Jamie's Phuket Blog

Wat Khao Rang (Rang Hill Temple)

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:40:00 +0000

OK so it's 2012 now and this Phuket Blog has been going since April 2006. I love temples, and have blogged more than 30 temples and shrines in the Phuket area. If you think temples are boring don't click here: Phuket Temples and Shrines. There are a few "on the list" to be blogged more for the sake of completeness than anything else. But imagine a sunny morning, driving through Phuket Town with my wife .. kids have been dropped at school and we've dropped a broken laptop off for repairs. We're driving on familiar roads, heading north near the Vachira hospital. There is a little-used side road by the hospital that heads up to the top of Rang Hill. My wife asks - do you know the temple up this road?

I must have driven this way before, but seem to have missed Rang Hill Temple (Wat Khao Rang). Hidden from view up that small side road by the hospital is something quite impressive! There's more than one Big Buddha in Phuket....

OK, it's not as big as "The" Big Buddha, but it's very nice all the same! We got to the temple late morning, but I did not have my camera with me (had not planned to stop anywhere), so we had a quick look, bumped into a local photographer who was taking photos for the Phuket dot com website, we dashed home, got the kids from school and told them we were going to a temple! Hooray, they said! Well, not quite, but I promised this temple would be one they'd not seen before. they thought the Buddha was pretty impressive too.

(above) Big Golden Buddha at Wat Khao Rang

(above) My kids say a little prayer in front of the Buddha. Rang Hill Temple was founded by the famous Monk called Luang Pu Supha, who some claim to be the world's oldest man (not ratified by Guinness). His image can be found on amulets for sale at the temple (there's a sizeable shop below the Big Buddha). He now lives at the temple named after him : Wat Luang Pu Supha, also in Phuket.

The view above shows the new temple building beyond the Big Buddha - the new temple looks to have been very recently completed and is reached by a separate staircase (also new) with Naga snakes guarding the entrance - the snake's bodies stretch all the way up to the top... indeed carry on around the perimeter of the temple.

I did not enter the new temple... rest of the family had seen enough and were waiting in the car.. in any case I will return sometime soon a bit earlier in the day, when the light is better for blue sky-golden Buddha photos. Anyway, it was very nice for me to visit a new temple, and one with something different to offer. There are a couple of other temples with Big Buddha statues in Phuket, both are reclining - try Koh Sirey Temple, or Sri Sunthorn Temple.

Phuket Temples Map

View Phuket Temples in a larger map

Phuket Hotels - Jamie's Recommendations

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:46:00 +0000

On Jamie's Phuket Blog, you will find reviews of some of the best hotels on the 3 main beaches (Patong Beach, Karon Beach and Kata Beach) and also plenty which are away from the crowds in quieter areas of Phuket. Phuket is a big place, it's worth spending some time to find the right hotel for you. I've been living in Phuket for over 11 years now, so I can certainly make some good suggestions when people ask me about Phuket hotels. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions on this page.

Online Booking - Phuket Hotels

There are so many hotels to choose from in Phuket and loads of hotel booking web sites. I recommend everyone to start by looking at Agoda.com before looking anywhere else. The rates are competitive, the choice is wide and the web site is well designed and very easy to use. There are lots of recent guest reviews for most of the hotels too. Agoda is also great for last minute bookings - you can book right up to the day of the stay with instant confirmation online... plus there's a rewards program where you gain points with every booking that can be used as a refund on future bookings.

• Phuket Hotels by Agoda.com - best place to start looking!
• Hotels all over Thailand at Agoda.com

Recommended Phuket Hotels

Patong Beach Hotels

• The Kee Resort and Spa
• Amari Coral Beach Resort
• La Flora Resort
• Yorkshire Hotel and Spa
• Phuket Merlin Beach Resort
• Baan Yin Dee Boutique Resort
• Graceland Resort
• Aspery Hotel
• Burasari Resort
• Tri Trang Beach Resort
• Full Listing of Patong Beach Hotels

Karon Beach Hotels

• Pacific Club Resort
• Phuket Orchid Resort
• Boomerang Village Cottages
• Old Phuket Hotel
• Phuket Island View
• Le Meridien Beach Resort
• Marina Phuket Resort
• Karon Princess
• Full Listing of Karon Beach Hotels

Kata Beach Hotels

• Ibis Kata Hotel
• Mom Tri's Villa Royale (Kata Noi)
• Sawasdee Village
• Avista Resort
• Kata Palm Resort
• CC Blooms
• Katathani Resort (Kata Noi)
• Full Listing of Kata Beach Hotels

North Phuket

• Holiday Inn (Mai Khao Beach)
• The Surin (Pansea Beach)
• Sala Phuket (Mai Khao Beach)
• Dusit Thani Laguna (Bang Tao Beach)
• Indigo Pearl Resort (Nai Yang Beach)
• Phuket Airport Hotel
• Nai Yang Beach Resort
• Naithonburi Resort (Naithon Beach)
• Seaside Cottages (Mai Khao Beach)
• Kamala Beach Hotels
• Bang Tao Beach Hotels
• Surin Beach Hotels

South Phuket

• The Racha Resort
• Baan Krating Jungle Beach (Ao Sane Beach)
• Cape Panwa Hotel
• Novotel Beach Resort Panwa
• Evason Resort and Spa (Rawai Beach)
• All Seasons Resort (Naiharn Beach)

Want the very best hotels in Phuket? Check out the Best Hotels in Phuket list I made on the blog in January 2011, or the Top 10 Hotels in Phuket list I made in 2008. Quite a few hotels are on both lists. A few new ones on the 2011 list. And they're not all 5 star - quite a mix of budgets. Good place to start looking if you want a top hotel!

Phuket Town

Not next to the beach, but if you want a taste of the real Phuket or want to see some of Phuket's biggest festivals, or like a bit of history and culture, then Phuket Town is worth a look for a hotel - maybe not for your whole holiday, but for a bit of balance. I like Phuket Town, by the way.

• My suggestions for Hotels in Phuket Town
• Phuket Town Hotels at Agoda.com

Phuket Hotels - Google Maps

View Phuket Hotels in a larger map

(The map above includes locations for all hotels mentioned on this blog and my Phuket hotels blog)

Khao Lak Hotels

While Khao Lak is not part of Phuket (it's in Phang Nga province), it's not far away, about 70km north of Phuket airport, which is the nearest airport to Khao Lak, so basically we can consider Khao Lak hotels as being part of Phuket, since the whole region is serviced by Phuket Airport. Khao Lak is very quiet, there are a lot of very nice hotels on the beach, there is very little in the way of nightlife, a good place to just sit and relax. You are also within easy reach of Khao Sok national park and Phang Nga Bay.

• The Sarojin
• Khao Lak Hotels - Full Listing
• Cliff and River Jungle Resort (Khao Sok National Park)

Hotels all over Thailand

• Bangkok Hotels
• Phi Phi Island Hotels
• Krabi & Ao Nang Hotels
• Chiang Mai Hotels

More Phuket hotel reviews to be blogged as time goes by... Please note that this is a blog, and some of the hotel reviews were made years ago - things can change. You can find more hotels on my Phuket Hotels Blog. For most hotels you have a link for up-to-date reviews at the Agoda site, made by people who have stayed at these hotels recently, well worth checking the reviews!

This page is of course just a taster for the hotels available in Phuket. Do you have a question about Phuket Hotels? Please do add a comment below or join the Jamie's Phuket Blog Facebook Page. I will try to answer! Or look @ Agoda.com for more Phuket hotel information than I can ever hope to add here plus best prices for online booking... Enjoy Phuket!

Phuket Mini Golf at Bang Tao Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:31:00 +0000

It was on Christmas Day that we took a drive looking for the newly opened 'Adventure Mini Golf' in the Bang Tao Beach area of Phuket. It only opened in November 2011, I had read about it somewhere online, sounded interesting. Phuket already has a very well known mini golf operation at the Dino Park, Kata Beach. We've been a couple of times. And many years ago there was a place called Pirate Mini Golf in Patong. It closed more than 10 years ago and yet is still mentioned on many websites! Well, being that is was Christmas, I figured the kids might enjoy some mini golf. I had imagined that this Adventure Mini Golf would be right by the beach with sea views and swaying palms .. of course that's daft - beach land is way too expensive! We drove up to Bang Tao from home, and we don't go this way too often. The mini golf is located on the quiet Bang Tao road at the south end of Bang Tao Beach near the Sunwing Resort. I think it has been years since I last drove on this road! Christmas Day but very quiet - this is a totally different area to the main Phuket beaches. There are hotels, restaurants, and then a patch of grassland with chickens or buffalo. No crowds round here! The mini golf was signposted, and we found it easily enough. Not too expensive for mini golf - Adults 280 Baht, kids 200 (and yes, it's half price for Thai people). There's a little practice green near the entrance. Our daughter got some tuition ...

My dear wife decided a cold drink was better than hitting a golf ball on a hot day (mad dogs and Englishmen). The Adventure Mini Golf has a bar and restaurant with a dozen tables. We found out later that they are open into the evening (until 11pm) with happy hour 5 - 7pm - the restaurant was not even open when we arrived - too early! I think we might go back again one evening for food and some mini golf. Me and the kids took a scorecard and headed for hole 1. It was soon apparent that the kids would not be keeping score. Come on, kids .. take your fun seriously! I gave up keeping score after a while too. Kids were on hole 12 by the time I'd done hole 6. I got a hole in one on the 6th hole, on the 3rd attempt :)

The place is very nicely built and very tidy. Maybe a bit too tidy - I was expecting a bit more Adventure! I think the gardens and trees need time to grow. Maybe some of the 18 holes need more features than just rocks and fake bunkers. There are a couple of water hazards but when I was a kid, mini golf courses at holiday resorts in England had tunnels and windmills and .. or maybe I just remember it being more adventurous when I was a kid! Our kids enjoyed this one, even if they did not keep score. It helped that we were one of only 3 families during the hour that we spent there. The location is a bit quiet, I hope they can survive, might need more promotion. The mini golf in Kata is in a prime location. This one in Bang Tao is harder to find. They do have a website, but I can't say I've yet seen this place advertised much.

The menu looks good in the restaurant. The staff were all friendly. We had a few Cokes, it was a hot day. I guess since it was not crowded, nobody was rushing us.. me and the kids could play the same hole several times, mess about, enjoy Christmas on the golf course :) Glad to have tried this place and we will be back .. would be ideal to go with friends, let the kids go play golf.. maybe "competitive Dad" would join them and go for a course record after a few beers and a pizza. My son is still perfecting his putting style ...

Adventure Mini Golf, Bang Tao Beach, Phuket - Map

View Adventure Mini Golf, Bang Tao Beach, Phuket in a larger map

The Phuket Blog - Best of 2011 (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Continuing swiftly on from the Best of the Phuket Blog Part 1 (January - June) .. here's the best bits from the second half of 2011. I enjoyed 2011 - we had some very nice days out, our kids are growing up and learning about life every day. We had holidays with my Mum and Dad here in September / October. And I've had no trouble finding new places to blog about, although I have also "reblogged" a few things that were originally on the Phuket blog back in 2006 or 2007, mainly to keep everything current, also to add new photos, as some of the older blog posts don't have great images. I am still using a Canon EOS 20D, which is quite old, and will most likely be upgraded this year. Bring on 2012!

