My favourite places: The Beach Bar

Phuket can be whatever you want it to be. Phuket is bars and girls. Phuket is crowded beaches and jet skis; shopping and good food. Phuket is groovy nightlife with trendy people. Phuket is a luxury getaway at a 5 star resort. Phuket is an island full of history and interesting culture. Phuket does have all this and more. Me? I am not into nightlife, clubs, bargirls and not rich enough to pamper myself at a fancy resort. Don't need a hotel anyway. Phuket is home. Phuket is where I work, where my kids go to school, and when I have time off work, I try to explore, which is what this blog is mostly about really. You can look other places for nightlife information, and if you want full on tourism, watersports and more food than you can eat, stay in Patong Beach, by all means, but do try to get out and explore some!

This blog is "my" Phuket (not actually mine, but you get the idea) and I give thanks to all readers and people who email or come to see me to say they've enjoyed the blog. If you can find some useful information here among all the "normal" tourism websites, great. Hope you may get some ideas of things to do - things that may otherwise have been unknown. The blog has been going for 4 years now, and there's plenty more to be added. More restaurants I want to try, more trips to take just off Phuket to small islands or attractions in nearby areas. Always new things to see - and at the same time, there are some places I/we (the family) keep going back to. Some days, especially in high season, a day off is very welcome, and all I want to do is relax. We have some favourite places to go, and The Beach Bar is maybe top of the list.





The Beach Bar is a small, cheap, friendly, rather basic restaurant right by the beach at Cape Panwa, overlooking Chalong Bay. It's just along the beach from the Panwa Beach resort, which sounds developed but you can't even see the hotel from the restaurant. There are some holiday apartments a bit further along called By The Sea. Many of the customers come from these 2 places, which helps explain why The Beach Bar closes during low season. It's normally open from about October to the end of April. Open for lunch or dinner, great for sunsets like the one above. Can be combined with a visit to the nearby Phuket Aquarium.

It's a family run restaurant, don't expect white suited waiters and silver platters here. We like the simplicity. We found the place back in 2006 and now we always enjoy a chat with the owners and have seen their kids growing up, as they have seen ours. The kids get on great. My wife and I like that - we can sit quietly while the kids go off and play on the beach, looking for shells or hunting crabs. I like to go in the late afternoon. By around 5pm they take all the tables out onto the sand, so you can sit right by the sea and wait for sunset.



Kids love it there, they are more or less free to roam, and it's safe. There is no road, no jet skis, no big crowds. If we're sitting out on the sand we can keep an eye on them if they wander along the beach. This year we did our son's birthday party there, which he and all the kids loved.



What? Oh, go on then, here are some more sunset views from The Beach Bar...



(above) Sunset 17th April 2010



(above) Sunset 15th November 2008

The beach itself is not perfect - pretty good for swimming at high tide, but totally rocky at low tide. Still pretty views, as you can see from the sunset pictures, but you can only swim at high tide, when things look more like this - much more like it!



The food at The Beach Bar is quite simple. They do seafood - lobster, crab, fish, prawns, it's maybe a bit cheaper than the main beach areas. We often just get "normal" Thai food. They do good Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Tom Yum, Glass Noodle Salad, and one of my favourites - Chicken wrapped in Pandan leaf ("Gai Hor Bai Toey"). Most of the easy dishes are only 70 - 80 Baht.







Last year we also went there for Loy Krathong, as we'd had enough of heading to the more crowded places and having to push our way through to the water. At The Beach Bar it was just us and a few other people plus the owners family launching our Krathongs into the water for good luck. I reckon we'll go there again this year.







(above) our daughter and her Grandma help the owner digging for shells

But what I really enjoy is the relaxed atmosphere, no rush, no noise, it's a place that I can feel totally at ease for a few hours, watching the sun set, watching our kids play and drink a few cold beers. Yes, one of our favourite places.

• More photos of The Beach Bar (on my Flickr pages)
• More of our favourite restaurants

The Beach Bar - Location Map


View The Beach Bar, Cape Panwa, Phuket in a larger map

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Hotels in Phuket Town

Phuket is of course more known as a beach destination, and I would guess 99% of visitors will want to stay close to the water. There are plenty of hotel recommendations on this blog, mostly hotels near the beaches - Phuket's west coast is all about beaches, from the overdeveloped madness that is Patong (yeh, some people like it, I know) to much quieter locations like Naithon or Kamala. There are some hotels inland away from the water, or on the far less developed east coast, and there is also plenty of accommodation in Phuket Town.

