[Aus]

6 more nights and my mates and I will be jetting off. Just looking for some extra advice to ensure we make the most of our time.

Nightlife:
While we'll no doubt go around and suss out a variety of the bars, I was hoping you guys could recommend some to start off with, or any that are not to be missed on the trip. The four of us going are 19-21, from Australia, are into house and old/new rock and love to dance around like twits when we're out on the bev. Are there any backpacker/trouristy bars around or in the odd chance, any bars with a younger crowd? Also, what're the Aussie bars like and how do they differ from any other?

From what I've gathered Soi Crocodile seems to be the LB hotspot and seeing as we have no interest in that type of thing, would we be best to just avoid the area or are we missing out on any good bars/entertainment by not going there.

Entertainment:
We've been looking into the main things to do while we're there and basically have come up with the Thai Boxing (where and when would be the best place to view this?), jet-skiing, shooting range, golf and diving (are you allowed to do this without the qualifications?). What other activities would you guys suggest, and what places shouldn't be missed? Also, in your experience, what would be our best bet if we wanted to rent cars/bikes or something so we could travel around the area a bit more. While we all have our license, in most countries you have to be over 25 for them to allow to rent any type of vehicle, does this still apply in Phuket?

Shopping:
This is one area where we're going in completely blind. As far as buying clothing, cds, suits, shoes etc. where is our best bet and what type of prices would we be looking at? We'll be stopping over in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of nights on the way home, should we save the bulk of our shopping for then?


If I come across as being ignorant with anything, it's probably because I am.

Cheers guys.