Phuket Things to Do For Any Traveller

Phuket, Thailand and nearby Pha Nga and Krabi are almost synonymous with travel to Thailand, and a pretty much mandatory part of any Thailand itinerary. Once you get to Phuket, things to do may seem a challenge to decide upon for travelers that are looking for more than just sun and sand. It’s easy to join the critics and say that Phuket is so over-travelled and touristy that there is nothing left to do or see there except the typical resort gimmicks.  However, there are plenty of things to do in Phuket, and because of its fame (or notoriety depending on your perspective) while everything may not be in its “purest” or “authentic” form, it’s an excellent place to try new things that you might not have considered, or for a family or small group with very different interests to all have a good time.

Muay Thai? Phuket!

Whether you want to learn the sport of Thai Kickboxing, or just watch a match there is no shortage of opportunities for experiencing Muay Thai on Phuket. Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand, and has been practiced for over a thousand years, it is also known as the Science of Eight Limbs because fighters (Nak Muayin Thai) make use of the fists, elbows, knees and feet to strike their opponents—a total of eight points of contact.  There are nightly matches near the patong beach area at the Muay Thai stadiums at Soi Sai Namyen. If you are feeling more adventurous and want to try your hand…or foot, there are many camps and schools on Phuket that will train you in this ancient art for a day, a week or longer. Beautiful Boxer is an incredible movie telling the true story of Parinaya Charoemphol, a famous transgender boxer and giving some background into the culture, history and training involved in muay thai.

Birdwatching on Phuket

Hoopoe (photo credit: Luc Viatour / www.Lucnix.be)

If you’re looking for more sedate Phuket things to do, consider birdwatching, either on a tour with an experienced guide, or just heading out on your own. While Phuket has become more developed in recent years, it is still home to many local birds as well as a favorite stop for many migratory species.  If you’re especially hoping to see these migratory birds, then you’ll want to visit between December and March when Phuket serves as a pit stop for many species. Phuket’s wide variety of habitats: mangrove canals, limestone cliffs, open sea, old growth jungle and more all combine to give incredible variety and options for birdwatching on Phuket. Even amateur birders will be amazed by the colors of these beautiful animals. Some particularly good birding sites on Phuket are Sirinat National Park, Talang Forest Nursery, Muang Mai Plantation and Chao Fah City Site. Another favorite site is the golf course at Laguna Resorts. Remember, birds are most active in the early morning hours just after sunrise.

You can also combine birdwatching with other Phuket activities, such as hiking, rock climbing, kayaking or any other outdoor activity that you enjoy. A Thailand specific bird guide, such as Birds of Thailand (Princeton Field Guides) or Photographic Guide to Birds of Thailand will allow you to identify the birds you see. Marking the pages as you identify the birds with the date, place and who was with you when you saw the bird is a great way to keep memories of your vacation.

Visit The World’s Most Unique Soccer Field

Koh Panyee

Koh Panyee is a fascinating island that can easily be reached by boat from Phuket. Built entirely on rafts and piers, the village clings precariously to the side of the limestone pillar that makes this island. In 1986, a group of boys on the island decided that they wanted to play soccer, and so they built a floating soccer pitch, and went on to become soccer champions. Their story is dramatized in a TMB commercial that has become widely popular.

Koh Panyee is populated by about 200 families that descend from two Muslim families from Java, that came to Thailand in the 18th Century.  At that time, land ownership was limited to Thais, so the law and vertical landscape resulted in the village being built on rafts, piers and floats. The villagers are mostly Muslim, unlike the Buddhist majority in Thailand, and still derive the majority of their sustenance from fishing.  In recent years, several seafood restaurants featuring fresh local fish have opened to encourage tourists to visit and support the economy of the village.

Shopping in Phuket

The day market in Phuket town is a must on your list of Phuket things to do. Located on Ranong Street, just west of the Fountain Circle, it’s a great spot to find Thai and Malay sarongs.  Nearby Ko Lanta is an archipelago of about 52 islands that are easily explored by motorbike with many local markets. Lonely Planet recommends a stop at the Hammock House, both to sample the locally handcrafted hammocks which make excellent souvenirs as well as to pick up a copy of the Lanta Biker Map with recommended stops along the way.