Phuket Town (officially called Phuket City, but it certainly feels like a town), is the main business center of Phuket and the provincial capital. There's no beach, but staying in town gives a totally different experience of Phuket. Sure there are some tourism oriented businesses, but mostly it's local life - markets, small interesting shops, Chinese shrines, day to day life going on all around, historic buildings, museums, local restaurants and a nightlife that is quite separate to the bars 'n' girls at the beaches. It's the place to be to enjoy events such as the Phuket Vegetarian Festival or the Street Show Festival. I like Phuket Town, and there's plenty of space given to it on the blog. If you have a longer stay in Phuket and want to experience more than just mainstream tourism, why not stay in town for a couple of nights?

Some Recommended Phuket Town Hotels

Casa Blanca Boutique Hotel

A new hotel right by the old town on Phuket Road, just round the corner from Thalang Road, restored old shophouse, with all white exterior (thus the name). Only 17 rooms, and good price too.

• Casa Blanca Boutique Hotel - Rates and Reservations
• Casa Blanca Boutique Hotel - Reviews

Chinotel

Newly opened in 2010, Chinotel is on Ranong Road right next to the new market. Rates only 600 - 800 Baht per night with aircon, TV and you're right in the old town.

• Chinotel - Bookings at Agoda.com
• Chinotel on the Phuket Hotels Blog

Royal Phuket City Hotel

Just about opposite the bus terminal, the Royal Phuket City is more of a business/conference hotel, with 250 rooms, a nice cafe called Cafe 154 that we have used as a base for Phuket Photo Walk. Has a pool and spa too. Another favourite restaurant, Kaewjai, is just a block away.

• Royal Phuket City Hotel - Rates and Reservations
• Royal Phuket City Hotel - Reviews

Sino House Hotel

A couple of blocks North and East of old town, Sino House is an apartment style hotel and includes the highly recommended Rain Tree Spa which my wife and I mean to visit one day soon!

• Sino House Hotel - Rates and Reservations
• Sino House Hotel - Reviews

Baan Suwantawe

Located next to the Queen Sirikit park, and right over the street from the Indy Market that takes place on Thursday and Friday evenings, this is quite a new place which has standard hotel rooms and also appartments for longer term rent.

• Baan Suwantawe - Rates and Reservations
• Baan Suwantawe - Reviews

Bhukitta Hotel

Right next to the bus terminal, 5 minutes walk to old town, lots of local restaurants close by. Reading the reviews, you can see some common "problems" with hotels in town - things like "too far from the beach" - well, duh! And no nice views - well it's in the town, and maybe staff not speaking the best English, yeh, if they did, they'd work in a 5 star resort.

• Bhukitta Hotel - Rates and Reservations
• Bhukitta Hotel - Reviews

Phuket Center Apartment

Right in the center close to old town, the Phuket Center Apartments are serviced apartments with kitchens. A cafe serves breakfast and lunch, but then again, you are within a few minutes walk of many restaurants in town.

• Phuket Center Apartment - Rates and Reservations
• Phuket Center Apartment - Reviews

Lub Sbuy Guesthouse

A budget place, again very close to the bus terminal with lots of local places to eat nearby and 5 minutes walk to the old town. Odd spelling, Lub Sbuy means "peaceful sleep".. guess I would spell it Lap Sabai, but each to their own!

• Lub Sbuy Guesthouse - Rates and Reservations

Dara Hotel

A real oddity, this place. Location - on the edge of town close to the Central Festival Mall, not far from the weekend market either. I'd only stay here if I had some transport, but it's kind of unique - very colourful and modern.

• Dara Hotel - Rates and Reservations
• Dara Hotel - Reviews

Thavorn Heritage Hotel

The Thavorn Heritage Hotel (or just Thavorn Hotel) is a bit of Phuket history. It's not that old, opened in 1961, but was officially Phuket's first 5 star hotel. It's not so fancy now but the lobby looks great and there's a small museum inside. They do rooms for as litle as 600 Baht, great location right in the middle of town.

• Thavorn Hotel - More Information

Phuket Town may not be your cup of tea, but this blog does tend to be read by people who like all kinds of tea! Aside from the hotels above, Phuket Town has lots of low budget guesthouses and backpacker places - more info here: Cheap Places To Stay in Phuket.

