My feet led me to Phuket’s famous Patong Beach. It wasn’t quite morning yet, the sun still sleeping below the gray horizon. It started drizzling. Hurriedly, I put my cameras back on my bag and trotted to the nearest coconut tree where I sheltered myself from the rain.

I paused for a while, waiting for the drizzle to abate. And I witnessed the old adage I kept hearing as a child, a rainbow appearing right after the rain. It was a spectacular show. Not one, but two full rainbows—one of top of the other. Something I have only seen in photographs.

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A group of long-tail boats were anchored a few feet from the shore. I waded in—letting the soft warm waters of Patong Beach reach my thigh. Eventually, I let go of my cameras and succumbed to the temptations of the sea. I dove down and let Phuket’s waters immerse me completely.

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A quick shower, a flurry of noodles and bacons for breakfast at the Duangjitt Resort and I’m back at Patong Beach. But this time, aboard a tuk tuk, Phuket’s main mode of transportation. Together with photographers from PhilStar and Manila Bulletin, we headed to Camp Chang Kalim to say hi to a few elephants. Goodbye 200 baht.

The previous day’s plan to go elephant riding at Phang Nga didn’t push through due to inclement weather and one of us was really just rarin’ to ride one of these gentle giants. A 30-minute ride costs 900 baht, something I really don’t have anymore. I made other plans.

After snapping away with our cameras like crazy, my friend took off into the hills of Phuket aboard one of the elephants. Me, I headed back to the road. I wanted to explore the whole stretch of Patong Beach on foot. Camp Chang Kalim is located at the hilly end of Patong Beach, it’s the perfect place to start my beach walk.

The road towards Patong beach winds downward. It’s a pleasant morning, the sun in full regalia, filtering through the trees lining the highway. The temperature started to climb as I continued my descent, taking photographs of uniquely Thai houses and restaurants along the way.

After half an hour, the tail end of Patong Beach, with its fine white sand and rocky shore, came into view. A rushing tuk tuk slowed to a crawl along the road and out came my two companions. Elephant ride’s over, it’s time to walk!

The heat of the midday sun finally got to us. Deciding to rest a while, we chanced upon a street vendor hawking local street food. We were having a hard time communicating with her, what the stuff were and such, so we decided to simply buy some and find out for ourselves.

Turned out it’s lanka or jackfruit seeds, coated in a sweet crunchy batter of sorts. Tasty!

Posh resorts started to sprout like mushrooms as we neared the beach. Patong Beach runs across the city’s entire west side and stretches for about three and half kilometers. It is the same beach that was ravaged by the deadly 2004 tsunami. And at last, we were now able to step foot on its sandy shores.

On the rocky northern portion of the beach, we saw locals garbed in long-sleeved shirts, wearing face masks and pointed hats similar to our very own salakot. With fifteen to twenty-foot long, thin fishing poles, they stand along the fringes of the rocks protruding towards the Sea of Andaman, waiting for fishes to bite.

I wasn’t able to get as near to them as I would’ve wanted to, but I think most of them are women.

It took almost an hour and a half before the more familiar stretch of Patong Beach came into view. Our pace was a bit brisk since we have to check out of the resort by noontime and fly back to Manila right after. A leisurely stroll is out of the question.

It was exactly twelve noon when I decided to stop walking, take a breather and enjoy the view of the Andaman Sea. The sun was now bearing down hard on Patong Beach and umbrella rentals were in full swing. Tourists undeterred by the harsh sun still litter the azure waters of the beach, looking upwards once in a while as parasails fly through the cobalt blue sky.

Phuket’s Patong Beach reminds me so much of Boracay, albeit a much more littered one. Not by trash but of plastic lounging chairs and beach parasols. Makeshift tents offering Thai massage at 300 baht also abound, and not a few tourists can be seen lying face down, enjoying each and every hand stroke along their heavily suntanned backs.

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Finally I arrived where I started from. I still remembered how Patong Beach woke up to the warm rays of the early morning sun just a few hours ago. Its rays filtering through the wet leaves of the trees and falling towards the creamy sand. The still deserted beach. Its warm waters. The unopened parasols. And yes, the rainbows.

