Buddha Mountain and Restaurant "Nakkerd Seaview"

Buddha mountain (aka Khao Nakkerd) where the 45m high Big Buddha is being built has been mentioned on this blog a number of times and will probably crop up again. The work on the biggest Buddha image in Thailand is slowly continuing. As it stands, the basic construction is complete, but the whole image needs to be covered in white marble. The face is just about done, which leaves the enormous body. Since we first went up this hill some years ago, word has been spreading about the Big Buddha and the views from the top, and it's becoming more popular now. By the time it's complete, I imagine a climb up Buddha mountain will be on the itinerary of most tours. Even covered in scaffolding, it's an impressive sight!

 

For 100 Baht you can write your name on a piece of marble that will be used to cover the Buddha image. We did the same with a brick a couple of years ago. It's for good luck.



Nakkerd Seaview Restaurant

Almost at the top of the mountain, with a fabulous seaview over Karon Beach, is a tiny restaurant with friendly owners who (for the moment) are selling cheap tasty Thai food to anyone who cares to stop. We must go back for sunset one day... Yesterday we only stopped for a coke. There was a lovely cooling breeze blowing as we sat looking over the ocean... not sure, but surely this is the "highest restaurant in Phuket" ...? Long may it remain "our kind of place" - that means inexpensive, friendly and selling cold drinks with simple tasty food.







Read more about the Phuket Big Buddha:

• The Big Buddha of Phuket (2013 blog post)
• Hills and Viewpoints in Phuket

More quiet and friendly restaurants...

• The Beach Bar
• Bang Pae Seafood

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Bang Rong Floating Restaurant

This page was first written February 2008. Updated July 2012.

The east coast of Phuket is very, very different to the west coast. All the main tourist areas and beaches are found on the west coast, while large parts of the east coast are almost untouched by tourism. Much of the coastline is mangrove forest, with large areas of rubber plantations in the hills, along with shrimp farms, small fishing villages, quiet bays and some great views if you drive round the hilly back roads. If we're lost for something to do, we often just "go for a drive" and see what we can find. And so one day, must have been in 2005 or 2006, we found Bang Rong. Check the photo below. Yes, this is Phuket.



Bang Rong is a small Muslim community on the North East coast close to Bang Pae Waterfall and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. From Bang Rong Pier you can take a ferry to Koh Yao Noi, which we have done a few times.

The road down to the pier is easy enough to find, turn right off the main road at the mosque, about 1km north of the entrance to Bang Pae waterfall. There's a map at the bottom of the page. There's an entrance gate to the pier. If you are parking long term, like getting a ferry to Koh Yao Noi, then you have to pay. If you are just coming to eat, you do not have to pay. You might see monkeys in the mangroves or on the road near the pier, or they might come out to say hello. They can be a bit cheeky.





We've been here many times now, and we like the small family run floating restaurant (it's actually called Chum Chon restaurant, though we always just call it Bang Rong, after its location) reached by a wooden walkway through the mangroves.



I am happy to say that we'll be back here again to eat. It's remained a favourite spot for many years. It's quiet, it's relaxing and it's friendly. On our last visit in July 2012, we probably had not been for a year, but they remembered us. You can get seafood here, and I saw a huge plate of curried crab being carried to another table. We ordered simple fried rice with prawns, and fried chicken with garlic. They do the simple food very well. My wife says the fried rice is one of the best she's had. The chicken they did for the kids was great too. Tasted to good, I forgot to take a photo. Will have to go again soon and get some "food porn" photos!



Out back they keep the fish, either for sale in the restaurant or at market. The whole Bang Rong area is full of fishing folk who are only just starting to make any money from tourism. By the way, the owners are a Muslim family and they don't sell alcohol here, so don't come looking for a quiet place for a cold Singha!



I like to sit at our table and snap pictures of passing boats, heading up the mangrove channel. It's a different world here, a million miles from the tourist beaches and yet only about a 25 minute drive from our house.





There are some kayaks for rent, which you can paddle up into the mangroves. They have a deal with a couple of tour companies to include a quick paddle in the tour itinerary. Or you can just rent one (with or without a paddler, who will be one of the family running the restaurant). We did this a few years ago and have meant to do it again - see Kayaking in the Mangroves. I think the rental price for a kayak is 150 Baht/hour. It's a nice way to spend an hour.





As we were leaving the restaurant, a longtail boat was coming in from Koh Yao Noi. Every boatman has his "boy" (often a son or relative) to help with the boat. I watched them approach and tie up the boat through my 300mm zoom!







Bang Rong is one of our favourite quiet places to sit and relax. It's very peaceful here, just the odd longtail engine to disturb the silence. Makes a good day out combined with the waterfall, the gibbons, a kayak trip in the mangroves, maybe a visit to the Thalang National Museum which is also not far away.

Bang Rong - Location Map


View Bang Rong, Phuket in a larger map

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The Ninth Floor Restaurant (Patong)

The Ninth Floor is not the kind of restaurant we would normally visit, but last week we had a company meal and decided a fancy dinner was in order. We got a babysitter for the kids and were able to enjoy fine dining with views over the "lights of Patong"... Worth getting dressed up for! It's called the highest open air restaurant in Phuket, well kind of - there are huge ceiling high sliding windows that create an open air atmosphere.



OK, so here's a reason to visit Patong. The Ninth Floor was quite a treat, and we might just go back sometime soon! This is a lovely little restaurant, with top service, an extensive menu, a huge wine list, oh... and (I only found out when I got there, as it was not on the menu) they sell HofBrau beer - 190 Baht per bottle and worth every satang. I had several... and one for luck.

The food was great. I had an Australian Tenderloin Au Poivre, and I have to say the next day my taste buds were craving more of the same. Going back to Phad Thai was hard work. Another of our party had a very tasty looking Lamb Shank in a red wine sauce, oh and the starters were mouth watering too - I had Eggplant gratin, filled with feta cheese, chick peas and tomato au gratin with parmesan cheese. My wife had the smoked salmon. As I say, not the kind of food we normally eat. It's not a cheap place, but if you are coming from Europe or North America on holiday, it would not be an extravagant meal... a treat maybe, but not outrageous - see the menu on the Ninth Floor website for prices.



You can find The Ninth Floor on (yes, that's right) the 9th Floor of the Sky Inn Condotel in Patong, towards the North end of Ratuthid road (the main road through the center of Patong). Parking is a bit tight around the area. Reservations are recommended. Ask for a table by the window. Treat yourself.

• The Ninth Floor website
• More Phuket Restaurant Tips

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