More Hotels in Phuket Town

• Phuket Town Hotels at Agoda.com

More About Phuket Town

• Walking in Old Town
• Old Phuket Town Festival
• Exploring Phuket Town
• Kopitiam Restaurant on Thalang Road
• Rang Hill
• Thai Hua Phuket History Museum

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Cycling trip to Koh Yao Noi

It was 20 years ago today... well almost... I used to do lots of cycling when I was in my early 20's, mostly with the York University cycling club and after University with friends who had been there. In 1990, 3 of us did a 3½ week 2,500km tour through France, the Pyrenees and into Spain. The photo below is from that trip:



We were quite proud of ourselves for that trip which included 2 ascents of the Col Du Tourmalet, 2115m above sea level. 20 years ago. Back then I was very fit, and of course 20 years younger than now. And about 25 kilos lighter. I don't recall riding a bicycle more than a few hundred meters in the last 10 years. So, the trip I did last Friday felt like quite an achievement, cycling 30km around the island of Koh Yao Noi, in Phang Nga Bay to the northeast of Phuket.

We went to Koh Yao Noi first time some years ago on a day trip with the family and my parents (see day trip to Koh Yao Noi). It's a small island, about 10km long, 4km wide, and although there has been some tourism development, it's still very quiet and very different to the busier parts of Phuket. A larger island, Koh Yao Yai, is just south. The population of the 2 islands, around 12,000, is largely Muslim with fishing, rubber and farming being the main trades. 10 years ago there would have been next to no tourism here. Now there are a couple of (well hidden) resorts like the Six Senses Hideaway and Paradise Koh Yao Resort, as well as a number of smaller bungalow and guesthouse style hotels. But mostly, it's very quiet.

Koh Yao Noi is one of the trips offered by Amazing Bike Tours, a company set up by James, who I've known for about 6 years. I've meant to join one of the trips for ages, but never seem to find the time. I should have learned by now. You have to make time. Time does not wait for you.

Friday was a hot, hot day. Hint number 1 - if you sign up for one of these tours, make sure you drink lots of water during the day. It was a scorcher. I met the Amazing Bike Tours minibus at Bang Rong Pier, which I know well. Lek, our tour leader (who also runs a bar and restaurant at Kata Beach) had already loaded the bikes onto the giant longtail ferry that runs between Bang Rong, in the northeast of Phuket, and the islands of Yao Yai and Yai Noi. First ferry out is 7:30am, last one back at about 4:30pm. We waited in a cafe at the pier for our 9:30am ferry.





And here's Lek, our trip leader:



Three other people were on the trip, a family from Oz: Graham (dad), Nic (mum) and Hope (their daughter). I was relieved to note that they did not look too much like mega-fit cyclists.. in fact I heard Nic saying she'd not been on a bike for years. That was good, since Lek could offer us an easier route around the island. If you are cycle mad, there are tougher trails, heading off road over the hills.. and the highest point in Koh Yao Noi is over 600 feet above sea level. Our ferry set off for the 1 hour trip, stopping first at a pier in the north of Koh Yao Yai and just 10 minutes after that we arrived at Manao Pier, Koh Yao Noi.





I chatted with Graham on the way out. He makes electric bikes back home in Oz, and I was chuffed to hear that they had been reading this blog before they came to Phuket! These two guys were sitting chatting on the roof of the ferry. Blue skies. Red and Yellow shirts. I wish all red and yellow shirts could just sit and chat in the sunshine...



Lek introduced us to our bikes and we set off along Manao pier which extends some 300 meters out from the island into water that's deep enough for fully loaded boats to operate. Everything that is needed in Koh Yao Noi must come by boat. This is the main pier. On the way back a boat full of mattresses was being unloaded. Most of the people on the ferry with us had bags full of shopping, probably they'd taken the first ferry over to Phuket and had been to the local market.



Once off the pier, we were on the "main road" in Koh Yao Noi. There are cars here, and plenty of mopeds, but even the main road from the pier was quiet compared to just about any road in Phuket! We passed local houses - some are more solid, others are still made of traditional materials...



We soon turned off this busy highway onto a side road heading to the west side of the island. We passed by rubber trees and fields. Koh Yao Noi is almost all given over to agriculture of some kind. In fact, even back in Phuket there are still huge areas of rubber plantations, pineapple groves, shrimp farms, palm trees - you just have to explore.. In Koh Yao Noi it's everywhere. On this road, a few mopeds passed us, and we passed a local guy and his bike:



And some kids were calling "Hello!" from their house:



Typical roadside scenery - rubber trees and grazing goats:



Given the quiet roads, and the lack of major tourism, I was surprised to see this sign by the side of the road as we turned onto an even quieter road...



Actually I did see one truck later as we rode back to the pier.