July 2011... A very good blogging month. Starting with a favourite little restaurant in Phuket called Kopitiam located on Thalang Road in the old town. They do good old style coffee (Kopi) and Chinese-Thai food like Hokkien noodles and the restaurant is full of old photos of Phuket. The Chinese connection continued - I blogged about the big Chinese shrine at Thau Reua, close to the Heroines Monument - most tourists will drive past this shrine on the way from the airport to the main beach areas. It was being built when I first arrived in Phuket in 1999. It was only completed in 2010 .. and this was the first time I had looked inside!

We found a new restaurant in July called Yellow Door, on the north side of Phuket Town and we've been several times since. And then on the weekend of 15th - 17th July was the 3rd annual Kathu Village Festival - a street fair with a great street procession on the first evening. We live in Kathu and I really like the area. Some superb costumes in the procession ...

I have friends in Phuket who are involved in all kinds of businesses. I wrote in July about a couple of friend's places... If you want to book a tour, hire a car, charter a boat, visit Phi Phi, just about anything - contact Diego or Ingo at Easy Day Thailand! And if you want Yoga classes, go and see Becky and The Little Yoga Room!

August - it's low season and one thing I love is that the evenings are longer - sunset is 30 minutes later than January, it just makes the day more relaxed for me. I had the chance to visit places after work, catch the sunset, take in some views. The viewpoint by the wind turbine in between Naiharn and Ya Nui beaches is great, and when I visited in August someone was paragliding too! The weather in low season is mixed but can often be like this ...

Also in August, another first - I had heard about the Por Tor festival (Hungry Ghost Festival) but never had a look before... another WoW! Very much enjoyed this - something very different for me, for the whole family in fact. It's a very local festival based around a small Chinese shrine in Phuket Town. Huge red turtle cakes are made as offerings.

The blog, being over 5 years old, is a little ragged in places.. can be hard to find some posts, so I wrote a couple of things to tie up some blog pages in neat packages - Phuket Museums and Phuket Waterfalls. In September, I realised that despite working for many years at Karon Beach, I had never stopped at the Karon Temple Market which takes place every Tuesday and Saturday evening. I have to make more of an effort! Hey, the Chalong Temple fair is coming up soon 23 - 29 January 2012 - I will be stopping there to get some new photos for sure. From local markets to new resorts, I actually got invited to the opening party of the Holiday Inn Mai Khao Beach, they obviously think I am a full time blogger with lots of spare time! Could not make the party, but did blog about the resort.

On another sunny evening, I visited the Nai Harn Temple for the first time. It's a stones throw from the beach. As the evening sun bathed the temple in light, Monks chanted inside. A spiritual experience? Well, a photo op for sure!

The 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival started on September 26th - my favourite Phuket event! The history and the traditions and the bizarre piercings and all the firecrackers - love it! The next 6 blog posts in September and October were all about the festival and it's many ceremonies. We attended the opening ceremony at Kathu Shrine - raising the Go Teng pole for the Gods to descend. We went back at midnight too. First time I'd done that.

The festival lasts 10 days. Best 10 days of the year! A few days after the start we investigated the "Birth and Death Gods" procession in Kathu village, and during the festival we also saw early-morning face piercing at Sam Kong Shrine, a big street parade in Phuket Town from the Bang Neow Shrine, we were at our "local" Kathu shrine early morning for more face piercing. And we were back at Kathu on the last night of the festival for the bridge crossing ceremony which seemed to attract the whole local population! A few photos from the vegetarian festival ...

Early October was a busy time for photos! Mum and Dad here for holidays and I took some time off work, we were out most days, though the weather was not very kind - most of the blog posts from October right into December were based on things we did during the holidays - we investigated quite a lot of new restaurants such as Thanoon Seafood, next to the Sarasin Bridge between Phuket and Phang Nga. And also the restaurant at Cape Phromthep, which somehow we had never tried before in all these years .. what a view!

We also ate at Kin Dee Restaurant in the north of Phuket and I blogged about the floating restaurants at Coconut Island. We had been busy bees on holiday and I was glad to have a backlog of new things to blog - once I was back at work, things were busy! We visited the old Chinese mansion in Phuket Town called Chinpracha House, open to the public for taste of early 20th century Phuket life. Nice to be on holiday! Another day we headed to the south of Phuket and visited Rawai Beach and Ya Nui Beach.

(above) Fishermen making a fish trap at Rawai beach - and my Mum at Ya Nui beach :)

December 2011 - new pages on the blog included the very good Thai Hua Phuket History Museum and the new bridge from Phuket to Phang Nga that you can walk across - quite a popular new exercise area for local people. And the year comes to an end ... already a couple of new places ready to blog :) I have less time at this time of year, high season and the dive shop is busy. A day off is more likely to be relaxing at home, not driving and exploring Phuket! Thanks for reading the Phuket Blog ... much more to come! Please do join the Facebook Page, please do keep reading! The photo below was taken yesterday. Not blogged yet!

And as we enter 2012, here's a photo I took on New Years Eve. We (meaning my family) avoided the crowds and had a NYE dinner at a small restaurant by the beach in a less touristy area. The whole idea of the Phuket Blog was to show Phuket in a different light, hope that is still obvious, hope it will continue through 2012.

Happy New Year from Phuket!

Jamie's Phuket - Best of the Blog 2011 (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:44:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Yes it's 2012 or, as we say in Thailand, 2555. Both calendars are used here, with the Buddhist date being used for a lot of official business. By the end of 2012, I will have been in Thailand for 13 years, and in April this blog will be 6 years old. I am happy to say that even after doing this Phuket blog for so long, there were plenty of new experiences in 2011. I just want to repeat - this blog is not the usual tourist website talking about the golden sands, the swaying palms, the exotic seafood, the naughty nightlife ... the blog is still very much personal and based on things that I do with the family or alone. I very much enjoyed 2011, and rather hope that Mayan forecasts are incorrect. I'd like to enjoy all of 2012 too and plenty more of the 21st century!

2011 started with January. We don't normally do too much in January - it's peak season, I am working a lot and the kids are in school. I wrote a Top 10 Phuket Hotels page which will need updating soon. We tried a new restaurant called Peang Prai, near Bang Pae Waterfall, and I also wrote about Kathu Waterfall which is only a few miles from our house and the excellent Phuket Mining Museum.

February is another busy month for Phuket, and the kids are still at school - days out are limited, no holidays ... but the school arranged a special trip to Phuket Fantasea which we very much enjoyed. Sure its the biggest tourist attraction in Phuket, and I had been avoiding it for that reason. Now converted - it's actually very good! The great weather in February was good for views. I got some nice photos at the Karon Viewpoint and we had a nice family walk up Monkey Hill in Phuket Town.

I realised in March that I should write something about my actual full-time job, as manager of a dive center! So here it is : Diving Phuket with Sunrise Divers! It was a month for putting some order into the blog too, so I wrote 3 pages about hotels - Kata Beach Hotels, Karon Beach Hotels and Patong Beach Hotels. Was a month of work and not much else. Kids finished school in mid March and they went with my wife to stay with her family in Chumphon.

In April, another first! Well, I had been to Phromthep Cape plenty of times but somehow had never hiked down the path to the very end of Phuket. Now done - Phromthep Cape - The End of Phuket!

My dear wife came back from Chumphon and we changed plans a bit. I had always been in Phuket for the Songkran festival, but in 2011 we drove from Phuket to Chumphon on the night of 12th April, arriving after midnight, ready for the celebrations on the 13th! It was very nice to share Songkran with the family - see here : Songkran 2011 in Chumphon. We all came back to Phuket and had one of the best family days out of the year, taking a ferry over to Koh Yao Noi island and hiring a couple of scooters. Will do it again sometime for sure.

(above) Songkran in Chumphon

(above) Koh Yao Noi by Moped!

In early May we had a long weekend away to Khao Sok National Park, and on the way back we "discovered" Sri Phang Nga National Park, forests and waterfalls, another place which is now on our "Go Back To" list!

Food and drink in May ... I finally blogged the After Beach Bar which is like a Phuket legend, built on the hillside just south of Kata beach, great seaviews, great sunsets, guaranteed Bob Marley sounds... Also "reblogged" a restaurant called Bang Pae Seafood, which is on the Northeast coast of Phuket a million miles from the main tourist beaches. It was one of the first restaurants I had blogged in 2006 and needed an update, as do quite a few of the older posts.

(above) The After Beach Bar

We reach June, halfway through 2011 .. and at this point I realise that the "Best of 2011" will need 2 parts! In June I wrote a blog page about my wife's home town, Chumphon, where we had celebrated Songkran. Might be our home one day too! Back in Phuket ... June is low season and there's more time to relax. We enjoyed a Walk in Old Phuket Town (actually I enjoy walking there any time!), and I found time to actually stop at the Heroines Monument which is seen by most visitors to Phuket - I had never actually stopped there before.

(above) Thalang Road - old buildings with new cars

(above) The Heroines of Phuket - the statue is in the middle of a traffic circle on the main road south from the airport.

And then.. also in June, some more fun for the kids! We had a day out to the Splash Jungle Waterpark located north of the airport. Kids loved it (so did Mum and Dad actually) and despite the high price I guess we'll go again sometime. Some days we do things "for dad" or "for the blog", and some days it's for the kids, and sometimes they match!

(above) The Super Bowl at Splash Jungle Waterpark

Part 2 of the Best of the Phuket Blog 2011 coming very soon ...

Thai Hua Phuket History Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Time for some more Phuket history and culture! I know we have nice beaches and lots of touristy things to do, but as a long time local resident, I have an interest in the local area, and I think that the long and interesting history of Phuket might surprise a few people! Phuket has several quiet good museums - the Thalang National Museum, the Phuket Tin Mining Museum, and Chinpracha House are all worth a visit. The Thai Hua Museum I have blogged before about 3 years ago when it was newly opened. There was not too much to see beyond an old classroom and some old school photos and books, but entry was free :)

(above) Thai Hua Museum Entrance

The Thai Hua Museum has changed quite a bit in the last 3 years. There is an entry fee now (200 Baht) - but I think it's worth that. The museum now has many rooms full of displays and information about the history of Phuket. We visited again a couple of months ago, and we were impressed. There's been a lot of investment here and if you happen to be in Phuket Town, I say go and visit! For a start, the building itself is really nice. An old (early 20th century) mansion that was built as a school for the Chinese-Thai families who had flocked to Phuket in the 19th century for the tin mining industry.

Some parts of the interior still look like the old school, and other areas have been modernised with the rooms of the museum clearly labelled.. plus you can pick up a guide to the museum when you pay the admission.

The Thai Hua Museum now has some excellent information about the history of Phuket. I think many visitors maybe think of Phuket only in terms of beaches and tourism, but Phuket did not really have much of a large tourist "industry" until 1985 when the Club Med resort opened at Kata Beach. Before that.. there was some tourism, but Phuket made it's money in the 19th and 20th centuries from tin mining, rubber, fishing, prawn farms and agriculture. Many of the big Phuket families have Chinese origins and the Thai Hua Museum has some good information on this.

