Deli Steak Restaurant

Update August 2013 - Seems to be Closed Down.

We recently found a restaurant that suits us very well - close to home, close to school, I drive past it on the way home every evening, it's a good price, location is pretty quiet, food is tasty. And much as I dislike the phrase.. Deli Steak "ticks all the boxes". It should be clear from this blog that we don't go for fancy restaurants very often, and normally when we eat out, it's for Thai food. If you want a steak, you normally have to pay "farang price" / "tourist price". And I know there are some very good steaks in Phuket, for example at La Boucherie in Patong, or at Norbus in Rawai, or at the Pacific Club in Karon. And some people like to eat such food when on holiday, though for me, part of travel is to experience the local food - though that does not mean you have to try oddities like fried grasshoppers or soup made with congealed blood - up to you. I am still trying new foods even now - there seems to be an endless variety of Thai food. BUT for sure I like non-Thai food, and an opportunity like Deli Steak has to be taken!

We noticed signs up saying "Steak 59 Baht" close to the Prince of Songkhla University in Kathu.. and normally I'd ignore it. A 59 Baht steak? yeh, it's going to be poor quality buffalo or something... But then my wife and a friend tried it with the kids, and told me it was good. We've been several times in the last couple of months - had a delicious honey pork chop there a few days ago (99 Baht). The steak dishes (chicken, pork, beef) start at 59 Baht, most are 79 - 99 Baht, some of the beef a bit more, up to about 149 Baht.



Location - hard to find even if you know Phuket, since the road is not used by so many people. It's called "Muang Chao Fa" road and is a shortcut from Kathu, past the Prince of Songhkla University campus, winds through the greenery and ends up next to a new Honda dealer on "Chao Fa West" road which runs from Phuket Town (Central Festival Mall junction) past Chalong temple. Yeh, needs a map. The photo above shows the front entrance by the road. Not much space to park. Room for a few cars to squeeze in by the side of the road.


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It's a relation of the Deli supermarket in Patong where many foreigners go to buy essential non-Thai foods! Same owners as this restaurant, which is clearly aimed more at locals than tourists. With the right price, good food and a bit of word-of-mouth advertising, they are doing well. Always other people eating there when we have been, mostly Thai people. It is next to a road, but this shortcut road is not that busy, you don't notice any noise really and the restaurant has lots of greenery and a water feature (a pond with a little fountain) which helps to make it seem quiet. There are tables inside and outside, only about 10 tables in all.





And the staff are very friendly. They have mixed my order slightly twice already, probably due to my bad Thai. Mind you, when I got a beef tenderloin instead of a pork steak I didn't mind... The meat is all good quality from their supermarket. Lots of variety with different sauces. There are also loads of side dishes you can get - mashed potato, chips, onion rings, salads. Here's a couple of typical plates:





That's a chicken with pepper sauce and a honey pork chop. All steaks come with fries, salad and some mixed veg. I've not had a bad one yet! And here's a side dish of mashed potato with gravy - a fair size portion and only 19 Baht...



Add in a cold beer (45 Baht for a Chang) and it's a deal. We went along with some friends a couple of weeks ago. John, who is a hotel manager and tends to eat quite often in nice hotel restaurants, reckoned the food at Deli was better than at many (much more expensive) hotels. For sure the same food in Patong would be double the price. Glad to have found this place. Maybe not so easy to find for visitors, hope the map helps... but for us, very convenient as we use this backroad pretty much every day!

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Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2014 Schedule

The 2014 Phuket Vegetarian Festival, dates to be confirmed, is on from September 23rd - 3rd October 2014. The dates vary every year (2013 was 4 - 14 October), as it's based on the Chinese lunar calendar. It's my favourite event / festival and I always take too many photos! I expect the same again this year ... and already shopping for a new lens for my camera (or a new camera) :) There is a lot to this festival, it took me a few years to understand, and there are still parts of the festival I have not seen like the last night procession in Phuket Town. If you are here during the festival, do try to see something ...

