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We arrive in Phuket from Phi Phi Island on a boat.

Departure from: Koh Phi Phi (Ton Sai Pier: 7°44’18.6″N 98°46’15.4″E)
Arrival at: Phuket (Rassada Pier: 7°52’21.7″N 98°24’52.0″E)
Departure: 09:00
Arrival: 11:00
Duration: 02:00
Company: Chaokoh Travel Center
Price per person: 450 THB (12.5 €)
Online booking: https://12go.asia/fr

After a 2-hour crossing We arrive in Phuket

in Phuket, we choose to stay on the Patong Beach side. This is the liveliest part of Phuket. It is located 20 km from Rassada Pier.

Upon arrival at Rassada pier, we find mini buses that leave for Patong beach. The bus leaves when it is full, but with the number of tourists disembarking from the boats, we leave immediately.
The driver asks each passenger the name of their hotel and adapts his route to drop everyone off in front of their hotel

We arrive at our hotel:

City: Phuket (Patong)
Accommodation: C & N Resort and Spa – SHA Extra Plus
Address: 3 Sirirata Rd., Patong Beach, Phuket
Location: 7°52’51.1″N 98°17’38.6″E
4 nights, from 31/12/2023 to 04/01/2024
Price: €229
Booked with Booking.com

This is a beautiful hotel with a swimming pool and a beautiful view of the city.

We rest a little, before going to see the beach of « Patong Beach »

The street towards the beach is lively with shops, cafes and massage parlors

We arrive at the beautiful beach of Patong Beach

On the way back to the hotel, we stop at Malin Plaza. It is a night market with Thai Street Food stalls.ï.

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After a short rest, I go out around 11:00 p.m. to watch the fireworks celebrating the passage to the year 2024
The place to be is: Bangla Walking Street

The street is very lively with dance bars in the street, confetti, lights and fireworks.
Be careful, it can be dangerous with crowd movements. I saw people fall to the ground in the middle of the crowd.

The fireworks are launched at the beach, but it remains visible everywhere in the street

And even from the balcony of the hotel room (Mom and baby stayed at the hotel after a tiring day)

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We wake up quietly and have breakfast at our hotel in a quiet place.
We go out for a walk and end up at the shopping center: Central Patong
If you are interested in seeing the products of the local mass distribution, there is a store called « Big C » in this center

We discover the state of the street « Bangla Street » the day after the big New Year celebration. A carnage!

We decide to take a taxi to Phuket Old Town

We find the beautiful colorful houses at « Thalang Road » in the calm of the day after New Year’s Eve

As well as the clock tower « Surin Circle Clock Tower« 

This marks the end of our day in Phuket

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For our third day in Phuket, we decide to make a special visit.
In Thailand, there are many places to see elephants, which are the emblem of the country. Except that, the reputation of these places is tainted by the mistreatment of these animals. They are generally forced to do circus acts to entertain tourists and live in settings very far from their natural environment. We did not want to participate in these activities.

We heard about a different place to see these giants. The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is known for taking in elephants that have suffered abuse and those that survive poaching.

We book online for a half-day visit : https://system.phuketpes.org/public/find

The price to pay is 3500 THB (90 €) per person (This price includes the transfer from our hotel in Patong, the visit and a buffet lunch)

We arrive in a magnificent traditional building. We pay the rest of the price on site (70%). 30% of the price was paid online when booking. Visitors are grouped in groups of 10 with a number

Then, a tuk tuk takes us to the reserve

We arrive in a beautiful place. Put on boots available on site and have a breakfast offered by the sanctuary. The place is calm and relaxing.

A video session explains the vocation of the sanctuary as well as the rules to respect

The visit begins by giving fruit to elephants to eat

Before taking a high path and leaving in the elephant jungle

We begin the visit with a guide who explains the history of each elephant and allows us to get closer to them while keeping a safe distance of respect. The elephants here seem happy and well treated.

Before the end of the tour, you will see elephants taking a bath

and living in complete symbiosis with the guards of the sanctuary

We end the visit with a buffet and return to our hotel after an extraordinary experience. We are delighted to have made this choice

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For the evening, we go for a walk in the night market « Patong Otop Shopping Paradise » (7°53’14.8″N 98°17’41.8″E) which offers a varied choice of Thai Street Food.

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This is our fourth day in Phuket. Before leaving for Bangkok, we wanted to see the famous beach of « Freedom Beach« . You can go there by longtail boat with a high price. Or choose a taxi/tuktuk to go there from the land. We take the second option.

The tuktuk drops us off a few meters from the beach, and after a fairly steep descent

We discover the magnificent heavenly beach
Arriving by land, you have to pay 100 Baht (€2.6) per person.

But it can quickly be crowded

For the way back, it’s different, the tide has risen and it has become impossible to return by the path we took for the arrival. We are forced to negotiate with a skipper of the many longtail boats waiting. And it is not easy. They know they are in a strong position and the return by boat to Patong beach costs us 1000 THB per person: 26 €

For our last night in Phuket, we find a relaxing massage in one of the big well-rated centers of the city: « 5 Star Massage & Beauty Salon » (7°53’19.2″N 98°17’44.2″E). You have to choose the message center carefully if you want it and avoid the small centers known for scams and also for prostitution. But we must not generalize.

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It is the last day in Phuket, the day of departure to Bangkok.
We take advantage of the morning calm for a refreshing swim at Patong Beach

After a morning of rest, we leave by taxi to Phuket airport towards Bangkok

Flight: Phuket City (HKT) – Bangkok (BKK)
Date: 04/01/2024
Departure: 14:25
Arrival: 16:05
Flight duration: 01:40
Company: AirAsia
Price for 2 people with a 1-year-old baby and 2 pieces of luggage: €260

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To find your way around Phuket (We are far from having done everything):

01 – Kata Beach: Most family-friendly beach
02 – Patong Beach: The most famous beach
03 – Big Buddha: It is 45 m high and can be seen everywhere in Phuket. The visit is free with panoramic view but you have to climb 94 steps of stairs
04 – Freedom Beach: One of the most beautiful beaches, fine white sand, crystal clear waters.
05 – Phuket Old town (Thalang Road, Phuket Thai Hua Museum, Surin Circle Clock Tower, Phangnga Road)
10 – Wat Chalong: Buddhist Temple
11 – Phuket Elephant Sanctuary
12 – Karon Beach: Large beach
13 – Nai Harn Beach: Bay sheltered from the wind
14 – Yanui Beach: Famous for Snorkeling
15 – Kamala Beach: Family beach
16 – Surin Beach: North of Kamala
17 – Bang Tao Beach: Luxury hotel beach
18 – Monkey Hill: To see the monkeys
19 – Chillva night market: From 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Closed on Sundays
20 – Phuket Indy Night Market
21 – Malin Plaza Patong: Market, open every day from 10:00 a.m. to midnight

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