The Town that Time Forgot

Most visitors to Phuket will never go to Takua Pa, a sleepy town way off the main road, but those who venture off the beaten track are rewarded with scenes of a bygone era

There’s a certain thrill when you drive off the island of Phuket, crossing Sarasin bridge and heading northwards to Phang Nga. Almost immediately, it seems that the number of billboards thins, people drive slower, and the scenery becomes, well, more scenic.

Despite being a province in its own right, the mainland to the north is often seen as Phuket’s back garden, part of a ‘Greater Phuket’ touted in tourist brochures and on travel websites. Not long after the bridge crossing you reach a fork in the highway – right towards Krabi and Surat Thani, and straight on to Khao Lak and Takua Pa.

To reach the latter, our final destination, you first pass through the small village of Taimuang, before entering Khao Lak, a heavily tourist-focused drag with tailors, fast food outlets, trinket shops, cheap bars and restaurants. Mercifully, it doesn’t take long to pass through before you’re once again on a pleasant tree-lined road headed north. Before too long, you’ll pass various high-end hotels, and then the road gently curves right, before you arrive at Takua Pa new town (definitely not where you want to go). At the first set of traffic lights turn right, and head away from the noise and commerce.

If you set off from Phuket in the morning, it should be midday by now, meaning it’s time for lunch. A few minutes up the road on your left-hand side look out for a sign, in English, that reads Pata restaurant. A small wooden open-air building with benches and picnic-style tables, this not a fancy place. But you don’t come here for the design, but for the view. The family run eatery overlooks lush green fields filled with grazing water buffalo and white cranes, surrounded by distant, mist-shrouded mountains. As for the food, the one page menu is full of simple, home-cooked favourites such as tom yum goong and chicken satay, all served by an ever smiling mother and daughter team.

Once you’ve had your fill, head back to the main road, turn left and follow the road until you reach a quaint little town filled with Chinese-style shophouses – the original Takua Pa. You wouldn’t know it now, but this historic settlement was once one of the largest trading posts along the Andaman coast, a stopping point for Arabic, Chinese and Indian sailors, who came here to trade spices, and, later, deal in the tin that made Phuket’s fortune. However, it had slowly lost importance over the centuries, cut off from passing traffic and business when a new highway bypassed the town altogether.

Because of this, it’s seemingly remained in a time warp, a stasis only shaken up by the occasional inquisitive visitor. Architecturally, the settlement shares roots with the historic Phuket Old Town (both were founded by Hokkien Chinese immigrants), but unlike the latter which – with its roti restaurants, batik sellers, and herbal stores – at least bears some resemblance to its important past, Takua Pa is a ghost town for most of the year, occupied by elderly residents sharing a pot of tea - apart from the weekly Sunday market on the main street, which draws in people from the surrounding area.

The one week that the place really comes alive is for the annual Vegetarian Festival in September. While Phuket has achieved some fame for its version, locals here tell you that their version came first. Regardless, both are full of a gory display of worship, as men and women parade with spikes, sticks and much worse protruding from their cheeks (the participants have supposedly been possessed by the spirits). The parade centers around the town’s main Chinese shrine, which is certainly impressive. And that, besides a run-down park that marks the former governor’s house, is about it.

If you are looking to stay a while longer, accommodation is available at the nearby Baan San-Fan Orphange, where the price you pay per day goes towards its upkeep, and providing for the 15 or so children that live there. They also produce a range of organic products, including coconut oil soap, honey, recycled sack bags, and kitchen aprons, which make for excellent gifts, as well as a way to support their charitable efforts. 

Speaking of which, on your way back to Phuket, approximately halfway between Khao Lak town and Sarasin Bridge, make a stop at the Home and Life Foundation cafe and restaurant on your right. Part of the adjoining orphanage established to look after youth whose lives were destroyed by the 2004 tsunami, this noble venture is staffed by the children themselves, offering them training and an income to prepare themselves for a brighter future. They’re off to a good start, as the coffees and cakes are excellent.

It’s an ideal way to end your visit to Phang Nga, so much more than ‘Greater Phuket’.