Elephants, Horses, Monkeys and Corals

If you’re looking for more wildlife and not wild partiers, Phuket offers several options.  There are several outfits that offer horseback riding tours, whether on the beach or through the jungle and for all level of riders.  You may also relish the opportunity to go for an elephant ride, as a unique way to see the landscape.  If you’d like to see animals up close without too much trekking but prefer to keep both feet firmly on the ground, the Phuket Zoo features elephant, monkey, and crocodile shows. Finally, of course, no list of Phuket things to do can be considered complete without going under water. There’s many Scuba and Snorkeling options if you want a guided trip, or you can make arrangements for a boat ride to one of the more secluded small, nearby islands where the water will be crystal clear.

I couldn’t believe it, a plane with legroom in coach!!!!

We arrived at JFK airport at 6:40 for our 10:40 departure on South African Airways flight 204. The tour said to be there 3 hours before departure, but we decided to get there 4 hours early to be at front of line. Wrong! There were already 15-20 people in front of us. Fortunately, our traveling companion, Marga and Luis had arrived much earlier and they were second in line. Moral of this experience “if they say 3 hours before flight time, and you don’t want to wait in line, get there at least 4:30 before.” oh, and bring a good book.

We thought we had packed light for the 3 week trip, but the couple ahead of us had only brought suitcases the size of a weekender. Guess they’ll do a lot of laundry on the trip.

We got our boarding passes and here was the first surprise. Our seats wherein row 67!!! I had no idea that planes were that long, and there were at least 12 more rows behind us!

But the best surprise was …….Legroom! You could actually recline your seat and stretch your legs with no problem at all. And when the person sitting in front of you reclined their seat, you still had room to read or have something to eat without having to twist yourself into a pretzel. Try doing that on a flight from Boston to San Francisco, it can’t be done!

Note: when flying overnight, make sure you are not stuck in the middle 4 seats. Beg, plead or do whatever is necessary to get a seat on either of the two seat sections.

Tomorrow it’s off to Pretoria and Soweto.

Barcelona, Spain is one of the true food capitals of the world.  Who wouldn’t want to learn to cook in the home of Cava, Paella, Crema Catalana.  Barcelona has repeatedly been ranked as one of the top food cities by Michelin, MSNBC and others.  Home to El Bulli Restaurant, repeatedly ranked the best restaurant in the world by Michelin.  If you are thinking about taking a trip to Barcelona, or are just looking for an incredible opportunity to learn to cook a local cuisine and bring home some new skills with you, then be sure to check out Catacurian.com and their Spanish Culinary Vacations.

Catacurian on YouTube

Catalan cooking is best known for the combination and use of fresh local produce and ingredients, including seafood, almonds, olive, wine, local cheese and aged-spanish ham and other mediterranean favorites.  Intensely flavorful, Catalan food is also some of the healthiest, along with other mediterranean cuisines.

This is an excellent option to consider if you’ve never taken a cooking class while on a vacation and aren’t ready to commit an entire vacation to the experience.  There are a number of one-day cooking courses and wine tours that they offer which are an excellent option for the beginner.  Of course, if you want to dive in and get more depth, there are 6-day courses available as well.  Looking for something in between? There are also 3-day and 4-day options as well.

The trips are well-apportioned and include meals, lodging, excursions, your own copy of the cookbook, all of the Priorat wines, Cava and drinks, tastings and visits to local producers where you can learn about the critical ingredients in Catalan food and cooking, and of course classes in cooking the food yourself! Be sure to check out their calendar, as there are also special holiday and seasonal programs.  For example, in November you can go for the Olive harvest.  In December you can go over the Christmas Holidays and learn to make a traditional Catalan Christmas dinner.  September features the grape harvest—one of the best opportunities for any wine lover to learn first-hand what goes into the production of great wine.

Rates vary depending on the length of the session and the number of people that end up registering for the session in question, not the number of people in your particular party.  So if you go by yourself but 5 additional people happen to register for the same session, you will still get the reduced rate.

