Soo a new adventure begins as i move to Thailand. Giving me the opportunities to visit and explore a whole new side of the world. My first stop lead me to Phuket, to take part in the sandbox scheme, much better than staying in a hotel room only in Bangkok. Lets dive in and see what there is to get up to in Phuket.

1. Big Buddah

2. Old Town Phuket

3. Surfing Kata Beach

4. Sample the nature of Viewpoints and Beaches

5. Blue Lagoon Water Park

6. Elephant Sanctuary

BIG BUDDAH

This Statue is HUGE it sits on top of the Nakkerd Hills between Changlong and Kata. It is 45 meters tall and can be seen from far and wide. When you are up there you have amazing views in every direction being able to see the surrounding areas of Phuket.

There are two ways up to Big Buddah you can drive all the way up, but where is the fun in that much more fun to stop lower down and go for a little hike. Be careful of the snakes and spiders though :) Just kidding, Sort of.

It is free to go in and well worth a visit, even if it isn’t your thing, It has great views and is a feat to create something so large out of marble, you have to appreciate that. Oh and the monkeys are cheeky and this one managed to nab my friends drink.

OLD TOWN PHUKET

To be honest i was a little bit disappointed with Old town PHUKET, in my head i thought there was going to be lots of old Portuguese style architecture. But it turned out to be only a couple of streets. I did visit my first Wat though and a lovely Cat Cafe where the cats were incredibly Fluffy. Apparently the food is really good there though, so i guess I shall have to go back now things are more open there and see if it offers more. No more than half a day needed in my opinion.

SURFING KATA BEACH

I didn’t even realise Thailand had surfing until I came to Phuket. This beach is wide and vast and caters for all ability surfers. The surf lessons are really cheap or if you just want to hire a board. People friendly and just enjoy getting out in the lovely warm water to have a surf. Much warmer than England. I am not sure if there is any surfing in the summer season here. But definitely in the rainy season.

View Points and Beaches

Phuket has some wonderful beaches and fantastic viewpoints across the island. I didn’t have time for all but ere are a few that i visited whilst on my stay here.

Beaches

1. Rawai Beach - Lots of little bars line the road by the beach and you over look the famous long tail fishing boats of Thailand

2. Freedom Beach - Only able to get here by a steep walk down or they will take you in a buggy. A secluded bay with beautiful white sand.

3. Kata Beach - lovely wide beach fantastic for surfing

4. Nai Harn Beach- Here is where you can come to relax on the sun lounges and enjoy the sound of the waves as a coconut is brought to you.

5. Yanui Beach - tiny little beach with a picturesque swing.

6. Patong Beach - Currently with hardly any tourist making this beach look incredible. Huge beach with lots of lovely sand. Speedboats at the ready.

These are just a few of the ones visited there are lots of little coves you kayak too and explore.

Viewpoints

1. Big Buddah - As previously mentioned a beautiful view overlooking much of Phuket.

2. Promethep Cape - A lovely lookout point on the edge of the island, worth a 30 minuet stop wandering around the elephant statues and looking over the water.

3. PHUKET name blocks- makes for a great photo on the sand of the beach

4. Kata Rocks - This is a restaurant/Bar with the most amazing view of sunset. Well worth going and the food is good too.

BLUE LAGOON WATERPARK

If you enjoy water or have a family this is a great place to come. It’s big has different things both in and out the water. Don’t think water park in the conventional sense, it’s a lagoon so things like stand up paddle board are available, there is a zip wire over the top and a place where you can aim a ball someone to enter the plunge pool. There is a range of slides from scary to suitable for a 5 year old. Unfortunately there is no lazy river. But you must remember suncream. Great fun and so lucky to be able to go where there was no queue for any of the slides.

ELEPHANT JUNGLE SANCTUARY

Whilst in Phuket I also visited an elephant sanctuary. I was a little unsure of this as you hear about the horror stories of animals being mistreated for the pleasure of tourism. I have also seen elephants in the wild and was slightly intrigued to how a sanctuary works. Upon visiting the place, they made sure we washed our hands as we were not allowed at bug spray or anything near them as it could affect their smell as their trunks are so sensitive and cause them to be ill. Good start. They also will not let you ride on them, also a good start. They spoke of how these were rescue elephants from logging and entertainment shows.

We got to feed the elephants bananas, there was no beating of the elephant of chains. But I was slightly concerned about how much space they had to roam, and whether they were actually allowed to roam. It seemed like a performance in a strange way, you feed them then you put mud all on them and then you scrub and rinse them. I don’t know how much the elephants enjoy this, although they did look like they were, I thought one elephant was smiling at me in the second picture. But to imagine loads of different people everyday would be exhausting for them.