Recent Vegetarian Festival Blog Posts

• Vegetarian Festival 2013 Part 1
• Vegetarian Festival 2013 Part 2
• Food at the Phuket Vegetarian Festival
• Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2012

I have written loads about the vegetarian festival on this blog in the past and there are hundreds of photos on the blog and on my Flickr photo pages. For general information about Phuket's most bizarre / interesting festival start here:

• Phuket Vegetarian Festival - My Favourite Event in Phuket or
• The Amazing Phuket Vegetarian Festival

++ Details below are for 2013 - I will update for 2014 later ++

The start of the 2013 festival will be Friday 4th October in the late afternoon when the "lantern poles" are raised at all the participating shrines. The Emperor Gods are said to descend down the poles into the shrines at midnight. I normally attend Kathu shrine (my local) as I did in 2011 : Photos of Pole Raising and Midnight Ceremony. Not too much happens for the next couple of days, but the Chinese shrines are always interesting to visit any evening or any time during the festival really. The first big street procession will be on the 7th October... or actually the 6th - a couple of years ago the "Naka" shrine joined as a newcomer in the festival and will be the first to have a procession. All the main processions pass through the old town, all of them start early (around 7am), all finish either at Sapan Hin (south end of town) or back at their home shrines if the shrine is in Phuket Town.

Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2013 - Schedule 4th - 14th October

Friday October 4th

At all the Chinese shrines, sometime between 4 - 6pm - raising of the Go Teng pole. Events at the shrines will go on all evening. The lanterns are hung from the pole at midnight, signifying the start of the festival. There will be plenty of firecrackers and fireworks too. Last year I went back to the shrine just before midnight expecting some wild ceremonies, but it was far more hushed and reverential and kind of spooky. Did not leave the shrine until 1am and people were still gathered there saying prayers.

5th - 6th October - there are no big events on the first 2 days of the festival except for maybe a small procession from Naka shrine on the 6th, but people can visit any shrine at any time, and the Jae (เจ) food is to be found all over the island but mostly around the shrines and especially in Phuket Town. The festival has many aspects and the food is one part of it. I will try to stick to the strict diet during the festival. No meat, no alcohol. Not just "no meat" - the food is specially prepared with clean utensils and certain other ingredients like garlic and onions are not allowed due to the strong flavour. Don't worry if you are not vegetarian, almost all restaurants are open as normal in tourist areas. In fact, it can be hard to find the festival food near the beaches.

Monday October 7th

Street procession starting 7am for Sapam Shrine - this shrine is a few km north of Phuket Town (about a 10km walk from the shrine to Sapan Hin). To see piercing taking place at any shrine you have to be there before 7am. Try 6am. In the evening, around 7pm (better get there earlier), there will be another procession around Kathu village for the Birth and Death Gods. I was there last 2 years for this very noisy procession! A similar procession also takes place at several other shrines on the same evening.

Below - Birth / Death Gods Procession at Kathu Shrine in 2011



Tuesday October 8th

Today's big street procession is from Sam Kong Shrine. Procession goes from the shrine in the north of town (not far from Tesco Lotus), past the Bangkok-Phuket Hospital and through the old section of Phuket town. The shrine is not far from my house. There's a link at the top of the page to last years photos (2012) from this shrine - some pretty gory face piercing! The Sam Kong area is also a good area for food hunting, there are stalls all along the street here for half a kilometer.

Wednesday October 9th

The street procession today is from Tha Ruea shrine which is in the Thalang area of Phuket in the center of the island - this used to be the main town in Phuket a couple of hundred years ago and there are several historic temples in the area and the annual Heroines Festival celebrating an important date in the history of Phuket - the Heroines predate the Vegetarian Festival by several decades.

Thursday October 10th

Lots of things going on today... In the morning (7am), a huge street procession in Phuket Town for the Bang Neow Shrine, which is in the south of the town on Phuket Road, one of the biggest and most important shrines participating in the festival. Expect big crowds on this day. I have been in town the last 2 years for the Bang Neow procession. There is also a smaller procession starting 7am from Cherng Talay Shrine which takes place in Thalang district in the Cherng Talay area. A good one to see if your hotel is in Kamala, Surin or Bang Tao beaches and you don't want to head to town.

And then ... Fire Walking at several locations including Sapam Shrine, Sapan Hin (participants from Jui Tui shrine), Baan Tha Reua Shrine and Sui Boon Tong shrine (just west of the market and not far from Jui Tui shrine in Phuket Town). Fire walking kicks off around 8pm. I did go and see some firewalking a couple of years ago at Kathu. Was crowded and hard to get any photos! Maybe try again this year....

