30th of March, 2024.
Hitchhiking in Thailand: Phuket (unvisited)
Last night I asked directions to Nit and Mui, of how to get to Promthep Cape, so this morning I start walking in that direction.
On my way, I get my first Coconut! Yay! Then I ask for some drinking water in a very fancy cafe. Full of tourists, of course. I love these tourists who travel to an exotic country but only eat in Western restaurants and coffee shops. (sarcasm).
I start carrying my sign while walking. A young fellow in a motorbike offers to take me a bit further. OK!
From where he drops me off, I stop and start to hitchhike. A very nice and friendly man, Ann, in his “taxi van”, offer to take me closer to Promthep Cape. Ann is going to pick up some tourists on a hotel. He is extremely surprised by my story and tells me I should make it more accessible to other people.
I am walking again, this time through some small streets but in a crowded place, with enough tourists around. All of sudden I am uphill. A hell of a hill! It is not a really good place to hitchhike but what to do?
I am saved by Cory, a very nice young man from the UK. Cory is from London but has been living in Thailand for the past two years. He knows Phuket really well and knows exactly where I am going to. Impressive! Lots of people nowadays have no clue about directions just by you telling them names; normally they need their phones and Google Maps. Just like so many other people I have met from London, Cory is very unsatisfied with his country and his hometown. It is difficult for me to understand because I love London!
Nearby where Cory drops me off, there are two “secret beaches”, which I got directions from an Instagram profile for Phuket. They were supposed to be quiet, almost desert, but still beautiful. Well, they are, but in somehow, I think I was expecting more.
The first beach is nicer and smaller. The sea is turquoise and the small portion of sand is also nice, although it is a bit dirty. You can walk around for a while, which is nice, but I cannot really camp here because it is a short distance from the sea, and I would be afraid of the tide. There is an abandoned building, and I wonder who would build something here and then just leave? I ask a young couple who also hangs around for a while, how did they get to know about this beach; they answer that the other day they came to a birthday party here. Apart from this couple, there are two single man, who think that this is a nude beach. Which is not because there are signs saying that “nudity is forbidden”. What I don’t understand is why would you come to a public beach to be naked when there are specific nude beaches where you could go and not disturb people like me who just want some peace and quiet? There was also another single man, and two more couples somewhere. Around 4 in the afternoon I leave.
The second beach, a short walking distance form this one, is way bigger but slightly less nice. There is a huge and fancy house on the top of a hill, for holiday rental; a tree house under construction; and a small housekeeper place. And there is also another small house, which seems super cool, abandoned.
There are some longtail boats by the beach, and some houses too. When I get down, there is only one couple and some kids around. I find it very appropriate for camping, so after leaving my backpack down there, I go up again to ask the family staying in the housekeeper place if I can indeed camp. The lady with whom I talk is very nice and she let me camp. Yay!
I go back to the main road and try looking for a place to by some food. I passed by a small shop but I could not tell if they had proper food. Luckily, I turn right when coming out of the beach, in the opposite direction of the shop. I find two things: 1) a fancy coffee shop, which sells homemade ice cream (very unusual to see such place in such isolated area); 2) a wonderful local restaurant called Otto Restaurant. The restaurant is adorable! The owner is a very friendly lady and they have a huge variety of food for such small place. I pay 60 THB for a delicious Pad Thai, which I ask for take away. While I am waiting, the lovely owner gives me some watermelon! How sweet of her! There are several cute cats hanging around.
I eat back in my tent, with the sound of the waves.
In the middle of the night, I am awake by a group of people who, I can only assume, were renting the house on the top of the hill. They are super noisy, most likely drunk, and they are playing some music. Luckily, it doesn’t last long.
Next morning I plan to get up early, so I can catch the 8.30 a.m. ferry to Phi Phi Islands. It is about 1 hour driving from here to the pier from where de boats depart. And I am going by hitchhiking, of course. It should be an easy task, right? Right?
10 Years Around the World 