Mid Sem Stop 2: Fun in Phuket

Ahhhhhh living on island time. That’s exactly how it was spending 5 incredible days on the beautiful island of Phuket. White sand beaches, blue water, lots of local culture surrounded me everywhere in a place that was designed for tourists but definitely didn’t feel like it.

The way to go in Phuket is to find an Air B&B to stay in. It’s significantly cheaper than trying to stay in a fancy tourist resort and chances are the owner will give you insider information on things to do on the island.

While the beach was by far my favorite part about Phuket, we saw and did a lot of very cool things. The warm waters surrounding the island are home to many coral reefs with a huge variety of fish. I conquered a major fear of mine and went scuba diving for the first time! We also explored some small neighboring islands and spent time looking for monitor lizards, a close relative of the Komodo dragon.

One of the famous attractions in Phuket is the big Buddha. It sits high on a hill and is still under construction but it watches over all of the island and people flock to it to appreciate an amazing wonder and explore the Buddhist faith.

Another attraction is Monkey Hill, a road where monkeys roam hoping to snag a snack from a tourist and tourists hope to get close, but not too close to the monkeys!

The vibe in Phuket was so chill and relaxed that it was the perfect place to go after the hectic streets of Bangkok. I highly recommend any Southeast Asia traveler make it a stop on their itinerary!