Of course, while you’re in Barcelona, be sure to take advantage of all the rest that the city has to offer.  As famous for it’s architecture as for it’s food, Barcelona features not only the Sagrada Familia Cathedral and Parc Güell by Antonin Gaudí, but even wandering the city you may be lucky enough to stumble upon one of his buildings that are scattered throughout the city.

You can also take advantage of, and enjoy the beautiful park of Mont Jüic, with it’s tumultuous history—once a Jewish cemetary, and then fortress/prison under the Franco dictatorship it is now a stunning park with statues, sculptures, gardens and breathtaking views of the city.

What’s your favorite Barcelona food experience? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Often overlooked in favor of better known neighbors like Mexico and Costa Rica, or Caribbean hot spots like Jamaica and Puerto Rico: A Belize Family Vacation could be just the thing that your family is looking for this year. Despite being a tiny country (one of the smallest in Central America) Belize has so much to offer that there is sure to be something for everyone in the family. Whether you’re looking for rainforest adventures, mayan ruins, SCUBA diving and snorkeling in the largest barrier reef in the hemisphere, river trips, cave exploration or rich cultural history, Belize is sure to please.

Belize boasts the largest cave system in Central America.

Not only are the caves full of natural crystal and limestone formations, stunning stalactites and stalagmites, underground rivers and lakes; but many of the caves were sacred to the Maya and evidence of sacrifices and offerings such as jade jewelry, ceremonial objects and even skeletons are found in most caves.

Physically fit and active families will enjoy Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, which you must swim through a clear stream to enter, but which is full of all the artifacts that were found when it was (re)discovered in 1989.

If your Belize family vacation includes younger children or you’d just rather float along rather than swim and hike, Barton Creek is one of the most accessible caves, and you explore it by floating in tubes or canoeing along the river within the cave.

More cave exploration options

Belize’s Barrier Reef is just the beginning of snorkel, scuba and marine fun

Belize is known the world over for it’s famous “Blue Hole”, a collapsed underwater cave that is visible from space and provides some of the most unique Scuba diving anyone could ask for.  Ringed with stunning coral formations, you can enjoy it even if you don’t dive making it ideal for any family that enjoys seeing the underwater world.

Belize is also home to 3 of the 4 true atolls to be found in the northern hemisphere.  These coral rings come nearly to the surface of the water creating beautiful lagoons — the quintessential image of the South Pacific — and they are idyllic opportunities to relax as a family, snorkel or scuba dive, and appreciate this truly unique formation.  Half-Moon Caye National Monument, the oldest natural reserve in Belize, borders lighthouse Atoll and provides an excellent location for camping, picnicking and is one of only two nesting locations in the Caribbean for the rare red-footed booby.

Marine and Island Options for a Belize Family Vacation

Belize Was One of the Centers of the Mayan Empire

Thousands of stunning Mayan ruins are to be found all over Belize, including Cahal Pech which is located just a brief 10-minute’s walk from the town center of San Ignacio making it an easy visit for families with young children or members that would prefer not to go trekking into the wilderness.  Or, if you are feeling more adventurous you could take a boat-ride approach to the ruins of Lamanai.  Lamanai was not only a Maya center for over 3,000 years, but was also briefly a Spanish colonial town.  Visitors will be able to see Mayan artifacts, ruins, and also two Spanish churches and a sugar mill that dates back to only 1860.

Xunantunich is a truly impressive complex, built on a limestone ridge.  One can see all the way to neighboring Guatemala, while exploring the numerous plazas, palaces and temples.  It is a rare opportunity to truly explore and experience an ancient culture as extensively as is possible in Belize.

More Maya Sites to Explore

Belize’s Modern History is as Fascinating as It’s Ancient

November 19th provides the opportunity to celebrate Garinagu Landing Day, when the Garinagu established a settlement south of Belize City after being driven from their home in St. Vincent Island.

Belize has received countless cultures: Mayan, Arawak, Spanish, African, and British to name just a few.  Each of these groups and people have left their mark on the language, culture, food and history of the country and numerous museums, historic sites and monuments can be easily explored at your leisure.

Have You Taken a Belize Family Vacation? Share your experiences and recommendations in the comments below!

