I have a soft spot for Phuket. I lived there for a year and I really disliked the way the island is viewed by people who haven’t spent much time there. I’ve had friends visit the island, spend a night or two in Patong and leave with a negative impression of the place. All right, Patong is an annoyance in many respects, which is why it amazes me that people chose to go there only to have a bad time.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday, Phuket has a “reputation for sticky go-go bars, overpriced shopping and full-moon parties”.

There aren’t really all that many go-go bars in Phuket, even in Patong, so I don’t know where that reputation comes from. As for full-moon parties, I don’t think they are ever held in Phuket, except maybe at Club Lime from time to time, but rarely at the beaches.

With regards to shopping, I always thought the prices were acceptable and not too dissimilar to in Bangkok. The only real drawback in Phuket is the lack of choice, especially when it comes to electronics.

I’m not saying the writer is at fault here. If that’s how people see Phuket, then so be it, but it’s an image of the island that is somewhat unjust.

It happens about every week or so on the Phuket forums that someone will post that “Phuket is dead” or “Patong isn’t what it used to be”. It never occurs to people that there are other parts of Phuket, where the dreaded signs of development are few and far between.

With all the madness going on in Pattaya and Bangkok at the moment, I wonder how, if at all, tourism in Phuket will be affected. There’s been a lot of bad press for Thailand in general and people like to throw out figures of billions of baht in lost revenue, but the truth is, we won’t know what the impact is for some time.

Phuket is still much the same as it’s always been. There’s no reason to put off a trip there because of what’s going on in Thailand. Perhaps that will change and there will be a civil war or a revolution in the next few months, but right now, that isn’t happening.

What is happening on April 18, however, is a concert organized by the PAD for up to 20,000 people. Obviously not a group to shy away from accusations that all they do is have picnics and watch concerts, this event will take place in Saphan Hin. People are expected to camp over at the event and there will be refreshment trucks and food vendors.

Artist Chanrong Piathanong is booked to paint a picture of HM The King while musicians play the national anthem. And who said patriotism was dead?

I think still think Phuket is worth visiting and it’s probably best not to listen to what other people say about the island.

Phuket Vogue is a website dedicated to providing in-depth, up-to-date information about Phuket. The website was established in 2008 as a resource for travelers looking to visit Phuket. Phuket Vogue contains links to reviews of all of the island’s major beaches, offering impartial tips on where to go and where to avoid.

Also on Phuket Vogue, users can find reviews of the large number of islands dotted around the coast of Phuket with tips for how to get to them.

Phuket’s nightlife scene is covered on the website with reviews of all the most popular nightspots on the island, including everything from dance clubs to go-go bars.

No destination guide would be complete without restaurant reviews, and Phuket Vogue has reviews of all the best restaurants across the island.

But the information doesn’t end there. Phuket Vogue has general advice for travelers, tips on sites to visit, a currency exchange tool, info about major events around the island, videos, a Phuket blog and details about Thai visas.

All of this and more is available at Phuket Vogue.

I took the 40-minute longtail ride (150 baht each way) from Bangrong Pier over to Koh Yao Noi today. Koh Yao Noi is just off the coast of Phuket, but it’s actually part of Phang Nga province. I had never been to Koh Yao Noi, but I was keen to see all the agrotourism projects up there.

I like what they are trying to do at Koh Yao Noi, which revolves around giving tourists a different kind of travel experience. Visitors to Koh Yao Noi stay with a family and basically get an in-depth look into the way of life on the island.

At the moment, they’re pushing to get the rice paddies back in use, partly for the sake of keeping tradition alive, but more so to spark interest in the island and generate money for the locals – and why not? I’m all for this kind of project. It’s educational, interesting and hands-on. I have read that rice paddies have an effect on global warming due to the amount of methane they produce, so that is a point of contention for what is touted as an eco-friendly project.

About 1,600 rai of Koh Yao Noi is made up of rice paddies, or what used to be rice paddies. A bunch of the local kids who live and go to school on the island were playing mud football in one of the paddies.

Aside from being a lot of fun for the kids, the stomping of feet in the mudbath is good for the soil, where rice will eventually be planted.

After playing football, the kids dunked themselves in a nearby pool of water to clean off.

Something a bit different for a Sunday morning.

Check out Phang Nga Hotels for somewhere to stay in the area.

There was a tsunami drill held in each of the six Andaman provinces today. There are 79 warning towers across the Andaman region, with 19 of those located in Phuket. The sirens sounded and the drill was conducted in a similar manner to the previous tsunami drills.

I sometimes wonder how effective these drills are. They are well orchestrated and publicized and in the end they become little more than some sort of show for the cameras, with students running through the streets, smiles beaming, having a great time. However, such drills do raise awareness.

The tourists, however, sometimes just shrug and get back to their sunbathing. In Patong today, it seemed that most tourists were keen to ignore the drill. I have heard a few people saying that it isn’t a matter of if, but when, there will be another tsunami. Will Phuket and the other Andaman regions be ready for such a scenario? It’s possible, but we really can’t be sure how effective the tsunami-warning system is.

If you’ve seen some of the pictures from after the tsunami – of the dead bodies and dismembered limbs strewn all around – then you’ll appreciate the importance of these tsunami drills. The world was shocked by the tsunami in 2004, but some tourists couldn’t be bothered to take 10 minutes from their busy schedules to join in today.

Gripes aside, I think Phuket and the Andaman provinces are making progress in reaching the stage where people are prepared for another tsunami, but there is still work to be done.

There was a tsunami drill about one year ago, similar to the one today. Some of the sirens were too quiet while others were inaudible. There was another good show for the media, but away from the cameras, there were problems.

It has yet to come out what problems there were with today’s drill, but no doubt more will be known tomorrow. The sirens in Patong have never been the problem; it’s elsewhere there were concerns.

Did anyone hear the sirens this morning?

One of the most common questions I’m asked about Phuket is how the Phuket weather is. People seem genuinely concerned that the weather in Phuket could potentially ruin a trip to the island. Rest assured that the Phuket weather is far more forgiving than in Bangkok.

Whereas in Bangkok you expect the whole city to come to a standstill during the heavy rain, in Phuket, the rain comes in short sharp bursts that you barely notice. The whole monsoon-season aspect of Phuket weather is totally blown out of proportion.

Yes, it does rain a lot during some months, but it’s not as if it doesn’t ease up at regular intervals. At it’s worst, Phuket weather will be incredibly wet in sporadic bursts of an hour or so, but as soon as it stops raining, everything dries up pretty fast.

The best time to visit Phuket is definitely during low season. It’ll rain from time to time, but you’ll still be able to enjoy your trip. Phuket weather is hot all the year round, too, so the rain is usually refreshing.

I like the weather in Phuket far more than in Bangkok, mostly because when it rains the streets don’t tend to flood so much.