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Luang Pu Supha Temple
2009-09-20 07:21:00
On a grey and wet morning I awoke early for a visit to a temple which has suddenly become famous. Local news last week reported that the revered Monk, Luang Pu Supha could be the world's oldest living man, having just celebrated his 113th birthday. This has yet to be ratified by Guinness. Luang Pu Supha is a well traveled Monk having visited Laos, Burma, China and Europe. He returned to Phuket in his 60's and dedicated time helping the sea gypsies. The temple he resides at now was named after him by HM Queen Sirikit.The main temple is still under construction. All activities for now take place in more modern looking buildings. The temple is not far from Way Chalong, up a side road leading towards the hills. There is talk that this road will one day link up with Patong.. Indeed on a mountain bike or hiking you can follow this road up and over the hill, but it might take a while before the real road actually gets built.The main hall, where the birthday celebrations had been held jus...
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The Phuket Jet Ski Debate
2009-09-12 14:44:00
I feel something should be written here about this weeks big story in Phuket. Jet Skis. Actually, it's an ongoing saga, but this week has seen some very interesting developments. The "Jet Ski" scam is well known, yet people get caught all the time. Not just in Phuket, I have heard the same from Ko Pha Ngan, and read about similar operations in other countries. You rent a jet ski for a bit of adrenaline on the water, bring back the machine after an hour of fun, and lo! The guy who rented it to you finds some damage. I think you know the rest of the story.Now, I have no problem with jet skis if they are properly operated, insured, maintained and kept outside of safe swimming areas. I am not a "jet ski hater". A lot of tourists expect this kind of watersports activity to be available at a major beach resort like Patong Beach. BUT, caveat emptor. Most jet skis have no insurance, and you can normally see this in big letters on the machine "NO INSURANCE". Not put off by this? PT Barnum w...
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Hiking to the roof of Phuket!
2009-09-06 07:47:00
Hiking is not a popular activity in Phuket. Yes, you have places where people go to exercise such as Suan Luang Park or Bang Wad Reservoir, but in general Phuket is not a hikers paradise. There are few footpaths, too much land is privately owned and .. it's really really hot most of the time!I had never given much thought to hiking up the hills in Phuket. Most of the big hills are accesible by road anyway (Buddha Mountain and Radar Hill for example), although I have been thinking of a hike up Buddha mountain for a while since a friend told me you can hike it from Karon Beach. I got more interested when I read a blog by an American expat who lives in Phuket. Glenn used to do lots of long distance hikes, and has been exploring the trails in the hills in Phuket. There are in fact more than I realised, many used by rubber plantation workers. Rubber is still big business here, most of the bigger hills are covered in rubber trees. Glenn has been working on a "High Trail" through Phuket, ...
More About: Hiking , Roof

Hotel Recommendation: Mom Tri's Villa Royale
2009-09-01 14:36:00
Mom Tri's Villa Royale has been mentioned before on the blog, as part of the Top 10 Hotel s in Phuket. In fact, checking on the top rated hotels on TripAdvisor, I see that Villa Royale is sitting at number 1 right now. And why not, indeed! I have not stayed a night there, but have had a sneaky look around when I was taking photos at Kata Noi Beach.The location of this small luxury resort (only 26 rooms/suites) is nothing short of perfect. Built into the rocks in between Kata and Kata Noi beaches, overlooking Kata Noi, secluded and yet only a few minutes drive from the center of Kata with plenty of dining options in case you get bored with all that fancy food they serve at the hotel... Villa Royale has some of the best restaurants in Phuket too. But please do expect to pay top prices for the experience! I would gladly eat there, but might have to sell something first. Mom Tri, if you read this blog, we'd love an invite :)Mom Luang Tridhosyuth Devakul aka Mom Tri is a renowned archit...