Below - Phuket Town Procession Photos - Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2012





Friday October 11th

Street procession starting at Jui Tui shrine, which is probably the biggest shrine in town - just west of the main market in Phuket Town. I went to see the procession in 2009 - it was very crowded but I got lots of photos! It was hard to get into the shrine early morning, better to find a spot just outside or along the procession route - the route is always easy to find - just follow the people and the little shrines that people set up outside their houses - that means the procession is coming this way! The area around Jui Tui and along the street from the market is always busy during the festival.

Later in the day, there are lots of events on the schedule at various shrines including bladed ladder climbing at Sam Kong and Bang Neow shrines and "nail bridge crossing" at Sapam Shrine. Not sure what that is! We did go to watch bladed ladder climbing last year at Sam Kong, I did not take a camera as it was a bit rainy outside, the weather can be a concern at this time of year, but usually not too bad and sometimes darn hot! The bladed ladder climbing did not seem too dramatic. Can't say I saw any bleeding feet!

Saturday October 12th

Street procession from Kathu shrine to Phuket Town. It's a long walk this one, about 10km from Kathu Shrine all the way to town, around the old town and ending at Sapan Hin. Kathu is my "local" shrine. The shrine is only about a mile from my house. I have been there early (6 - 6:30am) the last 3 years to watch piercing rituals. Want to get there even earlier. 6:30am is a bit too late really. Must make an extra effort! I think 5:30am is better. Things happen early in the morning that are mysterious. The piercing may freak people out the first time they see it. I am now just looking for better camera angles and want to get some video this year too.

Below - Kathu Shrine Piercing and Firecrackers - Phuket Vegetarian Festival





Later in the evening on the 12th - fire walking at Bang Neow, Cherng Talay and Sam Kong shrines. Got to be worth a look!

Sunday October 13th

The last full day of the vegetarian festival. There is a street procession for Sui Boon Tong shrine in the morning, then events such as firewalking at Kathu shrine in the afternoon - I went in 2010 - too crowded! I did take some photos, but the firewalking seems to draw big crowds. Maybe I'll try again this year at one of the shrines. Maybe come with a stepladder to shoot photos over everyone's heads! Or a GoPro camera on a stick!

In the evening/night of the last day (13th) there is a huge procession around Phuket Town, with people carrying statues of the gods to Sapan Hin. Millions of firecrackers and fireworks. It looks absolutely mad. I have seen it on TV - it's always live on TV in Phuket. I am not sure if I wish to attend and will almost certainly not take a camera, there will be so much smoke and dust and so many firecrackers, also I hear it's advisable to wear something more than flip flops or you'll get burnt feet! Need to wear a cloth over your face too, to avoid too much smoke inhalation! A friend had a firecracker land in his pocket and melt his iPod!

What we did do in 2011 on the last night was visit Kathu shrine for the "Bridge Crossing for Purification" - an evening I enjoyed very much. Everyone in white, lots of smiles, no blood, seemed like the whole village was there!

Below - Crossing the Bridge for Purification - Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2011



Monday October 14th

At about 5pm the lantern poles (Go Teng poles) are lowered at the shrines marking the very end of the 2013 Phuket vegetarian festival.

See you there?

Where are the shrines? Location Map - Chinese Shrines in Phuket


View Phuket Vegetarian Festival Chinese Shrines in a larger map

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The Phuket Heroines Monument

Time for a bit of Phuket history. Yes, history.. Phuket has a rich cultural heritage, although it's not so apparent if you're staying in a hotel by the sea. Until tourism arrived on the scene around 30 years ago, hardly anyone lived at the beaches except some fishermen and farmers. The main towns of Phuket were at Phuket Town and Thalang. Phuket Town only became the main town in Phuket in the late 19th century. Before that Thalang had been the biggest population center. Almost every visitor to Phuket will pass through Thalang on the way South from the airport, and about 6km south of Thalang you can see the Phuket Heroines Monument - in the middle of the main road on a traffic circle - you know, it's that statue of 2 ladies holding swords...



Having driven past the Heroines maybe 1,000 times I decided last weekend to actually stop and have a closer look at the monument. Stopping and getting to a statue in the middle of the busiest road in Phuket is not easy! I was coming from town, heading North.. there's not a lot of parking since this is the main road. I passed the monument, u-turned and found a parking spot outside the Tesco mini-store about 100m North of the circle. It then took 5 minutes to cross over the road to the Heroines! Phuket has been called "Bangkok by the Sea" and on the main roads you can see why! But eventually a gap came in the traffic and narrowly avoiding a large truck I got across to the Heroines monument.



