Phuket, Thailand
No visit to Thailand is complete without a trip to one of the beach cities. We had debated between Koh Samui and Phuket. The weather in Koh Samui is supposed to be better this time of year as it's monsoon season in Phuket. However, based on several forums the diving in Phuket is supposed to be better and "monsoon" season translates into a short rain shower for maybe an hour in the afternoon.
We ultimately chose Phuket, mainly for the diving opportunities. When we got there, the weather was overcast and the water was quite rough. Our hotel was right on the beach, but we couldn't really take advantage of it since the seas were too rough. Luckily the hotel had a nice pool.
We went out on a dive trip our first day there. The wind was really blowing so the swells were quite high. The boat ride out to the local dive sites took about 1.5 hours one-way. It ranked up there with 3 of the worst hours of my life. They had given us motion sickness tablets prior, but medicine can only go so far against nature. They definitely helped, but weren't 100%. At least 5 people on the boat got sick, myself included. And more than once... The boat ride on the way back was terrible. The wind had picked up even more and it started to pour. So not only was the sea tossing us around, but we were getting soaked in the rain. The positive though were the people operating the boat. They were very considerate with getting us dry towels, making sure that people were feeling ok, getting water, etc. If anyone is going to be diving in Phuket, I would highly recommend my dive guide, Larry who works for Seas Bees Kata. If you can get Larry without going thru SBK, I would try that route. The SBK owner was friendly, but seemed to be more concerned with the almighty dollar. Larry, however, was very considerate and thorough.
Anyway, the diving itself was ok. Not spectacular. But from what I understand, the world class dive sites require a liveaboard. The local sites are decent. The most exciting thing that happened to me on the dive was getting attacked by a triggerfish. These fish are known to be territorial, so my dive guide and I probably had gotten too close to its nest. It kept nipping at our fins. Everytime we turned our backs, it would start swimming straight at our legs. It can be a bit intimidating underwater when you feel like you can't get away fast enough. It kept coming after us for about 5 minutes, but finally just swam off. Big bully.
We spent the rest of the time in Phuket mostly by the pool. Since it's a beach town, there isn't that much else to do when the weather doesn't cooperate. Overall, the weather wasn't bad though. It rained 2 times that I could recall. And only for about 20 min the second time. The weather finally cleared on the day that we were leaving. Not surprising... but at least we were able to get in a few hours of sun before we left for Bangkok.
We ultimately chose Phuket, mainly for the diving opportunities. When we got there, the weather was overcast and the water was quite rough. Our hotel was right on the beach, but we couldn't really take advantage of it since the seas were too rough. Luckily the hotel had a nice pool.
We went out on a dive trip our first day there. The wind was really blowing so the swells were quite high. The boat ride out to the local dive sites took about 1.5 hours one-way. It ranked up there with 3 of the worst hours of my life. They had given us motion sickness tablets prior, but medicine can only go so far against nature. They definitely helped, but weren't 100%. At least 5 people on the boat got sick, myself included. And more than once... The boat ride on the way back was terrible. The wind had picked up even more and it started to pour. So not only was the sea tossing us around, but we were getting soaked in the rain. The positive though were the people operating the boat. They were very considerate with getting us dry towels, making sure that people were feeling ok, getting water, etc. If anyone is going to be diving in Phuket, I would highly recommend my dive guide, Larry who works for Seas Bees Kata. If you can get Larry without going thru SBK, I would try that route. The SBK owner was friendly, but seemed to be more concerned with the almighty dollar. Larry, however, was very considerate and thorough.
Anyway, the diving itself was ok. Not spectacular. But from what I understand, the world class dive sites require a liveaboard. The local sites are decent. The most exciting thing that happened to me on the dive was getting attacked by a triggerfish. These fish are known to be territorial, so my dive guide and I probably had gotten too close to its nest. It kept nipping at our fins. Everytime we turned our backs, it would start swimming straight at our legs. It can be a bit intimidating underwater when you feel like you can't get away fast enough. It kept coming after us for about 5 minutes, but finally just swam off. Big bully.
We spent the rest of the time in Phuket mostly by the pool. Since it's a beach town, there isn't that much else to do when the weather doesn't cooperate. Overall, the weather wasn't bad though. It rained 2 times that I could recall. And only for about 20 min the second time. The weather finally cleared on the day that we were leaving. Not surprising... but at least we were able to get in a few hours of sun before we left for Bangkok.
posted by KC at
10:36 PM
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