At a rough guess, I'd say Phuket has at least 2,000 Noodle stalls. I have not tried them all, and do not intend to. Noodle soup (Kuay Tiaow / Kway Teow, or however you wish to spell it in English) is just about the most common food in Thailand. Breakfast noodles, lunchtime, evening noodles..it's good any time of day. So simple and yet can be so tasty. Also cheap! Street food is one of the joys of traveling. Normally you can't get noodle soup in a fancy restaurant, only at small roadside stalls or little family restaurants. They are everywhere, on every street, often many side by side.
You can get noodle soup made with different size noodles - big fat ones, thin ones or glass noodles, or even yellow noodles. The noodles are cooked in boiling broth/soup, usually along with some green veg and a handful of beansprouts. Cooking time - less than a minute. Add cooked noodles to a bowl of the hot soup, add some pork (moo daeng) or chicken or various other meats, maybe some pork balls (luuk chin) add a sprinkling of crushed nuts (tua), and hey presto!
The taste can vary according to the soup. Some are very clear, some are richer and darker...each to their own taste. We have tried many in our area of Phuket (Kathu) and have a few favourites. Yesterday we ate at a small place on the Kathu Waterfall road (Soi Namtok Kathu). It's past the entrance to the Kathu Cable Ski on the right side. The owners are always friendly and the noodles always tasty. Wash it all down with a couple of glasses of ice tea (cha dam yen). Total bill for 3 bowls of noodles and 4 ice teas - 90 Baht. See photos below...
• Another Noodle Shop in Kathu..click here
You can get noodle soup made with different size noodles - big fat ones, thin ones or glass noodles, or even yellow noodles. The noodles are cooked in boiling broth/soup, usually along with some green veg and a handful of beansprouts. Cooking time - less than a minute. Add cooked noodles to a bowl of the hot soup, add some pork (moo daeng) or chicken or various other meats, maybe some pork balls (luuk chin) add a sprinkling of crushed nuts (tua), and hey presto!
The taste can vary according to the soup. Some are very clear, some are richer and darker...each to their own taste. We have tried many in our area of Phuket (Kathu) and have a few favourites. Yesterday we ate at a small place on the Kathu Waterfall road (Soi Namtok Kathu). It's past the entrance to the Kathu Cable Ski on the right side. The owners are always friendly and the noodles always tasty. Wash it all down with a couple of glasses of ice tea (cha dam yen). Total bill for 3 bowls of noodles and 4 ice teas - 90 Baht. See photos below...
• Another Noodle Shop in Kathu..click here
The second highest point in Phuket is what we call Radar Hill. Visible from large areas of Southern Phuket, it is unmistakable, as there is a radar dome on the top. Or as my daughter calls it "the hill with the ball on". The actual name is Khao Mai Thao Sip Song, and the hill is about 510m above sea level (about 1700 feet). You can see the hill from Patong, from Chalong and from Kathu. We can see it from our house. If you go up Buddha Mountain, you can see it from there too, so once the big Buddha is complete, the views from Radar Hill will get even better! The view on the left is Radar Hill as seen from the road in Kathu between Tesco Lotus and the Caltex junction, on the way to Patong (which is on the other side of the hill).
Although the hill overlooks Patong (see photo), there is no way up there from Patong. The long and winding road up Radar Hill begins as a small side road between Wat Chalong and Phuket Town. The road is not clearly marked, and says something like "Phuket Weather Station, 6km". Easy to miss. If you're coming from the North, if you reach Chalong temple, you've gone too far. The road up is paved all the way, but does have some narrow, steep and twisty sections. You don't need 4WD. On the way up there are many views across Chalong Bay, and as you get further up, there are sea views to the West of Phuket too, over Karon beach, though there's no view of the beach itself. You can also get a view across Kathu and 
There are a couple of places you can stop close to the very top, and get a view from the top of Phuket across the hills and across the Andaman Sea to the west. You can't reach the very very top, as the Radar dome is a military installation - also don't take photos in the direction of the dome, as there are armed guards watching you. I recall last time we went up, speaking to one of the soldiers. He had been up there when the tsunami hit. He had seen it happening. One can imagine how he felt. We like to get up these hills to feel the wind in our hair and get ourselves some fresh air. When you see Patong from up here, it looks small and insignificant compared to nature, compared to the sea, the hills and the sky....