Please Support "Jamie's Phuket" - Spread The Word!
2009-08-24 15:30:00
It's been over 3 years since the first posts on this blog, and also over 3 years that I've been doing the Phuket Weather blog. The "Jamie's Phuket" blog started as a means of showing "my" Phuket. As a family we tend to not do the "touristy" things.. yeh, sometimes, but more often we prefer quieter places. I figure there are people looking for another side to Phuket, away from the main beaches, away from the tailors, tuk tuks, fast food and fast women. There's plenty of information online and in guidebooks about all the normal things to do in Phuket. I still try to focus on the other Phuket, although for sure there is some crossover, but recent posts such as kayaking in the mangroves and the Kathu village festival show that Phuket has way more to offer than the obvious attractions. It is my intention to keep the blog focused on the Phuket that exists off the beaten track, although it has been pointed out to me that a few posts on nightlife, ladyboys and bars might be welcome at s...
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Cultural Street Festival in Kathu Village
2009-08-18 15:50:00
A couple of weeks ago there happened one of those local events that (for me) makes Phuket special. The area of Phuket where we live is called Kathu, located between Patong Beach and Phuket Town. It's a big residential area with lots of sub districts (Tung Tong, Ket Ho, Bang Tong etc). We live close to the Baan Kathu area, the old village of Kathu. A walk around this area reveals an older, traditional side to Phuket and a mixture of cultures as demonstrated by the Buddhist temple and the Chinese shrine in Kathu. The area was the center of the tin mining industry which was very important in Phuket from the early 19th century up until recent years.Anyways, in the last week of July I saw this sign (above) in several places in the locality at main road junctions. I am sure many other people saw the signs too. So on 5th August in the early evening I headed to the village to see what was going on. The answer? Plenty going on. On that evening only, there was a street procession through the...
More About: Festival , Street , Village , Cultural

Kayaks in the Mangroves
2009-08-12 08:08:00
Phuket is bigger than most people realise. The island of Phuket covers well over 500 square kilometers, is nearly 50km from north to south and, as I hope this blog shows, there is so much more to Phuket than beaches, bars, shopping and the usual tourist activities. Fair enough, some people do come here just for beaches and bitches; some come here to eat and shop and "go home with a tan", which suits me fine, since it means that many of the parts of Phuket that I like stay nice and quiet! But there are plenty of independent tourists out there who like to explore, and if you explore you can find places like Bang Rong.Bang Rong is a small Muslim community in the northeast of Phuket. We have been many times to eat at a small floating restaurant, and also to get the ferry to the island of Koh Yao Noi. Last year at the restaurant we noticed they had some kayaks, and small groups of tourists were being taken on short trips up the mangrove creek as part of a trip run by Bang Pae Safari whic...
More About: Mangroves

Hotel Recommendation: Pacific Club Resort (Karon Beach)
2009-08-07 08:51:00
So, it's low season in Phuket right now, aka summer season or green season. Over the years I have been busy reporting on the weather, trying to prove that Phuket is pretty darn nice year round. Yep, you are going to get some rain sometimes, more likely in low season than high season, BUT there's a big advantage. You can book the best hotels such as the Pacific Club Resort at much lower prices than high season. You can stay here for just over 1,000 Baht per night at this time of year. And the weather is still nicer than "back home"!The Pacific Club Resort is one I have meant to write about for some time and was just reminded of it by customers who came in yesterday who were staying at Pacific Club. This resort has something special about it. Must do, since it's rated as the best hotel in Karon Beach by TripAdvisor users, and is listed in the top 10 list for Phuket.• Top 10 Hotel s in PhuketFor me, it has several plus points. Firstly - location. It's on the hillside overlookin...

