Our first destination today was Old Town Phuket (Grab ride: about 45 minutes). Since Kenric’s sister and cousin will not be visiting Malaysia, I’m glad his sister’s guidebook recommended a restaurant called Abdul that serves roti. Roti canai is a must-have for anyone visiting Malaysia. We had roti canai and roti banana which was surprisingly delicious. One of our Grab drivers would later describe roti as traditional Muslim food in Phuket.

Abdul’s Roti Shop closed in 2019 after more than 50 years in business.

We visited a temple in the old town before taking a Grab to Big Buddha Phuket. (Grab ride: about 40 minutes). We saw two elephants at two different spots during the drive up the hill where the Big Buddha sits. One had a metal chair frame on it, and the other, a young one, was being fed by tourists. The Big Buddha was BIG, and the view from the hilltop was great.

We took another Grab to Karon Beach where we had dinner (Grab ride: about 35 minutes). The sun had almost completely set when we left the restaurant. Kenric and his sister walked quite far out onto the beach. Kenric did not retreat fast enough when a big wave came in and he fell on his butt into the water. It was funny. We took a Grab back to our hotel in Patong Beach (Grab ride: about 30 minutes).

We tried taking a tuk tuk because Kenric didn’t want to sit in somebody’s car with all the sand still stuck to his wet shorts, but all three drivers we approached weren’t interested. One even told us to wait until 9:30 p.m. when the traffic is lighter. “Go eat!” I’m glad we found a Grab within minutes. Kenric lined the seat with a small blanket he carries in his backpack, and the driver was very nice and pleasant to chat with. All four drivers were nice, but two were much more chatty.

Map of Places Visited