Chan and Mook are facing North. Still fighting the Burmese! Of course these days there are maybe thousands of Burmese in Phuket working on building sites and fishing boats.. we know a Burmese guy who we call up for odd jobs around our house - he built our garden shed for us! Burmese now come looking for work and relative freedom - I won't say they are treated like equals by the authorities here, but many Burmese come here to escape from the military government in their home country. I'm not going to discuss the rights and wrongs, just want to mention the irony that Phuket celebrates defeating the Burmese - indeed the provincial symbol is the 2 Heroines - and now there are Burmese everywhere!

Chan and Mook led the people of Phuket against a Burmese invasion in 1785. After defeating the Burmese, the ladies were given the honorary titles of Thao Thepkasattri and Thao Sri Sunthorn by King Rama I. The main road from Phuket Town to the airport is called Thepkasattri road. There are temples in the Thalang area named after the heroines too.



Well, a closer look reveals much more than a drive-by on the main highway. This is not just a statue of the Heroines of Phuket, but also a shrine. People come here to pray and give thanks to the ladies who "saved" Phuket over 200 years ago. The shrine is obviously very well looked after by somebody - everything was very clean and neat. I was happy to finally get up close to the statue that I had seen so many times out of the car window!





The smaller version of the Heroines statue forms part of the shrine. People rub this mini statue with gold leaf. The shrine shows just how much the local people respect their history and just how important the Heroines are. And this history is not forgotten. The Heroines monument was built in 1966. And in 1985, some 200 years after the battle of Thalang, the Thalang National Museum opened. We've been a couple of times. It has plenty of information about the history of Phuket and in particular about the 2 Heroines. Worth a visit for anyone who wants more than just beaches and massages on their holiday to Phuket!

And if you happen to be in Phuket in mid-March ... the annual Phuket Heroines Festival takes place near Thalang Town around March 13th - the date of the battle of Thalang in 1785. We went along to the festival for the first time in 2010 - it was bigger and more impressive than we expected. There is a dramatic performance with hundreds of performers based on the events of 1785. We missed it this year, but would like to go again.



(above) - Photo from the Phuket Heroines Festival in 2010.

The map below shows the location of the Heroines Monument, Thalang town and the site of the annual festival. That's enough history for now! I just wanted to say something to show that Phuket has more depth than beaches, hotels and tuk tuks!


View Phuket Heroines Monument in a larger map

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Splash Jungle Phuket Water Park

I hope that this blog makes it clear that Phuket is not just a tourist island filled with tourist "attractions". Phuket and the surrounding area is what you make of it... you can spend days by the pool, take some tours, visit things like Phuket Fantasea or the Simon Cabaret, I am not going to judge people on what they do on holiday, only hope to open some eyes... many people (even people who live here) are surprised what they find on this blog. Is that in Phuket? I do like to blog about the less touristy side of Phuket, but sometimes we certainly do enjoy some of the things that have been made for tourists.



The Splash Jungle Phuket Water Park opened in early 2010. I think everyone agreed that Phuket needed a waterpark. Ideal for tourists, for family fun in the sun. I mean, OK so we have an ocean and lots of beaches, but waterparks are fun! However, not everyone was so enthusiastic when it opened. Most of the tourists in Phuket stay at the main beaches - Patong, Karon and Kata. Splash Jungle opened as part of the West Sands Resort at Mai Khao Beach, just north of Phuket Airport, and that's 40 - 45km from the main beaches. Location.

And then the price.. full rate is 1,495 Baht for adults and 750 Baht for kids. In other words for our family of 4... we'd pay 4,490 Baht. It's not cheap, although they had a "local price" for a while, and currently have some promotions... and also have a membership package which works well for people like us who are likely to be back. You can book days or member packages through my friends at Easy Day Thailand travel service.

So we drove up on a Saturday, the car park was packed with about 4 minibuses and 10 cars. To be clear - it was not very busy. Now that's my kind of place - a custom built tourist attraction without the tourists! OK, it's low season and the weather was not perfect (though I ended the day with my usual mild sunburn), but I thought there would be more people here. I know it's not "Thailand" - this place is pure watery fun, and due to the combination of price and location, I had not been. My wife and kids had been once on Thai national childrens day - there was a special promotion for the day with kids getting in for free. This time we paid up for membership, so now we are sure to go again!