Our family enjoyed the visit.. there were even buttons to press on the history displays, and buttons are always good for kids! This room below explained which parts of China were originally home to the Phuket Chinese families.

The old school sections are still there. More family fun! My mother used to be a teacher and my kids are .. kids. Their grandmother tried to drill them in the old traditions : Morality, Intelligence, Sports, Unity, Beauty. The old classroom should give a good idea of what school was like here in the "old days" :)

Certainly worth a look, the Thai Hua Museum has a pretty good website, and can also be visited as part of an old town tour with Phuket Heritage Trails. Easy to find, just a bit to the east of Thalang Road on Krabi Road in the old part of Phuket Town.

Phuket Museums - Google Maps

View Phuket Museums in a larger map

Happy New Year :)

The Kee Resort and Spa @ Patong Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:08:00 +0000

Patong Beach is of course Phuket's busiest tourist beach, and right at the center of everything is Soi Bangla, which has always been full of bars, girls, boys pretending to be girls ... and restaurants, shops and hotels. Patong is a bit too much for my taste, but a lot of people like it! If you go back 12 years, when I first came here, Soi Bangla was a little different, indeed the whole of Patong was different. There is now the Jungceylon shopping mall where once used to be a dirty market, and although Soi Bangla is still the nightlife center, things are changing. Many people would like to see a more family oriented Patong, less bars, less bar girls, and I guess more shops and cafes. It's a personal call whether you think Patong (or parts of Patong) is seedy, or maybe you think it's just a whole lot of fun. I tend to think of the Soi Bangla area as a fun party zone, actually anyone can hang out there, it's not full of old male tourists looking for girls, although some people like to see it that way. The bars don't quite dominate as they used to, and in 2011, with the opening of The Kee Resort, and The Kee Plaza, the area gained a new, modern face. The old street called "Soi Sea Dragon" is gone. Replaced by something much nicer!

(above) The Kee Plaza, a shopping center attached to the resort, and the Sky Lounge - on the roof, got to be a good place for a sunset! I might have to try it, though I am guessing the prices are Sky high!

The Kee Resort is not huge, there are about 250 rooms, along with a big pool in the center of the resort, a restaurant (but then again, you're in the middle of Patong, so there's plenty of dining options nearby), and the Sky Lounge with 360 degree views. There's also a fitness center and (as the full name suggests) a Spa. The thing with a resort like this - it's in the middle of Patong, but once you are in the resort, it's like an Oasis. I wondered if the proximity to Soi Bangla might mean the hotel gets a noise problem, but I have read through some of the reviews and see comments like "Extremely close to the craziness of Bangla road without the noise!" .. might depend what room you get. You'd have to expect some noise I think. Probably a good place to stay if you want some nightlife, and if you want quiet in Patong, think again (or stay somewhere like the Amari, at the far south end of the beach).

The Kee Resort and Spa - Booking & Information Links

• The Kee Resort and Spa - Rates and Reservations @ Agoda.com
• The Kee Resort and Spa - Reviews

Phuket Hotels - More Information & Online Booking

• Phuket Hotel Info and Reservations at Agoda.com
• More of Jamie's Phuket Hotel Suggestions
• Jamie's Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• All Thailand Hotels at Agoda.com

Floating Restaurants at Coconut Island

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:17:00 +0000

The east coast of Phuket is very much under-rated, far less touched by tourism than the sandy beaches on the west coast and far less visited by visitors. Quite a few of my favourite places and favourite restaurants are on the east side. If you head north from Phuket Town, on the main airport road there is a small side road heading to Laem Hin, a fishing community where you find the very popular Laem Hin Seafood restaurant. A new jetty was built at Laem Hin a few years ago to serve Coconut Island and allow larger boats to dock in the area. On Coconut Island (Koh Maphrao) you find a very nice resort called The Village. And in the water just off the island there are several floating restaurants. We've been before and somehow I have never blogged anything about these places. The day when we went recently was not such a perfect sunny day, guess we will go again soon with blue skies for better photos.

There are several restaurants to choose from - Kruvit, Bang Mud and Kru Suwit. To reach them, you need to get a longtail boat from Laem Hin - boats depart from a wooden jetty with shallow muddy water all around, and longtail boats jammed in like sardines in a can! The deal with the boats.. something like.. if you spend a certain amount at the restaurant you don't pay the boat .. I don't know the amount .. but don't be worried, I think the idea is just to stop people trying to get free rides to drink a coke :)

On the way out to Koh Maphrao (only takes 5 minutes) there are fishermen's huts floating in the water too. Is this the same Phuket as the west coast? Things tend to be more traditional here. Fishing, prawn farms (you pass some on the road down to Laem Hin), it's the old way of life here (oh yeh, and the resort on Coconut Island). The restaurants have been here for a long time. I think first time I went there was about 2002. Very popular with locals at the weekends.

We chose to eat at Kruvit restaurant (full name "Kruvit Raft") - my wife had been recently to Bang Mud with some friends and says that's good too. Even on a grey day, quite a few tables were occupied (all local people, although I did see one "farang" arrive later with a Thai lady). I realise that places like this are not so easy to reach for the average tourist, but .. go for it! Explore! We were met by a friendly boatman who held the longtail steady so we (especially my Mum, who cracked a rib on a longtail last year!) could step off easily. Nothing to worry about really, the sea over here is always calm, it's very sheltered.

The Kruvit Raft probably has space for a couple of hundred people. There are tables with benches and tables which allow people to sit on the floor, for those that enjoy such things. I like chairs. We found our table near the fish tanks ... lots of live seafood is kept in large enclosed pools built into the raft. Fish and more .. I actually have to say I was not happy to see a leopard shark. I guess for decoration, not for eating. It's a thin line, I know.. I am not vegetarian, happily eat fish, and yet get upset to see a shark in a "cage" ...

We ate very well too - but with a restaurant like this, eating is only part of the experience! The boat ride, the view, the fresh air, getting away from the crowds ... good food is almost a bonus. I ordered my favourite - Yam Gung Siap, a salad made with smoked, dried shrimp .. it's quite spicy and is quite a local delicacy, really only found in Phuket and Phang Nga. I love it! My wife had some "Hoi Wan" - shellfish cooked with basil and sweet chili paste (not so spicy). There was plenty more too, but sometimes when I am hungry I forget to take photos of the food!

Food washed down nicely with a couple of beers (with ice). Rest assured that the bill was very reasonable (we don't do expensive food!). We'll go again sometime soon, maybe try one of the other floating restaurants. We do eat at Laem Hin Seafood now and then and maybe the food there is better, but hey, you don't get that floating feeling or the boat ride :)

Walking to Phuket over Sarasin Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Phuket is an island, surrounded by water, true. Yes, we should say "Koh Phuket" and many holiday brochures and websites will make a lot of this "island" idea. An island is exotic, romantic, a place where magic happens, palm trees sway and smiling people serve you cocktails made of coconuts. Yes, Phuket is really an island, but only just. It's less than 500 meters from the very north of Phuket across to Phang Nga province. We're not really cut off by the sea here! Well, not at all. If you ignore the international airport, Phuket is connected to the mainland of Thailand by a bridge. Or 2. Well, actually there are 3 bridges now. The first was built in 1967 and called "Sarasin Bridge", named after a now-forgotten politician. Before that, there was the ferry .. photo below (showing an old photo on the wall of the Kopitiam cafe in Phuket Town) shows the ferry and no bridge!

The first bridge was enough for 1970's traffic with little tourism yet hitting Phuket. A second bridge was built not so long ago (I can't recall exactly when, but it was in the last 12 years) to allow traffic to pass more easily in and out of Phuket with one bridge heading north and one to the south. And now... just a couple of months ago, a 3rd bridge was completed. The old bridge has been tarted up and turned into a pedestrian bridge with lot of lamps and steps and decorations. We took a walk over the bridge recently on a sunny low season day, planning to walk and then eat lunch at the Thanoon Seafood restaurant which sits by the water just 50 meters from the bridge on the Phang Nga side.

(above) Thanoon Seafood restaurant seen from the north end of Sarasin bridge.

Best place to park if you want to walk.. close to the restaurant.. you have to drive over the new bridge, do a U-turn and turn off on a side road, back under the road bridge... The idea of the pedestrian bridge is to make a nice tourist attraction. The bridge certainly looks nice and is a good chance to walk to Phuket from Phang Nga, or walk to Phang Nga from Phuket with a pretty seaview.. but really? A tourist attraction? You going to take a taxi here 50km from Patong to walk over the bridge? Probably not, but if you are a more independent traveler, rent a car, take a trip to the north of Phuket or to Phang Nga.. then do stop and take some exercise here.

(above) That's me and Dad ready for a little walk. Got some good fresh sea air that day too! It was still low season with a strong breeze blowing in from the west. At the Phang Nga side (north side) of the bridge, to the east in the sheltered waters there is a fishing village. Longtail boats come and go. There were some larger fishing boats at the dockside too.

(above) Mum and Dad check out the view to the east on the Phang Nga side of the Sarasin bridge.

In Phuket, you don't have to drive far to find the "old Phuket" away from the hotels and tourism. The little fishing village above is a world away from Patong Beach, and I know where I'd rather live. We walked along the bridge back towards Phuket, stopping to pose for some pictures on the way. It was a nice sunny day, no rush at all. In the centre of the bridge, you have a little view tower with steps up and down to the bridge. Good place to pose. Halfway up the stairs is the stair where I sit.

Actually, I admit, my wife and I stopped halfway. The kids chased after their Grandma who wanted to complete the long walk back to Phuket. As an aside.. we don't actually use the word Grandma... our kids call my Mum "Nanny", which is what I used to call my paternal grandmother. So, they chased after Nanny and she found something interesting to point out in the water...

They all reached terra firma on the Phuket side safely and headed back to the lazy portion of the family (that's me, my dear wife and my Dad). We cross the bridge quite often for days out. We like heading to Phang Nga to visit Phang Nga Bay or to eat at the Samchong Seafood restaurant or the 360 Degree Cafe. And on this day we ate lunch at the aforementioned Thanoon Seafood. I reckon we'll take a stroll over the Sarasin Bridge again sometime soon. I'd like to explore the area a bit more when there's time.

(above) Yes we enjoyed our little walk over the bridge! Many times I had driven over the old bridge and wished to stop and take a walk - not possible without blocking traffic! Now that walk is possible. To the west - the open ocean, to the east is Phang Nga Bay. I have always enjoyed the view from the Sarasin Bridge, it was nice to be able to get that view and take a leisurely stroll at the same time. Followed by a nice lunch at Thanoon Seafood - and here's a view from under the bridge(s) just along the sand from the restaurant ...

Local Life at Rawai Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:04:00 +0000

Last month, on the final day of my parents holidays, we took a little drive to the south end of Phuket island, carefully watching the weather as the low season delivered up a day of sunshine and showers. We got to Rawai beach in bright sunshine, had not really planned to stop there, but there were dark clouds to the west, so we figured why not take a little walk around Rawai. The beach here is not a swimming beach, it's very rocky and shallow. Rawai is good for food - most of the beach road is lined with small restaurants - and from Rawai you can get a speedboat or longtail boat to nearby islands such as Koh Bon, Coral Island, Racha Yai island. We did a trip last year from Rawai to explore the small island of Koh Kaew Yai which lies off the tip of Cape Phromthep and is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists - there is a big Buddha statue on the island and a giant "Buddha footprint". Legend says that Buddha stepped onto the island before coming to the mainland of Phuket, where he first visited Rawai. The name of the village is derived from "Rao Wai" meaning (something like) "we pray".

