Let me preface this by saying that I am not against being ‘touristy’. At all.
The definition of the word ‘tourist’ is someone who visits a place for pleasure – THAT’S ME, through and through. Travel = pleasure for me, always. I love nothing more than buying elephant-print pants or taking a cheesy photo with the sign that says ‘I LOVE PERU’… you get the picture.
What I did enjoy about this particular experience when it came to staying in an area that is less frequented by international tourists is that it offered a renewed sense of adventure.
Having been travelling full time since August 2022, sometimes staying in certain places or feeling like I need to visit certain sights in order to say I’ve ‘done’ the place properly – whatever that means – can lead to a loss of sight in why I chose to go there in the first place.
For me, that is primarily being able to feel at one with the local community. That involves contributing to the economy by giving my money to local shops, vendors and restaurant owners. It means speaking to people and asking questions about their lives. And it also means doing as the locals do, because what I want to get out of my travel experience is a better understanding of other people’s lives and customs, to better inform my own.
It is for these reasons that I loved staying in the town of Wichit in Phuket, being a little more removed from the hustle and bustle of the Old Town or Kata beach.
Not because of a ‘better than’ mentality, but for the simple fact that I felt more like I was the only one who was foreign in town.
That is obviously not wholly the case, there were other western people dotted about the area. But I will say that by and large, myself and Adam were the only non-locals wandering around looking for a laundrette, or the hairdresser or figuring out which food stall to snack at. Fewer locals we interacted with spoke English, something that we didn’t experience in the more ‘touristy’ parts of the island.
Wichit is definitely not geared up for mass tourism. And by that I mean just places where the infrastructure supports more places for tourists to stay, such as more hotels, more western home comforts etc. There are fewer hotels/hostels, less stuff to do or impressive stuff to see here. It’s sleepy, quiet and has all the amenities a local would need to go about their daily life. This is exactly the kind of setting a backpacker like myself looks for from time to time!
Having fewer fellow tourists around brings a renewed sense of novelty and fun into my time seeing a place. It feels like I am discovering it more authentically, without the ease of menus being translated to English, or anyone assuming I will be going to Patong beach because everyone else that comes to Phuket tends to. It was a challenge, and I love nothing more than a good challenge!
In our lovely little town of Wichit, pretty removed from any popular beach or a quick taxi ride from the a big attraction, I was encouraged to be mindful of getting a lift somewhere due to the costs involved (hello backpacker budgeting!) or how much time it would take (did I fancy a 3 hour walk!?). It made me slow down, consider what I really wanted to see on the island and what I could go without seeing.
As it turns out, I was happier overall. Adam and I saved time and money in terms of travelling about and seeing all the sights (we did see some, mind you, I’m still very much a tourist!).
We also fully embraced the incredible hospitality and cooking that the local community had on offer here. Our meals cost a good 50% less than they did in the Old Town. We also mostly ate in people’s houses, essentially. The restaurants there were almost an extension of the family home, so we would eat with people’s kids running about in family-run places that have no name or official sign outside. It was so fun and exhilarating!
Finally – I think this is more of a reflection of Thai culture and its incredibly friendly and welcoming people, but nonetheless – I feel like Adam and I were treated so warmly everywhere we went. I got the feeling that in some places we went to for meals, not a lot of tourists had visited before us. We were treated with such care and asked to come back the next day, which we often did. I will never forget that level of hospitality.
It’s these kinds of places that I think deserve to benefit more from us tourists, but so often don’t. But I also wonder whether too many outside visitors could ruin what makes them special.
There is always a fine line between overexposure and overt cautiousness (sometimes selfishly!) in gatekeeping of special places you visit in the world. My travel memories are so sacred to me, I find them invaluable. But at the same time I am always willing to showcase the cool, quirky and downright amazing places I have been to because I think the people who live there deserve to benefit from as much exposure as possible.
So with all that being said, if you are thinking of visiting Phuket and want to stay somewhere ‘off the beaten (tourist) track’, I can highly recommend Wichit to be that place.
Until next time,
Lica xoxo
