From Koh Samui, Phuket was only an hours flight away and after the hard work we put in at Vikasa, we were looking forward to some beach time.
Knowing people who have been to Thailand before, we had heard a lot of stories about the beaches in Thailand being gorgeous. Soft white sand, warm clear water and sunshine were what we were expecting and we were not disappointed.
Phuket island has a lot of beaches to choose from and we did our research before going. As we headed through different towns on our way to Kata (our selected beach town) we were so thankful for putting the research time in!
“We were thrilled that we found this quiet little place to use as a base for the next few days.”
The first place we drove through was Patong, the main area for partying in Phuket with street after street lined with bars and blaring music. After the calm serenity of Viakasa on Koh Samui, the sights and sounds of Patong were far too much for us.
We continued to drive south down the west coast of the island, passing a smaller town called Karon on our way through to Kata.
Kata is one of the smaller towns on the island, it has a gorgeous beach lined with trees and a much less commercialised vibe than Patong and Karon. We were thrilled that we found this quiet little place to use as a base for the next few days whilst we explored Phuket and the surrounding islands.
For the first couple of days we enjoyed the glorious Kata beach, borrowing beach mats and a parasol each day from our hotel. As we walked down to the beach we saw the familiar sights of Thailand, tuk tuks, crazy telephone wires strewn above us and street vendors selling food that smelt great.
We enjoyed not only the taste of the street food but also it’s cheap price, well cheap compared to the restaurants! We enjoyed corn on the cob, a lot of chicken with sweet chilli sauce, banana and chocolate pancakes, chopped mango and pineapple and coconut milk from the street vendors, all delicious and tasty treats that filled us up throughout the day.
Whilst we enjoyed the sunshine on the beach during the day, we headed out in the evening for a couple of nights to see Muay Thai fighting (Rich’s choice) and a cabaret ladyboy show (my choice)!
The Muay Thai fights were held in the Bangla Boxing Stadium in Patong and from nine o’clock we watched local and international Muay Thai fighters, starting with the lightest (youngest) fighters and ending with the heavier (older) fighters.
I’m not the biggest boxing fan and that is when it doesn’t include flying kicks, kneeing and elbowing! I didn’t know what to expect from a night out watching Muay Thai to be honest, I just thought it would be brutal.
Rich really enjoyed watching the skilled fighters battle it out in the ring. I focussed my concentration on trying to get a few good action shots, focussing less on the fighting itself. I have to admit though, they are skilled fighters.
There were locals placing bets on each fight and the atmosphere in the stadium was great, with the crowd cheering and jeering the fighters in the ring as the fights progressed. The fighters all performed rituals before each match, going to each corner of the ring and praying before doing the same in the centre of the ring.
Thankfully I didn’t see anything brutal during the night, just a lot of kicking, punching, kneeing and elbowing by competitors that enter the ring ready and prepared to fight. It’s not a sport I’ll be taking up any time soon. That said, it was a really enjoyable night out!
Our second night out at the Simon Cabaret was something I was looking forward, Rich not so much. I love a good stage show and when music is involved I love it even more! The added intrigue about guessing whether they are actually male or female performers added a new dimension to watching a show too.
Unfortunately the evenings entertainment was less than amazing. Yes the costumes were flamboyant and the stage scenes grand but apart from three or four of the performers, everyone looked as though they would rather be anywhere other than on the stage.
Every good performer knows that you can’t just ‘do the steps’ you have to be emotive, feel the music and put passion into your performance. For the most part, the Simon Cabaret was little more than watching bad lip synching and poor dancing. Was it too much that I expected a professional performance? I think not.
The best parts of the show were in fact the simplest. A big fat transvestite prancing around to I’m A Barbie Girl got the most laughs, cheers and loudest applause of all the acts. Maybe because he/she didn’t take themselves seriously and just had fun on the stage and with the audience.
If the point of the Simon Cabaret is to go and see transvestites then they put on a good show. The ladyboys certainly do look like women, tall, slim, pretty and graceful (well some of them). I thought we would see a good cabaret show as well, we got entertained yes but it was certainly not a show I’d go and see again.
Who would have thought I’d enjoy an evening of Muay Thai more than a cabaret show!
Lambs on the loose 