Local temples - Ket Ho (in Kathu district)

The Kathu area of Phuket, which lies (roughly) between Phuket City and Patong Beach was the old tin mining capital of Phuket - it was tin (along with rubber, fishing, coconuts, palm oil and more) that made Phuket a relatively wealthy province of Thailand long before any tourists arrived. The tin boom started in the 18th century, bringing many Chinese workers to Phuket, which accounts for the large Chinese-Thai population that you see today (very...

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Phuket Beaches

Oddly this blog doesn't talk that often about Phuket's many beaches, which is rather surprising since most visitors come to Phuket for a "beach holiday", and Phuket does have rather a lot of very nice stretches of sand. But I try to keep a personal touch to the blog, and to be honest I’m not much of a beach person. I don't go and sit on the beach. We go (as a family) to the beach now and then to let the kids play, or we might eat by the sea, but...

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Karon Viewpoint

We took a little drive today from Patong to Karon and Kata, and along the winding road that leads to "The" Phuket Viewpoint (aka Karon Viewpoint). The view is one of the most famous images of Phuket, can be found on just about any website relating to Phuket, and is certainly the most visited viewpoint in Phuket. It's a short ride on a motorbike or in a tuk tuk from Kata beach. We passed half a dozen foreign couples on mopeds between Kata and the...

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Panwa Beach Resort Phuket (formerly Novotel Panwa)

Novotel is a well known hotel chain, and there are 2 in Phuket. One is located at the far North end of Patong beach (away from the main drag), the other is found at Kha Kad beach, along a quiet road down Cape Panwa, with a private beach (OK, anyone can walk on it, but there are hardly any other hotels around). I am sure the hotel is lovely, but it's the location that makes this resort my kind of place. Actually I am not 100% sure if this is still...

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