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FIVE SIDES OF PHUKET
THERE’S MORE TO PHUKET THAN SUNBEDS AND SWIMMING POOLS. ADAM SKOLNICK, AUTHOR OF LONELY PLANET’S NEW-CONCEPT PHUKET ENCOUNTER GUIDEBOOK, UNCOVERS FIVE IN-THE-KNOW WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE DESTINATION
1 ENJOYING THE GREAT SOUTH COAST BEACHES
Here’s the key to Phuket bliss. Come to Hat Nai Han and stay for sunset. Wade into the warm sea sheltered by two long, jungled granite arms, play in the waves – or the tidal lagoon on the southern end if you have small children – look past the sailing yachts rising and falling with the swell, and watch the sun burn a deep-orange streak in the sky. And that’s just a single moment on one of the superb beaches in the often-ignored Rawai region.
Although millions of tourists descend on Patong, Kata and Karon, most never make the trek 10 minutes (by car) south to three outstanding beaches. Hat Nai Han is the most prominent, and arguably the most beautiful, but just north of it, accessed by a road that runs beneath the yacht club, is the wonderful Ao Sane Beach.
With just one snack shack and a small stretch of boulder-strewn white sand, it’s the sole domain of locals in the know. Further south, towards the Laem Promthep lookout, is Hat Ya Noi. It’s a bit rocky, which makes your entrance to the sea less than graceful, but it’s also sheltered and rimmed with a rock reef that makes it ideal for snorkelling or paddling in a kayak. So take a day off from Kata’s nubile sheen and commune with Mother Nature in the raw.
2 KAYAKING LIMESTONE- STUDDED AO PHANG-NGA
Duck the midday hordes and slip through pitch-black bat caves into a hidden lagoon protected by massive limestone cliffs that rise spectacularly from the sea. You’ll see monkeys, sea eagles, orchids and monitor lizards. Yes, this will be one fabulous kayaking trip.
When famous American kayaker John Gray first encountered these hongs (caves semi-submerged in the sea) accessed through jagged caves at low tide, he knew he’d found something special, something he had to share. And he still feels that way. His Hong By Starlight evening tour promises solitude in hidden hongs that few locals know about. He’ll explain how this fragile ecosystem is threatened and introduce you to the bay’s famous translucence – a plankton-inspired light show that shines from the sea around the full moon. When Gray isn’t on the water, he’s banging the environmental gong and working to 
educate local students and the highest levels of the national park service. Of course, he’s most in tune when he’s on the water, because even while threatened, Ao Phang-Nga has innumerable natural gifts that are impossible to ignore. Especially if you’re in a hull, carving another glassy lagoon as the sun drops.
John Gray’s Sea Canoe, tel +66 (0)76 254505, www.johngray-seacanoe.com Trips from Baht 3,950 (USD 115)
3 TASTING RAWAI’S TANTALISING SEAFOOD
Wherever you go in Phuket you are never far from a local fish grill serving a mind-boggling selection of seafood just scooped from the Andaman Sea. But even given that context, Rawai is something special. Every day at around 3pm, the local fishermen, whose long-tail boats you may have seen twinkling along the horizon off the coast of Kata the night before, sort their catch at the village fish market just to the left of the Rawai pier.
That’s when chefs, visitors and locals converge to pluck the best they can find. There will be red and white snapper, parrotfish, barracuda, rock lobster, crab – soft-shell, blue and red – mussels, sea snails, oysters and the most tender squid you can imagine.
Rawai seafood grills, Viset Rd, Rawai Beach. Open 11am to 10pm.
4 DISCOVERING KOH YAO NOI
Just an hour off the north-east coast of Phuket, and served by public boat, is one of Thailand’s hidden gems, the laid-back rural island of Koh Yao Noi. Nestled in the middle of Ao Phang-Nga and framed by soaring limestone karsts perfect for climbing, it’s a relatively big island with steep rubber-treed mountains, seemingly endless white sand beaches and an infusion of warm energy from the ever-welcoming local people, more than 90% of whom come from Muslim families who have lived here for generations.
A new five-star property called the Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi, a collection of thatched glass and wood villas with stunning views, opened here in late 2007. Its spa could be the best in the region. Paradise Hotel is another choice option if you just can’t leave. And you should definitely stop by Pradu Seafood, owned by Ya, a delightful woman who has cooked for both Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz. You’ll sit under a thatched gazebo across from a stilted fishing village and dine on snapper steamed with lemongrass and garlic, or dry-rubbed with chilli and fried crispy brown. Yeah, you should probably stay the night.
Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi, tel +66 (0)76 418500, www.sixsenses.com. Room rates from 32,000 to 74,250 baht (US$930 – 2,100).
5 STROLLING THROUGH OLD PHUKET
Phuket’s Old Town is all about the narrow streets. There’s sweet, romantic Soi Romanee, an alley with restored Sino-Portuguese relics, fabulous cafes and outdoor jazz concerts on the last Sunday of the month in the high season. Soi Soon Utis is another favourite, but few tourists roam this quiet residential street that ends at a canal. You should, because at the end of the road you’ll find a box of almond cookies that might change your life. And no matter what, do not miss the Shrine of the Serene Light, the most ethereal and transporting of all the Chinese temples in the ten square blocks that comprise Phuket’s enthralling Old Town.
If you take the time to walk along Yaowari, Phang-Nga, Thalang, Rasada and Dibuk Roads, diverting down all the little alleys, you will realise the Old Town is rich in history and culture. And you’ll also come across countless art galleries, fashion boutiques, fusion restaurants and charming bars and pubs that indicate this attractive town with a past also has one hell of a future.
To read more, pick up Phuket Encounter, 1st Edition, by Adam Skolnick Lonely Planet Publications, 2008. US$12.99
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