Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 804

from Phuket Town or beaches to the port is usually
included in your ferry ticket.
Tourist information TAT, 191 Th Thalang, Phuket Town
(daily 8.30am-4.30pm; T 076 212213, W tatphket@tat
.or.th).

Good-value British-Thai guest house offering sprucely
kept, tiled-floor rooms, all with fridges, TV and hot water,
most with a/c, plus a ten-bed mixed dorm, with lockers
and a /c. Fre e intern et acc ess and free wi-fi throughout.
Dorm B250 , double B500

ACCOMMODATION
PHUKET TOWN
The Memory at On On 19 Th Phang Nga Rd T 076
216161, W thememoryhotel.com. Phuket's atmospheric
first hotel (circa 1929) in Sino-Portuguese style has
just been tastefully renovated, opening up the light
wells and communal sitting areas and putting in
traditional dark-wood furniture. The a/c 4- and 6-bed
dorms are good value, with curtains for privacy, comfy
mattr esses, fr ee wi-f i and lots of other facilities. Dorm
B500 , double B1750
Phuket Backpackers 167 Th Ranong Rd T 076 256680,
W phuketbackpacker.com. Probably the best-value budget
option in Phuket, with a lively bar-restaurant downstairs
and lots of tours and information available. The hostel has
a kitchen available for use, a huge TV with a well-stocked
DVD l ibrary, a nd a nice little garden; wi-fi is free. Dorm
B250 , double B800
Thalang 37 Guest House 37 Th Thalang T 076 214225.
Housed in a 1940s, Sino-Portuguese, wood-floored shop-
house in one of the Old Town's most attractive streets,
this place is fairly simple but full of character, traveller-
friendly and good value. The twelve fan and a/c rooms
are larg e and en suite; rates include a simple breakfast.
Double B400

HAT MAI KHAO
Mai Khao Beach Bungalows T 081 895 1233,
W maikhaobeach.wordpress.com. Sturdy but simple
en-suite bungalows sit in spacious, grassy grounds just
behind the shore, beneath coconut palms hung with
hammocks, next door to the Holiday Inn . There's a nice
restaurant and a massage sala here too, but not much else.
Closed Aug, so metimes longer, during the rainy season.
Double B1000
Seaside Cottages T 094 805 9318, W mai-khao
-beach.com. A peaceful spot in a large and colourful
beachfront garden with thatched bamboo and wooden
huts with shared facilities, as well as expensive en-suite
cottages (B2000) and a decent restaurant. There are
directions i n Engl ish and Thai on the website to print
out. Double B600

10

EATING AND DRINKING
PHUKET TOWN
Anna's Phuket Th Ratsada (1 street south of Th Phang
Nga), by the fountain roundabout T 076 210535. Cool,
artfully un-designed bar-restaurant in a Sino-Portuguese
mansion, with a careful mish-mash of furniture. Lots of
specialist beers and good Thai and Western food - it's hard
to resist the very comforting roast chicken and mashed
potato (B250). Live bands nightly at 8.30pm. Tues-Sun
6pm-midnight.
Kopitiam by Wilai 14 & 18 Th Thalang T 083 606 9776.
Traditional coffee shop (plus an a/c room two doors away)
that's been cleverly updated and made accessible to
foreigners by broadening its menu. Alongside tasty Phuket
specialities such as pork belly simmered with Chinese
spices (B100), you can get sandwiches, salads and
afternoon tea with plates of Phuket sweets (B150). Mon-
Sat 11am-10pm.

AO PATONG
Kool Backpacker Hostel 3rd floor, Ocean department
store, 31 Th Bangla, the main east-west road in central
Patong T 076 340739. A strange location for this new,
modern hostel, but it's lively, colourful and well equipped:
a/c rooms (including a women-only dorm), hot showers,
free wi-fi, f ree loc kers and locks, and a lounge with TV and
DVD. Dorm B400

AO KARON
Lucky Guest House 110/44-45 Th Taina T 076 330572,
E [e-mail]. Good-value place
offering unusually large, bright en-suite rooms in a low-
rise block and some rather plain semi-detached bungalows
on land further back; set back a bit down a small soi, this
guest house has a refreshing sense of space that's at a
premium on this road packed with shops, bars and
restaurants (Th Taina runs east-west at the far south end
of Ao Karon and is sometimes known as “Kata Centre”).
Double B600
Pineapple Guesthouse Karon Plaza, off Patak and Luang
Pho Chuan rds T 076 396223, W pineapplephuket.com.

PATONG AND KARON
Kwong Shop Seafood 114 Th Taina, Karon. Unassuming
but very popular, family-run institution sporting gingham
tablecloths that's famous for its well-priced fresh fish
(around B40/100gm) and seafood cooked to order. Daily
8am-midnight.
The Sea Hag Soi Wattana, Th Tavee Wong (the seafront
road), Patong T 076 341111. The same chef has been
cooking great seafood here for two decades and this is
where expat hoteliers come for a good Patong feed. Fish
and seafood cooked any number of Thai-style ways for
B200-400. Daily noon-4pm & 6pm-midnight.