Contest Tip #3 is a relatively simple tip, but one of the tips that can make or break your success.  As you may know, when building up a following on the internet, things build up slowly and you will often get a much better overall success for the same amount of effort by putting in regular updates, keeping the referrals coming in, and building up an audience, rather than by trying to do everything at once in a quick sudden burst.

To that end, Tip #3 is to maintain your referral links active even when there isn’t an ongoing competition.  This way, you don’t have to start over from scratch every single time a contest comes around that you want to enter.  Furthermore, if you keep your links and campaign going (even if only on the back burner) then when the time comes that you want to really motivate people, you’ll find that you have a loyal following that is ready to check out your updates and visit the site because you’ve got something new to show them.

Related to this: most of our contests run for a pretty decent amount of time, sometimes a couple of months.  A lot of people will put a bunch of energy in at the beginning of things, and then a lot at the very end, but few people will really commit to reaching new people and directing them to the website over the course of the contest.  Don’t get discouraged if things start slowly, or if after a big burst of clicks you find that the number goes down.  Keep pushing along steadily and you’ll find that even small numbers start to add up.  You’ll have success that other people can’t even begin to imagine, especially if they are waiting until the last minute!

Like the advice but don’t know what this is about?

Check out our Contests & Competitions and find out how you can start winning awesome prizes!

If you’ve ever visited your local Chinatown, seen the fascinating ingredients and thought “I want to learn to cook Chinese food!” Consider a visit to Chengdu 成都 the capital of China’s Sichuan (also know as Szechuan) province.  Szechuan cooking is known for it’s bold, spicy flavors from liberal use of garlic, chilies and other  flavorful ingredients.  No longer do you need to be mystified by unusual ingredients, overwhelmed by woks, and you can impress your friends upon your return home by cooking your own authentic sichuanese meal!

The Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine offers a two-week course in cooking in the fall and spring as well as scheduling alternate dates for groups of ten or more.  Each weekday of the course includes a morning class where you will spend 3 hours learning from the master chef special cooking techniques and a number of recipes.  After the lunch break you will spend an additional 3 hours practicing the recipes and techniques that you learned.

On the weekend you will be able to tour the Panda Research Center as well as a number of local museums and also take a day trip to visit the Giant Buddha in Leshan.  This impressive monument was carved from a cliffside during the Tang dynasty (618-970 CE), and is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world.  Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, visiting this location is sure to be a powerful and beautiful experience.

You couldn’t ask for a more enjoyable location to stay while learning to cook, either.  Chengdu was named by the LA Times as “China’s Party City” with more Tea houses and bars than Shanghai despite having half the population.

Although the classes at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine are normally taught in Sichuanese, the special two-week courses are designed specifically with the foreign visitor in mind, and the lessons will be taught with an English interpreter present.

Located in South Central China, Sichuan province is also a great starting off point to explore the country.  Next to Tibet, Hunnan and Yunnan provinces, you can easily expand your trip either before or after your cooking course to explore some of the most famous regions of China.

Have you studied Chinese cooking at the Sichuan Institute of Cuisine? Or have another Chinese cooking location to share? Post in the comments below!

Vieques, also known as Isla Nena is one of the two ‘major’ islands off the coast of Puerto Rico, and while you could do it as a day trip from the main island, it’s really very worthwhile to give yourself at least a couple of days to explore the place. Especially if you’ve only been to San Juan you’ll likely find the much more chilled out pace of the island to be a welcome break.

One of the best features, and most famous, in Vieques is the bioluminescent bay, also called Mosquito Bay, which is easily accessible from just about any guest house on the island. You’ll want to contact one of the tour companies that do regularly nightly tours, because you don’t want to get lost in the Mangrove canals, and the tours provide you with fantastic information about the bay, the ecology and most importantly why it glows in the dark when you disturb the water. No, it isn’t radioactive from the long military presence on Vieques when it was used for target practice by the U.S. Navy. The bay is actually full of an unusually high concentration of microörganisms who have a defense mechanism of giving off a momentary flash of light when they are disturbed. As you paddle your kayak, splash your friend, and swim in the water you will be bathed in a bright blue glow. It’s the sort of thing that if you saw it in a movie you’d swear it was science fiction.

