Phuket / Krabi over the holidays...

[netrix]

Has anyone ever stayed at The Album Hotel in Phuket?

I'm inviting a friend from the US over for his first trip to thailand
during the christmas new years holiday...and i haven't ever been
down to Phuket and the surrounding area before, so any input
would be cool. where to go, where to avoid, touristy stuff that
would be fun.

anyone ever go to the full moon party on Ko Pha Ngan?

[pong]

normal tourist info is in any decent guidebook or any of the main and well-known ditto sites, like tripadvisor or lonelyplanet
How old are you-though the label says you are veteran? That FMP is an all-night booze as much as you can, splitting ears loud deafening 200.000000 kV music systems from 1234 sides coming in along the beach, after a while people puking, spitting, vomitting etc all over the place, getting their feet cut due to the thrown down and broken bottles, firedancers and anything someone can invent to do to get money from others for the show. And a great chance to get as many as you can farang young ladies getting laid (or so). As about anyone on this forum asks about gay places-it is not. That does not mean you wont find any amusements-but with the same chance as in any high-street full of drunken young Brit (or I guess OZzie) lads/mates having their night out and blowing the hard earnt salary away. Some like that over the top-even plan to coma back ASAP-I do not (but then I had to deal with all the thefts and medical expense after claimed on insurance).
Mysteriously Phuket only rarely appears in this site-and on the other gay sites as well, and I guess it has a reason. But there are a few bars and boys for rent-as about anything in HKT, at far higher prices as even BKK dares to charge. And alas- around 25/12+1/1 is the top of the main high-season, that means giant crowds and superhigh prices.

[Beachlover]

Netrix... Phuket and the surrounding islands are renowned for natural beauty. If you're into active stuff, do a couple of day trips out to the islands near Phuket to go snorkeling etc. Do a kayaking trip to see the island lagoons (http://www.seacanoe.net/ is best, in my opinion).

Don't miss out on the seafood too. Lots of beautiful fresh seafood on display outside restaurants along the beach front road in Patong. Tiger prawns as big as your arm...

..Tiger prawns as big as your arm...

....so, don't forget to pack a very large plate.

:occasion9:

[krobbie]

Has anyone ever stayed at The Album Hotel in Phuket?

I'm inviting a friend from the US over for his first trip to thailand
during the christmas new years holiday...and i haven't ever been
down to Phuket and the surrounding area before, so any input
would be cool. where to go, where to avoid, touristy stuff that
would be fun.

anyone ever go to the full moon party on Ko Pha Ngan?

You have chosen a very good area Netrix as my first Thailand Hotyel was on this road (Sawadirak Road). It runs between the beach road and R U Thit Road which are the main arterials for Phuket. Couldn't be better placed.

This hotel looks great and boutique. Only 22 rooms. Small pool / sundeck and modern. Free WIFI. You'll have a ball. I hope you didn't book off their web site? Outrageous prices. Hotels.com has them at a fraction and Agoda ; www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/phuket/the_album_hotel.html (http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/phuket/the_album_hotel.html)

The tuk-tuk drivers are absolute rogues and won't go anywhere for under a certain 600 baht. They are buggers. We use a couple of bike taxis. There are always a couple of mortocy taxi guys together and being the main roads you grab one and another will be along for you mate in a jiffy or just walk.

Beach is correct about the tiger prawns. Huge! but at a price. There are a series of restaurants altogther side-by-side on R U Thit Road (you won't miss them). They affer very good fare at reasonable prices. Just don't use the bathroom if you can help it. Yikes!

Tons to see around the Island also. Great lookouts and do go around the bottom coast road from Patong, Kata, Nai Harm, Rawai Beach and Chalong Bay and on in Phuket Town. You can come back over the hills to Patong. This is a good 4-5 hour trip but take your time. Do NOT go to Patong Zoo. They make the animals do tricks. It's like stepping back in time to 1960. Yikes.

Cheers
Krobbie

[krobbie]

Has anyone ever stayed at The Album Hotel in Phuket?

I'm inviting a friend from the US over for his first trip to thailand
during the christmas new years holiday...and i haven't ever been
down to Phuket and the surrounding area before, so any input
would be cool. where to go, where to avoid, touristy stuff that
would be fun.

anyone ever go to the full moon party on Ko Pha Ngan?

You have chosen a very good area Netrix as my first Thailand Hotel was on this road (Sawadirak Road). It runs between the beach road and R U Thit Road which are the main arterials for Phuket. Couldn't be better placed.

This hotel looks great and boutique. Only 22 rooms. Small pool / sundeck and modern. Free WIFI. You'll have a ball. I hope you didn't book off their web site? Outrageous prices. Hotels.com has them at a fraction and Agoda ; http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/phuk ... hotel.html (http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/phuket/the_album_hotel.html)

The tuk-tuk drivers are absolute rogues and won't go anywhere for under a certain 600 baht. They are buggers. We use a couple of bike taxis. There are always a couple of mortocy taxi guys together and being the main roads you grab one and another will be along for you mate in a jiffy or just walk.

Beach is correct about the tiger prawns. Huge! but at a price. There are a series of restaurants altogther side-by-side on R U Thit Road (you won't miss them). They affer very good fare at reasonable prices. Just don't use the bathroom if you can help it. Yikes!

Tons to see around the Island also. Great lookouts and do go around the bottom coast road from Patong, Kata, Nai Harm, Rawai Beach and Chalong Bay and on in Phuket Town. You can come back over the hills to Patong. This is a good 4-5 hour trip but take your time. Do NOT go to Patong Zoo. They make the animals do tricks. It's like stepping back in time to 1960. Yikes.

Cheers
Krobbie

[cameroncat]

I find Krabi to be much nicer than Phuket, but it's strictly BYOB (Bring Your Own Boy).

[netrix]

thanks guys. yea i definitely want to do some day trips. but it probably makes sense
to wait until we're down there to see what's available without paying crazy prices.

yea krobbie i saw the agoda prices for that hotel. really good deal for peak season!

i want to do the full moon party some time while i'm still young enough to fit in with
the crowd lol, but maybe not this trip. i'll probably have my thai guy with me but my
farang friend will be on the prowl.

i love seafood and that sounds great! we just want to have a great relaxing vacation
and do all the stuff you're supposed to do when you go to south thailand the first time --
gay or not. we'll have a couple weeks in bkk before going down there so it will be a good
contrast and fun to relax. i guess we'll avoid the jetskis ;)

[Beachlover]

Beach is correct about the tiger prawns. Huge! but at a price. There are a series of restaurants altogther side-by-side on R U Thit Road (you won't miss them). They affer very good fare at reasonable prices. Just don't use the bathroom if you can help it. Yikes!
You're talking about the large outdoor restaurants on Rat U Thit Road (main road, second road back from the beach) opposite the Paradise Complex where the gay bars are right? You can't miss them. These are much more reasonably priced than other places and the food is great. Another similarly priced place to eat is one of the little alleys off Bang La Road (the main walking street at night). There are some cozy outdoor restaurants here and they have lots of fresh seafood available.

Personally, I tend to want air conditioning or to sit somewhere overlooking the beach when I eat in Phuket so I often to eat at one of the Savoy Restaurant branches on the beachfront. I've never compared exactly how much more they are compared to the outdoor restaurants. But I know the last time I had a nice seafood meal for two, with a big tiger prawn each, some fish and side dishes, it was around 1,800 baht... which is still cheap to me.