My body is certainly not used to cycling. The flat roads were easy enough, but any slight incline was noticeable! The first 10km of the ride were not hard at all, but as I said, it was a very hot day (this is the hottest time of year in Thailand), so even easy riding was energy sapping. Drinks breaks were all welcome - the bikes are all carrying a water bottle but if you take a trip I'd recommend carrying some more in your backpack.. there are local shops around the island too, and nobody will think you're a wuss for stopping to glug a can of coke :)



(above) Graham, Hope and Lek on Koh Yao Noi's busy roads



(above) a drinks stop in the shade of rubber trees

On the west side there are mangroves and small mangrove canals. We crossed a couple of bridges and stopped at a small fishing community. The ladies below are trying to strap a 3 foot wide stingray to the back of a moped. Can't say I have ever eaten stingray, but see them for sale at local markets in Phuket.





We rode for several miles up the west coast of Koh Yao Noi, with mangroves to our left and rice fields to the right, all looking a bit dry at this time of year. This section was very hot with no shade.



The northwest corner of Koh Yao Noi was full of "shell farms" - nets hung out in the shallow waters near shore - shellfish grow on the nets. Beyond the nets you can see some islands to the North of Koh Yao Noi, the amazing limestone islands of Phang Nga Bay.



And just when we all thought there were no hills.. Well, we had to get to the east coast of Koh Yao Noi, only a few kilometers but, yes, we had to hit a hill or two. Ouch! The "Jamie from 20 years ago" would have raced up these hills trying to pip his mates to the summit.. The current version huffed and puffed and decided that pushing the bike for a while was a pretty good idea. Just for a few minutes. Coz it was so hot. So hot. And yes, I need to lose a few pounds :) Lek may have taken some photos of me struggling uphill.. I will get his photos later and hide them. Here's Graham and family after the "big climb", a nice decent and another small uphill.. and hoping for a shop selling ice cold drinks just around the corner...



And Lo the shop didst appear. And there was much rejoicing and glugging of sugary liquids. I am not advertising Coca Cola, but there are times in life when a cold Coke is exactly what you need. We hit the very pretty east coast of Koh Yao Noi after climbing the "Col du Koh Yao", and this was one of those Coca Cola moments.



As we took a rest, we were ambushed by a local kid. HEY! It's not Songkran yet!



I suppose (unless you are a particular fan of mangroves) that the east coast of Koh Yao Noi is the "pretty" side. You have some beaches, great views looking towards the Krabi coastline and small islands dotted across the sea. The beaches are good for swimming at high tide, but rocky at low tide. And yes, it's pretty.







We cycled about 5km along the east coast. This is where you find the hotels, bungalows and guesthouses. Lunch was the target, and I must say, that after a couple of hours in the saddle, I was pretty hungry! Lek told us 2km... yeh, the longest 2km I have ever seen! We detoured off the road for a while...



Around 1pm we hit the "Sabai Corner" for lunch. We'd cycled 20km, which after many years of sluggish living, felt like 100km! I blame the heat :) Sabai Corner is a lovely place, cool and shaded, and the food was good - we had dishes of Masaman curry, chicken with cashew nuts, vegetables in oyster sauce and tom kha gai. And lots of water. There was no rush. Lek told us we had only around 10km after lunch and we opted for the "no hills" version :) The ferry was due to leave at 4pm so we could take plenty of time to rest and enjoy lunch.





The long lunch break was much appreciated. The road back to Manao Pier was the busiest we encountered on the trip.. something like a country lane in England, but there were several minibuses and the aforementioned truck. And goats in a sidecar.



Koh Yao Noi is, and I think will continue to be, saved from overspill tourism from Phuket because it is a true island. You gotta take the big ol' longtail ferry to get there.. well, there are some speedboats too. But no bridge, no flights. Koh Yao Noi remains a quiet place to explore. I am already planning a visit with the family. I know we can take the ferry and hire a couple of mopeds there (250 Baht per day). Or maybe take a moped ourselves.... on our outbound and return trips there were motorbikes on the ferry - here's a moped being loaded onto the ferry at Manao pier:



We had another drink at the jetty. A lady was selling ice tea and ice coffee. The ice tea was most welcome. And, as mentioned, mattresses were being unloaded from a boat...



We posed for a final photo at the pier before heading back to Phuket...



Great day. I love the more remote areas around Phuket and hope to visit Koh Yao Noi again soon. On a moped :) - Anyone wanting to experience something off the beaten track, Koh Yao Noi is a good option - these bike tours are run by Amazing Bike Tours. They also have trips around the quiet countryside in the north of Phuket and in the area between Phuket and Khao Lak.. they also have multi day cycling trips for the very keen. You do need to be vaguely fit and healthy for one of these day trips. We did 30km, mostly fairly flat roads, but the heat was energy sapping. I enjoyed the day, enjoyed the friendly people in Koh Yao Noi, great views, and happy to know that I can still sit on a bike for a few hours!

