We finally left Khao Lak and our diving adventures behind to get the local bus down to Phuket. If we had known what Phuket was really like then we would have jumped on another liveaboard! Probably 10 years ago it was an outstanding place to visit as the beaches are lovely, tucked into separate coves and the hills are covered in palms and deep forest. Tourism, however has hit Phuket extremely hard and it is now basically a package tourist destination. Huge resort complexes and towering hotels completely fill the main destinations along the coast and creep way up into the hills. The beaches were packed solid and we came to the conclusion that there should be a definite ban on thongs, topless bathing and ill fitting speedos....it wasn't pretty! Patong was reminiscent of Benidorm with a real 'Brits on Tour' feel about it - lots of Union Jacks on show and people shopping with beer bottle in hand. The plus about it is that it is clean and a good place to bring children with regard to the food, entertainment and beaches - although I don't think either Steve or I could stand a fortnight here...kids or no kids. We hired a jeep and headed for a quieter resort called Kata futher south to plan the next few days. A highlight of our visit was the Songkran Festival which is the lunar new year in Thailand when Buddha images are bathed, and the young Thais show respect by sprinkling water over the hands of elders and monks. It is also an excuse for one huge water fight - from morning to evening you basically get water from wherever you can and using whatever instrument you can you throw or squirt water at men, women, children, pensioners, babies....no one is exempt! So, we bought a water gun and toured some of the island from what we thought would be the safety of the jeep. Oh no, it wasn't to be - the Thais are very experienced and our jeep was in no way watertight! We eventually found ourselves in Patong, on the streets joining in with the celebrations - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! We had a great afternoon and were absolutely soaking by the time we dragged ourselves back to the jeep. A small water gun was just no match for the locals huge barrels of water and ice cubes!!! The following day we headed out to explore a bit more of the island. We headed north and found yet more resorts, luxury town houses and entertainment parks in various stages of construction. We did find some smaller towns which as yet have not fallen victim to mass tourism - Ao Bang Thao was a quiet beach with just a few guest houses and cafes and further up Ao Nai Thon. We went into the Sirinat National Marine Park in further search of Phuket's natural beauty....it was not to be. It was badly maintained, lots of rubbish lying around and pools of stagnant, stinky water. We were disappointed that the national park itself, that could have enormous potential, was not clean - may be the reason was that hotels were not allowed to be built here so there was little reason for it to be kept as it should be. May be we have been a little hard on Phuket; if you are coming to one of the hotel resorts then you will probably have a great time with all the trappings that that will bring. However, if you are seeking something a bit more substantial then there are definitely other parts of Thailand which will do the job.