Paradise Beach

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 mostly go in low season. During the high season, they do have a deal with one Patong resort to bring guests over, but even still, since there is no busy road, no hawkers, no jetskis, no tuk tuks, it's nice enough in high season too. It's well kept, beach is always clean.. only the toilets are a bit lacking. If you want to rinse off after a swim in the sea there is a pipe connected to a tap hanging over a rock at one end of the beach.

We often go and meet friends there and a few hours pass quickly with some cold drinks. The food is decent, not expensive, although we moan that it could be cheaper! You can sit in the shade and the kids can play safely on the beach. My kids like to go hunting for little hermit crabs which they keep in buckets (and set free again later).



From Paradise Beach you can just about see one end of Patong across the bay. The water is normally quite clear, you can snorkel here. Swimming is OK, but you have to be aware that at low tide it can be rocky underfoot. At high tide, it's great.





• Paradise Beach Location on Google Earth

I hope they manage to keep it simple and inexpensive, there is always the temptation here for land and restaurant owners to cater to people with more money than brains. Tourist prices don't suit us - we are not on holiday here! So far, Paradise Beach has retained it's independence, they do things their way and I wish there were more little spots like this. Well, there are a few - here's some other quiet places we like:

• Layan Beach
• Ao Sane Beach
• The Beach Bar
• Bang Rong Floating Restaurant

Restaurant Tip: Nice Food Good View

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 right by the road, but that road is very quiet. The kind of road that local dogs sleep in the middle of during the daytime.



Now for a simple restaurant like this I was actually surprised to see the food prices. Simple places should have simple prices for simple folk like me. Fried rice is normally 35 or 40 Baht in a little restaurant in town. Maybe 50 Baht. So add a bit for the view, but 80 Baht.. really? It may sound petty and you are saying, hey that's only 1 pound 40 or 2 bucks or whatever, but .. yeh OK so I am petty, you pay a bit more for the view. And a coke was only 20 Baht so there you go. Not a place I'd go for a big meal, but a simple lunch while exploring the Panwa area, perfect spot.

Phuket Aquarium

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 side of the cape with views across Chalong Bay. On the way you also pass the turn off to Khao Kad viewpoint.

The entry fee is not high, just 100 Baht for adults, 50 Baht for kids.. and yes it's a bit cheaper for "us locals", but not a rip off anyway. It's not a huge aquarium, but has expanded little by little over the years and there are plans for more. In the first room by the entrance are many small tanks, all kind of fish.



You then follow the passageway, with many different tanks and displays on your right. We found an Arapaima, which originates from South America and is one of the biggest freshwater fish in the world. Kids were fascinated by this one!



There's all kinds of species from moray eels to lionfish to angelfish, batfish, lobsters, scorpionfish.. most are found in Thailand. Also some oddities like electric eels. These are all in the smaller tanks. Also around the walls are educational displays about marine life and environmental awareness.





The walkthrough tunnel was not there when we first visited, it only opened in 2005. Not a huge tunnel to be sure, but still, there are some little sharks in there, eagle rays, jacks and more. Always a hit with the kids!



And my son has always liked the other big tank that contains several huge groupers, big enough to eat a 4 year old boy. I liked seeing a small tank containing several seahorses. I love seahorses. Beautiful little things.





When you exit the indoor section of Phuket aquarium, you'll find a little snack and drink shop and a souvenir shop - some of the items are tacky, some are pretty nice. The kids got some fish pens and stickers and we got a present for my wife and her sister too as they couldn't join us at the aquarium this time. I think she liked her turtle shaped ashtray!

You'll see some steps near the shop heading to a nature trail. There are lots of signs explaining plant names and with environmental information. There is now a hatchery too, but we found it's open only on weekdays. Further on you pass a little boat that the kids always stop to play on, then a long jetty which leads out to several boats including a research vessel. The aquarium is more than just a show, there is also a marine biological center here with an endangered species unit.. and my favourite part - the turtles! Here at the aquarium turtles are reared and also injured turtles are looked after. We saw a couple of big turtles with bits of flipper missing or chunks missing from their shells, no doubt as a result of contact with a boat.







We'll be back again. I want to see the hatchery, oh, and want to see the feeding show, meant to be 11am every Saturday or Sunday. Guess we lazy souls arrived too late last weekend. After the aquarium, we went for lunch at a little roadside restaurant with great views across Chalong.. and this little restaurant will be the next blog post :)

One Tambon One Product Fair at Sapan Hin (Phuket Town)

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 assume that only locals are interested. I beg to differ.. these kind of local fairs are just what I like!

