Phuket Aquarium - Great for the kids

You know, I've lost count of how many times we have been to Phuket Aquarium with the kids. We first went years ago before our daughter was a year old, and we've been back again and again. It's cheap to get in, I love looking at fish, we like the Cape Panwa area, it's airconditioned, so is good for hot days OR rainy days and it never seems too crowded.

The aquarium is already on this blog (see Phuket Aquarium Part 1), but now they have a new section - an outdoor "nature trail" with a path along the shore for a couple of hundred metres, a turtle breeding centre and a "marine endangered species unit" which we still need to check out (Saturday was too hot and my son was in need of rest).

Indoors are countless species, mostly in small display tanks, though there is the "tunnel" - not a huge tunnel, but you do have water all around and fish overhead. The big tank has a couple of larger species like leopard shark, eagle ray and some pelagics like trevallies dashing around. You can spend an hour indoors, though if you have kids they will charge around rather like the trevallies from tank to tank - "ooh! look at this one", "wow, look at that", and as dad the diver (me) tries to explain the hunting habits of the lionfish, they find Nemo or an electric eel or a "what's that daddy?"...




At the exit is a souvenir shop that should please all tourists. Nothing in there that really takes my fancy. But it is airconditioned, so worth browsing a few minutes on a hot day! A small shop sells drinks and snacks, but there is no restaurant. Next to the shop, steps lead down to the nature trail and you walk past the water filters and pumps for the tanks along the rather nice shoreline.




Along the shore are some interesting signs explaining about plants and birds and giving environmental advice...

 

A little way along is a little marine research boat which is now beached. The kids enjoyed "taking the wheel", and we sat there in the shade for a few minutes looking at the view and pretending to be sailors. Just after the boat are some open water pools where we found baby turtles. The marine biological center has a turtle breeding program. The baby turtles were obviously used to seeing people and rushed across to see us - sorry, we don't have any food...



And a little farther you find a pool containing adult turtles of several different species - the photo below shows 2 hawksbill turtles. At the shallow end is an artificial beach no more than about 15 meters square - we could see the marks on the sand made by turtle flippers.



The path does not end at the turtles. You can also see the endangered species unit, but we'll have to see that next time, as it was a hot day and we dashed back to the shop for drinks. We'll be back again sometime soon!

• Phuket Aquarium Website
• Phuket Aquarium - Find it on Google Earth

Also around Cape Panwa:

• Khao Kad Viewpoint
• Cape Panwa Hotel
• Novotel Panwa Resort
• The Beach Bar

Rawai Beach

Rawai beach is found on the south side of Phuket, between Chalong Bay and Phromthep Cape. It's not a swimming beach really, and there are only a few accommodation options close by (such as the Evason Resort, just to the east of Rawai). What you can find there in profusion are small beachside restaurants with foot-high tables on the beach, mostly no more than shacks selling grilled fish, crab, chicken. You sit on a mat on the floor and eat simple food by the sea. There used to be just a few of these places a few years back, now half the beach is covered in them. When we stopped on Sunday it was very busy too..mostly local people. In fact I don't think I saw a foreign face. There are some other restaurants around which have discovered chairs and tables and the foreigners do tend to eat at these. But for a local taste - sit on the floor! Also you find a fair number of small bars and good dining by the beach such as the long-popular Nikitas Bar, a British owned bar which has been there for no less than 16 years, and the much newer Mando Steakhouse (run by a friendly Dutch guy called Willy).




Near Rawai is a little gem of a beach called Laem Ka, at least it can be nice if the water is calm. On Sunday we stopped for a little look at Laem Ka Noi, down a kilometer long, narrow, bumpy road, and just as hard to find as Laem Ka! Not as pretty, but it seems there is a restaurant there, and it is certainly off the beaten track.



Aside from the restaurants you can find multitudes of boats at Rawai - you can rent boats here to Koh Lone, Koh He (Coral Island), Racha Yai and more. We do intend to check out Koh Lone one day, and I think the boats here will take people round to Koh Kaew too - a small island off Phromthep Cape with a golden Buddha on the beach.



At the far east end of the beach you find a little fishing community with a daily market selling fresh fish and prawns. There are also some "touristy" stalls selling shells and other such souvenirs of the sea. The market is small but gives an idea of the old way of life. Phuket still has many fishing communities around the coast despite the tourism that has taken over many of the western beaches. We bought some fish and I took a few photos.

 



The Southwest corner of Phuket is great for small beaches, views, seafood and a bit of peace and quiet. You can visit Rawai, eat at Kan Eang Seafood in Chalong, get the view at Phromthep, stop at Ya Nui beach.. get the sunset at the Kata Viewpoint. If you get the idea - it's a nice area of Phuket!

Boat Lagoon - Another side of Phuket

Quite aside from the "tourists", be they backpacking, flashpacking, on package tours, on a dive trip, here for the nightlife - whatever.. there is another side to Phuket that many don't know about. Phuket is home to several yacht marinas, there is a thriving boat building industry, there's the Kings Cup sailing event every year.. in short, there's lots of yachties around!

You'll find yachts in the high season moored in every bay from Bang Tao to Chalong, but these are open bays and offer little in the way of boat services or security. Boat Lagoon is found on the east coast, about 10km north of Phuket Town and is way more than just a marina or boat park. When you enter it's like a different world. You could be in a marina in France. Where has Thailand gone? Everything is neat and tidy, and if you like boats you're in dreamland. I love to look at them and dream of being a rich man! OK, not all boats are super expensive, but in Boat Lagoon you'll see some beautiful craft. Well worth stopping here for a quick look.



We stop in sometimes to walk around, look at boats, maybe have a coffee and cake at "The Bakery" - they also do great sandwiches and salads. There is also a restaurant here called The Watermark which is a bit too posh for us. We also use the pool at the Boat Lagoon Resort sometimes. Very nice place to stay if you like boats and are not bothered about being close to a beach.





Boat Lagoon also has houses and appartments, a supermarket and plenty of shops for yachties (selling a multitude of gadgets and essential bits for your boat). There are also yacht rental and sales centers. The boats are everywhere, in and out of the water. Boats are serviced here and they have some huge boat cranes for lifting boats out of the water. Like I say, if you like boats, this has to be on your list of places to see in Phuket.





Boat Lagoon and Yachting Links

• Boat Lagoon Resort
• Boat Lagoon Website
• Boat Lagoon - Location on Google Earth
• Phuket Kings Cup
• Phuket Race Week
• Phuket International Marine Expo
• Sunsail Yacht Charters