Phukets Must Do'S And Dont'S

[Valentine]

Last time I went to the aquarium all the tanks were clean & the signs were quite informative (English & Thai) as to fish species & habitats. The people who work at the aquarium & research centre do a lot of good things to help protect the marine life.

[Miiyai46]

dont: Splash jungle, please dont give them an extra $, most expats are trying to get this place boycotted for it to go bankrupt(its getting close)

Why?

And who are "most expats"?

Why do they need expats when now they are enjoying the Russian groups/tours.

And yes, it is obscenely over priced for the lack of attractions.

cheers

[PoorSucker]

Do not rent a jet ski.

If renting a motorbike, take pictures of all existing damage.

Don't give your passport as deposit, most will take an ID-card.

Wear a helmet.

Don't shake hands with tailor touts.

Don't scratch any scratch cards from touts.

Everybody wins and ends up in a three hour time share presentation.

Be aware of undercurrents when swimming.

Don't swim unattended.

Do enjoy your stay.

This applies to all of Thailand.

[Pinot]

Hit Susi Wongs in Patong for some ass smacking fun. I wouldn't rent a motorbike unless I was a very experienced bike driver. Any day of the week, any time of the year you can see the farangs in the Phuket emergency rooms.

[snamos]

Some beaches are still wonderfull, Kata Beach, Kata Noi and Nai Harn to mention a few, and going north in Phuket some more

Sunset over Andaman is stunning, I prefere it from After Beach Bar south of Kata Beach on the hill to Rawai. Spectacular view in a nice ambience

If you are familiar with riding a bike/scoot, rent one for the whole stay. It is wonderfull to ride around. If you are not used to bikes, stay away as it can be dangerous.

Friday or Saturday night in Phuket town is a must, and Timberhut is the place to end the night. As they follow non smoking laws and closing laws, it all ends at 2am giving you a relatively fresh start next morning

Lunch on Rawai beach is lovely. Nikita if you want euro food, seafood splendid further south

Some restaurants are a must if you like fine dining, search the restaurant recomondations here on ThaiVisa

I was down at nakitas today...the thai food is a lot better and i got it within 15 mins. gf agreed also.....we normally just go down for the view and the food is a distant 4th....but today it came in second

[snamos]

Or just agree a price with a Tuk Tuk driver and use that

and when he changes his mind at the other end and you get attacked? or when he takes you to a gem shop ect ect.... whats your awesome suggestion there? please go on and explain the real benefits of speeding around in the back of a van with no seatbelts, no aircon, a driver under the influence of ice and sang som, with no meter...that is more expensive than most western countries ...... I think anyone new to phuket just follow my lead.... is your brother in law a tuk tuk driver or something?

[Peterocket]

Or just agree a price with a Tuk Tuk driver and use that

and when he changes his mind at the other end and you get attacked? or when he takes you to a gem shop ect ect.... whats your awesome suggestion there? please go on and explain the real benefits of speeding around in the back of a van with no seatbelts, no aircon, a driver under the influence of ice and sang som, with no meter...that is more expensive than most western countries ...... I think anyone new to phuket just follow my lead.... is your brother in law a tuk tuk driver or something?

Me nor anyone I know in the years of living here have experienced any of the things you have mentioned. So on that basis I wouldnt say that Tuk-Tuks are a must not do just something to avoid if possible.

Anyhow enough of the Tuk Tuk debate I am sure the poster can decide for themself whether they would prefer to wonder around looking for a motorbike taxi to try and get 3 people on without a helmet or agree a price and get a Tuk Tuk.

[BangTaoBoy]

Me nor anyone I know in the years of living here have experienced any of the things you have mentioned. So on that basis I wouldnt say that Tuk-Tuks are a must not do just something to avoid if possible.

Anyhow enough of the Tuk Tuk debate I am sure the poster can decide for themself whether they would prefer to wonder around looking for a motorbike taxi to try and get 3 people on without a helmet or agree a price and get a Tuk Tuk.

I'm with you 'PR'. Given the choice of Tuk tUk or moped, I would never reccomend to somebody they get on a moped. It's way more irresponsible to put somebody with no M/C license on amoped in Phuket.

The example you quote 'snamos' is not the majority and you know it. The odds of those things happening to these people are miniscule.

Avoid if you can, use them if it's a choice between them or a bike. Just use your common sense. Make sure price is 100% agreed before, at the other end, IF there is any problems, be polite and walk away.

[merijn]

There has been some proof that for the last 5 years, some companies and government have paid people to always refute any negativity in their favor on online forums

I guess there's a few on thai visa.. the aquarium's are hard to see through, they have not been washed in forever, most of the writing is in thai(the only exhibit you can see something is the tsunami at the end). The water is dirty. Most of the small organism that you should see on a zooming camera, have broken cameras. The lights off in the fish of the deep sea exhibit, can't see a single thing, the walkpath+end aquarium has some large fish but nothing exotic, just random fish you see everywhere in large size(same fish you will find at phuket zoo).