At the east end of Rawai beach is the jetty, and on the east side of the jetty is the fishing village. There are stalls selling seafood and quite a few stalls selling shells to tourists, also some small restaurants. The seawall has broken here. The photo below shows local kids playing in the rubble along the beach.

Further along the beach, things look rather more idyllic, we walked along the beach passing all the longtail boats. You can't have a trip to Phuket without some photos of longtail boats! This end of the beach looks OK for swimming actually, though there's nothing here for tourists, no hotels or bars. This end of the beach is for the locals and the fishermen.

Further up the beach in front of the village, a big tree acts as a natural temple, adorned with coloured cloth, Buddha images and it seems that the Rawai people like to make offerings of red Fanta! Another shrine next to the jetty also had a couple of bottles next to the incense and flowers.

This is not really a rich area of Phuket. Fishing is still important, though for sure some people make a little money from tourists. The fishermen and local people in the area are largely "sea gypsies" who are not the best looked after by the Thai government. The fishermen make their own fish traps and head out on longtail boats, dive down to the traps using home made scuba gear. We found some guys making a new lo-tech fish trap...

When visiting a more local area, I try to quietly blend in, wander about as unobtrusively as possible (not so simple, since I am 6 foot 3!) and get an idea of local life. In the fishing village here in Rawai, there's just a lot of sitting around to be done.. the fishing has all been done by early morning. The kids were all off school (it was school holidays) so they had to find ways to amuse themselves. I'd like to wander around this area some more when I get a new camera, but did get a few nice pictures of the local folks...

(above) this guy was carrying some fresh ice to put on the fish

Not just fish for sale! Phuket people boast of having the best pineapples in Thailand. Sweeter and juicier and not as sour as other pineapples. You can buy little bags of fruit from fruit stalls all over Phuket, indeed all over Thailand, normally you pay 10 - 20 Baht per bag.

Kids were all over the village, the kids above are getting some snacks from a mobile snack stall built onto the side of a moped. The girl below has found a quiet spot for a drink behind the market surrounded by ice boxes.

Rawai doesn't seem to have changed that much since I first went there more than 10 years ago. OK, for sure there is more development inland, and the main road in from Chalong is now 4 lanes with a lot more happening along the road, but the beach, the boats, the fishermen, the little restaurants ... it's still quiet and a good stopping off place for a walk or lunch or dinner. Mum and Dad got a bag of pineapple (below) and with the clouds clearing we headed off to Ya Nui beach, just a 5 minute drive from Rawai.

Rawai Beach Links

• Hotels Near Rawai Beach
• Rawai Beach Facebook Page
• More about Rawai on Jamie's Phuket
• Nikita's Bar at Rawai Beach

Near Rawai Beach

• Phromthep Cape
• Koh Kaew Yai island
• Ya Nui Beach
• Phuket Seashell Museum

Kin Dee Restaurant - Local Food in the Jungle!

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:26:00 +0000

During my recent holidays in October 2011 when my parents visited from the UK, we had the chance to try quite a few new restaurants that had been "on my list". On the day we visited Kin Dee, the weather was not so nice, one of those low season days that has no sun. The rain seemed rather patchy, we figured that if we just drove north we might find a rain-free area! So we had no particular plan for where to eat.. just drive and see where we end up. The east coast seemed rather wet just north of Phuket Town so we headed further and drove through heavy rain with kids moaning about hunger in the back of the car ... we though to head over the bridge into Phang Nga and eat at Samchong Seafood which is a favourite of ours. But as we reached the far north of Phuket I remembered Kin Dee, although could not remember exactly where to find it! We kept eyes open for a sign .... and finally just before the Tha Chat Chai police checkpoint we saw "KIN DEE LOCAL FOOD" - did a u-turn just before the checkpoint and headed down a small side road into the trees, into the rural Phuket that is easily found in this part of the island.

A restaurant with a Sang Som advert is a sure sign of a local restaurant. Sang Som is a Thai brand of rum, pretty cheap and doesn't taste too bad mixed with coke or soda. We pulled into the small carpark... nobody else there.. was it open? Thankfully yes, otherwise kids would have been distraught! The restaurant is built of wood, bamboo and with a canvas roof. It's built on stilts right in the trees and certainly looked very nice.

So we took the "best" table and hungry bellies scanned the menu. It struck me right away that this "local restaurant" was not priced for locals - most dishes were 150 Baht or more, and as we are.. how to say ... ~~cheap~~ discerning local residents we were a bit surprised. Looks like their target audience might be customers from some of the nice resorts in the north of Phuket like JW Marriott, Sala Phuket, Holiday Inn or Indigo Pearl to name but a few. If you are staying there, 150 Baht will be cheap and of course I recognise that 150 Baht is only 5 Dollars / 3 Pounds / 4 Euro and thus it's cheaper than eating out in England, but we are not tourists :)

For anyone who is not as cheap as us, I do recommend Kin Dee! A very unique little restaurant, very green, quiet and natural, there's a little river / mangrove creek below and there are orchids everywhere. The view from our table...

One reason I have enjoyed doing this blog - it stops me (and my dear wife) from being lazy! Sure we have our favourite places to eat, but sometimes we try new restaurants either because they look interesting, or they have been recommended by a friend or just "for the Phuket blog"! I forgot the food photos at Kin Dee - my Mum had a green curry, the kids devoured their fried rice, and I ordered their "Kin Dee salad" which was rather good.

A good eating experience, I am not sure if we'll go again, just priced a bit high for us - the bill was over 1500 Baht for 4 adults and 2 kids (and we did not order the more expensive dishes!), which for sure some will think is cheap. Actually while the food was not local price, the drinks were just about the same as other restaurants. A beer was 60 Baht, which is pretty standard. The Kin Dee restaurant has character and I reckon most people would love it.

Ya Nui Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:44:00 +0000

Ya Nui beach seems to have remained pretty much unchanged since I first saw it more than 10 years ago. Quiet, undeveloped, easily missed if you don't know where it is - squeezed into a small bay in between Nai Harn beach and Phromthep Cape. Ya Nui is a different side of Phuket compared to the main beaches. Ya Nui has no big hotels or shops, not much at all except one small restaurant and a few shacks which serve as little groovy bars. There are some nearby bungalows, invisible from the beach itself and if you were to stay in this area, would be best to have your own transport. The view below shows Ya Nui beach, photo taken from the viewpoint just to the north where you find the big wind turbine. Nice views from up there!

I don't remember the last time I stopped at Ya Nui beach. Never seems to be enough time to visit old hangouts. We used to like it. We have good memories from many years ago. A photo of our daughter when she was about 3, pretending to play drum on a wooden stall at the little cafe. We visited with my parents, this must have been in 2004. Later that year, Ya Nui was hit hard by the tsunami. We found new places to hang out, had another baby and I can't seem to recall stopping at Ya Nui for years now. Should go for often to all these nice places, but .. I am not on holiday here, I normally work 6 days a week. However, last month, right at the end of my holidays on October 12th, I went back to Ya Nui beach with Mum and Dad. Looks like we should have gone the next day for free beer :)

The weather on that day was a real mixture of sun and sudden showers. We walked on the beach in the sun at first. Ya Nui is a small beach, quite rocky at low tide, and in high season the snorkeling is said to be good here. They do put beach chairs on the beach sometimes, which uglies things up a bit.. there's just the one restaurant, run in very casual local style :

We wandered the beach for a while trying to find an interesting photo of rocks and waves - it was still low season and the sea was pounding away. Mum enjoyed getting her feet wet - you can see the sky behind her (below) - blue skies and sun, with a side dish of dark clouds and rain. The kind of low season day when you can get sunburn or soaked, and we played "dodge the shower" all day.

We were almost alone at the beach, only a couple of young ladies there at the same time. Crowded Phuket? Get out and explore and lose the crowds. The photo below, with added foreground interest, is looking more to the south over the jumble of rocks at the south end of Ya Nui. It's only 1km from here to Phromthep Cape.

Oh, there was one other guy at the beach - a good old fashioned beachcomber, armed with metal detector....

Should you go swimming at Ya Nui and get into trouble, don't worry, be happy.. There is a Lifeguart on hand. Nobody was swimming that day, but in high season when the sea is almost always calm, you can certainly swim here, or snorkel or dive - I have a friend who likes to dive here, starting at Ya Nui and swim round the corner (about half a mile) to Nai Harn then get a tuk tuk back to Ya Nui.

The rain did come that afternoon for a while, so we sat in the restaurant, had a beer and then went for another little walk. At the far north end of the beach I found several memorial plaques dedicated to loved ones who had died in the tsunami. That seems a long time ago, and yet very recent.

The southwest corner of Phuket is good for a day out - including Ya Nui, Nai Harn, the windturbine viewpoint, the Karon viewpoint, maybe a sunset beer at the After Beach Bar or dinner at Phromthep Cape restaurant. A very nice part of Phuket.

(added later) Found the photo - our daughter age (nearly) 3 at the cafe, Ya Nui beach in July 2004. For this reason, the place has an emotional attachment and seeing the tsunami plaques brought it back. Ya Nui is rebuilt of course, it happened 7 years ago. We were there before. We are here now.

Baan Chinpracha House in Phuket Town

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:41:00 +0000

Phuket Town is full of gems. Much as I love looking at beaches and seaviews, over the years it's the culture and history of Phuket which has fascinated me more. I guess most visitors don't realise that Phuket has a history, and think of Phuket as just a holiday island that didn't have much going on until tourism arrived 30 or so years ago. I also never thought about it for the first few years I was living here, mainly because I was too busy diving. Nowadays, I admit that I'd rather go for a walk in old Phuket Town than on the beach. Always something new to find and it's a great area for photography. There are loads of old buildings - much of the old town was built about 100 years ago in the days before tourism when Phuket was making it's money from the huge tin mining industry. The mining attracted workers and traders from China - many Chinese moved to Phuket during the 19th century and some of them got rich from mining. Many of the "big" families in Phuket trace their family back a few generations to Chinese immigrants. Such is the case with the Chinpracha family...

Prapitak Chinpracha was born in Phuket in 1883, son of a Chinese family who had moved to Phuket in 1854 and who also had business dealings in Penang, Malaysia. Baan Chinpracha (Baan is the Thai word for house or home) was built in 1903 - at the time the house / mansion was on the edge of Phuket Town - the photo below shows the owner with his car in the driveway and no other buildings around.

The house is still owned by the same family several generations later. A very nice lady called Khun Daeng still lives there. Her husband passed away a few years ago which caused a problem, as he left the house to her, but part of the land to another family member, who promptly sold the land to a developer who built some new shophouses right in front of the old house. Apparently, a legal case is still in progress. There is talk that the shophouses might have to be removed. I do hope so! Chinpracha House is located on Krabi road, just a block west of Thalang Road, and is open to the public, or at least part of the house is open (not all, since people do still live here!). Entry fee 200 Baht. I had been once before while on a Phuket Town tour with Phuket Heritage Trails and I wanted to go again to take more photos, and this time with my wife and kids ...