Above - entrance to Splash Jungle... we're negotiating the best possible deal for a group of 3 adults and 6 kids.



When you check in, you get a wristband with a locker key attached. We all went to get changed. I kept a camera with me, then went back to put it in the locker so I could play a while, went back to get it later when I found some good angles for photos, and put it back again when the rain came! In short... if you want to concentrate on the fun, don't carry a camera unless you have a waterproof one! Also - although I generally trust my fellow man, I would not leave a nice camera lying around while I was in the water.



Inside, you have changing rooms with hundreds of lockers, then cross a bridge over the "lazy river" which runs around the whole complex - you can drift around with or without an inflatable ring (the "river" is shallow enough for even our 6 year old to stand up in). We drifted around it a few times passing under bridges and waterfalls. The river would be the least adrenaline-fuelled attraction! We found a chair to dump our stuff - the open areas are filled with beach chairs all shaded with umbrellas. Like I said, I would not leave valuables on the chair unattended, but towels and clothes and sandals are not likely to go astray. So the idea is to bagsy a chair, then go and have fun! The kids all started at the kids play area (above), but that area really is for little tiny kids. So we progressed to this:





Wasn't so long ago that my boy was scared of deep water and would cling to his Dad in the pool. Now he's fearless. There are many different waterslides - 3 of them head down to the same splash pool - this green slide was pretty scary! My son went down countless times, I went twice. The first time I went down I shocked the lifeguard at the bottom by shooting off the end at full speed, 110 kilos of speeding fat panda coming down! I'm generally not into adrenaline rushes, I prefer nice and easy scuba diving or a gentle bike ride. The waterslide called "Boomerango" seemed to be beyond me.



Boomerango looks like this from the outside. You shoot off the highest point of the slide tower down a steep ramp, shoot up the other side and then off to the splashdown pool. I was worried that someone my size might go too fast and shoot right off the top of the ramp! I found a video on Youtube here, scary enough! My kids both went on it - they kind of wandered off without Mum and Dad for a while, they had found some school friends and did the rides with them on tandem rings like the one in the photo below.



Next to the Boomerango is the Super Bowl - again you launch from the top of the tower down a tube and then into this huge bowl which you spin around several times and then out and down another tube in the center. Not too scary!



We were impressed by the safety at Splash Jungle. There are loads of staff, there are people to help to onto the rides and people in the splashdown pools to catch you. There are lifeguards all over the place, along the lazy river, in the wave pool, in every splashdown pool, so we weren't too concerned about the kids doing their own thing. They are at that age now, maybe don't want Daddy with them all the time!



West Sands Resort and the Splash Jungle Phuket Waterpark are at Mai Khao Beach which is still quite undeveloped. The picture above is the view from the top of the slide tower, looking west. And the airport is only half a kilometer to the south, which means that you'll probably see a view like this:



After a few hours and a few brief showers of rain, a bigger squall came in from the ocean, the wind blew and we called a halt to the fun. And we were getting hungry. With the price of entry, we decided not to eat at the park restaurants - there are 3 of them, since it's not that cheap for us. And you're not allowed to take your own food and drink in. Restaurant meals were 200 - 300 Baht, a small beer 150 Baht, and a glass of coke 60 Baht. Yeh, that's probably OK if you're on holiday.

I am glad to say I enjoyed the day. Fun for me, and a LOT of fun for the kids. Do note there is a restriction on little kids going on the big slides. My 6 year old boy was just about big enough. I do hope the place stays open! It does not seem to get a huge amount of business. As I mentioned, maybe partly due to the cost, and certainly due to the location being so far from the main tourist beaches in Phuket. But the lack of a crowd suits me! It might be busier in high season, someone told me they went and had to queue for the big slides. No queues for us. Another good reason to come to Phuket in the low season along with the low hotel prices. It might rain a bit, but it's very rare that rain stops us from having a fun day.

