Jamie's PhuketJamie's PhuketJamie has lived in Phuket for 7 years. Some hints, recommendations, ideas and information about the real Phuket. 
Articles
Festivals and Celebrations
2006-06-17 04:41:00 Festivals, Celebrations and Local LifeThe most famous festival in Phuket is the Vegetarian Festival. In 2006, this was October 22-30, and I did get my camera out (see links below). Phuket is also a great place to be for Songkran (the "water throwing" festival / Thai New Year). Another popular festival is Loy Krathong, where people give thanks for water, and cast adrift their bad luck. This was on the 5th of November 2006. October and November are good months to come to Phuket :)Phuket Vegetarian FestivalThis year, I went to get to see some of the ceremonies, took some photos, and ate plenty of the great food on offer. Indeed I did not eat meat for a week!• Vegetarian Fesival Photos 2006• Photos of Kathu Shrine - More Photos of Kathu Shrine• Photos of Sam Kong Shrine and Vegetarian Food StallsMy "local" is Kathu shrine, located in Baan Kathu. Sam Kong is not too far from Tesco Lotus - loads of veggie food stalls in the Kathu/Sam Kong area ... More About: Festivals , Fest , Vals , Brat
Places to visit close to Phuket
2006-06-17 04:37:00 If you are coming to Phuket, no need to limit yourself to the confines of the island. Within a couple of hours drive or boat ride are some amazing places...• Khao Sok National Park• Phang Nga Bay• Phi Phi IslandsTo come - Khao Lak, Similan Islands, Krabi and more! Phuket is a great starting point for all kinds of trips. A great base for exploring this part of Thailand. More About: Places , Close , Place , Visi , Visit
Offshore Islands
2006-06-17 04:33:00 Phuket itself is only just an island, linked to Phang Nga province by the Sarasin bridge. All around Phuket are small offshore islands which can be visited for the day or a few hours. Some have accomodation, some are just gorgeous little specks in the ocean. Some are good for diving too.Island s close to Phuket• Koh Yao Noi• Koh Rang Yai• Phi PhiMany more to come such as Koh Racha Yai, Koh Maphrao, Koh Lone...just give me time, this is quite a new blog and I do work 6 days a week, so that leaves little time for exploring! Technically, Phi Phi is not Phuket of course, and lies in Krabi province, but its easy to do on a day trip, though I'd recommend at least an overnight stay there. More About: Shore , Land , Islands , Offshore
Temples in Phuket
2006-06-17 04:30:00 Hey, this IS Thailand you know. If you're not "templed out" after a few days in Bangkok, then why not discover some of Phuket 's many Buddhist Temp les . The largest is Wat Chalong, which can be quite busy with locals and tourists, but every area has it's own small temple if you want more of a local flavour and a bit of history. In Kathu village close to where we live you find a Wat and a Chinese temple. This section will get even bigger as time goes by...Phuket Temples• Chalong Temple (Wat Chalong)• Wat Sri Sunthorn• Wat Phra Thong• Wat Phra Nang Sang• Wat Sapam• Koh Sirey Temple• Patong Temple• Kathu and Ket Ho Temples• Kamala TempleChinese Shrines• Shrine on Patong Hill• Kathu Village Shrine• Sam Kong ShrineMany more yet. There are temples all over Phuket, even close to the beaches - Patong, Karon and Kamala temples for example. Get thee to church! T...