Patong Beach
Address: Patong Beach, Patong City, Phuket, Thailand
Entrance Fee: None
Beach Chairs with Parasol Rental: THB 160.00
Sun Bed Rental: THB 200.00
GPS Coordinates Map: 7.890578, 98.292852

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One thing I really admire about Thailand is how rich and genuine their culture is. I’ve seen a glimpse of their intricate customs from the years past but I never knew how deep it is until watching the acclaimed cultural show, Siam Naramit. And as a tourist visiting their shores, I can’t help but want to bring a piece of that tradition back to the Philippines with me.

The simplest, most uncomplicated way in doing this is through the souvenir shops lining the tourist traps in Phuket and Phang Nga. It may not be as deep as what “travelers” are supposed to bring back home, but it’s enough for me; a simple reminder, a memento, of my first trip to Thailand.

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When do we shop? is a phrase I often hear from my companions in the Tigerair Philippines tour bus. And our tour guide, giving in to pressure, always brings us to souvenir stores at the end of the tour day. The first store she brought us to was the T-Shirt Factory in Phuket’s Patong City.

Twenty minutes she said, we still have a show to watch later! She sternly warned through a strained smile.

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Everyone scrambled down, counting their bahts as they went along.

It’s the first souvenir store I’ve seen where a staff briefs the tourists first before letting them loose inside the store. He explained how this is where the cheapest Thai souvenir shirts can be bought and how much more it costs in Patong Beach. He then went on how the store is laid out—where to get your key chains, bags, and everything else. Very efficient!

I got myself a couple of ref magnets and a few monk bags.

I’m a t-shirt person, but out of the hundreds of designs I saw framed on their wall, I just can’t find one that I liked. I really don’t dig the usual I Love Insert-Name-of-Place shirts, looking instead for simple but clever designs or those printed with funny local phrases.

I saw one from the stalls along Patong Beach that has this printed on its back: No, I Don’t Want a F*ckin’ Tuk Tuk, Suit or Massage, Thank You Very Much. It comes complete with a Thai translation in front which would really serves its purpose.

I would’ve instantly bought it if not for the profanity included—my mom would probably faint if she ever sees me wearing that. Besides, the typography left much to be desired.

For foodstuff, you can snack non-stop on Phuket’s cashew nuts.

We visited one of the stores specializing in this particular snack, Phuket’s Cashewy. They have these nuts in all the flavors possible; sweet, salty, garlicky, buttered, roasted, plain, chocolate, honey, coffee, fried, herbed, peppered, curried, spicy, really spicy, and wasabi spicy.

And the best thing? You’re free to taste them all without spending a single baht. I had not a few helpings of the spicy one.

For those wanting to bring home a piece of art, Patong City is replete with shops selling canvasses painted with all the usual Thai motifs like elephants, tigers and mythical creatures standing side by side with paintings of Bob Marley and Scarface.

If you’re worried about the shipping cost, there are also smaller suitcase-friendly versions of these masterpieces.

And I of course couldn’t leave Phuket without getting myself the requisite Starbucks Global Icon mugs from Starbucks.

The Phuket mug is printed with the traditional Thai long-tail boat, ruea hang yao. And the Thailand mug is stamped with a jasmine garland or phuang malai, which is commonly given as offerings or good luck.

It just sucked that I wasn’t able to buy the full-sized mugs, there being no more stocks until after I left back for Manila. I made do with the demitasse versions.

And one last thing, before leaving Thailand, I made sure I brought home a few cans of local Thai beers. I’m thinking of a adding these to my souvenir collections too. I’m just touristy like that.

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”Where are you guys staying?” I remember our masseuse asking us the evening we got a taste of the crazy night life at Bangla Road. ”At the Duangjitt Resort,” I replied, having a bit of difficulty in correctly pronouncing the name. ”You guys are so lucky!” She exclaimed, correcting my pronunciation right after beautifully breaking my back with her excellent Thai massage.

Sprawling on a 36-acre lot, Duangjitt Resort has 193 Superior Rooms, 60 Deluxe Pool View Rooms, 127 Deluxe Garden Wing Rooms, 59 Deluxe Bungalows, 14 Villas, 32 Honeymoon Rooms, 11 Family Suite Rooms, and four Suite Rooms. Whew, quite a mouthful! It is one of the largest resorts in Phuket’s Patong Beach, if not the largest.