Be sure to sign up for one of the longer tours which includes a longer tour through the mangrove canals. Not only are the canals beautiful, teeming with wildlife, including crabs, and if you’re incredibly lucky, monkeys,

but the mangroves are actually a critical part of the ecosystem that allows the bio-bay to exist. Not only do the mangroves protect the bay from heavy wave action, hurricanes and tides which would all scatter the little bugs that make it glow, but the mangroves also provide the vitamin B-12 that is critical for bugs to make the light. You can’t fully appreciate the bay wing ut taking in the connectedness of the bay to the rest of the island ecology.

Additionally, by going on the extended tour, you’ll get to enjoy a dinner on a secluded beach that is only accessible by kayak, have dinner and enjoy a fantastic tropical sunset. Note: if you are taking this trip with a special someone, let the tour operator know and they’ll usually be willing to provide a bottle of champagne. Tres Romantique!

Getting to Vieques is fairly easy and you have two main option. You can take a ferry from Fajardo, which is about 30 minutes east of San Juan by car, or you can fly from San Juan Airport. The ferry is much cheaper and has all the charm you’d expect–but be warned, the waters between Puerto Rico and Vieques are notoriously rough, if you are at all prone to motion-sickness plan ahead with some Dramamine and/or motion sickness bands.

There are no major hotels on Vieques, you’ll have your pick of a number of small guesthouses, some of which have their own restaurants or bars. Call and shop around, you may want a place with easy food, or maybe a private veranda is more important. Ask what the rooms are like, what are the amenities, etc. Each place has it’s own distinct personality and devoted following.

And, speaking of devoted followings, this is critical–when you order your cocktails and you get asked what rum you want, the only correct answer is Don Q, the rum of Puerto Rico made by the Serralles family. Leave the Bacardi at home. Don Q is the preferred local rum, hands down.

Lastly, when planning your trip be sure to check a calendar that will tell you the phases of the moon for your travel dates. Although the glow will seem bright, the poor guys can’t compete with a full moon, so tilt the odds in your favor and go when the moon is as near to new as possible. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get hit with a rainstorm while you’re on the water and not only will the clouds block out the light, but the rain hitting the bay will turn the surface into a veritable galaxy of glowing specks, dots and sparkles.

Have you been to the bio-bay and/or Vieques? What’s your favorite place to grab a bite to eat? Was there a tour provider you especially enjoyed? Tell us in the comments below!

So, you’ve already checked out Contest Tip #1, but you’re still hankering for more ways to leave the competition in the dust?  Today we have Contest Tip #2, another suggestion for how you can increase your odds at winning the prize of the moment.

Tip #2: Visit The Site and spend a few minutes exploring

As you look at different pages, think about who you know that might be interested in the topic.  Maybe you know some people getting married that would appreciate some good honeymoon suggestions.  Do you have a friend that has always wanted to go to Europe? In the spring and summer a lot of students (especially those graduating) like to take the chance to spend a few months and might appreciate suggestions that will make their friends completely jealous.  Or, do you know someone that is incredibly busy, short on time that could use a really great short holiday, and doesn’t even know that they have options available?

Make a list of these people and send them links to specific pages or categories telling them why you think they will appreciate the link.  Make it personalized.  Encourage them to forward the link that you gave them to other people that might find the same link interesting.  Remember, unless the contest is promoting a specific page on the site, you can send people anywhere you like on Unique-Vacation-Ideas.com and it counts.

If you stumbled on this page and have no idea what’s going on, but want to start winning, take a look and see what are our current contests & competitions.

If you were born in the 80′s and were living in America,  then you might have been as obsessed as I was with 3-2-1 Contact.  Scuba Diving featured prominently in this science program for kids, and I became determined to learn how.  This fascination with exploring the worlds underwater was only strengthened when I saw my 3rd grade teacher, Nancy Ferguson, Scuba diving in the giant tank at the New England Aquarium when we went on a field trip.

If you live in a cold climate, like New England, it can be tough to ever get around to actually starting to learn to dive.  Somehow, the thought of doing my open water dives in Boston Harbor was always just a little bit less than appealing.