You can't get a great view of the front of the mansion due to the shophouses... and the garden to the side is a bit overgrown. It's quite a big house, but is actually dwarfed by a mansion next door that was originally built a few years later by the same family and is now the very expensive Blue Elephant restaurant. I love these old buildings, the way they are built so that inside the house you still have a bright outdoor feel - the main room has a large skylight and an indoor pond with fish, and the water is kept decorated with fresh flowers. I also love the old inlaid floor tiles.

The whole ground floor is open to the public including bedrooms, kitchen and dining room, the walls are full of old photos of the family, the rooms are filled with old furniture, much of it original Chinese. My son tried to have a quick play on the piano - this seems to be purely decorational, as it was totally out of tune.

There were a few other visitors, including this girl in yellow exploring the old house. Note in this photo below, the doorway has a raised doorstep/threshold which you should always step over and not on... and check out those wonderful old floor tiles!

Also visiting the house - a happy couple who were having wedding photos taken...

This is a real slice of Phuket's history. The photos on the wall are worth a close look, check out the faces, the clothes, the family portraits. When Baan Chinpracha was built, no foreigners were coming to Phuket looking for beaches and massages. The house was built with money that came from tin mining, which made Phuket into a relatively wealthy province. For sure tourism is now Phuket's big earner - there is no tin mining now, but rubber is still a big money maker, so is fishing, prawn farming, pineapples, cashew nuts ... More than just beaches and hotels. We like to explore and learn, and always enjoy a walk in old Phuket Town.

Restaurant at Cape Phromthep

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:02:00 +0000

So, hopefully most people know where Cape Phromthep is? Right at the south tip of Phuket on the west side, touted by many guidebooks and websites as the place to watch the sunset. We have been many times in the past for the sunset, for nice views, and I finally hiked down the path to the end of the cape earlier this year - first time I had done that after living here for more than 10 years! There is also a restaurant here. I had not really paid it any attention before, but saw a review here that caught my eye. Looked like a great view and (important!) the review did note that the restaurant is not too expensive! So it was added to the "things to do on holiday" list. The restaurant has been there for years, I guess for 10 years or more.. but again, something new for us after all this time!

Cape Phromthep has a big car park, from which you climb some steps up to a big open area with views, a shrine, a lighthouse and firedancers at sunset! The entrance to the restaurant is to the right of the steps, or you can climb as we did, to the top to get some views first, then follow the small road round to the restaurant.

We went for lunch and there were only a few tables occupied. I think at sunset it would be much busier and we will go again sometime for what would be a great sunset dinner.. and we have our table staked out already! Right here:

That table was far too hot for lunch, but some tables are more shaded, and we had a choice of almost all of them. We found a very shady spot with enough space for 6 people to sit. Service was quick and friendly and we soon had cold drinks served while waiting for lunch.

I had a beer with lunch... no surprise there! The bottle came with a glass that looked more like a small flower vase.. I'd normally just drink straight from the bottle (oh, how uncouth!) but had to try the smallest beer glass I'd ever used...

We very much enjoyed sitting in the shade enjoying the view, the fresh air and the sunshine (we'd had quite a lot of rain during the week before). A very happy lunch enjoyed by all. And the food was not expensive.. I like that. At a place like Phromthep, there is certainly the option of ripping people off for a small fortune to enjoy food with a view, but the price was OK (and OK by my standards is cheap by most people's!) I ordered the catfish salad (Yam Pla Duk Foo) which was good, maybe not the best ever but combined with the shaded table, the view, the tiny beer glass and the company of my family, great.

Success! After many years, we do admit to being set in our ways.. we like to eat somewhere that we know, somewhere we can be sure of good food. Nice to try a new restaurant and be happy... we do sometimes try restaurants that don't get mentioned on the blog and are quickly forgotten. Cape Phromthep restaurant will be revisited and can certainly be recommended. We'll be back for a sunset meal soon.

Cape Phromthep Restaurant - Location Map

View Restaurant at Cape Phromthep, Phuket in a larger map

Thanoon Seafood

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 01:11:00 +0000

We had some holidays around the end of September and early October. It was the kids school holiday and also my parents were over from the UK. The weather during that period was less than great. A bit too much rain and we tended to limit ourselves to quick half day shower-dodging excursions around Phuket. We got lucky on September 29th - pretty much a rain-free day. I had a few things on my "to do" list (or better to say "to blog" list) - including several restaurants that had been recommended by friends. Thanoon Seafood is not in Phuket, but it's very close! Just drive over the Sarasin bridge that connects Phuket with Phang Nga province (the mainland) and the restaurant is on the beach just on the Phang Nga side less than 100m from the bridge. Sarasin Bridge has recently been rebuilt, and the old road bridge is now a pedestrian bridge where you can enjoy a walk and a view. We parked in Phang Nga, and then walked to Phuket and back before lunch.

Above - view under the bridge on the Phang Nga side looking east where there's a small fishing community. More photos of the bridge to come later. Below - view of Thanoon Seafood restaurant from the bridge. There was only one table occupied when we arrived - it touts itself as a "sunset" restaurant and it may well be worth going again in the late afternoon on a sunny high season day!

There is seating under cover or out on the beach. It was a bit windy really to sit on the beach, a bit too exposed with the west wind blowing directing through the channel towards the bridge. Would not be an issue in high season when winds blow from the northeast. Anyway the kids decided they would take their own table, just outside on the grass in front of the beach...

We ordered plenty of food. Prices were not super cheap but not too bad.. a touch more than we normally like to pay, but would I am sure be considered cheap by most tourists. I think our bill including drinks was total 1500 Baht for 4 adults and 2 kids, although these days the kids eat pretty much adult size meals. In fact our daughter I sometimes call "2 plates", due to her tendency to ask for 2nd helpings!

Above - a couple of dishes from Thanoon Seafood. My favourite Thai salad, called Yam Gung Siap, made with crispy smoked prawns, and some prawn cakes (Tod Man Gung). There was plenty more food too. The kids table was well stocked and they ate everything!

Success! We found another nice quiet restaurant with an interesting view, away from the crowds. And despite the proximity of the bridge I did not notice any traffic noise. The kids and I took a little wander on the beach after lunch. You can walk up to the bridge. Don't think about swimming here though, currents can be strong in the channel between Phuket and the mainland.

Good to get out and find new places to eat sometimes. We have a little list of "safe" places - restaurants that we always enjoy, but sometimes we feel brave! We tried several new places during our holiday. Next few blog posts will also be restaurants. Thanoon Seafood, thumbs up, guess we'll go again one day for a sunset meal - it's a bit of a drive of course, being off Phuket - about 40km from our house. A good place to try if you're staying in the north of Phuket or if you have a rental car. I realise this blog does tend to show restaurants off the beaten track and not on main beaches so much - well that's the idea! I do try to show bits of Phuket that might not be well known. Want to see the real Phuket? Get out there and explore, it's a big island!

Thanoon Seafood - Location Map

View Thanoon Seafood Restaurant in a larger map

Crossing the Bridge for Purification

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:34:00 +0000

OK, one more post about the Phuket vegetarian festival ... On the very last evening of the festival, October 5th, we all headed into Kathu village again. We'd just been there on the morning of the 4th to witness faces pierced by swords, guns, skewers and long metal rods and a procession through a million firecrackers. The noise and the bizarre rituals are part of the festival, but there's a lot more to it, a very deep tradition and history which I am sure can't be fully understood unless you are really part of it. We are just observers. The evening of the 5th, with a light rain falling showed what the vegetarian festival means here. It seemed like the whole population was there, queuing round the streets of Kathu village waiting to get into the shrine and cross the bridge for purification.

The photo above shows the ladies queue. I'd not been to see this ceremony before and it too a while to realise the was also a men's queue which was on the other side of the shrine. The men and ladies entered the shrine by different doorways.

Waiting patiently in the rain. Everyone was wearing white. I know that during the festival, many people wear white, but on a normal evening at the shrine during the preceding week, not everyone is in white. On this last night, to cross the bridge, you have to wear white. I had not found "the bridge" yet. It seemed difficult to get through the crowd and close to the shrine. I was not even sure if we (non pure) people would be allowed near. I imagined a bolt of lightning striking us down, away ye impure people!

(above) Mum, are we there yet? Not yet ... Patience is a virtue in any language or religion. You may see in the pictures, each person is holding a little package of what looks like some spring onions. I have read that this is wrapped in some paper with the persons name written on it. I need to ask someone the exact significance of this, but it's all to do with purity and carrying a bit of greenery into the shrine make sense.

Here's the front of the queue (almost). The last few yards, up the steps and into the shrine. It was quite a crush actually! But everyone was good natured. Lots of smiles. I'm not going to argue with the doubters and the cynics. The "Land of Smiles" may have been adopted as a tourism slogan, and you may well find some worn out smiles in the main tourist areas. But I think most people can sense when a smile is real. Smiles in the shrine were real.

But what is "The Bridge"? Well, I managed to sneak up some side stairs outside the shrine, though the entrance was gated, I gave my best "sorry, can I take a photo" smile and a big Wai to the old man who seemed to be guarding the entrance. From this viewpoint, and by leaning around a marble pillar, I could see this...

One of 2 ceremonial "bridges" set up inside the shrine. One for men, one for women, each one flanked by half a dozen Ma Song, the entranced devotees who are said to have the spirits of the gods inside them during the festival. The Ma Song bless and hand each person a piece of string symbolising good luck. The atmosphere in the shrine is smoky and noisy with drums being played in the background. Those crossing the bridge bow and pray. Dad (or grandad?) carries his boy over the bridge. Not sure the young boy appreciates it just yet. I am sure he will.

This evening in Kathu was very interesting, very enjoyable, there was a real sense of community and togetherness here, the people believe in their traditions and believe that crossing the bridge will give them luck. I saw a couple of foreigners crossing the bridge too. I am thinking next year that my wife and I will take the festival a little more seriously, no meat, no beers, make ourselves clean, and we'll cross the bridge too. In the grounds of the temple before we headed home we met a man who we'd talked to 10 days earlier at the opening ceremony. We'd also seen him striding out of the village just as we arrived on the 4th October, he was the lead Ma Song in the procession. He'd been pierced by a number of spikes, nothing too scary. And on this last night he showed his scars which would quickly heal up, but the memory remains and next year we'll see him again.

More stories from the 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Piercings and Firecrackers October 4th

Vegetarian Procession and World Photo Walk October 2nd

Face Piercing at Sam Kong Shrine September 30th

Procession for the Birth and Death Gods September 29th

Opening Ceremonies September 26th

Vegetarian Festival - Piercings and Firecrackers

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:33:00 +0000

Yes, more vegetarian festival (and apologies for scary photos)! There is so much to see during the 10 day festival, and this year I had my parents visiting - they'd never been here for the vegetarian festival before, and wanted to see as much as possible! On the morning of October 4th, Kathu Shrine was the place to be. We arrived about 6:30am... a bit late actually as the lead elements of the procession were already starting to leave the shrine for the walk into Phuket Town - about 8km away. Reminder for next year: get there at 6am. The shrine is only a few minutes drive from our house. During the festival we can hear music and firecrackers coming from the shrine every night - as the crow flies the shrine is only 1km away. I like to visit Kathu shrine rather than the big ones in Phuket Town. Kathu is very much for the local people and after a few visits people will recognise you, it's a friendly place. We'd already been for the opening ceremonies and for an evening street procession earlier in the week.