Phuket Flower Fair
2009-08-02 09:17:00
Today is the last day of the Phuket Flower Fair which has been running since 24th July at Sapan Hin, a recreational area in the south of Phuket Town. There have been many events there recently such as the Halal Festival and the OTOP Fair. It's a popular place for locals to go running or for a picnic by the sea. The area has recently been tarted up to make some nice paths, lots of new trees planted, a raised walkway through the mangroves etc..The Flower Fair includes many stalls selling orchids and other flowers, trees, garden ornaments and of course some local food stalls. This kind of local event is always interesting to me, great for people watching, great for getting a bit of local culture. A flower fair is a world away from the tourist beaches of Phuket! I did drive down to Sapan Hin after work on Sunday 26th July, but being that this was the opening weekend of the fair, and Sunday afternoons are the busiest time for people to visit Sapan Hin anyway, I found the place packed, n...

Wat Sam Kong Temple
2009-07-27 15:47:00
It seems to have been a long time since I blogged a temple. I have a vague plan to blog all the Temple s in Phuket, though it could take for ever. A lot of temples in a small area! Some are important, some serve small local communities, some are easy to find, some are hidden away. A couple of weeks ago I visited Sam Kong Temple (Wat Sam Kong) which is only a few km from my house and we've driven past the entrance hundreds of times.Sam Kong (meaning 3 hills) is in the North East of Phuket Town. The area is an older part of town, and like Kathu just down the road was an important part of the tin mining industry in times past. Like Kathu, many of the locals in this area are Chinese Thais who came to Phuket during the tin mining boom in the 19th century. There is a Chinese Shrine close by too. The Sam Kong temple entrance is about 200m along the bypass road from the Tesco Lotus junction (officially called the Sam Kong junction) towards the main airport road.As usual for a small local te...

The Phuket Photo Walk
2009-07-22 15:16:00
Saturday July 18th was the day of the "Phuket Photo Walk ", part of the World Photo Walk, with groups of photographers getting together all on the same day to take photos of their town or city. According to the Worldwide Photo Walk website, there were 900 walks with over 30,000 participants. I had seen the walk advertised in the Phuket Gazette the week before, so logged in to the website to sign up for the Phuket walk. I am a total photo amateur, but I like taking photos and this blog is always quite image oriented as I am a firm believer that a picture is worth a thousand words. Although that might depend on who is writing. Maybe Wordsworth could compete with a photo, but my prose tends to be less poetic, so I rely on photos.I had no idea what to expect on Saturday. All the photographers were to meet at Cafe 154, Royal Phuket City Hotel in Phuket Town at 9am. I was expecting a whole bunch of pros with huge lenses. I was worried I'd be feeling a bit inadequate, but was happy to see ...

Phuket Tourist Information by the Tourists
2009-07-16 06:05:00
If you're thinking of a holiday in Phuket, or visiting Phuket as part of a longer trip, you will surely be looking for information on hotels, things to do, places to eat, the culture, festivals and so on. Every tourist wants something different. Some people are very happy to be immersed in Patong with all the shops and touts and fast food and bars. Some people want a quite resort with a less crowded beach. Some want the ultimate honeymoon getaway. Some tourists book tours, others explore on their own. This blog is open to anyone, but will certainly interest the more independent traveler/tourist. I tend to look at places a bit more off the main route and don't mention Patong much, or the normal tours (elephant rides, speedboat snorkel trips, Fantasea show, snake shows etc..). Hey, the idea of the blog was to show another side to Phuket rather than just the same old things you can find on any website.BUT of course, this leaves a hole. This blog can't cover everything, so where to l...
More About: Information , Tourists , Tourist

Paradise Beach
2009-07-09 09:36:00
Finding a quiet beach in Phuket is not so hard really. Get away from the main beaches (Patong, Karon, Kata) and none of them are too crazy. Hey, in the summer season (May - October) even the main beaches are not too jammed! The busiest of all Phuket beaches is Patong. I tend to avoid Patong wherever possible. Not my cup of tea. But just about 4km away from the south end of Patong, over the little bridge and past the entrance to the Amari, along the winding road that leads past the Merlin Beach Resort, then over a hill on a narrow, steep path, wide enough for a car (just about!)... then you come to Paradise Beach. Slightly corny name, but we like Paradise Beach. The land is privately owned and I am amazed the owner has not sold out to a resort. It's been kept simple. Some beach chairs, some shaded areas where you can sit and eat, a small restaurant, a volleyball court and an old mooring buoy hung from a tree. My daughter loves swinging from that!In low season, it's very quiet. We m...

