Pukka Phuket

The Weekend Night Market in Phuket is definitely something to experience, especially if you like authentic, local cuisine when travelling. To really get a taste of Thailand, you will need to sample some of the food on offer in this vibrant, bustling place. It caters for the tourists but what I loved the most was seeing foods I had never seen before.
This immense bazaar separates into shopping and food. Great deals are available with famous name brands on sale as well as hundreds of Thai items and souvenirs. The market has a roof that offers protection from the sudden rains in the rainy season. There are always lots of people, and the heat is intense with music and voices filling the air. There is a fun element to bargaining with vendors. Nothing is ever straightforward or simple, and the prices on items are just a starting point to negotiations!

Walking through the food part of the Night Market is an education. Fragrances float on the air; aromas strange yet enticing, mingled with the smell of fires and foods frying. Gazing up and down the rows of stalls, you don’t know where to go first or what to try. There are plates of cold, cooked eggs, and a woman is frying blobs of batter with some herb or leaf inside. We buy some, and they are surprisingly tasty. A whole duck anyone? Corn or sushi? Kebabs of seafood? Fried noodles?

A very strange looking fruit is the Rambutan or hairy lychee. The skin is hard to break, not like the litchi we have in South Africa but the taste is vaguely familiar.
But best of all was the vibe of the place. There was a buzz in the air of excitement and expectation. It was an enriching excursion to share with my family and will be something we always remember and talk about.
Was it worth it? Absolutely…. Every minute!