Sawasdee Village Resort, Kata Beach

Sawasdee Village is one of the hotels I have meant to add here for a long time, and today was reminded by some customers in our dive center who raved about how beautiful it is and how well looked after they felt there. It seems to me that Sawasdee Village is no ordinary hotel. It's not a big hotel really, only about 40 rooms, built in and around an oasis of tropical gardens, orchids and pools, with a 5 star spa thrown in for good measure.

It seems to me that Sawasdee Village has been around for ever... I came to Phuket in 1999 and it was there.. from what I can gather by "web research" Sawasdee Village opened in 1991. There have been a lot of improvements and additions since and now it really does seem to be well worth recommending and it's a very reasonable price for such quality. The new Baray Villa rooms look amazing (more expensive too but looks like you get a lot of extras with these rooms). I like the sound of the 8 foot beds - truly King size!

Sawasdee Village gets lots of very good reviews, and is one of the Top 10 Hotels in Phuket, but is considerably cheaper than some of the luxury resorts that make up the top 10, and unlike most of those resorts that are on the quiet northern beaches, Sawasdee Village is in Kata - central to just about everything, with plenty of restaurants, bars and opticians (if you are in Kata, you'll see!) nearby. The only disadvantage I can see is the location. Like many places in Kata, it's got Club Med between it and the beach, so you have to walk around, though it seems there is a free shuttle also.

Sawasdee Village - Booking & Reviews

• Sawasdee Village - Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Sawasdee Village - Hotel Reviews at Agoda.com


Sawasdee Village - Photos

 





Phuket Hotels - More Information - Online Booking

• More of Jamie's Phuket Hotel Suggestions
• Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• Phuket Hotels - Book Online at Agoda.com
• Thailand Hotel Booking at Agoda.com

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Seaplane Flight to Phi Phi

Yesterday (18th October 2008) was a very good day! We did something that we had not planned on doing.. in fact we had planned a day up to Khao Lak, but we got something a bit special instead. I had been contacted by a company called Destination Air the week before about maybe taking a ride on one of their seaplanes and writing about it here on Jamie's Phuket. Yes, sure! This week I decided to be very cheeky and asked if there were 4 seats available so I could go with my wife and kids. On Friday afternoon we got confirmation that a flight was heading to Phi Phi Island at 3pm on Saturday.. and they managed to find a seat for my sister in law too :)

I have been recommending Destination Air to people for some time now. Yeh, I know you can get to Phi Phi quite cheaply by ferry, but damn! A flight to Phi Phi? There are still many people who don't know the option even exists, and yes, it's not exactly super cheap - current price is 4,999 Baht per person. But this is more than just transport, this is an experience too, and if you have limited time, or arrive in Phuket at the wrong time for the ferry, a flight to Phi Phi is a great option. From Phuket Airport to your hotel on Phi Phi in about 25 minutes. And when I say it's not cheap, I guess that's the backpacker in me talking. It's 100 Euro, it saves hours of travel time, and ... this is one of those "picture is worth 1000 words" moments. This is something I had wanted to do for ages, so thanks to Destination Air for the experience, and thanks to Gerry our pilot and the crew. The whole family enjoyed a great day!

• Phi Phi Island Hotels - Book Here
• Phuket Hotels - Book Here




If you want to get to Phi Phi in style, I hope the following photos and mini videos will give an idea of what you can expect on a flight to Phi Phi! After meeting at the Destination Air office at Phuket Airport, we had time to buy the kids a donut before boarding. This was not a 747, not even close! We were shuttled over to our little plane by minibus and waited as customers bags were loaded. The plane seated just 9 people (plus a "copilot" seat). It was not big!



Unlike a big 300 seat aircraft, boarding here takes 3 minutes, a quick safety briefing, fasten seatbelts, and you're off! The take off was very smooth, I could hardly tell when we left the ground. It's been a while since I flew in a small plane in the Caribbean. You have to ignore the noise and rattles! As we left the airport and flew over the east coast of Phuket the view below was very green...



On the outbound flight I did not take a window seat - better let a "paying customer" get some great photos! I just enjoyed the ride. If you take a flight, and want to take good pics, best to bag a window seat or ask if you can take the copilot seat. Here's the view after flying over Phuket looking towards Koh Yao Yai...



I learned later that you can also charter a plane for a sightseeing or aerial photography tour - you'd need to contact Destination Air for prices. If you had a small group, I reckon you'd have a great experience and a chance for some great photos without spending too much per person.



It's only 45km to Phi Phi, the flight is about 20 minutes. The customers on board were staying at the Zeavola Resort in Phi Phi. We landed on the water on the east coast and taxied to a floating platform where customers were met by a longtail to take them to the beach. The resorts on Phi Phi's east coast are very nice places, a real getaway from noise, from stress. I can assure you it's very nice to stay in a place where there are no cars!



Video above - landing at Phi Phi on the east coast of Phi Phi Don. Landing on the water!

The floating platform is moved according to the season. Right now it's still on the east coast but once the NE winds start, this will move to the west coast of Phi Phi Don. We said good bye to the passengers heading to their hotels and I chatted a while with Gerry the pilot. He's a Canadian and used to fly seaplanes in Fiji as well as in the frozen North, eh. He told me that he'd read Jamie's Phuket Blog and the blog had helped him decide to come to Phuket! After a while we found out that nobody else was heading back to Phuket - the return flight was just for us!





No holiday in Phi Phi for us... we just headed straight back home to Phuket, well.. almost. Gerry detoured a couple of minutes to the south so we could fly right over the amazing Phi Phi Le Island! Oh, and I got the copilot seat :)



No matter how many times you have seen this island, the view from above is absolutely breathtaking. And here I was thinking I was too old for breathtaking experiences... (Note: the images on this page can all be found on Flickr - see Flying Over Phi Phi Island for a full screen slideshow!)