Restaurant Tip: Nice Food Good View
2009-07-03 10:58:00
Actually I am not sure of the real name of this little restaurant which is located along the quiet road leading down the west side of Cape Panwa towards the Novotel and Ao Yon where lots of yachts can be found. There are some signs along the road that say something like "Good Food Good View " or similar.. if we drive that way again soon I will pay attention and update! Anyway you can't miss the restaurant, it's a little thatch roof place with about 6 tables right by the road and with good, very good, great views over Chalong Bay.Along the same road a bit further south is a place called The Beach Bar, but this closes during low season. I took the kids to Phuket Aquarium at the weekend and we decided to stop at the Good View restaurant for some simple lunch. I think I have eaten there once before, certainly the kids have and I know my parents have stopped there at least once. It's a simple family run place, no delusions of grandeur, which is the kind of place we like. Yes, it's rig...
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Phuket Aquarium
2009-06-26 09:13:00
I never seem to tire of Phuket Aquarium even after (about) 15 visits over the years, maybe more. We went the first time in 2001 when my daughter was a few months old and loved her reactions to the fish. We took her again a few months later and noticed how, as an older baby she paid more attention to the marine life. As she got older, different things fascinated her, and once she could start asking questions, well then Dad the Diver could start explaining all kinds of interesting fishy facts! It's been the same with our son who is now 4 years old. They always have new questions and it's always fun to visit the aquarium with them.We visited again last weekend on another sunny low season day. Phuket Aquarium is located at the end of Cape Panwa, to the SE of Phuket Town. I like the area a lot, one of our favourite restaurants is in the Panwa area, and there's some lovely scenery, particularly if you turn off the main road down to the aquarium and take the smaller road along the west ...

One Tambon One Product Fair at Sapan Hin (Phuket Town)
2009-06-20 17:59:00
We seem to be visiting Sapan Hin quite often recently. The whole area has recently been tarted up and Sapan Hin is now a very nice place to come and exercise or have a picnic by the sea, and just a few minutes from the centre of Phuket Town . In early May we came for the Halal Expo, and at the end of last month we were back for the OTOP (One Tambon One Product ) Fair , with handicrafts and food from all over Thailand. The "OTOP" program is a government initiative to encourage production and sales of local village (Tambon) crafts, ceramics, clothes, foods, household items... something that maybe typical of that area or is commonly made there. The OTOP program helps to promote these products.This is a very local affair. We went twice during the week long event and I swear I saw only 1 other foreigner. The event was not promoted in tourist areas, we only knew about it because we happened to drive around town a few days before the start and saw promotional posters. I guess organisers may a...

