Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is more or less in the town centre). For a ride around town, túk-túk drivers should charge
100B to 200B.
Motorcycle taxis around town cost 30B.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Ko Sireh
This tiny island, 4km east of the district capital and connected to the main island by a
bridge, is known for its
chow lair
(also spelt
chao leh
) village and a hilltop reclining
Buddha at
Wat Sireh
.
The largest settlement of
chow lair
in Thailand is little more than a poverty-stricken
cluster of tin shacks on stilts, plus one seafood restaurant. The Urak Lawoi, the most
sedentary of the three
chow lair
groups, are found only between the Mergui Archipelago
and the Tarutao-Langkawi Archipelago, and speak a pidgin mix of Malay and Mon-Kh-
mer.
A single road loops the island, passing a few residences, prawn farms, lots of rubber
plantations and a bit of untouched forest. On the east coast there's a public beach called
Hat Teum Suk
, as well as a terrific cooking school, the
Phuket Thai Cookery School
( 0 7625 2354;
www.phuketthaicookeryschool.com
; Ko Sireh; courses per day from 2900B; 8.30am-5pm)
. Here you can get
intimate with aromatic Thai spices at this popular cooking school set on a quiet seafront
plot on Ko Sireh's east coast. Courses can last up to six hours. The school provides hotel
pick-ups, market tours and a cookbook.
PHUKET FOR CHILDREN
There's plenty for kids to do on Phuket. And while the seedier face of the sex industry is on full show in Patong
(we wouldn't bring our kids there, although many people do), the rest of the island is fairly G-rated.
Elephant treks are always a big hit with kids, with the best options available on the Kata-Hat Nai Han road.
Phuket Aquarium (
Click here
)
and a visit to the tiny Phuket Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre (
Click here
) are also
terrific animal-themed activities that are sure to please.
The main family-flogged feature of Phuket is Phuket Fantasea (
Click here
), which is a pricey extravaganza of
animals, costumes, song, special effects, pyrotechnics, and a lousy dinner.
The newest attractions for kids of all ages, but especially for tweeners and above is the
Phuket Wake Park
(
0 7620 2527;
www.phuketwakepark.com
; 86/3 Moo 6, Th Wichitsongkram, Kathu; two hours 500-650B, day
pass 1200B;
7.30am-11pm) , where you can learn to wake board by buzzing a lake nestled in the mountains
of Kathu.
