Among the many things Phuket has to offer, now tourists during their vacation on the island, enjoy going for a nice massage. While in Phuket, I would recommend a Phuket massage. If you want a proper Phuket massage, I recommend that you visit an authentic spa, which will provide fully trained massage therapists at least once.

There are a number of excellent Phuket spas located in all the main resort areas of Phuket though the cost of having a massage in at a spa will be higher compared to the massage shops.

Phuket massage shops which can be found nearly every 50 meters in all of the island’s beach areas, normally offer traditional Thai massage, Phuket oil massage, foot massage and many others. The cost of going to one of these massage shops/ parlors should cost more than 250 Baht.

Added to the spas, there are a number of saunas, which can be found a social affair in which the participants disrobe and sit or recline in a certain temperature, which induces relaxation and promotes sweating.

They are a number of saunas on the island and most of them cater for gay population. Infact, some gay people use saunas as meeting place and it is perfectly fine since Phuket is one the gay destinations.

Since Phuket has a large gay community, there so many spas and saunas which only cater for gay people and in many of them, you will find highly qualified lady-boys offering the services.

I simply can not name the spas and saunas because there are so many of them and are located virtually all over the island, I can only say that if you are in need of aromatherapy, body treatment, facial, hair removal, massage and many more types of treatment, Phuket is the best place for you.

Below is a guide to Phuket’s red light district.

Patong:

Once known as the sleazy red light district of Phuket, has undergone a period of transformation in recent years. The area’s once notorious nightlife has been tamed some what to make friendlier to women, couples and families. Now it has something for everyone.

Anyone interested in the red light district of Phuket, it begins in Patong discos and dance clubs, so let your hair down and get your boogie on.

The discos and dance clubs are Tiger Disco which is located on Soi Tiger, off Bangla Road, Tai Pan located at the intersection of Bangla and Rat-U-Thit road, Baya Beach, a more mellow place with a tropical theme, Banana disco, just to name a few.

Go-go bars in Patong Beach are the reason why many people come to Patong in the first place, sexy young girls barely wearing bikinis swaying seductively to the music; go-go bars aren’t raunchy circuses they used to be, nut they still provide plenty to look at.

You can check out the beer bars or bar beers, sports bars music pubs, upscale bars, cocktail lounges, cabarets and transvestite shows and muay Thai in Phuket. In all the above mentioned places, you will find what you are looking for, gay or straight that is why Phuket is a top destination in Thailand to those who love red light district and those who just enjoy fun and having a good time.

So it was a delight to be back at Kamala Beach again and to enjoy a much more laidback atmosphere to the region. No go-go bars or pushy publicans vying for your custom, just a beautiful stretch of sand, calm water and reasonably-prices seafood eateries with lovely ocean views.

Although there are lots of holidaying families on Kamala, there is also a large expat community who shun the more expensive areas for a little peace and quiet. And although the sand may not be the brilliant white of Kata, it certainly is far from spoilt and there is still plenty to occupy visitors with all manner of watersports available.

So town is set to be a bit livelier from the 3^rd to the 7^th of March, as homesick sailors from USS Patriot, USS Rushmore and USS Cleveland enjoy ‘morale, welfare and recreation’ (MWR). What exactly this means is not clear, but apparently many sailors take the opportunity to go on diving trips and catch up on sleep.

Now maybe times have changed, but I’m sure that’s not the traditional image of sailors on shore leave I’ve been brought up with, and I have no doubt you will find at least of few of them enjoying the less-wholesome delights of Phuket.

Both tourists and locals have been advised not to hang bags from the handlebars of their motorcycles or leave things in the front baskets, as petty crime is set to increase on the island.

The news comes after a man was arrested on Friday after robbing the 7-Eleven on Wiset Road, Rawai, and getting away with no more than 360 baht.

He entered the store brandishing a brick at 4:00 and demanded that the shop assistant hand over all the cash.

Unfortunately for him, the small amount was delivered in 10 baht coins and he was arrested soon afterwards.

Mongkhol Pintajan, 33, was arrested after the police examined the CCTV footage of the incident.