Another day, another hill..Phuket is quite hilly, with the highest point at more than 500 meters (1650 feet), and many of the hills have roads to the top. We have found most of these over the years and we do like a nice view. In previous blog entries, we have been up 
Being close to the center of Phuket Town, and with several access roads and 2 restaurants, it's a popular spot. Lots of local folk head up there for some fresh air and peace and quiet. Quite a few tourists get up Rang Hill also - HINT for tourists - check out some of the other hills too! We met an English couple up there and I suggested they try Monkey Hill and Khao Kad viewpoint (on 
The roads up to Rang Hill are clean and shady, lots of flowers. At the top is plenty of parking space, a grassy "picnic" area, and some seating with views over Phuket Town looking towards the sea and offshore islands beyond Saphan Hin (Phuket Bay) and Chalong. You can see Buddha Mountain from here too. When that big Buddha is built, the view will be even better.. The Tunk Ka Cafe is down some steps made from old railway sleepers. We did not go for a drink this time, but I know from memory that they have a good menu of what they call "local Thai cuisine". We have been up before in the evening, when you get the "city lights" spread out in front of you. Not quite the same as, say, the view from the Eiffel Tower, but well worth a visit.
The ferry to Koh Yao Noi leaves from Bang Rong, on the NE coast of Phuket. Coming from the south on the main airport road, turn right at the Heroines monument, and drive another 10km or so. You pass the entrance to Bang Pae on the left and after another few km come to the Bang Rong road on the right. Ferry departs at 8am, 9:30am, 11am. The last one back to Phuket is 4pm. If you want a full day, start early! We thought there was a 10am ferry, arrived before 10am and thus had a 1 hour wait. Luckily, there is a small restaurant there floating in the mangroves where we have eaten before (see 
Once there, we found several tuk tuks on the pier ready to take people around the island. We chose the most beat up looking one, and agreed a 200 Baht fee to take us to a beach. We were not fussed where exactly, just A beach where the kids could dig in the sand. Stopping off at the islands 7-11 for a drink, we rattled along the tidy road through the village and then through the fields and trees until we reached the shoreline on the east side of Koh Yao Noi with views over towards the islands and limestone formations to the North of Krabi. Along this coast there are several small resorts such as Lom Lae Beach Resort, Sabai Corner etc.. We found a stretch of beach. Nobody else there. Nice beach although the tide was quite low and there were rocks just under the water, making it hard to even go for a paddle. What is important here is the peace and quiet. Just a small dirt road. Saw a handful of vehicles in the few hours we were there, and had a kilometer of beach to ourselves. Kids played in the sand. We walked along the beach picking up shells. The view across the sea was great, looking across to some small islands such as Koh Hong, just to the NW of Railey beach (Krabi).
Another side road on Cape Panwa professes to be very dangerous. First time we saw this sign were worried that our car might not survive. Surely the road must be incredibly steep to justify this sign? Well, no it's not so bad, but does lead to another great view in the center of Cape Panwa over the hills and trees. You can drive around this area for half a day and still not be sure that you've found all the side roads...
At the end of the road is the Aquarium, and the Phuket Marine Biological Research Center. We've been revisiting the Aquarium for years, mainly to get our kids excited about the fish (they are). It was closed for renovation for about 2 years before opening again in April 2005 with a new walk through tunnel. Now, don't be expecting something like the amazing 
It's all very colourful and there is a good variety of marine life on display. In the tunnel tank are a few small leopard sharks, a couple of different rays and a variety of other fish. They cruise all around you and over your head...not quite as good as diving, but you do, for the briefest of moments, get the feeling of being surrounded by the ocean... There was a moving walkway when we first saw the tunnel, but that seems to be disabled now so you can go at your own pace. In my daughters case that means 60 miles an hour, then run around to the start of the tunnel and do it again, and again, and again.
The final tank contains several huge groupers, each about 5 feet long. In all, it's not a huge place. You can easily walk around in 20 minutes, or you can spend an hour there fish gazing. Outside is a shop selling drinks and ice creams and on the road just outside the Aquarium are food stalls selling all manner of Thai snacks.