Splash Jungle Waterpark - Location Map


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Walking in Old Phuket Town

Officially, Phuket Town was upgraded to "Phuket City" a few years ago, but that was just a bureaucratic way of getting more money from central government. Phuket Town is not a city to me and everybody says Phuket Town. I mean, sure it's a big town and has got more developed and urbanised, especially in the outskirts. Since 1999 when I first arrived in Phuket, there's been a lot of building, lots of housing projects, lots of new roads and shopping centers, lots of money being spent. I remember the first time I drove from Patong Beach to the Tesco Lotus store on the edge of town. A ride through the jungle on a narrow 2 lane road. There was no Central mall, no Jungceylon mall, no Big C, no Index, no Makro, no HomeWorks, no 4 lane roads. The development has come thick and fast. I am not going to argue about whether this is good or bad, whether money is destroying values and culture. I think that the people of Phuket, including myself, are very happy to have all that!

Most of the new development is around the edges of Phuket Town. As you head towards the center, the old world is more obvious. I have always liked exploring the town. Every street has something of interest. People may wonder where Thailand can be found in Phuket... if you're staying in Patong Beach, I can understand the feeling. Phuket Town is where a part of the real Phuket can be found. I could walk around these streets taking photos every day. It's what this blog is about - finding real life among the tourists and beaches.



The heart of Old Phuket Town is Thalang Road, in particular the block between Thepkassatri road and Yaowarat road. Pick up any Phuket map and they all feature a map of town, even if only a small percentage of tourists ever visit. What, no beaches? The old town covers a few blocks in the center of town, kind of everything from the main market to the main bus terminal. Yeh, there are some new buildings in there too, but the old early 20th century shophouse architecture predominates. The shop in the photo above is on Thalang road, the shelves are surely decades old. The shop has been there for about 100 years. A large amount of Phuket Town was built around that time when the tin mining industry was booming.



Thalang Road (above) is where we headed last Saturday. The main reason for the walk was to visit a guitar shop. Our daughter is starting some guitar lessons, and our son thinks himself a rock star.. and I used to play a bit myself. Parking a car in the old town can be tricky. We parked at the east end of Thalang road. The guitar shop is just off Thalang Road at the other end, maybe a 400 meter walk, but filled with a wide variety of shops, restaurants and houses.





A printer (currently printing election brochures) and a hardware store on Thalang Road. The old businesses like this have been here since the year "dot". They are all run by old Phuket families. Thalang Road still has this feeling of being in the past. But the past crumbles. The street and other streets nearby look better than they did 10 years ago. There is a very active "old town association". Thalang Road has hidden it's overhead wires, so has Soi Romanee, a side street off Thalang Road. And there are signs up in town announcing that cables on neighbouring streets will also be buried. The old town is having a revival.

Much of the old town, especially Thalang Road still has the old shophouses. A shop at the front, the house in the middle, out of sight. People used to live where they worked. Shop. House. The street outside featured a covered walkway between all the shophouses, with arches between each one. Many of the arches had been blocked off, but the old town association has encouraged people to open up the street again. Now you can walk most of the way along Thalang Road in the shade, or out of the rain. Underneath the arches. So it's an all-weather street!





So we found the guitar shop, bought a guitar, and headed back. Thalang Road now has a small tourist information center. Downstairs you have brochures and displays about Phuket's history and things to see in Phuket Town. Upstairs did not seem to be anything, but my wife had a look and called me up. Looks like a photo opportunity.



I need to go there again. Always something new to find. Development is happening on Thalang Road too, but it's low key. New cafes, fresh paint on a crumbly exterior, and regular street fairs and festivals. If you want a bit of history, culture and local life.... Old Phuket Town is where it's at!

After a bit of a walk, we found it was lunch time. We have a few favourite places to eat in town, but decided to try something new. A restaurant called Kopitiam, on Thalang Road, right next door to the amazing scents of the "Oldest Herb Shop in Phuket".. well, almost next door. There is another restaurant called Wilai in between. The Wilai restaurant has a secret passage through the kitchen that leads to the Shrine of the Serene Light. Another hidden treasure, although the main entrance to that shrine on Phang Nga Road is being widened.... Anyway, Kopitiam - nice place, and I was glad to see a table full of locals sitting there already - a sure sign of good food!



Inside there are lots of old Phuket photos, decorations made from "old things", a very tasteful restaurant. All Thai dishes priced at 70 Baht. My chicken with chili and black pepper was very tasty. Kids had chicken with garlic and pepper, also tasty. We'll be back!