Finally, when I was in high school, my father and I took the literal plunge and got our PADI certification while on vacation in the Dominican Republic.  We were lucky enough to be able to do it spur of the moment: we were on a long enough trip, and didn’t have anything else that we especially wanted to do for the 3 or 4 days it actually took to get certified.  With a little bit of planning though, you can make learning to dive fit seamlessly into your trip.

PADI now offers an online portion of the course that you can take from the comfort of your own computer, then once you’ve finished the classroom hours you can hop on the plane, do your open water dives and voilà, you’re done in 2 days and you’ve got the rest of the trip to enjoy building up your log book, or maybe you could just take advantage of a long weekend and come back from the trip, not just with a sunburn and a hangover but having developed a new lifelong skill.

Taking a trip to a special location to acquire a skill makes the trip extra memorable.  Do your research—make sure that the instructor and school are either PADI or SSI certified (these are the two major international Scuba Diving organizations),  but then, if possible, I strongly recommend going with a school that isn’t part of a major resort.  More often than not, you’ll get more personal attention and probably some good stories to go with it.

When my dad and I got certified, there were rumors of a manatee hanging out nearby, and our instructor told us that if he saw it, he was gonna go get a closer look but not to worry, he’d come back before we ran out of air.  As luck would have it, on our final certification dive the manatee came swimming up behind us.  Our instructor began making gestures as if he were trying to show us a pregnant belly, and when we turned around there it was.  Incredible, hideously beautiful, bedecked in remoras like some bizarre fish skirt.

I wish that I was more consistent about diving—I haven’t gone since I was in Israel and accidentally fell on a sea cucumber, covering my legs in sticky goop.  Just been too busy.  But once you learn to dive, you start craving new places, new scenes.  Sometimes, the draw is coral or geographical formations.  Or maybe exploring an underwater cave or shipwreck.  Other places are all about the marine life.

And don’t think that Scuba is only for tropical vacations.  Iceland offers incredible Scuba diving in the rift between the European and North American continental plates.  Similarly, diving off the San Juan islands in Washington state is supposed to phenomenal.

Perhaps one of the nicest parts about diving, is that you end up keeping a log of your dives (you need to log certain numbers of dives to take higher level courses, and some countries or dive clubs may require you to take a refresher course if you haven’t dived within a certain amount of time.)  Your dive log becomes like a mini-passport with stamps from the different clubs, descriptions and details of the dives you’ve taken, and the signatures of your dive buddies.  Like a photo album, it becomes a wonderfully personal memento.

Did you learn to Scuba dive while on vacation? Have upcoming plans to learn while on an upcoming trip? Or just have an awesome diving spot to tell us about? Share it in the comments below!

Here at Unique-Vacation-Ideas.com we want you to be succesful.  You have probably found this page because you are eagerly looking for any opportunity for a leg up (good for you!) or you’re feeling frustrated and stuck, not quite sure where to turn.

So here’s the tip of the day: Think about the prize and how much you would be willing to pay for it given your current financial situation.  Maybe you’d pay $500, or $300 or whatever.  Take that number and multiply it by how much you are willing to risk it.  So, maybe you’d pay $700 for a 50% chance of winning.  That leaves you with $350.

Choose your favorite online advertising service, be it adwords, over at google, or facebook.  Make an awesome advertisement (they’ll help guide you through the process) and set a budget.  Let the ad run until it’s hit the amount you’d be willing to spend on the prize, and leave it at that.

Remember: when you make your ad, you still have to follow all the guidelines of the contest.  Also, make sure that the ad directs people to the correct page by going through your bit.ly link.  If you send people who click on the link directly to our site, we still get the visitors, but you don’t get the credit.  That would suck.^[1]

As always, no purchase here or elsewhere is necessary to participate.  Just send traffic here, there are plenty of ways to do that for free.

If this tip left you cold, or you’re eager for more, be sure to check back again for tomorrow’s tip.

What’s all this talk about Contests?

Do you have a great tip of your own to share with other participants? Share it in the comments below.

 
[1] ok, fine, some of the ad programs will show how many clicks you got, etc. But you will make your life and ours easier if you stick with one consistent method of tracking your referrals. If we can’t verify it, we can’t give you the prize.