In 2006, we made a quick stop at Khao Sok National Park on the way from Phuket to Chumphon in order to take a boat out on the lake at Ratchaprapha Dam. The lake is huge, indeed much bigger than we realised, and a quick 2 hour boat ride is not enough! But all we had time for, and with my (not so young) parents and 2 young kids, all we wanted to do. The entrance to the Chiao Lan reservoir and the Ratchaprapha Dam is on the road between Phang Nga and Surat Thani. The main park entrance is actually on the road to Takua Pa, a little bit further west. You drive some 15km to reach the reservoir, and the roads can be a bit confusing as they head to various view points, the golf club etc...We had some breakfast at a rather crap restaurant overlooking the water and arranged a boat for 6 of us (4 adults, 2 kids) for 1,000 Baht. It took 15 minutes or so to get away from the dam and reach the more scenic areas...
For the next 2 and a half hours we cruised around the lake passing huge limestone cliffs - it is very much like Phang Nga Bay or Phi Phi island. Boat driver was in a bit of a hurry at times, just slowing down to show us the nicest rocks. There is one small area with a set of rocks they call the "Guilin of Thailand". I had read about it and was expecting something rather bigger, having seen the real Chinese Guilin many times on TV. In fact, I'd say the rocks in Phang Nga Bay look more like Guilin. Anyhow, the scenery here at Khao Sok is rather nice, and we were there nice and early (about 9am) and only saw 2 other boats on the lake. I would like to see the early morning light, which would only be possible if we left our house in Phuket at 4am or stayed overnight there by the lake. We will certainly head here again. I would like to make a much longer trip, stay overnight in a jungle lodge or floating bungalow, explore the caves...this was just a taster. When the kids are a bit older, we'll do it.
We do like hills, and will head for this one again. For some reason, despite seeing this hill every day, we have never taken the time to explore. You can't miss this hill, it's the big one with lots of TV masts and aerials on the top (see photo below) - the tallest hill in the vicinity of Phuket Town (now officially called Phuket City, by the way). We have been up the smaller Khao Rang many times, from where you get some nice views, and we also like driving up "Radar Hill" (with the big radar dome on top - see 
Some of the views are nice from the road, though it is mostly in the trees. The monkeys are near the very top. We saw a big male first and then suddenly a troop of maybe 40 individuals swinging in the trees by the road. These included some really tiny babies clinging to their mothers, some slightly older ones play fighting, a bunch of gossiping females and several large males. They were just hanging out, but then along came a man and his daughter on a motorbike, with a basket full of fruit. He said they regularly go up and feed the monkeys as do several other people. We also saw a woman heading up with food for the dogs. The monkeys went bananas for the bananas, and so we got really close to them. I wouldn't want to get too close to the big ones. My dad got out to try and get some close ups of babies - I am sure he'll send us some pictures soon. We stayed in the car and I convinced my daughter not to throw Pringles out the window for them. We were surprised to see so many monkeys there, and I am sure we'll drive up again soon. Another little surprise - Phuket is full of these out of the way places. Despite the rampant tourism, it is easy to get off the beaten track, and these are the places we like to find.
One of the restaurants we visit most often is Leelawadee, situated on the road between Wat Chalong and Phuket Town, next to the Kajonkiet School, about 3km from the Central Festival Mall. Despite being by the main road, it is a quiet place, full of plants and flowers, with a pond outside full of fish. Service is friendly (note they do not speak much English), food is inexpensive. The menu has everything from Thai salads (the Yam Neua - Beef Salad - is great) to pizza (only 90 Baht) and club sandwiches. They also do breakfasts but the sausages and ham are Thai style (not great). Coffee tastes good here. Cold beers in the fridge. Tables inside and outside.
One of the first places we took my parents on their recent 3 week trip was "Buddha Mountain". On the top of Nakkerd Hill (Khao Nakkerd) a huge Buddha statue is being built. It will be some 45m high and visible from miles away. At this point, after much wrangling over money and building rights, construction is going ahead, and the top of the hill is currently a building site. Much of the enormous base is complete, and a small (12m) replica is already shining gold in the sun.
