Leaving Phuket: One Last Foot Massage and a Thousand Memories
A bittersweet farewell to the place where I raised a child, loved a dog, and built a life.
I’m writing this while having my feet kneaded (or rather assaulted), by a very strong Thai lady who’s clearly having a bad day.
Normally Thai massages are wonderful, all smiles and gentle stretching, but this one is currently taking her frustrations out on my toes. I’d like to say it’s therapeutic, but so far it feels more like penance. 😂
And yet, in a strange way, it’s the perfect metaphor for Phuket, Thailand. Mostly wonderful, occasionally baffling, often a little painful, and always memorable.
This Time It’s Different
Having lived here for 12+ years, we left last May when my daughter graduated and popped back last October on route to Australia from the UK.
We’re now headed back the other way from Australia to London and stopped by for the last 3 weeks to see our friends and enjoy our old home.
It’s been a wonderful visit, filled with sunshine, rain, food, laughter, and all the chaotic details that make this island what it is.
But as I sit here with my reluctant masseuse this time feels different. When we passed through last October, I knew I’d be back in a few months. Now there’s no return ticket waiting. It could be years before I’m here again. And that realisation stings far more than her elbow currently digging into my foot arch!
The Friends Who Became Family
Phuket isn’t just beaches and cocktails and Instagram sunsets (although it’s also all of those things).
For me, it’s the friends I’ve gathered over more than a decade. Friendships forged not because we grew up together, or went to school together, but because we all washed up on this little island from faraway homes, and built something that looked a lot like family.
Some of those friends have long since scattered across the globe, as expats tend to do. But many are still here, and this visit has been a fantastic reunion!
Coffees that stretch into lunches, exercise classes that end in gossip sessions, late-night dancing, parties, and the kind of easy laughter that only comes when you’ve seen each other through the highs and the lows.
And it’s that heartbeat of my Phuket that I’ll miss most.
Leaving Buddy
But leaving Phuket isn’t just been about the people. Last May, when my daughter graduated and we first packed up to leave, we also had to say goodbye to our rescue dog, Buddy.
He’d been part of our family for 4 years, a scruffy little soi dog who grew up playing every day with the puppy from the house down the road. By some stroke of luck, or maybe fate, that family became his second family and when the time came, they opened their arms and gave him a home.
He’s happy and loved, I know that. But this trip I caught sight of him twice, and each time it was like a punch to the gut. He didn’t see me, which is for the best, but it reminded me just how much of my life and my heart is is bound up in this island.
The Contrasts of Phuket
As you drive around the island Phuket reveals itself in all its contradictions.
A brand-new luxury health clinic with polished glass windows, followed by a ramshackle food truck with an entire family spilling off a moped beside it.
Burmese workers crammed into the back of trucks, ponchos flapping in the rain. Gleaming white villas rising from the hillsides, while just down the lane a row of corrugated tin roofs buckle under the heat.
Traffic lights appear to be more of a suggestion than a rule. Roundabouts cause utter chaos. And the police, bless them, often manage to create more traffic jams than they solve.
Cafés and restaurants sprout on every corner, alongside billboards for cosmetic clinics and “anti-ageing” hospitals. Gyms multiply like mushrooms, and every second jogger seems to be wearing a marathon or triathlon t-shirt.
Then there are the 7-Elevens. You’ll find one on nearly every corner, and between the toasties, sushi, and hot rice meals, you could easily live off them if your budgets a bit tight!
And yet, through all this modern development, the old Thailand still hums.
Old Traditions, Timeless Culture
You can’t pass through a town without the glittering roof of a stunning Wat reminding you that Buddhism runs deep here. Ornate roofs glint in the sunlight, with golden Buddhas standing serenely above the bustle. Locals wai in greeting while temples buzz with saffron-robed monks, incense, and chanting.
Muslim women cook by the roadside while their children splash in the lakes. Colourful street stalls fry chicken and something that looks suspiciously like spaghetti but almost certainly isn’t.
Cows graze in fields, some well fed, some heartbreakingly skeletal. The occasional elephant lumbers past in the back of a truck. And always, the palm trees, nod above it all like wise old spectators.
One of my favourite traditions has been standing for the King’s anthem before every movie at the cinema. Something about the respect and majesty of it all.
But while some of these traditions are sadly slowly fading, they’re a reminder that no matter how fast Phuket modernises, its soul still remains deeply Thai.
Street Food and Market Magic
And then, of course, there’s the food. Thailand may be known as the land of smiles, but it could just as easily be the land of fried chicken. You find it everywhere on roadside stalls with battered woks balanced precariously on gas canisters, the unmistakable smell of garlic and oil drifting into the street.
Add to that the curries, the noodle dishes, the grilled skewers, the fresh fruit, and you’ve got an island that never stops cooking. Even at six in the morning the food trucks are out, dishing up breakfast to families who balance rice boxes on their scooters as they weave through the traffic.
My own favourites are the classics. A rich Massaman curry, eaten on the beach with sand between my toes. A bowl of Khao Soi so good you forget to speak until you’ve slurped the last drop.
And the joy of wandering the Friday night market, eating fried sweet potato balls, while bargaining for trinkets to send home, becoming the “lucky first sale” that vendors insist will bring them good fortune.
This trip, I’ve indulged more than I should have. Hashimoto’s and strict diets don’t sit too well with spicy noodles and coconut rice. But try resisting the call of Thai street food after a cocktail or two. It’s a battle I’ve never won.
A Grateful Goodbye
And now it’s almost over. My bags are half-packed, there’s an alarm set for some ridiculous hour on Monday morning, and all that’s left is one more Massaman curry on the beach this weekend.
I’ll sit with my family and friends, watching the sun drop into the Andaman, grateful for every year we’ve been lucky enough to call this island home.
Grateful that my daughter grew up here, that we knew the love of a gorgeous puppy, that friendships became family and chaos became comfort.
Leaving is bittersweet. But it isn’t forever. Because once an island like this has you, you never really leave. You carry it with you, in your stories, in your friendships, and sometimes, in the sharp jab of a masseuse’s elbow.
Khob Khun Kha, Phuket. Sawasdee Kha. 🙏
Safe trip back. I lived in Phuket for many years. I left 3 years ago. Good luck with whatever comes next 😊💕
Have so enjoyed your time there as I don't think I'll ever get a chance to visit. We love our Thai friends here in the states and I hear similar stories from them. Thanks for sharing your good-bye!