Bustling city full of tourists but with many gems, from beaches to food
Went there for a pole retreat. Came back with lots of experiences and memories.
Trip dates: Apr 19th – 28th, 2024
I booked this trip shortly after breaking up. I needed to get away, and do something that I love, for myself. I searched for a pole camp, and after a bit of browsing came across this one in Phuket offered by OTP Retreats (run by famous pole dancer Sarah Scott). I highly recommend it: spoiler, the retreat was PERFECT. Instructors line up was insane and dates were fitting into my schedule, after my two competitions.
So I got up on a Emirates flight and off I went.
Part 1: the journey
I specified Emirates, because I was laying over in Dubai, and by the time I went, Dubai was hit by the worst storm of the century, and was flooded, with the airport half closed and most of the flights cancelled.
Mine was not, but they did not want to let me fly at first, because all passengers laying over in Dubai were blocked, while those having Dubai as final destinations could go. So I followed my instincts, and chose to fly with Dubai as final destination. At least I could have gotten one step closer to Phuket.
Flight was delayed 2 hours, but little I cared, as I just wanted to get my a*s there.
I was lucky! Landed in Dubai, had less than 1 hour to change terminal, ran for my life and get on the flight to Phuket (I was told I could fly directly…YAY!).
Well… I could fly. Me only. My luggage remained in Dubai as there wasn’t enough time to transfer it to the second flight.
Again, I couldn’t care less about it…I had my contact lens case and liquid in my backpack, and that was all I needed.
Part 2: luggage odyssey and surviving without my stuff
Cabin Crew, prepare for landing.
That was the announcement I was dying to hear, and finally I set foot in Phuket. I queued to sort out how to have my luggage delivered to the hotel, and it took me a couple of hours to have that figured out with the airport staff as I wasn’t the only one without suitcase.
Then, since it was early during the day, I jumped on a cab and went to Mida Grande Resort, the 5* hotel accommodation that was reserved for that pole retreat attendees.
First issue: 32° C with crazy humidity and I was wearing quite heavy clothing (coming from Switzerland), and in my backpack had as the only other item of clothing, a down jacket. Not ideal.
So, I ventured in a shopping trip in the small stores close to the hotel. The resort was located in Surin Beach, a very nice neighborhood with many clothing shops and convenience stores, so, long story short, I bought toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, one summer dress, one piece of underwear, a pair of sandals and survived with that for 3 days until my luggage finally arrived.
Lesson learned:
- Always bring spare clothes in your hand luggage
- You can survive with a few items for several days. No need for 23kg suitcase with 10 different outfit, 4 pair of shoes, make up and my full skincare set!
Part 3: The pole retreat
The retreat started with a sunset dinner at the beach, including fireworks and performers.
Sarah was so thoughtful: she provided vegetarian, vegan, lactose free, gluten free options so everybody could eat and have a great time. I started to get to know my retreat companions, and felt for the first time in years totally relaxed, free and happy.
The retreat last 4 days + welcome dinner. We jumped from choreo to static to spin workshops, with the best imaginable instructor line up: powerful Olga Trifonova, timelessly elegant Phoenix Kazree, pure energy Miss Filly. After each day’s workshops I learned (after being all sore at the end of the first day), that massage was the best way to relax muscles and be fresh the following morning. And it was so easy and cheap to get wonderful massages in Phuket!
I won’t spend more words on the retreat, but I’ll dump some photos for you to get the amazing atmosphere of the experience. It was just amazing, I definitely recommend it if you are a pole dancer looking for a different kind of holiday.
Part 4: the solo days
After the retreat ended (sadly all good things come to an end), I enjoyed a few days of solo exploring the area.
Here some of my favorites.
Big Buddha
Even though it was packed with tourists, I enjoyed climbing to the top of the hill where Big Buddha is located. I loved the view, but most of all I loved the vibes, almost mystical.
Cats everywhere
The city is packed of stray cats. It broke my heart to see how skinny some of them were, but it was eye opening to see how freely they roamed (being a cat mom of two house cats, that surprised me). I bought a bag of cat food to feed them whenever I met one.
Elephants
Another sad reality of Phuket (but Thailand in general), is how elephants are exploited for tourism: rides, “sanctuaries”… I really looked for one that was a true natural reserve for saved elephants, and found one where tourists were not allowed to touch them or disturb them, and where it was not granted to see them bathing. All we were allowed to do was chopping fruits and see them eat, which was great.
To anybody visiting Thailand, please beware of sanctuaries where they have you wash the elephants, as in reality, they are just exploiting them, not caring about their welfare.
I link here the one I visited.
The beaches and the sunsets
In the end, guys, we are talking about Phuket, right? I couldn’t leave without seeing the best beaches and the sunsets! Here the ones I visited:
- Banana Beach: It’s a very nice little beach with a bar and tiny stream of sand. This is the one where I actually took a dip
- Freedom Beach: Amazing breathtaking sunset! It was quite big but not an easy descent, as the path to the beach was very steep with very slippery rocks. Had to take off my shoes to avoid falling, but once there, it is amazing. there is a tiny beach bar and a restaurant that was closed. On the way back up, a very nice local guy gave me a ride on his scooter (I was holding onto him for my life as he was craaaazy!!!). I couldn’t swim there as there was a ton of jellyfish.
- Naithon Beach: I went there late morning. a very long strand of sand and hot as hell, but incredible water filled with jellyfish.
- Karon Beach: enjoyed my peaceful sunset moment there. It’s quite touristy, full of people and bars, but still enjoyable.
- Kamala Beach: I stayed at a nice hotel there, but never really went to the beach here as it wasn’t worth it given the short time I had.
Simon’s Cabaret & Night Market
Not sure how it happened, but I ended up one night at Simon’s Cabaret, the ladyboys show. Uhm…it’s exactly how you would imagine it. Quite trashy but entertaining, I had a lot of fun, even though I was alone.
Another night I went to Boat Avenue Night Market. Aw…the food was DELICIOUS! And walking among the stalls… it was just great. Please do it if you have the time and like markets!
I hope you enjoyed this short diary and let me know if you agree!
Erli
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