The whole thing was setup for the gift shop.

and please do not refer to the surrounding beauty as the aquarium, it has nothing to do with it.

It's definitely more fun to just get to a fish farm/pet shop for fish, more variety and cleaner.

The second explanation to the positive feedback is that some people are amused just by having something to do outside of their living room.. but the first one makes more sense. I caneven find a lot of fun in the horrid phuket zoo, the Phuket Aquarium is just dreadful and run down.

Utter bxxlshxt in my humble opinion.

it is not European standard but for a small island as Phuket it is worth a visit.

Phuket Zoo

DON't go there.

Way overpriced and very cruel for the poor animals.

The owner is only interested in making easy money without any regard for animal care.

And not the mention the double pricing which is very high even for Thai standards.

[merijn]

Or just agree a price with a Tuk Tuk driver and use that

I hope you are joking, Right ?

They should get rid of at least of 75% of the tuk tuk's.

In this way the rest could make a decent living and ask a normal price.

Instead of trying to get their daily income from one trip.

But this will remain a dream for many years to come.

[seriouseats]

Utter bxxlshxt in my humble opinion.

it is not European standard but for a small island as Phuket it is worth a visit.

Phuket Zoo

DON't go there.

Way overpriced and very cruel for the poor animals.

The owner is only interested in making easy money without any regard for animal care.

And not the mention the double pricing which is very high even for Thai standards.

that mean its unimpressive for anyone from the west. Maintaining an Aquarium as small as that one is quite easy and they don't do it. Granted im not 60 so i dont get amused by watching the same kind of brown fish in different sizes for 2hrs. Wasting a couple hours of your time there on vacation is as dumb as the people spending a full day shopping at the tesco mall when they are here on a short vacation. As far as i know OP isnt asking what he can do as a retired expat? The gas money to get there could easly be spent on a tuba kit at a small shop and going to nai yang or promthep where there is abundant amounts of fish/corals

[merijn]

that mean its unimpressive for anyone from the west. Maintaining an Aquarium as small as that one is quite easy and they don't do it. Granted im not 60 so i dont get amused by watching the same kind of brown fish in different sizes for 2hrs. Wasting a couple hours of your time there on vacation is as dumb as the people spending a full day shopping at the tesco mall when they are here on a short vacation. As far as i know OP isnt asking what he can do as a retired expat? The gas money to get there could easly be spent on a tuba kit at a small shop and going to nai yang or promthep where there is abundant amounts of fish/corals

But not everybody is from the west or have life experience like you.

[surangw]

make sure your ride from the airport takes you directly to your hotel, with no annoying stops at a "travel shop"

[LivinginKata]

Inflammatory post removed.

[katabeachbum]

Or just agree a price with a Tuk Tuk driver and use that

I hope you are joking, Right ?

They should get rid of at least of 75% of the tuk tuk's.

In this way the rest could make a decent living and ask a normal price.

Instead of trying to get their daily income from one trip.

But this will remain a dream for many years to come.

on occasions I go home from Patong to Kata late night (eh early morning ) by tuk-tuk. I offer 400 baht, and have never had a discussion on price. Driver ask me to get in, and home I go

safer than drunk driving

tips to OP, carry change, as they often dont want to change your 1.000 baht bill

[maxme]

The tuk-tuks are notorious and is considered to be mobsters, so try to avoid these at all costs. For a little more merrier go around there is Patong beach if you can stand the noise and the nightclubs. Otherwise there are less noisy but still cozy places such as Lamai and Kata Beach. But as someone recommended before a night in Phuket Town is a must. The share amount of restaurants variety of food makes this place great.

[snamos]

on occasions I go home from Patong to Kata late night (eh early morning ) by tuk-tuk. I offer 400 baht, and have never had a discussion on price. Driver ask me to get in, and home I go

safer than drunk driving

tips to OP, carry change, as they often dont want to change your 1.000 baht bill

I would prefer to have:

Driver ask me to get in.....turn on meter (just like bangkok)

Aircon is on, attach seatbelt to body

arrive safely at destination, stop meter, pay fare

[stevenl]

The tuk-tuks are notorious and is considered to be mobsters, so try to avoid these at all costs. For a little more merrier go around there is Patong beach if you can stand the noise and the nightclubs. Otherwise there are less noisy but still cozy places such as Lamai and Kata Beach. But as someone recommended before a night in Phuket Town is a must. The share amount of restaurants variety of food makes this place great.

Don't forget that 99.9% of the tourists take tuktuks without any issues.

[seaeagle]

Don't forget that 99.9% of the tourists take tuktuks without any issues.

And from where did you pull that statistic??

[BangTaoBoy]

Don't forget that 99.9% of the tourists take tuktuks without any issues.

Exactly. Not only that it's been said 40 times allready, so if you want to help the OP, why not come up with something elses. Otherwise you're just making yourselves sound like you have irrational issues with Tuk Tuk's and an uncontrollable desire to slag them off.

