Phuket Town, Thailand: Faded glamour and factor 50 (or lack of).

Having flown from KL to Phuket because it was cheap, we weren't sure where on the island we were best off heading for. Phuket - an island about the size of Singapore off Thailand's west coast - has a reputation for a lot of things: luxury package holidays, beautiful sandy beaches and a somewhat seedy nightlife in certain places. But our guide book assured us it was backpacker friendly and gave us a suggestion: don't stay at the beach. So we headed for Phuket Town in the southeast of the island and we're very glad we did.

Phuket Town is a great little place. It has all the charm of a small Thai city but with touches of colonialism and classy examples of Sino-Portuguese architecture. Having not even known of its existence until the day before we arrived, it feels like a bit of a find.

We're staying at the Thavorn, which was the first hotel in Phuket and is showing its age in quite an endearing way. The beautiful old lobby area is packed with Phuket history and artifacts, giving it far more grandeur than the rooms themselves. What was once probably the height of hotel room sophistication has over the decades turned into a knackered, kitsch charm - reflected in the fact that the hotel is now a budget option, rather than the 4-star experience it probably was in the 1960s or 1970s.

We've spent a couple of our evenings hanging out at the Bohemian Rap:Sawadee bar ('sawadee' is Thai for hello, geddit?), a four-month old venture run by a couple of British guys and ably assisted by a sweet Thai lady called Suzie, whose mischievous young son would babble away at us while we played Scrabble, despite not speaking any English. The first time we played Scrabble I was able to use all my letters on my first go for a 50-point bonus. I literally had K.I.T.T.E.N.S! Fair play to Jacqui though, in the end I only won by a dozen points or so, and she beat me the next time.

I'm currently suffering with the worst sunburn I've had in years after a day trip to the gorgeous Nai Harn beach two days ago. Only had a quick dip in the sea, 15 minutes or so, and then put suncream on. Yet I'm still annoyingly pink and my shoulders sting like heck. Seems harsh for such a short time in the sun. No more sea swimming without Factor 900 for me then. Curses. And on that sore note, I bid you good day.