Most of the actual piercing had already been done. If you want to see people getting impaled, you have to get up early! We had seen plenty of piercing a few days earlier at Sam Kong Shrine. We did not have so much time here at Kathu for photos, the main procession was already getting ready to depart, though there is no set departure time - Ma Song with pierced faces were heading off in their own time. Kathu is one of the few shrines that has female Ma Song. There are many women in the Kathu procession, only a few are pierced though. This lady in pink was heading out of the shrine as we arrived.

Around the grounds outside the shrine, many pierced faces were to be seen. The more traditional piercings did seem to be making a comeback this year - simple skewers, knives and shiny metal rods. A few participants were still getting the piercing done. When you see something like this, it's hard to look away!

You can see this guy is pierced with multiple metal spikes each adorned with a head - these are the more traditional piercings. Nearby, a guy with slightly larger metal spikes through his face:

Arriving a little later made photography easier, and it was a bright sunny morning which helped a lot. Some of these photos were taking using a wide angle lens, others with a 50mm standard lens - the 50mm lens is very good for portraits and good for low light, as it has a maximum aperture of f1.8. With the wide angle you need to get in very close to the face, like this one:

A step up from skewers and metal spikes, this guy has gone for the swords. You'll notice hands in the photos wearing surgical gloves. It does seem a bit gory, but the assistants helping with the piercing do mostly wear gloves and there are piles of cotton wool and tissues to mop up "spills" - and I noticed that all the spikes and swords and whatever are cleaned with alcohol using a swab before the piercings take place.

Not everyone goes for the traditional style piercings. Some people moan that the festival has become a bit of a freakshow in recent years. The younger men especially seem to be vying with each other to get their photos taken. Festival photos can be found on websites and in newspapers round the world, and the photos chosen for armchair visitors tend to feature the more outlandish piercings. Spikes in the face, interesting... Gun in the face, bingo! You're in the paper, mate!

Or how about a couple of power drills? Good advertising for Bosch? Note - he did not drill the holes. The holes in the cheeks are made with sharpened spikes first, and the piercings inserted later. I am sure "drill head" made the paper too!

Enough piercings for this year! There are more photos on Flickr of the morning at Kathu Shrine. This year I have tried to show more than just the pierced faces. The festival has a big religious element to it. In every procession, teams of men carry statues of the gods through the streets. The people lining the streets are ready with firecrackers, the noise, the smoke, the Ma Song blessing the village, it's all designed to cleanse and bring good luck. As the gods started to leave the shrine, I ran up the street a little way. When you are right in the middle of this, the experience is complete - the firecracker smoke at some points made photos impossible, visibility was zero, and you have to be careful not to inhale too much smoke. A face mask is recommended.

I'll get a new camera sometime before next year, I want to get some HD video, especially of the procession walking through a constant barrage of firecrackers. The photos can't quite capture the sound - if you are trying (like me) to take a photo in the middle of the procession, it's LOUD! Ear protection is a good idea, as well as a mask for the smoke... and don't be too shocked to get a minor burn here and there too!

The procession was heading out through Kathu village and was all gone by just after 7am. We heard more firecrackers a few hours later, this would be the procession coming back into the village. Some of the Ma Song walk both ways - including the winding route around town, that would be over 15km of walking on a hot morning.. although despite the early morning sun, the rains came later that morning. The "unpiercing" is something I have not yet seen.. next year... There's one more blog entry to make from the 2011 festival. The photos above were taken on 4th October. The last night of the festival was the 5th. In Kathu village, they hold a ceremony called "Bridge Crossing for Purification", and that will be the next blog entry - guaranteed no piercings or blood in that one! :)

Vegetarian Procession and World Photo Walk 2nd October

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:37:00 +0000

On Sunday October 2nd, I was in Phuket Town nice and early (about 7:30am) with Mum and Dad for 2 reasons... Of course, the vegetarian festival was on from 26th September - 6th October, and on the morning of the 2nd was one of the big street processions from the Bang Neow shrine in Phuket Town - I was in town last year for the procession from this shrine and got lots of good photos - see Bang Neow Shrine Vegetarian Procession 2010. Also, October 2nd was the date of the Worldwide Photo Walk, something which I have done in 2010 and 2009. Groups of photographers all over the world take a walk in their home towns all on the same day - more info at the Worldwide Photo Walk website.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is (I think) somewhat misunderstood. The images that come out of the festival are normally those of pierced faces. And for sure that's what I have concentrated on for the last couple of years. The blood and the shock value is certainly a real part of the festival and the last post on this blog from Sam Kong shrine shows a lot of the piercings. This year I have already tried to show more of the festival - the opening pole raising ceremony and an evening procession in Kathu village have been blogged with hardly any blood in sight! And for this photowalk day I also decided to try and look more at the tradition and the respect shown by the local people to those in the processions. In other words, more photos of the people watching rather than the pierced faces.

This lady was sitting outside her house on Thalang road in the old town. I spotted her from across the road and a Thai photographer was already hard at work on her.. so I joined in. Sometimes older folks don't really like being photographed, but she was very gracious and did not mind a couple of lenses in her face as the procession passed. She will have seen a lot of changes in Phuket. There won't have been too many foreigners about when she was a kid, but I felt from her that the vegetarian festival means something very real. This is not a sideshow or event for tourism.

Not all of the Ma Song have pierced faces. The guy below was half walking, half running along the street waving his flag to scare off evil spirits and stopping at some of the small shrines set up outside houses and shops. He took a drink at this shrine. Sometimes the Ma Song will take a piece of fruit from a shrine which will be given to people along the procession route or placed on another household shrine. One of the Ma Song handed me a whole bunch of bananas! Having no place to put them I left them at the house I was standing next to.

Having woken early with no breakfast and after a while walking in the hot early morning sun, I was ready for breakfast. On Thalang road there are quite a few small restaurants, and a favourite of mine is the Kopitiam restaurant where they always have good food, and during the vegetarian festival were doing some very tasty dishes. We ate in there several times during the festival week! Around 8am I ordered Hokkien Mee - a very local style noodle dish.

The Kopitiam restaurant is a family run place. The same family owns the herbal medicine shop next door and the Wilai restaurant next door to that! Very nice people, there are several generations of family living here, which is the typical Thai way. The old folks are looked after by the young folks. There are always a few of the older generation around Kopitiam, some of whom are well into their 90's!

From my seat in the restaurant I had a ringside view of the Ma Song who stopped to bless Kopitiam and the family at their temporary shrine. There are more festival photos taken by the family on the Kopitiam Facebook Page.

Hmmm, no bloody pierced faces yet? I'll be sure to put that right in the next blog post which will be about the Kathu Shrine procession which took place on 4th October. Meanwhile, here are a couple of characters from the 2nd October procession. Sometimes you don't know where to look in these processions, there is so much going on, and if you have never seen it before, it certainly is overwhelming.

The noise, the firecrackers, the strange faces, the smoke from the incense, the white clothes, the rituals... not just overwhelming for first timers .. I tried to snap some pictures of kids watching from the sidelines who were maybe not 100% enjoying the morning :) But they are learning. They are learning about the festival from their families, learning the traditions and the history. The vegetarian festival is alive and well and is being handed down to the next generation.

The photo above is the one I decided to upload as my "entry" to the Worldwide Photo Walk competition. Her face says a lot! I know that the vegetarian festival may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, this IS Phuket. Not the beaches and 5 star resorts and bars and nightlife and elephant rides and snorkeling, but this is the real old Phuket that can be hard to find.

The procession on October 2nd was all but over by about 9:30am, and I headed to the very nice Cafe 154, part of the Royal Phuket City Hotel, where all the photo walk participants were due to meet. A chance to compare pictures, compare cameras, catch up with friends and have some very nice coffee. You can see more photos from this years photowalk on 2nd October on Tim's Blog, on Diane's website, on my Mum's blog (!) and on the Flickr Group for Phuket photographers. After a drink or two, we posed for a photo ...

More vegetarian festival coming soon! ... Meanwhile you can check my latest photos here: Jamie in Phuket on Flickr. And please do join the Jamie's Phuket Facebook Page and follow me on Twitter!

Face Piercing at Sam Kong Shrine

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:38:00 +0000

WARNING - Graphic content, blood and pierced faces. May not be everyone's cup of tea :)

Every morning for a week during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival there are big street processions in Phuket Town, plus a few local processions near the shrines themselves. I always try to see at least a couple of the big processions. The main crowds are around old Phuket Town, which makes for a big spectacle especially with all the firecrackers, but I also like to get to some shrines before they start walking. Several reasons for this... Photos - it's easier to take a photo when someone is sitting down, harder during a procession when they are moving and there are crowds. Also, on a sunny day, they start early and it's not so hot.. plus if I am working that day, I can get to the shrine and easily get to work on time. Mum and Dad were visiting from England - this would be their first taste of the face piercing. We were at Sam Kong shrine (in the north side of Phuket Town) not long after 6am on September 30th. Yes, you do have to wake up early to see something special :)

The entranced Ma Song prepare themselves inside the shrine before they get pierced all around the grounds of the shrine. We arrived pretty early - no piercing was taking place, but suddenly within about 15 minutes, the Ma Song were all over the shrine and for a photographer it was hard to know where to look .. later on, looking at other people's photos there was lots of "Oh! I didn't see that!" - the photos below show rather graphically what goes on at these shrines in the early morning.

It's not that they don't feel pain, but I am told that the Ma Song do somehow entrance themselves to feel less pain. Actually the pain and suffering is a good thing. As they walk through the villages and Phuket Town, the Ma Song bless the local people, and their pain gives good luck to the people. Not everyone can be a Ma Song. Locals can't just turn up at the shrine and start cutting cheeks. They are carefully chosen and I imagine it must be quite an honour. At Sam Kong shrine, only men can be Ma Song. Some other shrines like Kathu and Jui Tui also have women.

Sam Kong also tries to be a bit more traditional with the piercings - encouraging the use of less elaborate items - in recent years it does seem that some Ma Song, especially the younger ones, try more and more crazy piercings, perhaps to feel more pain for the people, perhaps just to get their picture in the paper! The guy below is getting pierced with a more traditional spike...

The guy below is going more for the "look at me" style of piercing and will surely have more photographers snapping him than a guy with simple spikes through his cheeks. Sure, a garden spade, why not?

There is far more to the festival than the piercings of course, but most photographers (including me) tend to focus on the blood. It's hard not to look. The camera develops a life of it's own! But this year, as you may see from the pages about the opening ceremonies and the evening procession in Kathu, I am trying to show more of the traditional aspects of the festival... especially concentrating on Kathu as it's our local shrine. Sam Kong is also only a few km from our house. The area around Kathu and Sam Kong was where the festival began in the 19th century before Phuket Town was the administrative center of Phuket island. The traditions run very deep here.

