riphamilton

i'm using them next week. i'll report back with anything worthwhile.

arlflyer

So how was it?


Also, any updates on the taxi situation? Can't find any news since right around when the big changes were supposed to go into place.

riphamilton

sorry i forgot to update! PST is a top-notch operation worthy of all the tripadvisor praise. i had a tremendous time.

i'm not sure exactly what you want to hear about, so i'll try to just write down some thoughts as they pop into my head:

i was on a "phuket alternative tour", which simply means that captain mark wasn't on the boat. nonetheless, the crew was great. i'll have enough boating hours logged to go for my USCG captain's license after next summer, and i thought the crew was very competent. they use NO electronics, which seems to be the norm over there (there is also no concept of a 'no wake zone'!). i was fascinated to see the differences in seamanship.

the tour boats themselves are really neat - one had five (5) 250hp hondas! the PST boat had twin screws: 1 300hp yamaha, and a 250hp yamaha. it appeared as though the captain throttled the 300hp back just a bit throughout the day. it gets loud towards the back (so get on the boat first if you want to sit on the bow), but i'd much rather not sit on the bow and deal with the wind. i was able to frame some great shots with the boat's wake.

there's an armada of boats that leave from phuket in the morning to tour the same area, and it felt like we were constantly ahead of the crowd. we got to beaches and dive spots early, and then left as the other tours began to overcrowd the area. with this in mind, PLEASE get back to the boat at the designated time. a couple got back about 15 minutes after the crew intended to leave the first island, which is (a) disrespectful to the other passengers, and (b) made us rush our next couple of stops to avoid crowds.

they kept a cooler filled with various non-alcoholic drinks on board (including nescafe), and were constantly handing out various fruits and other snacks. you will not be hungry at any point. they hand out dry bags, and i'd suggest using them. people entering the boat after snorkeling tend to get water everywhere.

people were exhausted for the roughly hour long trip back to the harbor, but everyone on the boat had a great day without exception. i would urge parents to wait on bringing kids until about age 10 because of the exhaustion factor. that being said, their was a kiwi family with boys ages 6 and 4 on my tour, and they were perfectly behaved. it's inspiring (as someone who might have kids someday) to see great parenting like that.

we even had people on the boat who didn't know how to swim - at first, i questioned why a non-swimmer would want to go on a tour which emphasized snorkeling, but the crew was great with them and the non-swimmers had a blast.

PST provides snorkel gear of decent quality, but i'll probably bring my own mask and snorkel next time - unfortunately fins take up way too much room in my rollaboard. if you have a gopro, bring it! the kaleidoscope of fish is much better than what you'd find even in excellent places like hanauma bay. the deepest dive spots we hit were no more than 30', yet we got to see a lot of cool stuff - including a moray eel.

your only concern should be the forecast.

sorry that was all over the place. if you have other questions, feel free to PM.

also - with regards to taxis to/from HKT, here's my data point: the front desk at the renaissance mai khao had a flat rate of 500 baht one-way, which i thought was very fair. that's what i paid the airport metered taxi to get from HKT to the hotel. i would imagine that the JW would have an identical rate considering they're actually closer to HKT.

arlflyer

Great detail and great to hear! Sounds like it is indeed a professionally run operation and should be a very good time and way to see the sights. And no worries here about punctuality; we're very big on that ourselves.


Thanks for the added info. We'll be staying down the other way at the DT Surin so I'd expect our fares to be much higher. However, reading between the lines it seems that there were in fact metered taxis from the airport? That certainly seems to be a change from how things have been in the past...

riphamilton

correct. upon stepping outside of the HKT terminal, take an immediate right and keep walking until you see the metered/official taxi stand. you pay a 100 baht surcharge, but then the rest of the journey is metered. it's without question the way to go in terms of comfort, price and safety.

at the stand, they'll ask where you're going, write it on a form (in thai, so that the driver will understand), and then radio the drivers. whoever wants the trip to that area will take you - you pay both the meter fee and the 100 baht surcharge to the driver.

carpetbagger

I am confused about the sunbeds and umbrellas in Phuket especially in Patong. Are they back or not? Do they confiscate still the umbrellas of tourists? Who is there at the moment (not one year ago) and can tell the truth?




http://phuketwan.com/tourism/angry-c...brellas-21454/

seanthepilot

At the moment There are neither sunbeds nor umbrellas at Patong Beach. I couldn't guess what would happen if you tried to take an umbrella yourself.




There are jetskis, although I am told they must park in the grass and not on the beach.

BigE

I hadn't heard about this and was shocked yesterday that they were all gone.

milesk

QUOTE "I am confused about the sunbeds and umbrellas in Phuket especially in Patong. Are they back or not? Do they confiscate still the umbrellas of tourists? Who is there at the moment (not one year ago) and can tell the truth?"

We will be there on Jan. 11th again and will let you know what we find.

seanthepilot

Big E, are you still there? Do you want to give an update, further to what's been said?

I read an article that the umbrellas and vendors will be returning.

This article says

http://www.thephuketnews.com/10pc-of...tors-50266.php

Since Patong is not in the Muang District (It's in Kathu). Did they set up umbrellas today? I'm just wondering...

wolf72

Phuket Airport has to improve. The waiting time and line for immigration clearance was appalling...it backed up all the way to the escalators leading down to the immigration/arrival hall/baggage collection and customs clearance level.

We had 3 aircraft land at the same time..an A330 Thai Airlines, an Air Asia 320 and our Malaysian Airlines 737...and it was chaos for an hour and a half! The lines barely moved and they only had 4 counters open!

arlflyer

Ick. I had heard horror stories like this but was lucky to come in on TG domestic and out very early in the morning where ours (5:45 to KUL) was effectively the only flight.

Was there anything going on with 50-100 THB "express" (wink wink) lines, or is that urban (rural?) legend?

wolf72

Yes, a business collegue on the same flight as me did that at a special counter for ASEAN business card holders..think he paid 200 THB (if memory serves me correct)...I didn't know and ended up on the far left side of the line...

I found out only after about that 'special lane.' Bugger.

seanthepilot

The new main terminal is well underway. I can' see it finished before 2016 though. The new car park building is finished and open. The new terminal will improve the departure experience, although I find the arrival process to be quite simple.

The problem that you ran into is understaffing by immigration, compounded by multiple flights landing. This is not an airport issue, but a tactic used by immigration to justify increasing their budgets. It happens in Bangkok with regular frequency, just until the press pushes the point, then goes away. In Phuket's case, there is never enough outcry, so they have to understaff for longer periods to make their point.

In my opinion, it's unacceptable. The arrivals are scheduled. They know the loads and the timing. One way to skip this nuisance is to clear immigration in Bangkok with a connection there.

The immigration "fast track with 100 or 200" baht was exposed in the local press last year and quickly denied. But, everyone knows it's true.

If you find a long line next time, approach the short lanes and ask to "buy a fast track pass". NEVER suggest that you have money for them to keep themselves.

wolf72

Agreed. Will give it a go in future. Thanks for the heads up. Am headed back to Phuket in two and a half weeks time for a short weekend break so..will hope to god we avoid the long waits! I thought Denpasar airport was bad..this was worse!