I live in Phuket I have lived here for 8 years , sadly in the last 3 years law and order has broken down and the cost of being here has spiraled out of control for everyone.. This is bad but not as bad as two things that have occured in the last week in Phuket.

Thais hate to lose face and do get crazy of they are made to do so , but the economy and the high cost of being in Phuket have led to an ever increasing trend you will not read about easily as it is hidden by the tourism authority of Thailand .

I would suggest anyone coming to phuket read the Phuket Gazzett online google it and look at the old stories before you book a ticket, but even if you do there a few rules EVERYONE MUST OBEY in Phuket.

NEVER and I mean NEVER use a TUK TUK, this week a 53 year old german man was set upon by a group of these low life living creatures because he did not want to be ripped off , the result is he is now in Intensive care with bad chances of survival . This being one of maybe twenty events this year related to these low life criminals and physical injury to westerners that have refused to be blantently ripped of or had money extorted from them by these rip of theives called TUK TUK drivers ..TUK TUK Drivers never get caught .. The police are on the take, and no one ever sees them do anything wrong

Worse than this and aside from the daily murders of both Thais and westeners the following event is beyond belief.

In Phuket this week a car driver pulled in to a gas station and asked for 500 Bht of gas ( 16 USD ) the attendant filled the gas tank with 501.25 Satang .. Thats and overfill of 4 us Cents 2.5P UK Pence, when asked to pay for the extra he refused ... The attendant took out a gun and shot him dead !!! The car driver was an off duty Police officer and lost his life for 4 US cents !!!

Life is cheap in Thailand and Law Enforcement non existant , it is not safe here so please dont forget as nice as it is for a holiday under the skin it is a very very dangerous place .. I will be leaving for good shortly as it really is getting very bad and like anything even though I have never been a victim I know too many that have and my chances are shrinking .

Thais on the whole are nice people, and the few that carry out these deeds are a bad bunch , but the problem is the few is becoming many more too quickly for comfort, and the Police are so corrupt that the bad the ones with money can kill with the knowledge nothing will happen, people can pay to get off with murder .

Thais must not lose face, and they will do anything to get revenge if they do, sadly too many tourists dont realize this and create a scene when trouble occurs, mostly without realizing the potential result .. The new generation dont seem to care what they do for revenge with or without loss of life , and it seems they get stripes for doing harm to others as revenge in their group, the police are to corrupt to get results so it is just not safe anymore for anyone Thai or tourist alike .

Yes, tuktuks are expensive on Phuket, but nearly everybody uses them without any problems.

The rest of this rant is mostly the OP's opinion, the other part is simply not true. I on the other hand am very happy living here, having lived here much longer than the OP as well, feel very safe and experience no problems whatsoever.

So wise decision from the OP to leave if you're not happy living somewhere.

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Diving Phuket and Similans

I think it was the English poet John Milton who wrote Paradise Lost a couple of centuries back. His lilting tome could apply to the Phuket of today.
We will never go there again. We have been five times over a period of 33 years and on each subsequent visitation we have witnessed the gradual degradation of the island and its once lovely surrounds.

The Tuk Tuk and jet ski scams are now common knowledge - or at least they should be. Eventually, over a period of time, Phuket will cook its golden goose with continued bad publicity, pollution, rip off prices, corruption, nepotism and the "ugly tourist crowd" that seems attracted to the island.

Whilst the last mentioned are in the minority - at the present time - they in themselves are enough of a distraction but when coupled with all of the other problems associated with this heavily tourised island, there would be many people like ourselves who make the silent vow never to return.

After all, there are far nicer and safer places in Thailand than Phuket and they are not hard to find!

Phuket is now the most expensive place in Thailand for a holiday - even more expensive than the capital Bangkok. With the large scale developments now taking place in Vietnam at Cahm Rah Bay, Hoi An and Halong Bay, it is my contention that the Vietnam resorts will eventually be the beneficiaries of the demise of Phuket in particular and Koh Samui to a far lesser extent.

Hi Emdee

I will be arriving in Bangkok the start of November and was planning on stopping over at Phuket for a few days to a week on our way down to Maylasia for our flights to Oz, having read the above, I now feel a little intimidated about venturing into Phuket... out of interest if we're starting in Bangkok and making out way down to Maylasia, what route would you suggest we take? (this is our first time travelling)

Thanks
Serendipity

Phuket used to be a twice a year regular out and about for me. Twice in Patong, then I discovered Karon beach a couple times, then finally settled on Kata Beach most of the visits. Always popping in at Karon for a beef or chicken burger from favorite vendor. Familiarity and cost were a good factor, as inexpensive at the time, and self driving, avoiding the pit falls always mentioned. TUK TUK’s are pure scum. Noticed food prices much higher last time there, about 18 months ago, though Sugar Palm, where we usually stay have kept costs down and consider it a very good value. The reports of high crime and fellow travelers I know that have had bad experiences, though staying in Patong, has kept me away recently. Also I have found places that are quite comfy without the long drive down, though beach isn’t up to Kata’s, though the gulf is fine most of the day, and usually deserted. If cheap airfare promotion from Udon to Phuket is available, I may make one more visit. But can’t see myself driving that far in the future. I will miss going there, and was the first experience of Thailand that I had, and the yearly visits were always enjoyable. Things seemed to have changed, and not for the good. As mentioned, there are other places, less expensive and less crowded that suit our taste better. If I don’t make it back within the next 6 months, I doubt if I ever will. Joining those that have sworn off the place. The continued corruption is destroying the tourist destinations.

