This is my second last day in Phuket, still wondering if I should watch the Phuket Fantasea show. Well, I guess I’ll decide that later… still got plenty of time. As with every morning, I went downstairs for breakfast. Think I got marked for complaining to the 2 managers in the hotel, everyone was trying to be nice to me when I told them my room number. After breakfast, I went to the reception to ask about the show. The manager told me it is different from the one I had seen in Krung Thep, and he recommended me to consider. I asked about going to the southern part of the island (this is something I kept putting off, it is either today or never). I was advised to hire a tuk-tuk for a certain period, and not by destination, as the drivers will charge you through the roof if you had told them where you wanted to go. Soon I found myself sitting in a Starbucks café by Patong beach continuing my blog entry. The place was quiet at first, but as every visitors woke up from their tours or partying the night before, soon the café was full! Glad I came here first. After Starbucks, I headed for Bangla Road (again) and then to Jungceylon to find a tuk-tuk to take me to the southern part of the island. After some bargaining, managed to get one for 800 Baht.

Jungceylon has become my hangout place in Phuket

Jungceylon in the day

Part of Jungceylon

Karon View Point

Not long after we were on the road! The ride towards my first destination was hilly, sloppy but scenic. This is the first time I have been to the quieter and more tranquil part of Phuket. This route is not as noisy and lively as Patong or the nearby beaches, but it is free of traffic and peaceful. The ride to Karon View Point din takes long. The view there was magnificent. I can see the whole of Kata beach, the bays Kata Noi, Kata, Karon, and also Koh Poo Island. It is boasted as one of the island’s best views. After spending around 5 mins there, I got on my tuk-tuk and headed for my next destination – Promthep Cape.

On my way to the Viewpoint

Saw some beaches along the way

A quieter side of Phuket

We passed by some towns

Nearing the Viewpoint

Arrival at the Viewpoint

The view here is just stunning

At the Viewpoint

Promthep Cape

I enjoy the ride on this part of the island, peaceful, free of traffic and the views are nice! The drive to Promthep Cape took around 30 mins, it is not far from Viewpoint, after the driver parked the tuk-tuk, and I walked up some steps which (hopefully) lead to some good views since this place was boasted as the best views in the whole of Phuket, especially during sunset. The cape is a headland stretching is to the sea and forming the extreme south-end of Phuket. As I ascended the stairs, the first thing that greeted me was a small shrine of the 4 face Buddha. Well, I felt the need to pay respect to it and paid 20 baht for some offerings. After paying respect to the Buddha, I spotted a structure, so I decided to head over to see what the hell it was. It is a lighthouse!!! And it is open for people to visit (and free too), went inside for the air-con (the weather was damn hot) and ascended to the 2nd level of the lighthouse. The view from this level was awesome!!! I can see from Hai Harn beach (the south-western part of the island) to the southern part of the bay where Kaew Yai island is to Rawai Beach area (the southeastern part of the stretch of the island. The view is best on this lighthouse!! After taking some pictures, I exited the lighthouse I went to the cape. Tried to trek to the end of the cape, but I was not wearing my walking shoes and the slippers proved to be too inappropriate to walk along the cliffs. Just snapped some pictures and went back to the tuk-tuk and head for the next destination – Wat Chalong.

On our way to Promthep Cape

One of the beaches in Southern Phuket

Nearing Promthep Cape

Arrival at the Cape

Statue at the lighthouse

The lighthouse overlooking Promthep Cape

Views from Promthep Cape

Inside the lighthouse

The Lighthouse at Promthep Cape

Views from Promthep Cape

Wat Chalong

On the way, we passed by Rawai Beach. The beach is peaceful and free of tourists. I had asked the driver to stop for a moment for me to snap some pictures of this beach, it is too beautiful not to stop and snap pictures. After that, we continued our journey towards Wat Chalong. The temple is the oldest and biggest on the island. The temple is indeed grand and has its characteristic. It has a wax museum of 3 monks, supposedly to be the “best monks” in Thailand. There are pictures of the royalties coming to Phuket to pay respects to them. After which I headed to the next building. It is the biggest building in the Wat compound. It has 3 levels. First 2 consist of a hall with several Buddha statues. The 3rd level is an interesting one, it holds relics of the Buddha! Some locals came to offer their prayers to the relic. What I liked about this level is the views and of course the breeze (which is a blessing in the hot day). From this level, I can see as far as the Big Buddha, which is another temple with a huge statue of the Buddha on top of the hills. After enjoying some breeze and views, I reluctantly descend and went to one of the other wat building. What it appears to be was a shrine for the 3 monks. The locals, tourists paid their respect to these monks. Man, they are some big shots in this country. Well, the visit to the temple was over, time to hit the road.

Rawai Beach

Wat Chalong

Entrance to Wat Chalong

Part of the temple

At Wat Chalong

Inside Wat Chalong

At Wat Chalong

Inside Wat Chalong

View of the temple grounds

At Wat Chalong

Initially, I asked the driver to drive me around Phuket town, think he might have understood as passing by Phuket town and headed back to Patong area. As he was driving, it confirmed my suspicion, so I told him to drive me to Jungceylon instead. It was way past lunchtime, so I figured go Jungceylon find some food and decide how to spend the rest of the day. As I reached Jungceylon, I had a sudden urge to catch a movie, went to the cinema to see what’s on. Hey “How to train your dragon” was on. So I got a ticket and went for some food.

After food, I went back to the theatre entrance to wait for the time to enter the cinema. Then I saw a trailer for a Thai movie which looked awesome. Went to the ticketing counter and bought tickets for that movie, which was immediately after my first movie. It was time for my first movie, went inside and there weren’t many people watching this movie. The interesting thing about watching a movie in Thailand is before any show, there would be a short clip about their King and everyone must stand for the song. After my first movie ended, I went to my second movie. Well, the same thing happened, the song for the King. Then the show started. This is when I realised I bought tickets for the wrong movie but decided to stay on for the show anyways. This Thai movie was funny and good! Quite liked this show. After the 2 movies, I walked back to my hotel, along the way, it started to drizzle very briefly. Walking past a Thai restaurant and realized that I have not eaten in a Thai restaurant. So I decided to go in and eat something. The serving was fast and huge. But their Tom Yum Gai was good!! After dinner time to head back to the hotel for the night……

Zephyrous Travels

Every Trip is an Adventure

Phuket Day 5 (26 Mar 10) – Southern Glory

Karon View Point

Promthep Cape

Wat Chalong

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Karon View Point

Promthep Cape

Wat Chalong

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