Taya Starling

I’m not sure why Phuket is spelled with an H in English when that H is most definitely silent. So on my recent adventure down there, I made it my secret personal mission to discover and explore that funny little silent H. My options were a bit restricted since I was down there shooting for the second season of Beyond Destinations (hope you guys have been catching up on the first season either on IN Channel, TRUE92 or on YouTube as I’ve been posting the episodes here!), but I still managed to do a bit of exploration.

H as in…

Heaven

 Phuket may be a major tourist attraction here in Thailand but there are still a number of remote and relatively untouched beaches to be explored and relaxed upon. This beach known as Mai Kao was right outside my villa door and begging to be strolled with no one in sight but my team.

History

 If you venture out of Phuket’s main area to go island hopping, chances are the boat will take you by this cave where pre-historic drawings in a rusty-red color dot the walls. They’re said to date back thousands of years and the images include fish, monkeys, and men.

 You will also be taken to Koh Tapu or Nail Island which was famously featured in the James Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun, just one of the first of many more international films to be shot in Thailand.

Hang ten

 Finally! After years of trying to make it down to Phuket for a decent surf session, I FINALLY MADE IT! Unfortunately the waves were way better the day before; by the time I got a break in my schedule to go the waves were small and choppy but decent enough to slide a bit and Bank here happened to be in Phuket on work the same day so i dragged him out to show him how to hang ten (; I definitely need to make it back down there for a decent surf break one of these days.

Heights

 Along with island hopping and surfing, I managed to sneak in a quick trip up and over Phuket via parasail. Let me take a moment to say it all happens very fast- one minute your feet are in the sand the next you’re flying up over the ocean- and once you’re up there and enjoying the view it was really difficult to focus on the fact that you’re up terribly high with a man behind you who has no safety harness. But man, what a rush.

Holy

 Phuket like any other Thai Province has multiple temples but Wat Chalong was one of my favorites simply for its beautiful architecture and history.  If you have the time and are willing to break away from the beach for a while, I strongly recommend a little stop by Wat Chalong.

 If you can’t seem to pry yourself away from the beach, however, there is another spot you can visit right across from Patong’s walking street. This holy shrine is a Naga, a mythical creature similar to a dragon, which is revered in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Chinese folklore says that Phuket and it’s islands are actually a Naga rising out of the sea.

Haven

 Phuket may be a busy tourist destination these days but it is still a haven to all kinds of wildlife and sea life.  We stumbled across this huge starfish while taking a sunset stroll on our final night. Plenty of colorful fish still swim in the coral and hundreds of monkeys still occupy the islands.  And don’t worry, this beautiful starfish was returned to deeper waters as soon as these pictures were taken (& we made sure it was still alive)

So I guess you could say I finally did discover that tricky little silent H in Phuket.  Now we just need to find a way to tell everyone else that the H is silent and it’s not pronounced FUKET. Spread the word HomieLoverFriends, spread the word.