Ranong Main Market

This is where Phuket Town buys its dinner, not where tour groups get dropped off. Open-air stalls, fresh produce piled up, tropical fruit and vegetables, and a seafood section that makes sense the moment you remember you're on an island. Prices sit well below what the malls and tourist strips ask, because the people buying here do it every day.

Go for the seafood and the fruit. Skip it if you want souvenirs or air conditioning, because you'll find neither. It's noisy, wet underfoot in places and completely unpolished, which is exactly the appeal if you like seeing how a town actually feeds itself. Even if you're not cooking anything, an hour walking the aisles tells you more about local food than most restaurant meals will.