Here, the turquoise waters give shelter to myriad of colorful fish and stunning coral structures, which make it a perfect spot for snorkeling or scuba diving, and the lush green rainforest with the coconut trees create the illusion of a paradise! To enjoy its beauty you can easily hire a bigger boat for packaged tours with other tourists, which offer plenty of activities including the original Thai fisherman’s lunch, or venture to a more private and quiet kayak tour.

Personally, I recommend such a trip as it will give you a chance to contemplate the beauty of the stunning nature around without noisy excitement of packs of backpackers from Ireland, the UK or Israel. So it’s not all rosy, even of Phi Phi Island’s beaches... For me, a major disturbance was the lack of environmentally friendly attitude of the locals, and the tourists alike. It was very sad to see the plastic bottles, bags and all sorts of non-bio waste floating in the sea waters, both close, and far from the shore. It is also sad that the drastic urban sprawl, the rush to build more and more tourist infrastructure often invade the maiden beach areas. Fortunately, some of Thai beaches still manage to retain the pristine exotic touch, and if anyone has seen movie The Beach with Leonardo di Caprio, you know what to expect from your trip!

Food The Thai culture is inextricably linked with its cuisine, which is a fascinating blend of the influences of India, China and Asian Oceania. The wide selection of fantastic Thai seafood and the unique combination of spices, herbs and vegetables such as coriander, chili, ginger, cumin, lemongrass and mint will please even the most finicky palate. In Phuket, I very soon discovered that eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

I was indulging myself in the spicy curries (kaeng), had a feast on a lobster, humongous king prawns, squid and crabs. I soon became a big fan of street food, such as banana and nutella pancakes and pad thai from a bike vendor or a little, shanty town style bar. Despite the initial concerns about the safety of the street food I even ventured to taste grilled chicken wing, and… I’m still alive, alive and kicking!

The avian flu did not get me! But most of all, I loved the extremely fresh and tasty fruit salads, which most often consisted of fabulous, yellow and solid in its texture, finger bananas, sweet and refreshing watermelons, pineapples and lychees. There was plenty of fruit that I have never seen before and I recommend that you also try something new, even though some of the experiments may seem daunting, like the off-putting smell of the rotten flesh emitted by a big and round spiky fruit called durian.

Shopping and other earthly pleasures Like the capital city Bangkok, Phuket is a shopping paradise offering the copies of brand name, luxurious products for peanuts. Crossing even few meters of the bustling streets of Patong or Kata beachfronts means the unavoidable encounter with the sellers of Gucci and Prada bags, Armani sunnies, Rolexes, Billabong and Lacoste clothing, iPods and much, much more.

But before you get into the craze of bulk purchases remember that bargaining skills are highly looked up to and just indispensable. Alas…the Thai sellers are not as profit-driven and not of such pestering nature as their brothers in the Arabic world. Here, there is no obligation to buy, and the only occasional abuse or the more conspicuous street poaching techniques will be used by an imported, most probably Indian, salesmen.

It is surprising and quiet ironic, due to a humid and suffocating heat, that a lot of Indians chat you up to visits their tailor’s shop to have a suit made. Sweating profusely and walking to the beach in the least representative pieces of clothing one totally does not feel like buying a suit or a cocktail dress! But shopping was not the only earthly pleasure. Even more, I enjoyed spending money cheap on various type of massages and other procedures like a facial, manicure or pedicure.

Finally, first time in my life, I did not feel guilty spending money on a bit of pampering! But do not be mislead by all the clichés about the promiscuity of the Thai girls in the beauty parlours! All the massage places I visited offered very professional, high level of service, friendly attitude and, most importantly, they were very, very relaxing. I have never had an hour foot massage, Thai body massage, manicure and pedicure done all at the same time, all for about 25 $!

Getting it right But even in the Thai paradise there are things that can go wrong. Apart from the littering, noise and other negative effects of the piecemeal commercial development catered for tourists, there are always some other factors that can make your holiday in Phuket less enjoyable. In my case, all of them were completely self-inflicted. First of all, I decided to ignore that August is the midst of the raining season in Thailand.

So, much to my despair, I spent first three days, which was nearly half of my long awaited holiday, looking at the rain drops on the hotel window or getting absolutely soaked in the poorly paved streets. In the long and anxious waiting there was hope for a bit of sunshine when the black clouds seemed to go away, but within minutes I could hear the torrential rain pelting down again, and the street puddles were getting bigger and bigger. Having equipped myself with the umbrella and the rain poncho, I noticed that the dry and sunny spell kicked in.

Excited about the warmth of the sun, in the still overcast sky, I immediately went to the beach to work on my holiday sun tan. Very quicky, on the same day, it has turn out that the meager, and much delayed application of the sun scream did not prevent me from getting severely and painfully sun burnt! All in all, thanks to my recklessness in the next four days of my holiday I was avoiding the beautiful sunshine, which I was so hungry for but now could not fully enjoy as everyone else. So next time, before thinking of showing off with my great holiday sun tan, I will put my health and the rest of the holiday in the first place!

Text & Photos Magda Kopyd³owska