Apart from a Phuket cruise, there is nothing more exciting when travelling than stumbling across a used bookshop of paperbacks filled with interesting titles. In the past there were quite a few second-hand shops around the island, but sadly they closed for various reasons, including the rise of kindles and other e-readers.
We get it – electronic devices are easy to travel with and you can store thousands of books in that small machine. But at La Moet we are a very traditional team and prefer a story revealed with the turn of a paper page, rather than the touch of a button.
We read recently that books are making a comeback! This is great news for us, using the computer so much for work we don’t want to continue staring at it for the sake of pleasure too.
Here are some of our favourite bookshops on the island.
Explore Phuket Town Books
South Wind Books is the oldest bookshop in Phuket, located in Phang Nga Road it’s also the most well-known. The guy who runs it has a good selection, and just down the same road is an even bigger bookstore. You’re sure to find something that tickles your fancy between the two.
They offer anything from popular fiction and non-fiction to books on gardening and learning Thai language. They also have many other languages available, French, German, Italian and Swedish for sure.
Used bookshops in Phuket are generally quite cheap and work on the same principle. Buy a book and when you’ve finished with it return it to trade for another at a reduced price.
There’s a few bookshops in the beach areas too. What we like about second-hand shops is that some literary gems can be found if you really look. You can find a travel book to your next destination on a dusty shelf. Discover a long-forgotten story that you read in your teens, or pick-up a favourite classic for a few baht.
Used Books in Rawai
The Book Cafe is a small family-run business down in the south of the island, partway between Rawai and Nai Harn. As well as used books, mainly in English, it’s also a popular cafe with healthy smoothies and fruit juices, fresh coffee, herbal tea and a breakfast and lunch menu.
New books in Thailand can be more expensive than you’d pay at home. B2S has quite a large choice. The biggest branches are located at Central Festival Shopping Centre and Jungceylon. They have fiction and non-fiction, a good range of books for youngsters, and English-language magazines.
Pick up an interesting book before you board MV Phuket Champagne. Join one of our snorkelling boat trips out to the stunning archipelago that surrounds our island.