Restaurants, Food and Drink
2006-06-17 04:24:00 You are really spoilt for choice in Phuket. You want cheap local food, you got it, you want a juicy steak, you got it, you want Italian food, Mexican food, Arabic food, Indian Food ... whatever, you can find it. We tend to avoid the really touristy places, but even in Patong there are a few places I like. We do tend to eat local food, and tend to eat at home most of the time, but it can be cheap to eat out in Thailand, and it's very easy to be lazy!• Laem Hin Seafood• Bang Pae Seafood• BBQ Hut• Chen Long Kung Kata (Buffet)• Noodles in Phuket• More Noodles in Phuket• Leelawadee• ;Dairy Hut• Danang Seafood• Kan Eang Seafood• The Beach Bar• Chili• Friends hip BeachThere are also plenty of food options in the Phuket Town shops, supermarkets and malls such as Tesco Lotus.Thirsty after all that food? About Thai BeerMore to come, may include a cheap ... More About: Restaurants , Drink , Food and Drink , Rest
Hills and Views in Phuket
2006-06-17 04:19:00 We like hills, we like views. Phuket is pretty darn hilly, with the highest point (Radar Hill) at over 500m (1600 feet). There are great views all over the island... Just get off the beach and explore!• Kata Viewpoint• Phromthep Cape• Khao Khad Viewpoint• Radar Hill - Radar Hill Part II• Rang Hill• Monkey Hill• Buddha Mountain (Khao Nakkerd)• More Views of Buddha Mountain and building the Big Buddha• Back road over the mountain above Patong• Meditation Centre near PhromthepYou can also get great views from some of the temples in Phuket, such as Koh Sirey Temple which is built on a hill, or from Chalong Temple.More to come..... More About: Hills
Things to Do in Phuket
2006-06-17 04:14:00 As you may imagine, being a tourist island, there is plenty to do and see in Phuket . Some of the attractions are VERY touristy such as Phuket Fantasea or Simon Cabaret, other places (the kinds we like) are a little of the beaten track. Sure, we go to some touristy places too, but I just want to say that Phuket is a big island and it's great to get out and explore.Thing s to Do / Places to see on Phuket Island• Scuba Diving - Dive Sites around Phuket• My first dives here in 1999...• Phuket Aquarium• Phuket Zoo• Thalang National Museum• Surfing in Phuket• Golf in Phuket• Old Phuket TownOr why don't you....• Get up some Hills for a great View• Visit one of Phuket's many Temples• Get a boat trip to a nearby Island• Take a walk along Chalong Jetty one evening or take a walk (or a jog) at Bang Wad Dam and ReservoirPhuket BeachesNaturally there are many beac... More About: To Do
Koh Yao
2006-05-16 04:22:00 We have been meaning to take a trip to Koh Yao for years, but you know how it is, when you live in a place you keep putting it off in favor of going shopping or having a lazy day at home. I had a couple of weeks holiday in April and with my parents visiting from the UK, we made an effort to be active. Too active - by the end of the holiday I needed a holiday! Koh Yao was one of the many places we visited - some are in the blog already, others may appear later.Koh Yao actually consists of 2 main islands - Koh Yao Yai (Big) and Koh Yao Noi (Small). The small island has the main population, though you can also visit the bigger island. Koh Yao Yai is big - about the same size as Koh Lanta. Koh Yao Noi is less than half that size, but anyway too big to really explore on a day trip with my parents and 2 kids. One day we'll go back again and leave the kids with my wife's mother. You can rent a motorbike on the island for just 200 Baht a day.The ferry to Koh Yao Noi leaves from Bang Rong,...
Family trip to Phi Phi - 16 months after the Tsunami
2006-04-10 10:10:00 So we decided to take a day trip from Phuket to Phi Phi and be real tourists. The weather on Sunday looked a little grey, but the plan had been made and tickets already paid for. The ferry to Phi Phi departs from Rassada pier on the east side of Phuket Town, just before the bridge to Koh Sirey. Departure time is 08:30, and the place can be a bit crowded. I think there were 4 boats leaving, all run by different companies. We got the slowest one (Sea Angel). The Phi Phi Cruiser is much quicker. But won't grumble. We got the tickets half price through a friend of a friend.As we had arrived just a few minutes before departure time, the boat was packed. No room upstairs, and the only places we could find to sit were cramped down in the front of the boat with a headroom of about 4 feet! Not real comfy. I was not expecting it to be so crowded. The trip over was calm, and I did get upstairs for the last 20 minutes to show mum and dad the islands and be their tour guide.A bit of a scrum to ... More About: Family , Tsunami , Trip , After
Phuket Restaurant Tips: Laem Hin Seafood
More articles from this author:2006-04-06 03:42:00 Phuket has many restaurants slightly off the beaten track and more or less unknown to tourists. Laem Hin Seafood is one of these. Popular with locals, it can get busy, especially at weekends. If you see a western face there, you can be pretty sure they live in Phuket.Location: A little North of Phuket Town, at Laem Hin. There is a signposted road off the main airport road. I think the sign is only in Thai. It's not far south of the Boat Lagoon, well worth a visit if you like boats and home to the Boat Lagoon Resort where we go and use the pool sometimes. Laem Hin has a small fishing community, there are old wooden houses on stilts and some newer houses closer to the main road. From Laem Hin jetty you can get boats to Koh Maphrao and Koh Rang. There are always some boats buzzing around. At Koh Maphrao there are some floating restaurants, also popular with locals.The restaurant at Laem Hin is built over the water with views across the southern end of Phang Nga bay. It's a seafood re... More About: Restaurant , Tips , Rest , Aura 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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