We first took a walk around Sapan Hin, lots of people taking walks, jogging, enjoying the sea air or just sitting in the late afternoon sun. Sapan Hin has become a really nice place to come and chill out!





About 2 days before visiting this OTOP fair, we'd bought some new furniture for outside our house. And wouldn't you know it, there was plenty to be had here at very good prices. If we'd not just got some, we might well have got it here. I like this kind of rustic wooden stuff carved out of slabs of wood, natural shapes, big and chunky.



Meanwhile, my parents were happy to find a wooden mobile to take home. In the Central Festival mall a few days earlier they were quoted over 300 Baht for one of these. Here at the fair only 100 Baht. So they got two!



Plenty of food stalls around selling drinks, snacks, insects... I have never tried to eat insects. I suppose some people like it. Indeed some people were buying insects at this very stall. Not for me, thanks.



Another stall specialised in tamarind. I do like a bit of tamarind, either eaten alone or made into a sauce. One of my favourite dishes is Kung Pad Nam Makam - fried prawns in a spicy, yet sweet and also a bit sour sauce.



Another stall was selling a snack made from pork rind, what you might call pig snacks or hog lumps. Very good with a cold beer, just like back in the UK :)



We also found a stall selling wooden boxes.. you know, those kind of decorative wooden boxes which are sure to be useful for something, or at least useful as a gift. Everyone has something they want to put in a box, so why not an attractive Buddha box, ideal for "putting things in".



All our wandering up and down rows of stalls was bound to make us thirsty. And I was happy to find a Chumphon coffee stall. My wife is from Chumphon, a town about 400km from Phuket, about halfway to Bangkok. Good coffee. I will write something on this blog about Chumphon sometime soon. I've been there about 20 times. The coffee man was happy to hear I have a Chumphon connection.



Tasty coffee and even tastier fruit juice. This stall had strawberry juice, lime juice, watermelon juice. 20 Baht per cup. I had 3. It had been a hot day. You gotta love all the fruit you can get in Phuket!

The Amazing Phuket Vegetarian Festival

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 - 26th October. The dates change as the festival is based on the Chinese lunar calendar.



Vegetarian Festival Photos and Blog Posts

Last year, for the first time I went to a shrine early morning (6am) before a procession to see the face piercing take place. Kathu Shrine is only a couple of kilometers from my house. Kathu has a largely Chinese Thai population and was the center of the tin mining industry in the 19th century. Watching the piercing was very interesting to say the least. Will try to get there even earlier this year. I want to see the Ma Song (devotees) becoming entranced in the shrine.

• 2008 Photos in Kathu Village - Face Piercing

The Kathu procession is one of the larger ones and they walk about 5km from Kathu into Phuket town. I followed them into town. Processions are in the early morning starting around 7am to avoid the midday heat.

• Procession in Phuket Town (2008)
• Festival and Procession Photos 2007



I experimented with some videos this year, but just using a simple Canon Powershot camera on video mode - not pro quality but some of these little clips give a very good idea of what goes on.

• Vegetarian Festival Videos 2008

The food is an integral part of the vegetarian festival. Locals who are taking part will only eat specially prepared food which is pretty much vegan, not only vegetarian. The Thais can do 100 things with tofu and sometimes its hard to believe you are not eating meat. There are "Jae" foodstalls all around the shrines, not so many around the beach areas. Phuket town is the best place to be especially around Jui Tui or Bang Neow shrines. Other shrines on the edge of town like Sam Kong are worth a visit, and maybe I'll see you at Kathu Shrine if you head in that direction.

• Vegetarian Festival - The Food

 

The vegetarian festival is mainly celebrated by the Chinese Thai community, most of whom live in and around Phuket Town, with others further north in the Thalang area, the older parts of Phuket. Not much going on around the beach areas, if you want to see something, head for one of the main shrines. I've blogged some of them, still want to write about Bang Neow which is on the south side of Phuket town. Jui Tui is the largest, and is near the market, easy to get to and the streets in that area are packed with food stalls during the festival.

• Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town
• Kathu Village Shrine

 

• A Walk in Kathu Village
• Sam Kong Shrine and Foodstalls

Kathu and Sam Kong shrines are both pretty close to my house, just 2 or 3km, so we go to get food from these areas in the evenings. I try to stick to the diet for the 9 days of the festival. It's very good for cleaning out the body.

The vegetarian festival is something special, and a million miles from the resorts and beaches of Phuket. If anyone wants a special experience, then October 18th - 26th this year is a good time to come to Phuket! The full schedule for the festival is already published at the Phuket Vegetarian Festival website. I will republish it here when we get closer to the event. Roll on October!