Phuket Thailand 🌴 Welcome to Russia
As Western countries grapple with sanctions, Thailand has embraced Russian tourists, welcoming them to its sun-kissed shores. Almost half a million Russians flocked to Phuket in the first half of this year, drawn by the warm climate, beautiful beaches, and spicy local cuisine.
The Thai government extended Russian tourist visas to 90 days, fueling a property boom on the island. Signs and menus now feature Cyrillic translations, and Russian-owned businesses thrive. Whether lounging on Bangtao Beach or exploring the vibrant nightlife, Phuket offers a taste of home for these sun-seeking travelers. 🏖️
Phuket was also the starting point for our island hopping trip along the West coast of Malaysia. So how does it compare to the other islands we visited?
Highlights
- Our Thai-Malay Travel Plan
- A Playground for Russian Visitors
- Explore Phuket’s Beaches
- Enjoy the Local Thai Food
- Visit the Supermarkets in Phuket
- Phuket’s Big White Buddha
- Airport Transfers
- Phuket Villa Accommodation
- Things to Take to the Beach
- All Hotel Options in Phuket
- Our Island-Hopping Itinerary
- Useful Accessories for the Tropics
Our Travel Plan
Our Malay West Coast journey started in Phuket Thailand – just north of the Thai-Malaysian border. We wanted to use the flexibility of an open-jaw flight ticket to pack as many destinations as possible into our round-trip. Since we would be ending the journey in Kuala Lumpur, Phuket seemed to be a good starting point.
With just 3 days on the island before heading on to Langkawi, we would try to make the best use of our time.
Phuket Thailand – Sunset over the island
A Luxurious Playground for Russian Visitors
With almost zero visa restrictions, it’s perhaps no surprise that Phuket has become a favourite holiday destination for specific countries. Russians in particular are prime beneficiaries of Thailand’s free-for-all immigration rules.
In fact, many foreigners treat Thailand as a 2nd home, spending months in rented accommodation. This necessitates a periodic visa-run, typically a day-trip to Malaysia to renew their visas when re-entering Thailand.
We shouldn’t have been too surprised then by the predominance of Russian and East European tourists in Phuket.
Cycling around the island? Beware the traffic!
A great way to deal with cramped legs and jet-lag following a long-haul flight is to put in some strenuous exercise. Hiring a bicycle and cycling around the hilly roads of Phuket is a surefire way to get the circulation going.
Apart from several serious 1-in-3 hill climbs, the only problem with this idea is the traffic. You’ll need to get up early in the morning if you want to avoid congested roads and polluted air. There isn’t much in the way of cycle paths either, so you need to take your chances winding in and out around people, lorries, bikes and roadside obstacles.
On the plus-side, there are plenty of bike-repair shops (which we found really useful), and it’s a great way to get to know your way around the island.
Explore Phuket’s Beaches
We found the beaches in Phuket pleasant enough, if a little crowded. Most beaches offer soft, yellow sand, and there are plenty of water-sports on offer. The sea is warm and calm, and deepens gently with safe, shallow areas for swimming.
View from the Heaven Rooftop restaurant
Enjoy the Local Thai Food
One of the highlights of a visit to Thailand – if not the highlight – is undoubtedly the local cuisine. The food was excellent wherever we ate.
We enjoyed a meal for 6 with wine in the upmarket Heaven Rooftop restaurant. True to its name, this rooftop restaurant offers great views and spectacular sunsets.
The price for eating at this location was 5,203 baht (€135) – around €23 per person.
Surely, this is what it’s all about…
A similar meal in a more modest beachfront restaurant the following day cost around half the price at 3,030 baht (€79). If anything, the food here was even better.
Visit the Supermarkets in Phuket
Doubtless because of the popularity of Phuket with European and East European tourists, there are several large supermarket chains which cater very well to western tastes. These include Tesco and Makro.
The Big C Supercenter is also worth a visit.
Unlike many of the cities we visited in Malaysia, the supermarkets in Phuket stock a wide variety of western food products. So if ever you start hankering for the tastes of home, you can find most of what you’ll need at the nearest hyper-store.
Phuket has no shortage of decent supermarkets
Phuket’s Big White Buddha
It’s hard to miss this giant white Buddha, perched on the top of the mountain above Chalong Bay. It is a 45-meter tall white marble statue, visible from anywhere in the southern part of Phuket.
Phuket Thailand – The Big Buddha
Mostly built on visitor’s donations the Big Buddha is a bit of a tourist circus, but it offers some excellent all-round views of the island.
One of the coolest features of a visit to the Big Buddha is to try your skill on one of the resonance gongs. The trick is to rub the inside of the gong lightly and rapidly with your fingers. You need to be patient, but when you do it correctly, the gong emits a deep and loud resounding signal.
Airport Transfers
Travelling between the airport and the primary beach areas of Phuket takes a good 45 minutes when there is no traffic (early morning or late night). At any other time the journey can take twice as long.
Add to this the massive security-check queues at the airport, and you’d better give yourself an extra couple of hours when leaving to take your flight home.
You also need to make sure you’ve kept that little slip of paper they gave you when you entered Thailand for the first time. If you don’t still have it in your passport when you return to the airport to leave, you’ll have an even bigger delay and could miss your flight (it happens…).
Get to Phuket from the Airport
Phuket Thailand
Phuket Villa Accommodation
For a long stay in Phuket, why not do like many visitors – Rent a 3 or 4-bedroom villa for 3 months and avoid the worst of the winter weather back home.
Share your costs with a few friends, and your monthly rent can be as little as €500-€600 for 2, including all facilities and private swimming pool.
Phuket Thailand – Dinner back at the villa
With a pleasant open-deck area, you’ll never need to actually cook anything. Just pick up a selection of cheap and tasty local food from one of the markets, take it back to the villa and enjoy dinner in front of your own pool.
What could be better than that?
Moving on from Phuket
Following our 3 days in Phuket, we would be taking an AirAsia flight south to spend a week in the tropical island paradise of Langkawi.
Initially, we did consider taking a boat across from Phuket to Langkawi. However, a little research indicated that the boat trip would cost about the same as the flight – and take even longer to arrive. There would also be some hassle arranging entry visas on an intermediate island before continuing on to Malaysia.
All in all, the flight to Langkawi seemed the better option.
If you enjoyed Phuket Thailand, check out Island Hopping from Phuket to Penang. You may also like:
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