He said he robbed the shop as he had no money.

It’s a sorry state of affairs for all involved if the current hard times lead some to such desperate measures.

 The funds from the parties, which have been designed to match the success of the Full Moon Parties on Koh Phangnan, will go towards some sort of charity which aims to help tourists ‘in trouble’.

What is meant by ‘trouble’ is pretty unclear, as is what sort of help you would received if you happened to get yourself in a pickle, but as the Full Moon Parties have been condemned in certain circles for encouraging binge drinking, it seems rather comical that the funds for this charity will increase with the amount of beer that is drunk.

I have some friends in Karon Beach who have been complaining recently about the increasing noise at the weekends from the beach parties that have been held there.

It has also been a rather long and controversial decision process which will finally result in the first official party tomorrow night.

I like a party as much as the next person, but I can’t help wondering whether this ‘Tourist Assistance Fund’ will cause more trouble than it solves.

Apparently, and unbeknown to me, Phuket and Thailand as a whole have been experience a bit of a slump in visitor numbers recently.

The latest air passenger numbers tell a different story, however. Even the recent difficulties with Cambodia and the notorious ‘sit-in’ don’t seem to have put them off.

Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, which is the main gateway to Phuket, has seen a rise of almost 30 per cent on last year’s peak season passenger figures.

In total, the amount of happy sun seekers on their way to Phuket’s sunny shores between Christmas Day and January 5^th were no less than 1,668,863 this year. Pretty amazing for just 10 days.

Apparently the biggest resorts in Phuket are already reporting a better month this February than last month, and while I’m pleased that our local business are thriving, I can’t help feeling a bit like a kid with a new toy when I hear about figures like these.

Can’t these people find their own piece of paradise and leave mine alone?

Road rage is pretty common in hectic places such as London and Rome, but who would have thought that driving on Phuket’s coastal roads could ever get that stressful.

Sure, you may come across the odd upperty tuk-tuk driver who’s a bit happy with his horn every now and again, but this latest incident is beyond belief and allegedly provoked by a ‘farang’.

 Pittaya Srijitraporn, 32, this week confessed to stabbing German Wolf-Dieter Eugen Kesselheim, 66, three times in a fight. Mr Kesselheim, who was apparently beeping the his horn and swearing at the motorcyclist near the Chalong Circle on Wednesday, died from his injuries.

 It is not clear why the altercation occurred, but Srijitraporn claimed that he stabbed the German tourist after his was held in a headlock prior to stopping his bike.

The Thai national said that he didn’t think his actions would kill Mr Kesselheim and that he often worked with tourists. He is well known around the Kata viewpoint area for helping photographers take pictures of sea eagles.

Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob this week said that a trial of metered tuk-tuks could be rolled out in Karon and Kata this year.

The move comes as an attempt to solve the transport problems in Phuket that essentially revolve around tourists and expats being ripped off by opportunist tuk-tuk and taxi drivers.

It’s true, that despite living in Phuket for quite a number of years now, tuk-tuk drivers still try it on with me simply because I have a white face. My protests that I actually live here and know what the real price is also doesn’t always cut it, especially in the most touristy areas, as the drivers know they can always refuse me and pretty much guarantee picking up a less difficult customer who will simply take their first price without question.

While I’m sure the tuk-tuk drivers aren’t going to welcome this proposal with open arms, foreigners who are in Phuket for more than just a short holiday certainly will.

A company known as the European Bartenderschool (EBS) have spread their wings a little farther than Europe and opened up what must surely be the greatest classroom in the world in Phuket.

The organisation, who train 1,500 students every year in their other centres in London, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo, Copenhagen and Greece, is Europe’s largest bartender training company.

The brand-new contemporary centre can be found towards the southern part of Patong beach, where an 18-metre bar sits atop the centre’s roof so the future bartenders can practice pouring, shaking and stirring until they get it right.

As well as great views of the city, there is even a pool up there for so they can cool off after a hard afternoon of mixing drinks.

I’ve always quite fancied myself as a cocktail shaker, and at only five hours a day, Monday to Friday for four weeks, it strikes me as an opportunity worth staying sober for.