Kata Beach, Phuket Island, Thailand
Kata Beach, Phuket Island, Thailand
Phuket is a pretty sweet area of the planet earth. It is a large island in southern Thailand, famous for beautiful beaches, tropical scenery and lots of tourists. The air temperature is usually 80 to 90 degrees and the ocean water temperature is usually 80 to 90 degrees. The sea at Kata, and most of the west-facing beaches, is the beautiful turquoise of the tropics – and very clear. Even though there are waves this time of year, there are still some great snorkeling and scuba diving spots.
The best time to visit weatherwise is October to May, when the sea is calm and there is little rain, but the monsoon, or wet, season has its advantages: it is a bit cooler and there are less people and lower rates for hotels. You just need to be able to tolerate a bit of rain now and then or maybe a lot of rain for a couple of days in a row.
Most tourists visit one of the many beautiful beaches on the west side of Phuket, ranging from busy to isolated. On the east side is the biggest city, Phuket town, but it is more of a working city than a resort destination.
The part we are mainly exploring is the middle to south section of the west coast; there is Patong, which is bigger, noisier and more crowded, with good shopping and amenities, and then Karon, which is more sedate, dominated by a few larger, fancier resorts, and Kata, which is mixed, with everything from 1 to 5 star resorts.
As a tourist, or longer term resident, you can find your comfort zone. The 5 star properties are elegant and serene in every way, from the flower petals floating in the welcoming pool, to the elegantly well-mannered staff. They will cost anywhere from US$90 per night, when on special, to over US$1,000 and up for the most refined and exclusive.
As you might imagine, the 1 star backpacker establishments are somewhat more basic. One can get a dorm bed for US$4 per night and up. Some of these are not bad, but you need to be tolerant of a lot of sharing….sleeping space, bathroom, etc. Others are not so nice: let’s just say camping in nature might feel cleaner.
As usual, we have sought out the middle range. We are at a very nice 3 star property, the Kata Chaba Hotel. http://www.chabakatahotel.com/ They have newer, large hotel-type rooms and also older bungalows by a pond, with a bedroom and also a living room as well as a kitchenette. Our bungalow, with view of the pond and easy access to a large pool and landscaped gardens, is costing about US$24 per night. It is located right in the middle of Kata, in a nice, walkable area of guest houses, shops and restaurants, a couple of hundred yards from the beach down a nice paved walk by a stream. Very comfortable.
However, in a couple of weeks, we may move over to a 2 star hotel for US$12 per night, mainly because it has a unique location – overlooking a meditation center we like to visit and also just a couple of long blocks to the beach, with several decent restaurants on the way. Since meditation, beach bumming and eating are currently 3 of our main pursuits, that is an ideal spot for us.
A lot of tourists come here from all over, mainly northern and eastern Europe, but also the middle east, Asia, Australia and the U.S. Most are well-behaved and just enjoying the sun and fun, but there is a sub-group that enters some sort of strange alternate-vacation-consciousness and they lose their normal sense of caution. They drink too much, take drugs and do stupid things, like swim in dangerous areas, when drunk, at night, or engage in the sleazier aspects of the tourist experience. Unfortunately, some of them pay a serious price.
There is less crime here than many U.S. locations, but the crimes here tend to be sensational. That is what you might read about in the news; it is fairly common to have a tourist robbed, one was even killed during a botched purse-grab 2 weeks ago, have their drinks spiked, have major disputes with taxi/tuk tuk drivers, etc. This kind of thing usually happens about 1 to 4 a.m. Luckily, we are at home before 9 p.m., so we have not personally witnessed any problems, but still, it makes us sad to know that these kinds of things are happening here.
There is also the possibility of tsunami inundation. This is a very slight possibility. Still, it did happen just a few years ago and there was much loss of life and extreme property damage in some beach areas. The damage did not go very far in from the beach, just a couple of blocks, but it was devastating. All of those areas have since been rebuilt and there is now a early warning system for tsunamis.
A few weeks ago, when there was an earthquake in Indonesia, the tsunami warning was activated, but the response was decidedly mixed. Some tourists reported that their hotel staff efficiently escorted them to higher floors of the their resort. Other tourists reported that they suspected some trouble, when the hotel staff ran out and drove away at high speed on their scooters and motorbikes, leaving the baffled tourists to fend for themselves!
There are many different types of Thai people here. Thailand is a wonderful melting pot of peoples and cultures. Although predominantly Buddhist, there are also Moslem and Hindu populations and even a few Christians.
We have made friends some with some people who have settled here from India. One man has a wife he described as “Thai,” who is from Indian parents, but she was born in Bangkok. Another has a “Thai” wife, who is from Chinese parents, born here, another has a “Thai” wife from Thai parents. All are charming and gracious.
There are also a large number of first generation emigrants here as well, especially in the tourist area of Phuket; people from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar) and Indonesia, as well as Thais from other areas and Malays. This all makes for a lively and vibrant scene and we are certainly enjoying it very much.
Eating our vegetarian diet has been surprisingly challenging here. When we were in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand, there were many vegetarian or mainly vegetarian restaurants and our friends had previously scoped them all out. Here, there are no primarily vegetarian restaurants in Kata beach. Of course, there are many restaurants offering Thai, Indian, Italian and other food, with some veg items on the menu. However, it has been a challenge to explain to the restaurant staff, who more-or-less understand English (and of course we do not speak Thai), things like our version of vegetarian: that we do not eat eggs or that we do not want fish or oyster sauce, which is a major component of soups and sauces and even curries, at most restaurants.
On the other hand, there are a number of good vegetarian restaurants in Phuket town and there is an amazing “Vegetarian Festival” there for 10 days every year. It is kind of a version of lent or Ramadan: a religious observance of restraint. It can also involve walking on hot coals and marching around with large piercings! Amazing, but not exactly our version of vegetarian! http://www.phuketvegetarian.com/index_eg.htm
Thursday, July 5, 2012