One more hidden secret before we went home. I had known about this old mansion for some time, had seen photos and heard that it was uninhabited. I found the location using Google Earth. Half a block north of the circle near the market, west side of the road, looked down an alleyway. Found it. Does indeed seem to be abandoned. Except we found 2 rather nasty snarling dogs living there. Not a place to hang around.



Phuket is of course best known for beaches, nightlife, diving, golf, family holidays in the sun... It's odd that I live here, but I am not a beach person. I can't sit on the beach. Diving - yes, sure! Nightlife? Small Chang beer please. I have a family, and a job. I am not Thai, not a real local, but Phuket is home. Phuket Town is always interesting to me. And to be honest I am happy that "a walk in the old town" does not interest most tourists! More for the rest of us.

More Phuket Town on Jamie's Phuket...

Phuket Street Show 2010
Phuket Heritage Tour in Phuket Town
Phuket Photo Walk 2010
Old Phuket Street Fair
Shrine of the Serene Light
Glastnost Cafe on Soi Romanee
Hotels in Phuket Town

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Chumphon

Phuket is our home and that's not likely to change, but my wife and I do like other parts of Southern Thailand too. Phang Nga has some great scenery which we like to explore, and we love to go and relax at Khao Sok in the hills. But when there is time we head over to the east coast of Thailand, in particular to Chumphon and Prachuap Khiri Khan. From our house it's just under 400km to Chumphon, driving via Phang Nga and Surat Thani. Normally takes about 5 hours drive at a sensible speed.



We've been this way many times. I first went there more than 10 years ago. My wife first saw Chumphon in 1976 on the day she was born - yes, Chumphon (ชุมพร) is her home town. Our daughter was born in Chumphon too - we were living in Phuket at the time but my wife wanted the family around. At that time, 9 years ago, the family lived near the center of town, a short walk from the railway station in a house by the river. When my wife was young they used to swim in the river and the town was less built up. By the time I first went, a small road near the house was being used as a shortcut from town to the main highway.. add in some trains and occasional longtail boats on the river, and I recall some nights staying there with not much sleep!

The Family



This post is not meant to be an autobiography, but .. a few lines about my in-laws. Meeting the in-laws is a strange experience at any time. Will they like me? My wife was a little worried about them meeting me. The family is quite traditional. Her dad was a police officer. When I first saw him, he was in uniform... but we broke the ice by drinking a few beers and singing karaoke (I seem to recall CCR and The Scorpions). Later my wife told me he never normally drinks. That was his way of welcoming me, since I drink like a fish! That is the only time I have ever seen him tipsy. I saw him have one glass of beer one other time at a birthday party. I was glad to be welcome. The family is great. The photo above shows old family portraits - that's my father in-law's grandfather and grandmother and his mother.

And here are the in-laws! My wifes Mum and Dad are great, very kind people.





Both photos above taken while eating out by the beach. Chumphon town is not on the beach. There is another town nearby called Pak Nam Chumphon which is the fishing port, and there are 2 nice beaches not too far away. About 15km North West is "Cabana Beach", real name Thung Wua Laen Beach, probably the nicer one, has some accommodation, has quite a lot of restaurants and the last 2 times we have visited, we have been to play pool at a very funky little bar run by Pak and Pippa, a Thai/English couple. Pak speaks English like a Cockney. The bar is called "Funky's Beach Bar". And it's for places like this that I like Chumphon - a good break from the far more developed world of Phuket. I am sure Phuket had funky little thatch-roof beach bars 25 years ago. Chumphon has it now. Get it while it's hot. I'll have to take a photo of the place next time!



The other beach is Sairee Beach, about 20km South East of Town, just south of Pak Nam Chumphon. Sairee is nice too, quite scenic with some small islands offshore, and we spent quite a bit of time here last visit. My wife's sister got married recently and her husband's family has a house here on the beach. Well, I say house, more like a small mansion! Only just completed and not fully furnished yet, but damn nice! There are restaurants here too. The water in the Gulf of Thailand and on the east coast beaches does tend to be a bit less idyllic and blue compared to the west coast, but I can see the area developing over the next 20 years. Chumphon has a small airport, it's on the main road and train line from Bangkok too. The town has developed over the last 10 years. For the better? Is a Tesco Lotus store and a Carrefour a good thing?