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Our last night in Thailand had us dining at one of the many buffet restaurants lining the streets of Patong Beach in Phuket. We haven’t really tried any of the food places along its crowded avenues—well except the street food we sampled the previous day—since our arrival a few days ago. Finally, here’s our chance.

Dinner was served at the World Café of Mercure Phuket Deevana hotel. Although it mainly serves the guests lodged in their world class hotel, the restaurant is also open to walk in diners. While it is not exactly located right in front Phuket’s Patong Beach, it’s still strategically situated near the many street shopping areas to attract a fair amount of tourists.

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Part of visiting Thailand meant stepping inside intricately decorated, gold-adorned Buddhist temples—well, at least for me. Without any such temples on the Tigerair Philippines media tour itinerary, the only time I get to see these places of worship were when our tour bus passes them en route to some destination or another.

And of course, the only photos I get were blurry, electric line-ridden images.

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I was ecstatic then when our bus pulled into a gravel drive in the town of Song Phraek where one such temple is located. We weren’t really there for the temple though, the group was simply waiting for the smaller vans that would take us to the Phang Nga whitewater rafting area.

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Ice cold water splashed through our whole being—shocking and drenching us completely, as our bright red raft attacked the raging waters of the Song Phraek River. With no briefing whatsoever, we were suddenly plunged headlong into a wild ride. Our only lifeline, a rope tethered across the boat and footholds at the bottom of the dinghy.

Thailand’s weather has been uncooperative since yesterday; our Phang Nga Bay day trip was marred with scattered rain showers. And it only got worst as we navigated the rubber tree-lined road up to the Phang Nga River Lodge for our whitewater rafting adventure.

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Cold Chang beers were held high in the air for a toast. It was our first night in Phuket, Thailand’s celebrated resort town, and we were not gonna waste it sleeping inside our rooms. Bringing along the smallest cameras we have and a pocketful of baht, we roamed the humid streets of Phuket, acquainting ourselves with Patong City’s exciting night life.

A gang of four, we left the comfort of Duangjitt Resort and headed to the nearby Patong Beach en route to Bangla Road. We were told that’s where the action is come night time in Phuket. Coming from the amazing Siam Niramit cultural show, it was almost midnight when we rolled.

The whole day jaunt to Thailand’s famous Phang Nga Bay still lingered on our minds as the Tigerair Philippines group headed back to Phuket’s Patong City. Our tummies were already craving for dinner but we wanted something that’s uniquely Thai.

It was just our luck that the peeps at Bamboo Travel, the outfit that Tigerair chose to steer us around Thailand, has just the right thing planned for the night—were going to one of Phuket’s most famous cultural show, Siam Niramit, and have our sumptuous dinner there too.

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I haven’t one iota what Siam Niramit is. All I know is that it’s a cultural show and I’m actually having doubts if I’ll enjoy it. Our bus pulled into the massive lighted gates of the complex and Thai girls, garbed in sparkling costumes, greeted us with gracious bows and warm smiles.

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The uneven stone staircase circling one side of Ko Khao Phing Kan Island, more popularly known as James Bond Island to the flock of sightseers visiting Thailand, was jammed with tourists. I patiently waited as they gingerly descended, one slow person at a time, waiting my turn to climb and see one of Phuket’s famous icon, the strange Ko Tapu Islet.

For more than an hour, our media group from Tigerair Philippines traversed the right-hand driven highways of Thailand en route to the jetty which would take us to James Bond Island. The isle’s name evokes tuxedo-wearing spies, shiny guns, fancy cars, sultry women, and exotic locations. I’m definitely excited for the last two.

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Exactly on time, the huge Airbus 319 taxied along the NAIA tarmac. It revved its engine, escaped gravity, and soared high into the dark Manila evening. Electric lights twinkled below and far into the horizon; we were smoothly navigating the air above the metro. TigerAir Philippines recently opened a direct flight from Manila to Thailand’s premier beach destination, Phuket—and it’s where exactly where we’re heading.

Regular readers might notice that I’m not really one to travel out of the Philippines, usually traveling abroad only once a year. But I was fortunate enough to be invited to try out Tigerair Philippines’ direct flight to Phuket. What’s really enticing about their Phuket flight is how affordable it is compared to the competitors out there. One can easily save up to 70% through their direct flights, and that’s not even during their seat sales.

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