Promthep Cape is a very popular place for sunset photos on Phuket Island, and is located at the southernmost tip – about 40-50 minute drive from Patong Beach.  Even so, the place offers equally beautiful views in the daytime, surrounded by hilly green slopes, swaying palm trees and windmills in the distance.

There isn’t much to do here other than take photos, but just to look at the blue sea, which seems to stretch on into the sky, is worth a visit. 🙂 Can’t be denied it’s a touristy place – there was a busload of Chinese visitors when we stopped by.

There’s a cute island nearby shaped like a half-submerged tapir. 🙂

The Asian Elephants are revered as national symbols of Thailand, so it was natural that there would be a shrine dedicated to the majestic creatures. The carvings were painstakingly created out of hard wood, and draped in fresh flowers. Visitors can also make offerings of joss sticks to the shrine deity.

Roosters are also a common decoration on altars. I asked our guide, Lek, on what they symbolised. “Virility,” he said. “And manhood.”

After taking photos at the cape area, you might want to drop by the lighthouse. Made from smooth, grey marble, the lighthouse is small but interesting. Shoes have to be taken off before going in.

Inside are a few exhibits on old items that were used in the lighthouse, such as oil lamps and compasses.

The sky suddenly turned dark after we climbed to the top of the lighthouse. Then it started raining, so we had to run back to the car. 🙁

The drizzle lasted for a short while. By the time we got to our lunch spot, the skies had cleared again. We stopped at a restaurant recommended by our guide – basically a nicely constructed wooden shop perched by the side of the hill. There’s no air conditioning and it’s a bit humid, but the views are well worth it.

See what I mean?

One can’t come to Thailand and not have Tom Yum! Well, we do come across tom yum often in Malaysia, but we wanted to try an ‘authentic’ version. While it was yummy, it wasn’t very different from the ones we get back home. Pieces of squid, bouncy shrimp,and sliced button mushrooms swam in an orange broth. Leek, ginger, tomato and onions gave it that sour, tangy flavour tom yum is so famous for – making it super addictive to go with rice.

We ordered a stir-fried dish of pork with garlic. This was tasty, as the pork was tender and flavoured really well with garlic oil and spring onions. I wished the portion was bigger though, it was only a small handful and the price was steep.

For myself, I ordered stir-fried noodles, which was loaded with baby corn, veggies, and seafood. Taste-wise it was alright, but nothing distinctly Thai. In fact, it tasted a lot like Cantonese stir-fried.

 

Forgot the name of the restaurant, but it’s a wooden restaurant, clean and painted green.

Promthep Cape is worth a visit for the views, even though it is far from other attractions on the island. If you’re going to the must-see place in Phuket (The Big Buddha), chances are you’re going to pass by it anyway so why not?