The Amazing Phuket Vegetarian Festival
2009-06-14 09:23:00
Over the last 3 years on this blog I have written plenty about the Phuket Vegetarian Festival . There are multiple posts detailing different aspects of the festival from 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Vegetarian Festival is probably my favourite event in Phuket. The face-piercing processions, the food, the mystical rituals at the shrines... this is a special time of year. The festival has been a part of Phuket's culture since 1825. It's no show, it's not made up for the tourists and not for the faint hearted. This is the real Phuket!This blog post is mainly intended to tie up all the vegetarian festival related posts from the last few years. I never saw a procession until 2006 and didn't have a great camera then. There are better pictures from 2007 and 2008. Last year especially I posted many photos and also some videos, as well as posts about some of the Chinese shrines and the food. I am very much looking forward to the Phuket vegetarian festival 2009 - the dates this year are 18th -...
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Koh Kaew Yai - Boat trip from Rawai Beach
2009-06-09 09:03:00
Just off the south of Phuket there are a number of small islands such as Koh Bon, Koh Lon and Coral Island all of which have beaches and some facilities and accommodation. We intend to visit them all in the future, especially now that we have found a friendly longtail boat captain at Rawai Beach . You can get to all these islands from Rawai and will have to negotiate a price for the boat trip. We have meant to do this for ages, and have vowed not to be so lazy from now on!We took a trip to Rawai a few weeks ago. Weather was a bit grey and some light drizzle fell during the trip, but the sea was pretty calm. We wanted to visit Koh Kaew Yai which is only about 1km south of Phromthep Cape or about 4km by boat from Rawai Beach. The island has a Buddha statue facing towards Phuket watching over the island. Aside from the statue we did not know what to expect on the island. On the way back to Rawai we figured to stop at Koh Bon, which you can see from Rawai beach.At Rawai we parked the car...
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Hotel Recommendation: Kata Palm Resort
2009-06-03 16:02:00
Been a while since a Phuket hotel recommendation on the blog, so today I was looking at deals available for the low SUMMER season, especially on LateStays. At this time of year you are guaranteed availability, and LateStays is a great place to book a last minute hotel room. The website is very easy to use and you can book up to 28 days in advance. The prices right now are somewhat ting tong...• LateStays late booking deals on Kata Beach Hotel sSo I was looking for a hotel to recommend in the Kata Beach area. In the 9 years that I have been here, some parts of Kata have not changed much but along the road behind Club Med, many hotels have been built and indeed the south end of Kata is now (I would say) a better area to stay that the north end if you want a good variety of restaurants and bars. One of the resorts in that area is Kata Palm Resort (and Spa.. everyone seems to tack "and spa" on the end of their name these days!).It's quite big with 180 rooms, but it covers a big are...

The Phuket Big Buddha
2009-05-28 06:47:00
Work on the Big Buddha statue in Phuket has been going on for many years. The main Buddha image is 45 meters high and sits over 400m above sea level on a hilltop in the south of Phuket island. We head up there at least a few times per year, sometimes get some food at a little restaurant near the top of the hill, sometimes just to enjoy the views and to check on the progress of the construction. I realised recently that I had not blogged the Buddha for nearly 2 years. Last time the main statue was still covered in scaffolding. Now things look very different.As you can see, the main image is covered in marble, though the whole of the base including giant lotus leaves still needs to be marbled. It's already an impressive sight... it was already impressive a couple of years ago! Work continues slowly, donations are still being collected. It's much busier than it used to be. There's a sizeable car park now, more food and drink sellers have sprung up.. I really hope it does not get too...

Restaurant Tip: Lakeside
2009-05-22 17:53:00
Yesterday we decided to try and find another new place to eat in Phuket. We used to live in the same street as Nueng about 6 years ago. She was running a restaurant called "Chili" a few years back, but now has a place called "Lakeside" - it's on the road between the Heroine's Monument and Bang Pae Waterfall in the north of Phuket, an area which seems like a different world compared to the main tourist beaches. Nueng says she gets very few tourists at her restaurant... not a big surprise - it's quite a drive from Patong or Karon beach, but if you want very very good local food, and a sample of the "real" Phuket away from the sun loungers, tailors and fast food joints, well, I can now 100% recommend the Lakeside restaurant.It's a little more than 2km from the Heroine's monument along the road to Bang Pae, there are a couple of small signs to the left. Don't drive too fast or you'll miss it. The Lakeside restaurant is down a small side track. It looks like nothing fancy, but ......
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Restaurant Tip: Batik Seafood - Nai Yang Beach
2009-05-19 05:42:00
My parents have been visiting, and last weekend we took a trip up to Nai Yang Beach where I had been recommended a restaurant. On the way we stopped off at the Thalang National Museum, which is worth a quick visit if you are heading to the north of the island. At Nai Yang Beach I went to look for Willy who runs a Kite Surfing shop on the beach - he'd recommended a restaurant called Octopus.. but it was closed, and Willy was not in the shop, so we wandered along the narrow road checking for other dining options.Nai Yang is very quiet, there are fishermen coming and going - we watched a bucketload of squid being sorted out and we watched longtail boats coming in. Other fishermen (and women) waded out into the shallow water with fishing rods.The traditional feel of Nai Yang is matched by the low key restaurants on the beach. Part of the beach is a National Park, so building is limited. We chose the very last restaurant along the dirt road, just before the treeline. It looked simple, t...
More About: Restaurant , Seafood