Also at Sairee Beach is a place of pilgrimage - the shrine to the "Prince of Chumphon", real name Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, whose father was King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). The prince studied naval warfare in England and is known as the "Father of the Royal Thai Navy". Many people come here to say a prayer. The shrine overlooks Sairee Beach and below the shrine is an old Thai Navy boat which can be climbed all over, much to the enjoyment of our kids.



(above) Our daughter on the deck guns of the boat at Sairee beach. And below - my dear wife's eye looking through a gun emplacement on the boat.



Chumphon has one thing that Phuket does not have - trains! You can get a train from Chumphon to Bangkok or even through to Malaysia. The station is small, close to the center of town and railway buffs will love it :)



Outside the station on the road into town are some old locomotives. The photo below could have been taken in 1940. Or 2009.



The family does not live in town any more. Dad retired from the police a few years ago, and they bought a new house in a new development just out of town. Very quiet but just 10 minutes drive into the center. Chumphon Town is quite a bit smaller than Phuket Town, and (so far) it's not a boom town. We have seen changes in the last few years with new houses and shopping centers, but Chumphon does not have a tourist industry. Chumphon is a lot more traditional and "olde worlde" compared to Phuket, and the cost of living is certainly cheaper. We might end up living there some day.



(above) in the main market in Chumphon town.

Mostly when we go to Chumphon we just hang around, chill out, we're there for some family time. We have been a bit further North to Prachuap Khiri Khan a few times - my wife has family there too. Also a very nice area. And it's less than 2 hours drive to Ranong - we visited some hot springs there this year. The road between Chumphon and Ranong has some great views. The best is surely the one below - a hill called Khao Fa Chi. Wow.



Around Chumphon, we like to explore - just as we do in Phuket, take some back roads and see what we find! There are also some more obvious things to see.



This Big Buddha is right by the main highway about 15km south of Chumphon. It's just on a slight hill, enough to look across to the ocean to the east. Nice place to stop.

One time, we took a longer drive, about 50km south, then another 50km west to a place called Phato, up in the hills where the Langsuan river winds it's way from source towards the Gulf of Thailand. My wife's sister's husband arranged it, I had no idea what to expect - a great day out rafting on the river!





And sometimes we just stay home. The new house has something that looks like a canal next to it, though its actually a very long, thin pond. And it does have some fish. Below - our son fishing with my wife's sister's boyfriend (she has 2 sisters).



I went to Chumphon for Songkran this year, first time I had been there for this festival. It was very nice to be part of the family at this time of year. Songkran is well known for all the water throwing and partying, but there is also the traditional Songkran, and the ceremony called "Rod Nam Dam Hua" - see photo below - is very important, where the younger generation wash the hands of their elders.



UPDATE 2013 ... Last year we did quite a bit of exploring around Chumphon, it deserves it's own blog soon! One interesting place we found, and my wife had never been before, nor had any of the family, was Koh Pitak, a small island just offshore, around 60km south of Chumphon town near Pak Nam Langsuan. They do homestays there, though we arrived on a quiet day and there was only 1 small restaurant to get some food, and the classic local shop called 7 Elephant ... get it?



I liked Koh Pitak a lot ... more photos on Flickr : Koh Pitak Island near Chumphon

My wife's sister and her husband now have a house by the beach, near Pak Nam Chumphon, not far from Sairee Beach. If tourism ever takes off, it might attract early risers .. I do like sunsets, but the quiet beaches of Chumphon just after sunrise are great too. This is the view from what we now call "the beach house" :)



And last visit we drove North to visit a temple called Wat Kaew Prasert, near a fishing village called Bang Boed, not far south of Bang Sapan which is in Prachuap Khiri Khan, the next province to the north. A great view from the temple ...



Much of the coastline in the area is undeveloped, very beautiful, and with minimal facilities for tourism. This might change in the next 10 years, we'll see. Another beautiful place we found about 40km north of Chumphon was Thungsang Bay ...



(above) Family members jumping .. we enjoyed an evening BBQ at Ao Thungsang Bay and will go there again!

Chumphon (or Chumpon, or Chumporn however you wanna spell it) is like my second home in Thailand. I still have a photo in my wallet - my wife and I on Thung Wua Laen Beach, a long time ago on my first visit to Chumphon before we had a family of our own. And who knows.. we might go and live there one day. We love Phuket, but we're also very fond of Chumphon!

More info on Chumphon:

• Chumphon Hotels
• Songkran 2011 in Chumphon

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