Mai
Khao Beach, Phuket
Quickly developing as an upscale residential area with a
few five-star resorts thrown into the mix, Mai Khao
Beach is a relatively undiscovered delight on Phuket.
Wide stretches of soft powder sand characterize Mai Khao
Beach. Long a fishing and aqua-culture village, it is
now becoming home to a several upscale residential
communities.
Some parts of the beach are not so pretty, nor so quiet,
as the pumps for sending salt water up to the
aqua-culture farms are here and usually run on small
diesel engines that are somewhat noisy. They don't run
24/7, but they aren't particularly nice to look at
either. However, they are only a small percentage of
the beach front here - so don't take them too
seriously. You can see in the front of this photo that
the community is beginning to build sidewalks and roads
along the beachfront to accommodate the growing interest
in the area.
Slowly the residential and resort interests will replace
the water pumps as the aquaculture farmers find the land
much more valuable as resorts or residential estates.
Mai
Khao Beach begins at the airport and runs to the area
around the JW Marriott. In fact, Mai Khao and SaiKhao
Beaches are one and the same - just the name changes
around the JWM. It is, in fact, the longest stretch of
beach on Phuket. The new upscale Sala Phuket Resort is
also located on this beach - just a kilometer south of
the JW Marriott Resot.
Even during high season this is a quiet beach and great
for long walks as it is never really busy or crowded.
