My 48 Hours in … Phuket

For the Bangkok-born hotelier who has spent most of his life working, holidaying and living on resort islands around the world, Vorasit "Wan" Issara confesses he feels right at home in Thailand's most famous island. He was in his mid-20s when tasked with launching the family's first resort hotel, Sri Panwa, on Phuket. "My dad [real estate magnate Songkran Issara] thought I would give up on the challenge, but he didn't know I can't live in cities. I've always lived like this," says the 33-year-old. "I have visited Phuket since I was five years old. I love everything about it. It is isolated yet very convenient."

OLD TOWN CHARM
Beyond the go-go bars and wide swathes of sandy beaches, Wan suggests a foray into Phuket old town. "Its Sino-Portuguese architecture is so distinct as it combines European influence with the Hokkien Chinese details from the early settlers in Phuket."

Explore Krabi Road and Rommanee Street on foot, advises Wan. Rommanee Street, once a red-light district, is now enlivened with renovated shophouses in candy colours. "It has become more artsy. Before, you could get this artistic vibe in Chiang Mai. A lot of Phuket kids have come back to start businesses here."

Don't miss one of the film sets of the 2000 film The Beach, The Memory at On On Hotel. Formerly named On On Hotel, the island's first hotel catered to sailors and traders who arrived during the flourishing tin mine trade in the 1970s.