Serendipity ….. how much time are you planning and what type of transportation do you plan on using to get to Malaysia. Quite a few decent places on the way down, along the gulf coast.

Some favorites, Hua Hin, though not the best swimmer's beach town, decent food town. Prachuap Khiri Khan, large area along gulf with different places. The main town is not exactly a beach town, with large bay, for fishing mostly, though very picturesque. There are beach towns all the way down to Chumphon worth popping in. Out of Hua Hin, the 1st one we like out of Bangkok, Cha-Am is right before there, though strangely not that familiar with it, being there once. Pranburi after HH, decent fishing village and beach area. Sam Roi Yot is national park below there. Further down you’ll find Ban Kruit, now a favorite of ours and that is where we stayed much longer than expected last time, hence deciding not to venture to Phuket. Will be returning regularly and will probably replace Phuket as our yearly beach stop. Bang Saphan is next, been there once, just ok, bit overpriced. Just before Chumphon is Thong Wua Laem, and have been there many times, starting to get more westernized, but still a small beach town with some charm. We self drive, so it’s easy for us to pop and and check out the beaches. The train runs down the coast and is a good option, as are the buses. Few hours in between beaches. If wanting small island to visit, you might try Ko Phayam, just off Ranong, very quiet and relaxing. Use search function, I may have post trip reports of couple places. a bunch of pics on link in signature.

Good luck and enjoy.

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Hi Serendipity,

I've just posted my opinion and I suspect there will be a lot of people who will not agree with my view. So it is best that you form your own view of Phuket.

By all means go there, just be aware of the tuk tuk situation and don't under any circumstances whatsoever hire any jet ski equipment at any beach on Phuket. In fact, I would advise you to steer clear of the beaches entirely, particularly if you don't want to be pestered by massage queens, trinket sellers, drinks and food vendors, jet ski operators, tourist touts, and any number of other con artists.

Just select an affordable hotel with a nice pool. There are some nice aspects to Phuket away from the two main towns on the island and the outlying islands and the Andaman Sea are quite spectacular.

As for travelling southwards from Bangkok, why not take the train. If the train is not your go, there are first class air con buses that leave from the Southern Bus Terminal out in the boon docks on the Thonburi side of Bangkok.

There are several trains that leave daily from Bangkok's magnificent Hualamphong Railway Station. You could alight at Surat Thani for Koh Samui, which is a far nicer island than Phuket. You could then take a Bangkok Airways flight to Phuket from Samui.

I would give the far southern towns of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat a complete miss as they are deemed to be highly dangerous as there have several skirmishes between the Thai Military and Muslim activists in recent years.

You will need to change trains at the border between the two countries and then get off at Butterworth once in Malaysia for Penang, which is a very fascinating island.

Then back on the train to KL.

Just a few suggestions.

Jetski's: don't hire them in Patong, in none of the other beaches have there been any problems.

Regarding 'pestering by vendors and con artists': it really is not as bad as pictured by Emdee. Sure, if you pass a massage parlour the girls will ask if you want a massage. Simply ignore them or say no thank you, and that's it. And that is about all the pestering you'll encounter. Same on Samui BTW.

Regarding Samui: agree, nice island, but has far less to offer than Phuket IMO.

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Diving Phuket and Similans

Come to Phuket,......

The TukTuk mafia on Phuket is pretty damn annoying. But then you could argue Samui also suffers from a similar expensive barrier to entry in terms of the cost of flights from Bangers. Sure, there is more than one carrier now that services Samui, but prices seem pretty damn high for what the flight is, even when booked in advance, compared to the equivalent cost for a domestic Air Asia hop.

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My latest travels: Shikoku Pilgrimage

La - many thanks for your info, we would probably travel down by train, seems the safest option and most hassell free for our budget. I will save your info and discuss with my partner which route we would like to take.

Emdee - thanks also for your advice, Koh Samui looks devine!!!

Stevenl - ok lol so jetski's are a definite no no. I understand what you mean about in regards to being "pestered" guess its pretty much whats expected at tourist places these days, so i'm not so fussed about that, just a bit alarmed regarding the tuk tuk

Thanks again guys, any advice, no matter how small is helpful. The more travelling you do the more educated and widsom you aquire, so hopefully in a year or 2 I will be in your shoes :)

Serendipity