Phuket Gateway
2009-05-12 06:40:00
I do believe the "Phuket Gateway " to be Phuket's least visited attraction. We stopped for a look on the way back into Phuket a couple of weeks ago and were the only visitors save for 1 other foreign guy. My parents stopped in yesterday and were the only visitors. My daughter has been there on a school field trip. Now, I am not suggesting you should get off the beach and drive right up to the north end of Phuket island, which can take an hour from the south, just to see this monument, but if you are passing, coming over the bridge from Phang Nga, it's worth a stop, you might even learn something about Phuket!The Phuket Gateway was completed in 2007 on the occasion of King Bhumibol's 80th birthday. The idea was to create a dramatic and interesting sculpture to welcome tourists who arrive on Phuket by road. Only trouble is, not many people visit - most tourists arrive by air, and since the airport is south of the monument hardly anyone sees it. You might pass by on a tour to Phang N...

Phuket Halal Expo
2009-05-06 07:19:00
Many visitors to Phuket probably don't realise that over a quarter of Phuket's population is Muslim. I think there is an assumption that everyone is Buddhist, so I can imagine tourists being surprised by the large number of mosques dotted around the island - you'll pass several between the airport and the southern beaches. There are some huge mosques, the largest being at Cherng Talay (I do plan to "blog" it sometime), near Bang Tao and Surin Beaches. Officially, Thailand is a Buddhist country, but many parts of the south have large Muslim populations. There has been violence for many years in the 3 provinces bordering Malaysia, but in Phuket I am happy to say that everyone lives together happily regardless of religion. I have a favourite street in old Phuket Town where you can find a Chinese shrine, a mosque and a Catholic church more or less right next to each other. A couple of our favourite restaurants are Muslim owned, serve no pork dishes and one of them has a big sign outs...
More About: Expo , Halal

Shrine of the Serene Light
2009-04-26 17:05:00
Phuket Town is full of history, full of interest. I keep stumbling upon new places... I wish there was more time to explore and less time in the office! On Friday I headed into the old town before work, in search of a Chinese shrine called the Shrine of the Serene Light or Ting Kwan Tang. There's not a huge amount of information about this shrine online, and if you are walking around old Phuket Town, as I have done many times, you'll probably miss it. The shrine is on Phang Nga road, just a hundred meters west of the On On Hotel... but it's well hidden. There is an entry off the road leading to a narrow alleyway. The shrine is not yet visible. If you were passing, you'd see the entrance, but the alley does not look like it leads to anything exciting... I read about the shrine on the "Phuket Town Treasure Map" which you can pick up at various locations around the old town. The main office that produces this map is on Soi Romanee. I was happy to know that there are always som...

4 years after the Tsunami
2008-12-27 16:02:00
I don't really know what to write, but want to write something. What happened on December 26th 2004 was something quite unimaginable, off the scale, almost impossible to believe (unless you were right there). I did not see the tsunami, my family was safe at home, all we saw were the after effects, and most of what we saw was on the TV... even though you might think we were right here in the middle of it all.The photo above shows Kamala temple, at Kamala Beach Phuket as the tsunami hit. Kamala was one of the worst hit areas of Phuket. We'd been there on the 25th with friends, having a drink at the beach, kids playing around. My wife was 9 months pregnant... our son was born 11th January. A lot of "what if's" were in my head for a long while after the tsunami. When I see this photo it reminds me that we are very lucky. 4 years later I don't dwell on the "what might have happened", but am very happy to have my family. As I write this, my boy (nearly 4 now) and my girl, now age 7, a...
More About: Tsunami , Years

