preconceived assumptions about the island. What I know was based on stories I just heard. Stories related by tourists on a cruise ship who saw a little piece of Phuket when their ship docked in the port of Patong for a day.

Phuket is not all about Patong. It may be the most popular, thus the busiest, part of the island but there is much more to see and experience. And the best way to do it is stay in the island for days and delight in its splendor, meaning cross the boundaries of Patong to the other destinations. To do that you need a car or a motorbike, it will help you, big time!

And thanks to Yashee having a car, I got to bask in the sun on the lovely beaches of Phuket, see the setting sun from different vantage points and explored the inner areas of the big island.

The drive in town was amusing. There are sights that are no different from where I come from, sights that are make the area unique and signs that spell out different meanings to different cultures.

I’ve told my Phuket beach stories, road trip to the neighboring province and back, shopping trip to the weekend market, culinary exploration and touristic sightseeing duties, these are the reasons why I miss the island. Let me add one more story, a road trip and “drive-by shooting” episode. Let me share a few more photos I caught of Phuket that you may not have seen yet on the pages of some glossy or storyteller on the web.

I’ll be seeing you again soon Phuket! (Yashee, too! Don’t keave the island yet. Show me more!)

For more travel & lifestyle stories, visit http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/ and http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/

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