Visiting Phuket Old Town

A day without the beaches by visiting Phuket Old Town

Some people come to Phuket solely for its beaches and water activities such as island hopping, sunbathing or to enjoy the sun on the horizon. Some come to Phuket for its food. The curious ones come to Phuket for Bangla Road and the massage parlours. However, apart from tall these, another interesting thing to do in Phuket is visiting Phuket Old Town.

Visiting Phuket Old Town is like entering a different place

On our third day in Phuket, I needed to withdraw some cash. I searched for CIMB Thai Bank (since I have a CIMB Malaysia Bank account and there will be no extra charges for withdrawal) and found one in Phuket old town. Thus, we decided that we should kill two birds with one stone by also visiting Phuket Old Town.

We drove our car according to Waze’s instructions and once we reached the Old Town boundary, everything looked different. The buildings look different than other buildings in Phuket. We felt like we were entering a different place. Yet, it felt familiar.

Unique Sino-Portuguese Architecture

I withdrew my money and soon, we walked along the pedestrian walk. We just wandered aimlessly with Zinnirah sitting in the carrier. I thought to myself “this looks like Georgetown in Penang!“. Well, of course! The Sino-Portuguese architecture in Phuket Old Town really looks like the ones in Penang. This is evidenced by the five foot ways and the delicate concrete carvings on the buildings. They are so beautiful and well-preserved.

We continued walking and saw a road which is different from the others. Most roads in Phuket are full with electricity cables intertwined with the poles and other cables. However, this particular road is different. We continued walking, trying to think what the different was. Then, we realized that on this road, there is no electricity cables! The Phuket municipality had put all the cables underground to ensure that the road will look better.

It was getting hotter, so we decided to seek refuge in the car before proceeding for our shopping activities. We were glad that we visited the Old Town. Visiting Phuket Old Town shows how two different places, although different culturally and historically, can still feel the same.

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