Budget solo motorcycle trip to South Thailand – Volume 2 – Phuket

Check out my vlog for this trip here
Have a look at the itinerary for this trip here

28 August 2022

Halal Dim Sum at Khok Kloi
nothing much to do/see at takua pa, the tsunami memorial museum at khao lak does not seem to be a museum at all and paid 300 baht just to enter!!! just a shoplot with a bunch of photos. Phang Nga museum costs nothing and far more worth it! however i found a tasty dim sum restaurant with an affordable price which is called Rafah (ระฟ้า โคกกลอย ติ่มซำ ฮาลาล). 20baht per plate. the tomyam is one of the best (100 baht), i literally drank all its soup!

Dim Sum 20 baht per plate, Fried Dumpling 70 baht
Rafah Restaurant

Phuket – Heaven for budget travellers and full of chinese migrants history
Phuket is pronounced as Bhu-ket is taken from a malay word which means ‘hill’. i must say Phuket is a little better than Bali. Its cheaper to travel here from malaysia and the accommodation is very affordable (but Bali’s accommodation is way cheaper…). and most importantly, Thailand have SuperCheap supermarket! halal food is easily available anywhere and they even have islamic schools here! after i visited Phuket mining museum (100 baht for entrance), i came to know that before Phuket became a tourist spot, Phuket town was famous for its mining industry. Chinese from Penang, Singapore and China came here to make a fortune. Some of them did, and donated to the development of Thai Hua school where chinese influence in Phuket is prevalence until today due to efforts of those hardworking chinese migrants. The ones who migrated from China have good work ethics with high survival skills and they preserve their culture instead of assimilating with culture of the locals. It reminds me of my childhood days where my chinese counterparts were always smarter than me in class and even in the workplace. It was until when i work abroad that i able to compete with my chinese counterparts. There is a saying in malay, “sentiasa hidup dalam kepompong” which means living in a cocoon and disengage from outside world. My experience working overseas really broaden my thinking and helped me look at things differently. Covid19 really killing me mentally and its good to be able to explore again.

Phuket Mining Museum
School children at Mining Museum
Island Hopper Pier ท่าเรือไอส์แลนด์ฮองเปอร์
Met a girl digging the sand to look for clams (Polymesoda erosa)
Surfing at Phuket
Songthaew back in 1954
Pa Klok Viewpoint
Sai Kaew Beach หาดทรายแก้ว