I realized that for sightseeing island tours; the last stop would always be a beach where you can spend an hour or so lazing on (hopefully) white powdery sand and get a nice tan-line.
The only problem is when you arrive at a time when high tide strikes and there's no more that fine minuscule sand that glitters under the sunlight. At least that's what i felt when the speedboat brought us to Naka Island in Phuket.
The above reflected the actual condition and with the tide pounding against the feet of sun loungers; i knew the Easybreath snorkeling masks we brought along for this tour would not be put to any use.
With an hour to spend, i honestly don't know what to as i was looking forward to snorkeling with my dad. Aside from the coconut trees, the one thing that's aplenty along the beach was the many bars.
Hoping there's more to explore further down the beach; i gave up after a while as there were so many touts along the beach persuading you to step into their beach bar and have a drink!
I gave in. My hidden alcoholic persona can't withstand the temptation even though to be fair; why should we reject the offer when we would be greeted with such a relaxing sight of the Phang Nga Bay while enjoying a bottle of beer?!
Before we touch on what went into my tummy, i thought it's beneficial to share what else you can do at Naka Island. I believe you can rent unicorn floats although i wouldn't recommend it given the tide condition.
Parasailing was another activity; having experiencing the activity twice (in Kota Kinabalu and Bali), i am unwilling to give it another try as it doesn't come cheap at about 1,500 baht (that's before you exercise your bargaining power).
In addition, Phuket had a parasailing accident involving an Australian tourist just six months before our trip and i don't feel assured to encourage the only person (my dad) who has never experienced parasailing to give it a try.
Even though i have never tried jetski; i am too stingy to fork out 1,000 baht for just 15 minutes of play! Mind you, that's about S$50 and i can bloody go on another island tour in Phuket with the same amount of money!
For misers like me, exploring the surroundings would be the best and i thought there's no other place than the floating jetty i saw near the end of the beach.
Distant view of the many limestone formations of Phang Nga province. It's interesting to know that two days out of my five days in Phuket were spent in Phang Nga province; first was this James Bond Island and the second was my journey to Similan Islands!
Long-tailed boat!
View of the beach from the floating jetty. Naka Island is in fact a large island and we were only at a tiny stretch known popularly as the day-trippers beach. On the northern end of the island, there's a luxury resort that cost over S$300 a night.
Age has caught up with me; in the past, i might have just joined the ladies in the picture. Nowadays, i am more worried of the medical bills and the inconvenience if i were to accidentally injure myself while walking on the jagged rocks.
On my way back to the beach bar!
The one we chose was Jiggy Bar and there's no special reason why it was selected except for the mere fact that we wanted to rest our feet and it was the bar closest to where we stopped.
Our assigned table with a cute vase. Want to know what's available at Jiggy Bar, you may check out the pictures of the menu at the end of this post!
While waiting for our drinks, i was drawn by the aroma of barbecued corn! Contrary to the barbecued corn in Singapore which is usually slathered with butter and maybe a dash of salt; you can opt for chilli powder and / or even lime!
Not bad tasting but a bit too much for me.
In case you are wondering who to buy from, you may refer to the above photo. The stall was quite near to where we were seated at the Jiggy Bar.
Random photos showing where we were seated; not too near to the water and with sufficient shade so that i didn't have to keep putting on sunblock!
Thai coconut that was sweet and came with a soft layer of coconut meat that's extremely easy to scrape off. This was one coconut my mom would have approved if she came with us.
My drink; the Mai Tai that's essentially a mix of white rum, dark rum, orange curacao, lemonade, pineapple juice, orange juice and pomegranate juice, served in a pineapple!
Costing 250 baht (slightly more than S$10), it was a refreshing cocktail and since both dad and Alex don't drink; i had the whole thing to myself! I got a bit high but i did manage to walk to the floating jetty and even got some picture taken!
Unfortunately for Alex, the stopover at Naka Island was a bit too boring for him.
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Location
The Day-trippers Beach,
Naka Island, Phuket, Thailand
Menu of Jiggy Bar
As above.
For my itinerary to Phuket, click here.