As the pierced Ma Song left the shrine for the walk into Phuket Town, the statues of the gods were blessed. I think the picture above shows something of the respect shown to the gods. As a group of Ma Song bless a shrouded god image, everyone in the shrine crouched down to pray. We were in the shrine for about 1 hour. The last of the Ma Song and the gods being carried by young men left the shrine by about 7:15am. It's smoky, noisy and rather intense. A couple of foreign ladies had to go sit down. As I say, not for everyone, but still my favourite festival and .. this is the real Phuket. Tourists have been here about 30 years. The origins of the Phuket Vegetarian festival date back to 1825. Next blog page will concentrate on one of the big processions in town from Bang Neow shrine which took place on October 2nd.

Street procession for the Birth and Death Gods

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:44:00 +0000

On the 3rd night of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, our local shrine in Kathu village has a small street procession around the village which the schedules tell me is for "Propitiation of the Birth-Death Gods". The last few years I have heard long bursts of firecrackers on this 3rd night, and last year had a quick look to see what was going on. This year, I took the camera! Luckily we arrived early. My schedules said the procession would be 7:30pm, but as we parked the car down a side street just after 7pm, the sound of firecrackers started and we raced out to the main street (not a very busy road) as the procession started to pass.

This year during the vegetarian festival I am trying to concentrate a bit less on the blood and pierced faces, though there will be more photos of that later... last years photos (see Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2010 on Flickr) had a good mix. The strange piercings are hard to ignore, but that was not a problem on this warm evening in Kathu - the statues of the gods were carried through the old Kathu village and various Ma Song (the entranced spirit mediums) walked along the streets too.

The main focus of the procession - yes, firecrackers. I walked along with my Mum and Dad and found a house with stacks of bamboo poles hung with long lines of firecrackers ready to be dangled over the street at the god statues were carried past. This looks like a good place to stand! Mum and Dad had not experienced quite so many firecrackers before.

I love this! A bit hard to take a photo - it's dark and the firecrackers flash and bang, it's hard to see what you are looking at, and the smoke creates a .. well, a smokescreen at times that the camera can't see through. It's shoot and hope for photographers and then a bit of photoshop to enhance the image. Often looks better in black and white. I love being right there as the onlookers throw great big packets of fireworks into the street. I love to be right in the middle of it! This was just a small local procession. No tourists here (except me, Mum and Dad!) - we like heading into Kathu, as it's my local shrine, we know quite a few people, and it's always much quieter than the main Phuket Town shrines, but they do know how to set off firecrackers!

Next blog post will have some pierced faces .. we went to Sam Kong shrine early morning, just after 6am on September 30th for the start of their big procession including face piercing taking place right there in the shrine :)

Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2011 - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 01:48:00 +0000

The 2011 Phuket Vegetarian Festival is on now. The event started 26th September in the evening and continues until 6th October. See : Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2011 Schedule for more details. A few days into the festival now, and the street processions have started. I have not been to watch one of these early morning processions yet this year, might do that tomorrow, and will certainly be in town on Sunday 2nd October for the procession from Bang Nieow Shrine in Phuket Town. My parents are visiting from England and they want to see various aspects of the festival, though we also want to do other things in and around Phuket. The weather has not been to kind. Quite a lot of rain on the 26th and 27th for the first couple of festival days. And yet, the rain has a habit of easing off if you are brave enough to get out there. On September 26th we all went to Kathu Shrine (our local - about 2km from our house) for the opening ceremonies of the vegetarian festival.

At 5pm the Go Teng pole is raised over the shrine - a huge wooden pole on which is hung a bamboo branch and 9 lanterns. This is the "spirit pole" down which the Emperor Gods can descend into the shrine. Kathu is not such a busy shrine, so it's easier than the main Phuket Town shrines to move around and take photos. The pole was hauled up into place by ropes and by men armed with forked sticks. Lo-tech, human power, with anyone welcome to help pull the ropes.. I would help, but also want to take photos! Here's the Go Teng pole being raised and fixed in place... all a bit frantic, as it seems that the pole might be raised and then fall back the other way!

The rain held off for this part of the ceremony which was preceded by a village elder saying prayers at a small altar next to the pole. These early days of the festival don't have the bloody ceremonies that come later although one Ma Song was part of the prayers, coming out from the shrine and cutting his tongue with sharp axes. Maybe a little blood is needed to convince the gods to come!

The guy below was leading the prayers. At the time of the pole raising he was dressed in more ceremonial clothes and dancing around kind of trance-like. Not really in a trance though, but it's all part of the ceremony. The very old man who I had seen the last couple of years leading the prayers was nowhere to be seen. I believe he may have passed on this year. Without being one of the community here I can't say how the tradition is passed down, or why certain people are chosen to pray or chosen to be Ma Song.

The rain did start again once the pole was up. A strong wind blew in too. Guy ropes were quickly checked and tightened. And people were coming in and out of the shrine all the time, praying inside and taking incense outside to bless the Go Teng Pole. The furnace just outside the shrine is used to burn the money for the spirits (not real money!). Umbrellas needed to use the furnace:

I always enjoy spending a little time at the shrine and watching people saying their prayers. Have to remind myself that this is Phuket. The same Phuket that is full of tourists, hotels, beach chairs, bars, massage parlours, dive shops, tuk tuks and tailors. That is also Phuket - that's a new side to Phuket. Remember that the history of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival goes back to 1825. I find this side of Phuket to be far more interesting than the beach life. But judging by the numbers of foreigners that I see every year watching the festivals, I am in a minority - well, this blog is "Jamie's Phuket" - hope it can convert a few more people to the REAL Phuket! A couple of "people watching" photos:

A photo below that says something about traditions and how they are passed on. Kids come to the shrine with their families from a young age, get scared by firecrackers, watch bizarre rituals, see and feel the respect afforded to the ceremonies by the adults. When the adults pray, the children pray. The eyes below I think hold a mixture of respect, fear, excitement and bewilderment... They were watching the Ma Song with the axes coming out of the shrine.

These photos were all taken early evening between 5pm and 6:30pm. The Go Teng pole had been raised and hung with 9 lanterns for the 9 gods. I knew that something would happen at the shrine at midnight. I had not been at midnight before. Surely there would be some strange rituals, wild men in trances and bloody sacrifices for the gods? The rain was falling again as we drove into a dark an silent Kathu village just before midnight. Very dark and silent. Er.. maybe I was wrong and nothing happens at midnight? My parents came along with me and I am supposed to know these things! As we approached the shrine, the lights were on and we could see activity, but it was still very quiet. This midnight prayer turned out to be less dramatic that I had anticipated. No blood, no crazy possessed old men, just prayers, and for the most part these prayers were the quietest and most reverential that I have seen.

It was all adults.. well maybe a few teenagers. Mostly men. And the men were the ones leading prayers and carrying incense and flags in and out of the shrine. Prayers were said inside the shrine in front of the altar:

A small temporary altar was set up outside with incense and burning wood. Prayers were said outside and the bowl of incense was surrounded with flags and taken inside by a group of very devoted looking men who formed something like a ruck around the bowl and rushed it inside. This was repeated a couple of times. Prayers were said at the temporary altar outside and then everyone moved inside.

Only 3 foreigners there - me, Mum and Dad. Witnessing the quiet prayers was quite special. We crept around like mice. The shrine was so silent during the prayers. Only the sound of one voice and the sounds made when the "priest" knocked on a metal bowl or a wooden statue. We watched from the window. The inside of the shrine was pretty well packed. These prayers went on for about 20 minutes.

And then .. everything moved outside again with more carrying of incense and flags in and out of the shrine. The photo below was taken at almost 1am. I had not planned to be up so late hanging around listening to prayers! But despite heavy eyes we did not want to leave just yet. On the other hand, this could go on all night ...

Finally the relative silence of these late night prayers was broken by firecrackers. You can't have a Chinese festival without firecrackers. At times during the vegetarian festival you might need ear protection. When the processions pass through town, long strings of firecrackers are held on bamboo poles over the statues of the gods as they are carried through the streets. Those carrying the gods certainly do need earplugs! Here at Kathu shrine, one long burst of bangs signalled the end of the ceremonies for the night.

The festival is now in full swing. We plan to visit Sam Kong shrine in the north of Phuket Town tomorrow morning (30th) at 6:30am to witness some piercing and the start of their procession into the center of town, and tonight (29th) in Kathu village there is a procession around the village. The main street processions continue until 5th October. See you here!

Naiharn Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:11:00 +0000

Phuket is big enough that after living here for more than 10 years there are still unexplored corners. Naiharn beach is right in the south of the island and actually I don't reckon I'd been down this way for maybe a couple of years. It's not "our" part of the island, as we live in Kathu near Phuket Town. My wife and I when we first met would often come to Naiharn and Rawai beaches, stopping off at the viewpoint between Kata and Naiharn or carrying on to Phromthep Cape. So much nice scenery in this part of Phuket and yet still so very quiet compared to the main beach areas. The road from Kata to Naiharn twists and turns until it finally drops down into the trees passing by quite a lot of recent development in the area. Lots of restaurants and bars and small hotels. The Naiharn area is popular with expats who like the quiet side of life. It's certainly much busier than 10 years ago but in some areas still feels like an English village! It's very neat and tidy and there is no ugly urban sprawl here. Now why is that ... ? It has to be partly down to Naiharn temple. The beach is about half a mile long and most of the land behind the beach is owned by the temple which sits right behind the beach. Also there's a big lake behind the beach and you can't build on a lake! So hotel development at Naiharn is very limited. You have the Royal Phuket Yacht Club, All Seasons and that's about it near the beach! The land has got to be worth huge sums of money! But Naiharn temple remains occupying a large area of prime beachfront land. And so Naiharn remains quiet.

I called in to the temple one evening in August. This was the first time I had ever stopped at this temple! Which is surprising as I do like temples! It was one of those perfect low season evenings with the sun setting late (about 6:45pm) and that evening light is always nice for a photo. I parked next to the lake and was happy to hear prayers coming from the prayer hall.

That's the prayer hall above. There's a fair size Buddha statue inside and the walls are covered in paintings showing the life story of the Buddha like this one:

Prayers were being said by a small group of monks. There is something about the sound of the prayers that is slightly hypnotic and dreamlike.

A few people poked their noses in the door including an Italian couple who tried their very best to get in all my photos. No noise from outside. Naiharn is quiet. I can imagine this being a very peaceful place to be a monk.

I plan to be back at Naiharn the next time I get a sunny evening for a walk on the beach. I'm not suggesting that Naiharn is an untouched paradise... indeed I know that in high season the beach is packed despite the lack of nearby hotels - that's due to so many websites saying that Naiharn is "the quiet beach", so lots of people come from other areas to visit and so you have lots of beach chairs and sunbathing tourists, but it's still quiet - no busy road near the beach and if you are there at the right time the sound of chanting monks may reach your ears.

Holiday Inn Resort at Mai Khao Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:35:00 +0000

Hot off the press! Everyone's heard of Holiday Inn of course, the brand is all over the world, and there has been a Holiday Inn in Phuket since time began in what used to be the quiet end of Patong when I first arrived here.. nowadays there is no quiet end of Patong! The Holiday Inn in Patong always gets a lot of good reviews, it's a big resort and despite being in big, bad Patong, once you are in the resort you're away from the crowds. It does tend to be a family hotel and it will suit people who like to be in the middle of the busiest beach in Phuket.