Video - flying over Phi Phi Le ... I should have thought to clean the window!



Koh Yao Yai is a huge island in between Phuket and Phi Phi, stretching up into Phang Nga Bay. We have been to Koh Yao Noi several times, but Koh Yao Yai remains a target for me.. before the developers move in. We got plenty of views from the seaplane. Absolute paradise.





Anyone for sailing? You can sail around Phang Nga Bay for days and hardly see a soul. And yet, you're within sight of Phuket island. This area is absolutely gorgeous and from the air you really get an idea of the wide open spaces, the green islands, the nature...





A final couple of photos of islands off Phuket's east coast and of a mangrove river in the NE of Phuket. We also flew over one of our favourite restaurants at Bang Rong, near Bang Pae Waterfall. Sometimes hard to know where to point the camera... All photos on this page by me or my wife. Photos look great, but wish I had a better camera!





A couple of minutes later we landed back at Phuket Airport. I was momentarily worried by an eagle that decided the runway was a good place to hang out. It took off rather lazily towards us as we landed. One hopes the eagle knew what he was doing! Our great experience was over. I must say.. If you want to do something different, I reckon Destination Air can help! They can do flights to other places too, such as Krabi or Koh Lanta, or charter flights to just about anywhere within range, either for transport or for a tour with the most amazing views.

I hope we can do this again someday, it was truly a great day yesterday for the whole family :) Thanks to everyone at Destination Air for the experience.

UPDATE 2012 - Destination Air no longer exists, but hey, we had a great day! I hear rumours of helicopter tours now in Phuket....

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Phuket Vegetarian Festival Videos

Here goes - my final throw of the dice for this years vegetarian festival. My camera has a basic video function. Not National Geographic quality, but I hope the little videos below will give some idea of the experience.

Face Piercing

A few clips of the piercing taking place at Kathu Shrine on 6th October, around 6 - 6:30am. It was going on all over the place, it was hard to know where to look!









A look around Kathu Shrine before starting the procession...



The Procession Leaving Kathu Shrine...various entranced people







Carrying the Gods through Kathu Village... LOTS of firecrackers





Ma Song Blessing a House



And a couple of vids of Ma Song doing things in Phuket Town.

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Vegetarian Festival 2008 Photos in Phuket Town

So, on Monday after getting up early and seeing the piercing at Kathu Shrine, and heading out of Kathu Village with the procession (see Vegetarian Festival Photos Part 1), I headed into Phuket Town to pick up the procession again in the old town. The narrow streets mean you get very close to the Ma Song, and very close to the firecrackers! I was taking photos on Thalang Road close to my favourite little street in town, Soi Rommani.



 





Allow me to introduce my favourite guy! I had a photo of him last year looking rather ghoulish with 2 big black rods through his cheeks. This year looks like he used even bigger rods! Some aspects of the festival are not for everyone. If you don't like scary things or blood or the idea of ramming 2 large rods through your face, look away now!







This next guy is one of the entranced Ma Song who leap around the procession offering blessings to locals who have offering tables outside their houses. Some of these guys really are a bit spooky. The narrow streets meant that this guy almost bowled me over as he leapt around, thus the very close up photos!





And here's another Ma Song blessing a local Phuket town resident as the family look on and wai.



Meanwhile the procession of the gods continued in amongst the Ma Song.





There seemed to be more female piercings this year.. no stats to back it up, but there were certainly quite a few.



Last couple of extreme face assault photos for now... This year I had kind of intended to see more, but only witnessed one of the 7 street processions. Still, I think that's enough photos... next come the videos - will post in a few days - mostly some short snippets of the procession, the piercing in the early morning, Ma Song doing various things, and lots of firecrackers!





• Vegetarian festival 2008 Part 1
• 2007 Photos

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Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2008 Pictures

Well this year I wanted to see something different during the festival. I admit to being a lazy boy sometimes, but today I was awake before dawn and headed to Kathu Shrine before 6am to watch the start of the procession to Phuket Town, and hopefully see some face piercing close up. Actually, the word "piercing" does not describe what happens. Something like "skewering" or "mutilation" might be better! I am not squeamish, but... hint, if you are squeamish, I suggest heading to a different page on this blog!

It was hard to see inside the shrine, but the "Ma Song" were coming out in various stages of trance, and faces were duly threaded with knives, swords, guns, all manner of odd shaped metal pieces. You'd need 20 pairs of eyes to see all that was going on there. I was with a friend, Phil, who is director of the Helicam company in Phuket, so he's a "pro" photographer, but this was new to him too! Thanks for Phil for lending me a Canon G7 camera. Some photos were taken with the G7, some with my trusty Powershot. Some photos taken by Phil. By next year, I would like to upgrade to a bigger, better camera. These small lenses have trouble in low light. Enough tech talk.

All photos below were taken this morning in Kathu Shrine or as the procession started out of Kathu Village heading towards Phuket Town. I also have some video (the Powershot has a basic video function) - this will be added later along with some pics from Phuket Town. This is very real stuff, no excuse for lazing on the beach and missing it. Well worth planning a holiday to Phuket around it. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival rocks!

























The procession left Kathu Shrine little by little. When people were ready, off they went. Once all the Ma Song had left, the gods were carried out and on the road to Phuket Town. Next photos are in Kathu Village.









We'll finish with the gods being carried out of Kathu as the sun rises and a thousand firecrackers explode creating a fog of smoke. Walking along with the procession you get pounded by sound. I won't say it again. Sit on the beach or wake up late if you want. But this is something to experience.





More Photos : Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2008 - Part 2

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