Check out my Phuket, Thailand travel blog post part three! Phuket is absolutely gorgeous and worth visiting because who doesn’t love the beach, endless water, and chill vibes? It was the perfect contrast to the bustling streets of Bangkok.

We stayed at Sala in Mao Kaui beach, which is absolutely beautiful with two pools, private beach access, two bar areas, and a restaurant. Every morning we would indulge in the breakfast buffet because who doesn’t love fresh juice and fruit? While the standard options were not veg-friendly unfortunately, they had a chef making omelets and they were wonderful and vegetarian. I always looked forward to them and how creamy they were. They also had some a la carte dishes you could order and we enjoyed the dal and curry a lot. Most of the curries that they had there at the buffet had meat in it so we really appreciated being able to order from the menu.

Roti Coffee Stand, Mao Kaui Beach

Near our resort, we would get Thai iced coffee and roti from a charming stand with a really sweet owner almost every morning. The Thai iced coffee was a traditional sweet iced coffee and we were able to order it without milk. Her specialty was roti so over the course of a week, we tried her banana roti topped with condensed milk and chocolate, mango roti with Nutella, and a savory egg roti. My favorite was the banana roti but you can’t go wrong with mangos because how fresh and vibrant they are.

Patong Beach Street Food

We walked around the busy Patong downtown area before our spa day and had incredible mango sticky rice and Pad Thai. This was the best Pad Thai we had on the trip and yes it was only $2! Even for “fast” street food, they have you sit down while they make everything and it’s so fresh and flavorful. It was one of the few street food spots we could eat at and it was worth the wait.

Ca Va Bien Marché, Old Phuket

Old Phuket is super charming with its Sino Portuguese architecture and Thai, Chinese, and Malay influence. After walking around and going to the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary earlier that day, we were ready for happy hour. We had refreshing wine and delightfully fresh escargot and oysters with freshly baked bread and cultured butter. They have indoor and outdoor seating in their charming garden.

Rest Day Coffee, Old Phuket

Coffee, tea, and cookies – oh my! An open and modern coffee shop with two levels and kind baristas are a must! We had the matcha latte and their signature latte both with oat milk. They are known for their cookies so we had a macadamia nut chocolate chip cookie, which was divine – fresh and soft. The second floor feels like a relaxing oasis away from everything.

Zimplex Mixology Laboratory, Old Phuket

When we came here we thought we were going to a cool craft cocktail bar, instead we were going to a cool craft shot bar. Everything served is a shot – but no simple shot, these shots are complex, artistic experiences that you have to drink in one sitting. The owner/mixologist is an expert at his craft and the vibes are neon-industrial. We tried the negroni and jellyfish shots, which were just a masterpiece to look at and they tasted good too but I have a hard time doing shots. Being able to drink it in one sitting was very hard for me so I would have liked for them to be made for slow drinkers like myself. But regardless, this is a one of a kind experience.

Phuket Indy Night Market, Old Phuket

We had to go to a night market in Thailand before our trip ended so we went to this one. It was a bit outside of Old Town Phuket and quite an experience. It’s bustling with food, clothing, jewelry and so many different sections you could get lost in. Unfortunately, we couldn’t eat most of the food because it had meat in it. We did get a delicious mango smoothie and some chive dumplings (they were okay). I also tried the sushi, but it wasn’t very good. I would come here for sweets if you don’t eat meat but don’t expect to eat a full meal. I could have had another shrimp pad thai but I was tired of it at this point.

Surin Beach Street Food, Surin Beach Street Walk

I found this beach town more chill than both Phuket and Patong, it’s mainly the beach with some spots along the beach. When you’re walking on the beach, there are a lot of street food spots. This is where we also had incredible mango sticky rice – also for $2. I wish we were hungrier to try more food but we were extremely satiated after this. At this point, we were ready to be back in the big city with way more food options but we cherished our relaxing time in Phuket.

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