[F1fanatic]

Don't forget that 99.9% of the tourists take tuktuks without any issues.

Exactly. Not only that it's been said 40 times allready, so if you want to help the OP, why not come up with something elses. Otherwise you're just making yourselves sound like you have irrational issues with Tuk Tuk's and an uncontrollable desire to slag them off.

Quite. Everybody knows that tuk tuks are a good mode of transport on Phuket. They're not out to rip-off tourists at all, and there is certainly no 'mafia' going with them.

99.9% of tourists know better than to actually complain about the amount charged.... They're on holiday - who can blame them for not wanting to get involved in an argument!

[BangTaoBoy]

Quite. Everybody knows that tuk tuks are a good mode of transport on Phuket. They're not out to rip-off tourists at all, and there is certainly no 'mafia' going with them.

99.9% of tourists know better than to actually complain about the amount charged.... They're on holiday - who can blame them for not wanting to get involved in an argument!

What's that got to do with what I said? My point was, how is repeating the same thing over and over again helping anyone. This thread was about giving advice, and unless the OP is a goldfish who's learnt to use the internet, I think they have the do's and dont's of tuk tuks pretty much nailed.

For all those people who have a hard on for tuk tuk drivers and what they get up to, can start their own thread. It's about that time of month anyway.

[wileycoyote]

Avoid anything that sounds like Timeshare,Free Tour,Vouchers etc

[LivinginKata]

Avoid anything that sounds like Timeshare,Free Tour,Vouchers etc

And scratch cards that always win a prize .... you need to sit through a timeshare presentation to get the 'prize'

[billythehat]

Avoid anything that sounds like Timeshare,Free Tour,Vouchers etc

And scratch cards that always win a prize .... you need to sit through a timeshare presentation to get the 'prize'

Oh do please pay attention....posts #13 and #34...

Anyroad, my tip is to always remember to take some bogroll with you when you go out as the Somchais would appear to have no idea why we need to use it. This may also explain the origin of the Thai wai and itspreference to a good firm handshake.

[grumpyoldman]

Anyroad, my tip is to always remember to take some bogroll with you when you go out as the Somchais would appear to have no idea why we need to use it. This may also explain the origin of the Thai wai and itspreference to a good firm handshake.

billythehat, are you a welshman? Is "bogroll" English as when I looked it up at dictionary.com, I received no results. Why would you need to use it as I have no idea either...?? "Thai wai and preference to a handshake"? Can understand you are going after some laughs, but this post has me baffled.

[LivinginKata]

Anyroad, my tip is to always remember to take some bogroll with you when you go out as the Somchais would appear to have no idea why we need to use it. This may also explain the origin of the Thai wai and itspreference to a good firm handshake.

billythehat, are you a welshman? Is "bogroll" English as when I looked it up at dictionary.com, I received no results. Why would you need to use it as I have no idea either...?? "Thai wai and preference to a handshake"? Can understand you are going after some laughs, but this post has me baffled.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bogroll

[katabeachbum]

Anyroad, my tip is to always remember to take some bogroll with you when you go out as the Somchais would appear to have no idea why we need to use it. This may also explain the origin of the Thai wai and itspreference to a good firm handshake.

billythehat, are you a welshman? Is "bogroll" English as when I looked it up at dictionary.com, I received no results. Why would you need to use it as I have no idea either...?? "Thai wai and preference to a handshake"? Can understand you are going after some laughs, but this post has me baffled.

http://www.urbandict...hp?term=bogroll

55555, one of the first thing we learned in med school was how little bogroll protects your hand, close to nill

however a handscrub with water only removes more than 80% of bacterias from your hands

[billythehat]

Anyroad, my tip is to always remember to take some bogroll with you when you go out as the Somchais would appear to have no idea why we need to use it. This may also explain the origin of the Thai wai and itspreference to a good firm handshake.

billythehat, are you a welshman? Is "bogroll" English as when I looked it up at dictionary.com, I received no results. Why would you need to use it as I have no idea either...?? "Thai wai and preference to a handshake"? Can understand you are going after some laughs, but this post has me baffled.

Welsh? That’s rather insulting...heh, heh.. ...I’m from Ireland. I note the mystery of the bogroll has been elucidated by our kindly bearded village headman, so no further explanation required.

[grumpyoldman]

Anyroad, my tip is to always remember to take some bogroll with you when you go out as the Somchais would appear to have no idea why we need to use it. This may also explain the origin of the Thai wai and itspreference to a good firm handshake.

billythehat, are you a welshman? Is "bogroll" English as when I looked it up at dictionary.com, I received no results. Why would you need to use it as I have no idea either...?? "Thai wai and preference to a handshake"? Can understand you are going after some laughs, but this post has me baffled.

Welsh? That's rather insulting...heh, heh.. ...I'm from Ireland. I note the mystery of the bogroll has been elucidated by our kindly bearded village headman, so no further explanation required.

Yes, and once enlightened, got the joke. Good one at that, billythehat !