Mary Kate and her partner packed up their things in Ireland and have been in Thailand for almost 6 months now! She made some time to share what life in Phuket is like…
What’s the local culture like in your town? Phuket town is pretty great! The Old Town in particular has unique architecture with Sino-Portugese style buildings which are really nice to look at. I’ve really enjoyed spending time in Old Town checking out the many wonderful restaurants and bars as well as the wonderful Sunday night market which takes place every week on one of the main streets in town. This town has a lot of history and is quite calm and laid back during the week, but there are many amenities available including the large shopping centre Central.
Phuket town is an interesting mix of Thai people and Westerners, although we have struggled a bit so far to meet other people our age, we hope that joining some clubs and activities could help us to socialise more.
This town has a lot of history and is quite calm and laid back during the week, but there are many amenities available including the large shopping centre Central. There is a songtaew bus that runs multiple routes within the town making it easy to travel around. Besides this, there are bus routes to the beaches and towns on the West side of the island. Ferries also leave from Rassada pier (which is a ten minute drive away) to Koh Phi Phi and other islands.
What are your favourite places to eat? Khun Jeed Yod Pak is an incredible Thai restaurant in the Old Town and my favourite spot we have discovered so far. They do brilliant fried crab rolls and pork dumplings for starters, and both wonderful Pad See Ew and an amazing signature gravy noodle dish. We have been going there once a week because it’s just that good. There is also a wide variety of restaurants in the local area serving all kinds of cuisine. We have had the opportunity to try a lot of new Thai dishes but there are also places serving familiar Western food when we are in need of comfort. Another particularly nice restaurant is Tu Kab Khao, it’s in a fancier setting and definitely on the pricier side for Thai cuisine but they make absolutely delicious food based on the owner’s mother’s recipes.
I fell in love with their crab curry with vermicelli noodles and will definitely be going back for more on special occasions. We are also lucky to have a great variety of choices across the street from our school to enjoy at lunchtimes and when school ends. These small stands and cafes provide food that ranges from traditional Thai dishes, Japanese dishes and more to Western comfort food such as baked potatoes, pasta, steak and even fresh donuts. I’m a particular fan of the a la carte stand run by a very friendly Thai couple who have been teaching me Thai phrases whenever I order my pad see ew or pad kra pao there. Finally, there’s a small stand run by a man from his motorbike who sells wonderful sweet pancakes.
Are there markets nearby where you’re staying? The Sunday night market is busy but incredible. People flood the streets buying some of the tastiest street food I’ve tried in Thailand (I highly recommend the fresh spring rolls and the tastiest fish tacos I have ever had in my entire life). There are also beautiful arts and crafts on sale here as well. Along the way you can stop and listen to people performing music and at the bottom end of the market there are even bigger performances of large bands. I’ve even seen a dance off between groups of teenagers there before. We also have Chillva market out by Central and it is one of the most laid back markets we’ve visited. It’s open wednesday night through saturday night. The street food stalls there are insanely tasty, they sell everything from delicious skewered meat to scorpions. We have enjoyed the skewered bbq pork and squid, tempura prawns, spring rolls and even churros. You can check out the clothes and gadgets on sale or just load up on food and take a seat in the back where lovely chill music is playing. It’s always buzzing!
What’s the night life like in your town? The nightlife is definitely on the quieter side in Phuket town as opposed to the Western side of Phuket island, but there is definitely still activity at the weekends. I’ve enjoyed some of the small bars in Old Town such as Club No. 43, Papazula (great live music and very relaxed atmosphere), and Good Vibes, there a few bars which show sport events which can also have a good atmosphere, and as an F1 fan I loved going to the Brasserie which showed the live races with english commentary. There’s a nightclub in the centre of Old Town called the Library which is definitely worth checking out. There’s even a Harry Potter themed bar which is a fun novelty. One of the best places to check out is the rooftop bar on top of Cue bar in Old Town. It’s really relaxed but always busy, the drinks are very reasonably priced and it stays open late into the night.
Where do you spend your weekends? Do you have any favourite spots to hang out? Weekends have been spontaneous so far, we’ve ventured out to Karon beach which is about 40 mins on a songtaew, we’ve chilled in the town and checked out the aquarium, we’ve hung out in Central and watched a movie at the cinema there. Every few weekends we splurge and go on a bit of an adventure with some of the friends we met in the XploreAsia orientation week which has been wonderful!
Where can we go for a quick getaway? Because of its southern location, Phuket has great access to the sea and islands. We went to Koh Phi Phi which is less than an hour away by speedboat ferry. This trip was just incredible, seeing so many iconic sights as well as snorkelling with sharks and other fish and even bioluminescent plankton after the sun had set. It is definitely well worth a visit and a very easy weekend trip because of the proximity.
Another trip we went on was to Chiang Mai which is quite a distance but is definitely easily managed because of the airport in Phuket. The airport is only a 40-minute drive from Phuket town and there is a frequent bus service to and from it which makes it very easy to see other regions of Thailand during the long weekends or holidays. We’re also within reasonable distance to Krabi and Phang-Nga and we spent time with friends in Ao Nang at New Years. The next adventure we are planning is to check out some of the National Parks near us, namely Khao Sok which we have heard is incredible! There’s plenty to see and do so we haven’t gotten bored yet.
What’s your one piece of advice for new teachers coming here?
I think it is a town where it might be easy to get into a routine and stick with it. But I think if you really get out there and introduce yourself and get to know new people you will have the best experience possible here in Phuket. In saying that, I think it’s worthwhile to really explore and enjoy the quieter parts of Phuket rather than focusing on the party lifestyle of the Western part of the island. You save money by avoiding tourist traps and you get to see a more beautiful side of Phuket the more you travel off the beaten track.
“My one piece of advice for new teachers coming here is to put yourself out there.“
– Mary Kate Barrett
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