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Koh Panyee (Koh Panyi)

Koh Panyee is a village built on stilts in Phang Nga Bay. We visited Koh Panyee on the same day as James Bond Island, having hired a longtail boat from Samchong Seafood, a restaurant in Phang Nga. My original plan was to visit only James Bond Island, but we were ready to leave Scaramanga's lair by 4pm, and Koh Panyee is only about 7km further north. Sunset at this time of year is around 6:30pm, so we had time for a quick dash (our longtail had a new engine) to Panyee and time for a good wander around this fascinating village built over the water next to one of Phang Nga Bay's many huge limestone outcrops. We visited again during another trip later in the year - see Phang Nga Bay - Doing it OUR way!

Koh Panyee (or Koh Panyi) is a small island, less than 400m long, and there is not really any flat land. Instead, over the last 200 years since the village was founded, a community has built up over the shallow waters to the south of the limestone cliff / rock that makes up Panyee island. Indeed, at low tide, the waters are shallow enough to stand in, or disappear completely which must aid in building these houses, all supported on a network of stilts. Fishing was the main trade here, and is still important, but tourism is now well and truly established - all the way through the village, stalls are selling crafts, cloth, souvenirs, but there is still the old life here - other stalls sell vegetables, fish, and "Nam Prik Kung Siap" - a spicy shrimp paste, which my dear wife wanted to buy a few kilos of (it's very tasty!)

On the way to Koh Panyee from James Bond Island we passed an island used as a base for kayaking tours. You can pass through a cave full of stalactites, which our kids loved. The longtail fairly sped over to Panyee, it only took about 20 minutes from James Bond Island.





The trick with Panyee, if you want to see the village, rather like Phuket - you have to look beyond the tourism. OK, on Panyee it's low key. There are no hotels or bars, but half the island is taken up with restaurants that serve day trippers on tours. If you walk through the village, there are plenty of stalls selling things... some of these things are actually very nice, for sure, if I was a tourist on holiday I would buy a few souvenirs here. We did buy a few little gifts for the kids like key rings and a drum made out of a coconut. I was looking more for a real feel of Panyee. First thing - I felt that the people here are very friendly. A lot of the people must spend the day selling crap souvenirs to the hordes of day trippers, but we arrived late in the day, only a few tourists around by 5pm.. I saw many smiles and happy people. And it was the people that I mostly wanted to photograph. Photos on this page are from our visits in March and September 2010. Hoping to go again in April 2013.









The construction of the village - it's a maze of houses, paths, elevated walkways, everything built over the water on stilts! It's quite an impressive place when you think about it. A few photos to give an idea of how Panyee is built...







All these wooden planks and stilts need looking after. Wood does not last forever. There are places where I worried that the wood looked a bit old (and since I weigh well over 100kg, I do not want to step on a plank that's likely to break!) I found a couple of people in the process of repairing their houses or fixing up their boat dock...







I was walking around with our kids - my wife and her sister were searching for the best shrimp paste - a lady suggested we detour off the main path and check out the school. I think, or would like to think, that the Koh Panyee school made some impression on our kids. A simple wooden construction built around a playground.. with great views!







I liked that we arrived at Panyee village after most of the tours had already left - throw in a dozen boat loads of foreigners and the narrow walkways would be more crowded, and the hawkers more vocal. We found this guy working on his glass fish - the little pufferfish are indeed a work of art.





I love faces. Everyone has a different face. If people are happy to pose, I like to take their photo. Koh Panyee is a unique place with unique people.. OK, they were probably more unique 30 years ago. Now they have the internet and daily contact with tourists, but sometimes in a place like this, I wonder "who is watching who". You think the life in Koh Panyee is strange, is very different to yours? I am very sure the people here are watching the visitors, and I think Koh Panyee is still a special place.



(above) Fixing the fishing nets



(above) A man rides a bicycle.. that's heavy traffic in Koh Panyee.

By the time we left, I can imagine everyone settling in for the evening, tourists gone, only the Panyee people here. A very small village like this has a sense of community that you can grasp. Everyone knows everyone. I used to live on a small island some years ago. I get that feeling here in Panyee, there's no trouble, no worries, no crime. Hardy a bad word. Lots of smiles. And we'll be back again.

Koh Panyee (Phang Nga Bay) - Location Map


View Koh Panyee, Phang Nga Bay in a larger map

Finally - a video (actually an ad for a bank) which features Koh Panyee. The story of the kids on Koh Panyee starting their own football team, despite the lack of a pitch to play on! Nice story - great scenery!

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