Phuket Old Town: A Thailand Must Do When Visiting Phuket
Planning to visit Phuket? Go To Phuket Old Town!
For my second trip to Phuket, my opinion changed of this popular Thai destination. When I visited, I stayed with local friends and saw more of the area, including Phuket Old Town.
MORE THAILAND POSTS
- A Day Trip To Railay Beach
- Take A Cooking Class In Thailand
- 72 Hours In Phuket
- Exploring Phang Nga Bay
- Celebrating Thai New Year
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Phuket is still very touristy but there have been some positive changes as of late. Many of the beach clubs, hawkers, and beach lounger rentals are gone. The government is cleaning up corruption and shutting down illegally run businesses. When I was in Thailand on my round the world trip in 2011, I went to Phuket to surf. I had heard so much flack about how touristy it is so I didn’t explore much. I only surfed. My daily routine was: wake up, walk a few blocks from my hotel to Kata Beach, surf, eat at cafe/restaurant close by, head back to my hotel, read, and sleep. I repeated the cycle for the handful of days I was there. And while I did have a fun time learning to surf and hanging out with some local Thai surfers, I could have been anywhere.
One thing I really wanted to do on this trip was to visit “Phuket Old Town”. Many tourists who visit don’t even come here which is a shame because it’s really cool. Looking back, I wish I had come earlier so that I could explore and see more of the unique architecture.
When we went, there was a night market so we popped in for a quick browse after dinner. In this historical part of town, you can see the Sino-Portuguese influence from over a century ago when Phuket was booming as a tin producer.
Here are some photos of Phuket Old Town and its night market:
Gorgeous Sino-Portuguese Shophouses
More of the architecture
Heading to the night market
Phuket Old Town Night Market
Street market vendors
Night market street food
Maybe the cutest street food snacks ever. I had the bear which was filled with chocolate
More of the Chinese rowhouses
I know that I’ll go back to Phuket to visit friends. I want to go back and take more photos as well as explore this area rather than just come for a quick visit. Have you been to Phuket’s Old Town? What did you think of it?
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