Congested Phuket is main party destination in Thailand

Construction on the 45m tall Big Buddha began in 2007 and is still very much underway; despite being visible from most places in southern Phuket, the views from the top weren't very good

The Karon Viewpoint shows the beaches of Kata Noi, Kata and Karon; many visitors (there were lots of Russians) come here for a cheap holiday in the sun to escape winter at home

I'm not sure I'd ever seen a cuttlefish before; they are among the most intelligent invertebrates and also have one of the largest brain-to-body size ratios of all invertebrates

Cleartail lionfish; I don't think the water quality was very good based on the animals I saw which thrive in polluted waters (sea stars, sea urchins, parrotfish, etc.)

The Temple of the Golden Buddha is 250+ years old and has many legends surrounding it; whenever anyone tried to excavate more of the buddha they were met with misfortune

Laem Phromthep is the southernmost point on Phuket Island; I rented a car but found the driving extremely nerve-wracking with the huge number of scooters going every which way

It's hard to tell but this is a huge crown of thorns sea star; I think it's the largest one I'd ever seen which doesn't bode well for the health of the ecosystem here

Barred thicklip wrasse; some of the island's best beaches have been purchased by resorts in recent years and then closed to the public; Phuket is better suited to people who like all-inclusive resorts

With my Thai islands tour ending early I had 2 extra nights in Phuket so I booked a new hotel with views of Patong Beach; there was no beach at my beach resort but there was an infinity pool

Juvenile spotted parrotfish; I'd never seen this species before; March is dry season so the weather every day is about the same with highs around 90, high humidity and a light breeze

Phuket's busiest Buddhist temple is Wat Chalong; it dates back more than 150 years but the temple seemed just like the many others on the island

I swam out to this island where I'd read there was good snorkeling; after the great visibility and gorgeous underwater scenery in Raja Ampat it was a big letdown here

I stayed across the bay in the hotel in the trees at the end of the road; it was a mistake to stay at the very southern end of the island since it took forever to get anywhere

Reticulated butterflyfish; I drove to Old Phuket Town one day to take a walking tour but there was absolutely no parking anywhere; after driving around I concluded there really wasn't anything worth seeing there

Quoy's parrotfish; I visited Paradise Beach one day but there was a $6+ entrance fee and they also wouldn't allow my Coke Zero in so I opted to go elsewhere