"THE TROPICAL RESORT GROUP, A HOME AWAY FROM HOME"
TOURS
To make the most of your stay, our Tour Counter offers a full selection of tour options including city tours, P.P. Island Tour, James Bong Island Tour, scuba diving, snorkeling, game fishing, safari and elephant trekking, private speed boat tours, the canoe experience, Phuket Fantasea and much more.
Our tours have been carefully selected and planned, taking advantage of the most informed local knowledge to ensure your enjoyment. You may choose to do as much, or as little, as you please during your visit.
Be it far from us to tell you what to do in Phuket but there are some gems that you really should not miss while on your visit here, and we don't mean the kind sold at the jewellers… Phuket's great advantage is that there's always something to do here whether it's raining or shining. Here are our Top Ten 'Must See' choices, built on popular vote. If you only get through half of these you'll have had an unforgettable holiday. Go for it.
Phuket FantaSea
Phuket FantaSea is a cultural theme-park packed with loads of activities and entertainment. The theme-park is inspired by Thailand's rich and exotic heritage. However, Phuket FantaSea not only showcases the charm and beauty of Thailand, but also enriches ancient Thai traditions with cutting edge technology and special effects. Not to be missed during your holiday in Phuket, especially if you have kids.
Phuket Simon Cabaret
This hugely popular tourist attraction, on the hill just outside Patong, has been wowing audiences for years with its exotic, hilarious, often risqué, transvestite cabaret.
The show features a spectacular musical floor show performed by the famous "ladyboys" of Simon Cabaret. See for yourself. Can you tell the difference?Stunning costumes, bright lights, an excellent sound system and expensive sets are all part of this theatrical extravaganza. An experience not to be missed.
Viewpoints in Phuket
There are many viewpoints looking out over east and west Phuket affording sunrise as well as sunset views. Ok, so everyone goes to Promthep but it doesn't make it any less spectacular. There, you'll get fabulous views over the ocean stretching as far as Phi Phi Island on a good day. Check out Phuket's other viewpoints such as the 'Three Beaches' hilltop venue on the road between Nai Harn and Kata or sip a cocktail at the After Beach Bar (also on the same road) while the golden ball slips into the western horizon.
Old Phuket Town
Sino-Portuguese splendours and funky shops in the most unlikely places will surprise and delight you in the heart of Phuket's sleepy provincial capital. Phuket town offers much more than you think with some excellent restaurants and local sights. The unique blend of colonial and Chinese architecture along with a tangible quaintness makes for a fascinating and unforgettable afternoon spent sauntering around Phuket's Old Town. Expect the unexpected and don't forget your camera.
Patong's Bangla Road
Patong, once known as the sleazy, red light district of Phuket, has undergone a period of transformation in recent years. The area's once notorious nightlife has been tamed somewhat to make it friendlier to women, couples and families and Patong now has something for everyone. That's not to say that you can't find some wild action anymore - you certainly can - but it does mean that a much wider variety of entertainment options exist to make your nights in Phuket as much fun as your days.
Wat Chalong Phuket Temples
To visit Phuket's temples, you can join a day-tour that will include a visit to one of Phuket's main Buddhist temples. There are also tours of Phuket City that will take you to a few of the city's Chinese shrines. Of course you might prefer to hire your own transportation and go at your own pace.
Chalong Big Buddha
Visible from most of the south of Phuket, the Big Buddha is a recent arrival to the island. The image stands on the top of the Nakkerd Hills and looks down over Chalong, Kata and Rawai. It cost 30 million baht to construct and is 45 metres high. Next to it stands a smaller, golden image that is actually made of brass and there is a shrine near the site's car park. The drive up to the Big Buddha takes you through the 'real' Thailand and the view from the top is enhanced if you take a map to identify the many, many sights.
Thai Boxing - Muay Thai in Phuket
Thai boxing or Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand. This martial art has its origins in the ancient battlefield skills of the Thais. It evolved from Krabi-Krabong, literally sword and baton, the hand-to-hand tactics the Thais used in warfare. As a spectator sport, Muay Thai began as bouts between different companies within the Siamese army with few rules and no weight divisions or time limits.
In the 1930s, the rules of Thai Boxing were changed in the interest of safety to be based on the Marquis of Queensbury's rules. Contestants now had to wear international style gloves, as opposed to horsehide straps that were in common usage, but were still allowed to use almost any part of their body - feet, elbows, legs, knees, and shoulders. In fact the only part of the body that can't be used is the head.
The Phuket festival best known around the world is the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which occurs on the first day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar (usually around late September or early October). This festival originated when a troupe of Chinese performers visiting Phuket fell ill. They gave up meat for seven days and performed a number of rituals to purify themselves and appease the gods. During the Vegetarian Festival the Buddhist population dons white clothing and abstains from meat, alcohol and sex.
Street markets spring up serving a variety of vegetarian delicacies unique to the festival. Selected participants enter Chinese shrines and meditate until they enter an ecstatic trance and claim that they are possessed by spirits. While in this trance they perform amazing and fairly gruesome acts of self-mutilation. Spectacles include bladed ladder climbing, fire walking and the must-be-seen-to-believed processions. Processions take place in the morning all over the island and involve entranced celebrants piercing their faces with everything from spikes to knives to lawn furniture as well as self-flagellation with axes and swords. Images of Chinese gods are carried through the streets and evil spirits are scared away with firecrackers by the thousands. Phuket Vegetarian festival 2010 dates: Last week of October, tbc.