The new 246 room Holiday Inn Resort at Mai Khao Beach is rather different. Mai Khao beach is the very antithesis of Patong. One can say it's more crowded now than 10 years ago when JW Marriott was the only big resort on the whole 10km of beach. If you felt like it, and maybe I'll do it one day, you could walk from one end of the beach to the other and it would take you a couple of hours at least. That's lots of beach. So even though you now have more resorts like Renaissance Resort, Sala Phuket, Anantara Villas and more - and these have all opened in the last 10 years - despite this, the beach is still very empty. All the resorts along Mai Khao are nice ones - there's no 2 star here! Well, there is one Phuket oddity - the Seaside Cottages, a collection of wooden and bamboo huts and a few concrete ones too, some trees, hammocks and a little restaurant right on the beach. Odd because the land is worth a fortune and here's Malcolm from England running some little bungalows!

Anyway ... the brand new Holiday Inn Resort just opened a week ago. I was actually called and invited for the opening, but I guess they don't know I have a dive shop to run.. and it was a friends 40th birthday party the same night! If you want to book a totally new resort, maybe with beds that have not been slept in yet, right by the beach, in paradise, and certainly run by a trustworthy name - well here you go. There are some special prices right now (it's low season after all). A great place for couples - the resort has some very nice looking pool access rooms. Also great for families - the press handout I was sent had a lot of info about how great this resort is for the kids :

The new hotel differentiates itself for its family-friendly offerings. Its Kids Suite offers privacy for both parents and kids as they have their sections within the suite. The kids section of the suite comes with a bunk bed and a play corner that includes a flat screen TV, a DVD player and a game console. The Family Suite has the same concept as the Kids Suite, but with a bigger room that connects to the specially designed room for the kids. The stylishly designed kids room comes with a kids bathtub, vanity counter and toilet. To cater to families with teenagers, the resort offers a Teen Zone for youngsters to unwind and entertain themselves. There’s also a Kids Club where younger kids can have fun while their parents may pursue other interests and activities within the resort.

The Holiday Inn Resort at Mai Khao Beach is a place to relax and avoid the crowds - you should note that like all the more isolated resorts, you won't have a huge choice for dining. If I stayed here I would rent a car. Can drive to Phuket Town in 45 minutes and you can drive over the bridge and into Phang Nga within a few minutes, since Mai Khao beach is right in the north of the island. A tour of Phang Nga Bay is not to be missed if you stay in Phuket. We'll be doing this again sometime soon! See you in Phuket!

Holiday Inn Mai Khao Beach - Booking & Information Links

• Holiday Inn Resort - Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• More Mai Khao Beach Hotels at Agoda.com

Holiday Inn Mai Khao Beach - Photos

Phuket Hotels - More Information & Online Booking

• Phuket Hotel Info and Reservations at Agoda.com
• More of Jamie's Phuket Hotel Reviews
• Jamie's Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• All Thailand Hotels at Agoda.com

Karon Temple Market

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:51:00 +0000

The local market is always a good place to get a slice of local life, and you can find markets all over Phuket. Already on this blog you can find information about the well known Weekend Market, and also the big Kathu market. I do realise that most visitors to Phuket won't be putting "visit to a local market" top of their list, but there is one market in Phuket that's very easy to visit, especially if your hotel is near the north end of Karon Beach! There is a market in the grounds of Karon temple every Tuesday and Saturday and rather surprisingly considering that I like markets and work in Karon .. I had never stopped at the market until last week. It starts in the afternoon and goes on into the night. I went just after work, a bit before sunset.

It was not that busy .. well, it's low season and I think more people go to the market after dark. I parked 20m down the road and the first thing I saw was this sign (above) at the "Nok Noi" roadside restaurant. There are lots of small restaurants along the stretch of road near the temple. Here's the entrance to Karon temple with market stalls set up:

I was not sure what to expect here. The first stall I saw was selling cheap sunglasses, another stall was selling t-shirts.. I started to think this market was going to be all "selling cheap cr*p to tourists" ... fortunately not! It covers a fair sized area and I found a wide variety of stalls. Lots of clothes and the prices looked pretty cheap. Some of the stalls are more in the open, others are under a sprawling, colourful roof of ropes and plastic. I liked the way the sunlight was shining through this dummy.

And of course there are plenty of food stalls too, selling fruits, snacks, and ready made meals. Stalls like these are a good chance for tourists to sample local foods at a cheap price. Get yourself some fresh juicy mangoes or try some spicy Northern Thai style sausages.

I arrived just after prayers in the late afternoon and a monk was coming out of the prayer hall.

The photo below shows what you might call "Fast food, Thai style". A wide array of ready made food which is scooped into a plastic bag and tied up with an elastic band for you to take home to eat with rice, price normally only about 25 Baht per portion.

It's very nice to have this little market in the temple, and so you can cross off two things in one trip. Visit Buddhist temple. Tick. Visit local market. Tick. Bought some cheap jewelery .... maybe not.

Everyone should know that (especially ladies) you should dress modestly if you enter a temple. But it does seem to be OK to have a stall selling bikinis just outside .. at least on market day!

I think I'll call in again sometime soon for some more photos. I had a wide angle lens this time, but I'd like to get some more portraits and close ups. The temple is about a 3 minute drive from our dive shop, yet somehow its taken me years to take a look! Well worth a visit to Karon temple market... Tuesdays and Saturdays. I end with a photo of a guy who was wandering around with his baskets of snacks.

More Karon Beach Information

• Suggested Karon Beach Hotels
• Karon Beach Hotel Listing @ Agoda.com
• Karon Temple
• Karon Beach - General Info
• Diving with Sunrise Divers @ Karon Beach

Karon Temple / Temple Market Location Map

View Karon Temple Market in a larger map

Phuket Waterfalls

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Monk in Phuket) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:45:00 +0000

Where to start ... Waterfalls - I like waterfalls. I once detoured across half of South America by bus and train to get from La Paz (Bolivia) to the absolutely incredible Iguazu falls which are on the border between Brazil and Argentina and not far from Paraguay either. Niagara falls are maybe the most visited in the world. I've been there too, and it's quite nice, that little boat ride on the Maid of the Mist. I tell you what - you can't do a boat ride at Iguazu! Certainly not when I was there in wet season. An unbelievable torrent of chocolate brown water was shooting from the jungle. One of the most amazing places I have ever been and well worth the ride on the "Train of Death" to get there.

(above) Iguazu falls - not in Phuket.

Sorry for the non-Phuket photo. But I really do like waterfalls. The waterfalls in Phuket seem to be mentioned in just about every guidebook and website (and blog), and if you like nature and like to get away from the majority of tourists who like to stay at the beach, then Phuket has a number of waterfalls, all of them quite jungly and quiet, which are worth a visit maybe as part of a tour, or worth a look as you explore the back roads, but I would not say that you devote a day to a "Phuket Waterfall Tour" unless maybe you live in Saudia Arabia or some other dry country and you have never seen a waterfall or jungle. Don't be expecting anything like Iguazu, but you can get a nice little jungle walk and maybe take a swim in the fresh water running off the hills. Phuket has hills that rise up to over 1700 feet above sea level, and yes, we do get quite a bit of rain too. And so Phuket does have some waterfalls ....

Kathu Waterfall

Only a few kilometres from where we live is the highest point in Phuket, over 540m above sea level, and near this hill you have Kathu waterfall. It's only a short drive from Patong beach into the Kathu area of Phuket. The road up to the falls is a residential area, we have many friends up this road. There's space to park at the end, you cross a bridge and start walking up some steps .. and up.. and up... you can climb for quite a long time and get nice and sweaty! There are several cascades as you climb and locals are always there playing and swimming.

• Kathu Waterfall - More Information

Ton Sai Waterfall

In the northeast of Phuket island is a large green area which is designated as a National park. It's called Khao Phra Thaew, and on each side of the 1,000 foot jungle covered hill in the middle are 2 waterfalls. There is Ton Sai on the West side and Bang Pae on the east. In between is pretty wild country - I have read that you can hike between the 2, but a friend of mine (who is a real fit hill runner/marathon runner/hiker) has done it and tells me it's tough, and he was attacked by a wild gibbon up there!

Ton Sai is easy to find - turn right at the traffic lights at Thalang Town (right if you are heading north). Follow the small road. I believe entry is free after 3pm. Don't quote me on that. Otherwise 200 Baht. There is a nature trail and again several small falls up the jungle path. And on the way there you are really in rural Phuket, so close to the main tourist beaches but in another world.

I've blogged Ton Sai twice - A walk at Ton Sai Waterfall in 2011 and Ton Sai Waterfall in 2007.

Bang Pae Waterfall

And on the other side of the hills from Ton Sai is Bang Pae Waterfall - and also the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. Actually the Bang Pae area is one of our favourite in Phuket. Lots of little back roads, some great rural scenery, huge areas of rubber plantations, pineapple fields, and a few restaurants that we like too such as Bang Pae Seafood and Peang Prai which is just at the entrance to Bang Pae - again, there is an entry fee here of 200 Baht per person. Note that the entry fee does not go to the Gibbon project which you can visit for free, and a small donation is appreciated there. Bang Pae is very popular with locals at the weekend. There are several small restaurants just inside the entrance, and many people come here for a splash! I need another visit to take some new photos sometime soon.

• Bang Pae Waterfall and Gibbon Rehabilitation Project

(above) Kids playing in a pool at Bang Pae Waterfall.

Sri Phang Nga National Park

Earlier this year we found a new place, and we're going back soon! We were driving back to Phuket from Khao Sok National Park and decided to look for Sri Phang Nga national park. A friend had posted some photos on Facebook, it looked good and seemed to be not far off our route (but far enough to call said friend and ask "where the **** is it?"!). Sri Phang Nga is not in Phuket, it's in Phang Nga province, you have to drive from Phuket via Khao Lak to Takua Pa and then on northward towards Kuraburi. About 30km from Takua Pa is the turnoff and then you have about another 10km on a narrow road, becoming a dirt road.. no wonder it's not well known! And here we found a really superb waterfall called Tamnang Waterfall, with a cool fresh swimming pool beneath it filled with fish which will swim freely all around you! Great!

• Sri Phang Nga National Park - More Information

(above) Tamnang Waterfall at Sri Phang Nga national park. The park has more falls which need a bit of a hike. We plan a return visit soon!

There are more waterfalls around Khao Lak too such as Chong Fa and Lampi waterfalls. I have also read about a small waterfall in the hills near Kamala Beach and a waterfall at Manik (on the other side of the hill from Kathu waterfall) - we tried to find it one time but only ended up driving up a narrow track which needed a 27 point turn to get down again! There is also a place called Raman Waterfall Park which is near the Wat Suwan Kuha (temple in a cave) near Phang Nga Town. We stopped once at Raman but had no time to explore... one day.. there is always more to explore in the Phuket area and not enough time!!!

Phuket Waterfalls Map

View Phuket Waterfalls in a larger map