High Season Weather in Phuket
2008-12-20 15:46:00
Finally a couple of weeks ago we saw the last hurrah of the "rainy season" in Phuket . There are no exact dates on the seasons, and the terms "wet" and "dry" are far too black and white. The low season has plenty of good weather and indeed I do recommend visiting Phuket in the off season - see here : Low Season in Phuket - A Great Time to Visit! - Sure there can be wet days and some bouncy seas and the beach is not always swimmable, but it's nice anyway! Sometime in October or early November the season changes.. which is to say the wind changes, from prevailing southwesterlies to northeasterlies. There can be weeks of unsettled weather before we get to where we are now - perfect weather!This year there was still some rain (mostly in the evening) in late November and into December even, but the last 2 weeks has been almost entirely dry, sunny and blue-skied. I think that smiling moon on December 1st marked the change into real high season weather.A few Phuket photos from the last 2 w...
More About: Weather , High

Wat Mongkhon Nimit (Phuket Town)
2008-12-13 14:33:00
I keep heading back to Phuket Town to explore different areas. I find the town fascinating - you can get a totally different perspective on Phuket by walking around the town. This is where real life goes on. It's completely different to the main tourist beaches. I recommend everyone spend a few hours wandering around the old town, check out some markets, temples, small restaurants, old Chinese shops and maybe you can get a taste of Thailand that is not available on the beach.Today I took my 3 year old son for a walk around, I wanted to visit Wat Mongkhon Nimit (sometimes called Phutta Mongkhon Nimit) and promised the boy to buy him some new shoes in town later. The temple is just on the north edge of the "old town". If you walk up Soi Rommani from Thalang Road, you can see the temple, which is on Dibuk Road.(above) View along Soi Rommani towards Wat Mongkhon NimitTurn left and you reach the entrance to the temple...The main temple was locked today.. guess that means I have to go ba...

Hotel Recommendation: Amari Coral Beach Resort
2008-12-04 13:57:00
Amari Coral Beach Resort is rated as the Number 1 hotel in Patong Beach on TripAdvisor, which means it should be in my Top 10 Phuket Hotel s list.. except I cut Patong from the list - sorry, Patong! Well, the thing is, and I keep trying to tell people this - Patong is not Phuket, or at least not typical of Phuket.• Amari Coral Beach Resort - TripAdvisor ReviewsPatong Beach does not feature a great deal on this blog. That's because on the whole I don't like Patong, and rarely go there. Sure, you can find some great restaurants, and there are some stand out hotels which are already listed in my Recommended Phuket Hotels. The Amari Coral Beach Resort certainly merits a recommendation, and I was reminded of it recently when an old friend came to Phuket and we went to meet her at her hotel - the Amari.As we wandered along the pathways looking for my friend's room, and headed past the seaview bar and a restaurant or two, down to the pool by the beach (a little bit of beach that nob...
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Kuay Jap Noodles - A new restaurant in Phuket Town
2008-11-28 15:50:00
Last weekend, after a little drive around Sirey Island to the east of Phuket town - where I finally got to see the reclining Buddha (the other times I have been there the temple had been closed) - we were heading home and I had half a mind to cook some pasta, but we passed a new looking noodle shop which looked interesting. Most noodle shops look the same, rather basic and cheap with plastic chairs and questionable hygiene (don't look too close - a good motto for Thailand!).The Kuay Jap Champ Suphan noodle shop is in the Sam Kong area in the north of Phuket Town , just half a kilometer east of the Tesco Lotus store on the way into town. It has been open about 6 months they told us, somehow we'd not noticed before. Or maybe we were in the mood for Kuay Jap which is a kind of noodle soup made with rolled up thick noodles, crispy pork, "moo daeng" (roast red pork) and (unless you ask them NOT to include it) things like liver, heart, intestines, congealed blood.. aka "offal". If you ar...
More About: Restaurant , Noodles