Phuket Hai Sook Holiday

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About Phuket Hai Sook Holiday

The half-day history tour is a mixed bag of experiences. The guide, Alec, is knowledgeable about the culture, history, customs, and traditions of the area. The tour includes visits to a gems gallery, a cashew factory, and a lesson on how to make curry paste. There's also a visit to the Big Buddha and the old Phuket Town, and an opportunity to feed a baby elephant. The company running the tour comes highly recommended.

However, some travelers have found the tour to be inflexible and not very good value for money. Despite being told that the tour would be flexible, some found that there was limited flexibility in terms of the places they could visit. For instance, requests to visit Promthep Cape instead of other locations were denied because it wasn't part of any of their tours.

Others have found the tour to be average, with no real commentary of any worth from the English-speaking tour guide. The Buddha, while offering amazing views, is not yet completed and looks more like a construction site. Some of the other sites were tourist sales stops with no educational value, such as the cashew nuts and bees. The turtle sanctuary had been demolished for a hospital. However, the aquarium and old Phuket town were highlights.

The Big Buddha at the top of the mountain is a great place to spend a few hours. The Thai people have been building this Big Buddha Statue for over 10 years and it is almost complete. The ride up to the top of the mountain is scenic on a nice concrete road, so motorbikes make it up there just fine. You can now walk up the 150 steps to the top of the Big Buddha statue as the outside of it is completed. The inside of it will be completed shortly but more donations are needed for construction materials. Many Buddhist Monks are living on site at the top of the Big Buddha Stature and for a few cents you can sit down with them for an individual or family blessing. There are also some nice Thai cultural gifts available for sale up there but no food is sold or allowed with the exception of ice cream cones and cold drinks.

Some travelers have found the tour to be a bit of a tourist trap, with a lot of the tour being a trip to different places where they tried to sell all sorts of tourist stuff. Despite indicating that they were not interested, they were continuously followed by staff trying to sell them something. However, the guide and the driver were professional and friendly.

Others have found the tour to be a total rip off, with the tour being way too expensive for what you get. In one instance, a traveler was left alone with a chauffeur who didn't speak English and couldn't explain anything. The chauffeur dropped the traveler off at a shopping center but didn't pick them up again, leaving them to take a taxi back to the hotel. The company did not respond to complaints about this.

In conclusion, while the half-day history tour has its highlights, such as the knowledgeable guide and the visit to the Big Buddha, it also has its downsides, such as the inflexibility of the tour and the pushy sales tactics at some of the stops. It's recommended that potential travelers do their research and consider their options before booking this tour.