Restaurant Tips: BBQ Hut, Patong Beach

BBQ Hut in Patong certainly gets a fair number of regulars who know that this is the place for Tex Mex, this is the place for a great burger, this is the place for tacos, burritos and nachos. They apparently do good Margaritas too (only 99 Baht), though I prefer a cold beer myself. I've been half a dozen times for lunch, always had great food and enjoy trying the different burgers they have - the Mexican Cowboy Burger, Jalapeno Burger, Chili Cheese Burger, Monster Burger and many more. There are also all day breakfasts, Hot Dogs (I recommend a Chili Cheese Dog), ribs, steaks.. you may get the impression this is not a place for vegetarians! I do eat Thai food 90% of the time, but now and then my western stomach cries out and BBQ Hut is one of the cures.





Location - it moved again in 2013, now to be found on the road between Patong and Karon next to an elephant trekking place. I have not been for ages. The prices used to be quite reasonable for this kind of food, around 150 - 180 Baht for the burgers served with chips and salad or 130 Baht for "The Hungry Man" breakfast.



Updated June 2010 - BBQ Hut was first on the blog nearly 4 years ago - I realised I had no photos so went for lunch today. Great burger, cold beer, make that 2. Viva Mexico! Viva Zapata! Looks like the prices are about the same as 4 years ago. Good. Photos on this page from June 2010.



Wouldn't be Mexico without Tequila. I have spent about 5 months in Mexico in my younger days, and did used to like tequila. These days my stomach is happy with a beer. But this line up of bottles reminds me of Mexican bars.



There are pictures around the restaurant - above you have Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa who were revolutionary heroes in the early 20th century. Mexico has a rich history and loves it's heroes. There is also a big movie poster of the Three Amigos - not sure Chevy Chase is a Mexican hero though.... :)

• More of our favourite Phuket restaurants
• Hotels in Patong Beach

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Hotel Recommendations: Sarojin (Khao Lak)

What do you mean, recommended hotel in Khao Lak? I thought this was a Phuket Blog? Well, yes, but Khao Lak is only 100km from here, and in fact the distance from Phuket International Airport to Khao Lak is not a lot further than down to the main beaches in Phuket, since the airport is in the north of the island.

I've never really spent any time in Khao Lak, even though it's only a 2 hour drive. No reason to go there to see hotels, restaurants etc...Last time I drove through was in April and I could see things were looking much better after the tsunami. Khao Lak was hit way worse than Phuket. Much worse. It's a bit of a struggle for those with businesses there to encourage visitors back. I think everyone knows that Phuket is all back to normal, and has been for a while now, but Khao Lak? Well, let me tell you - beaches are lovely and quieter than the main beaches of Phuket. There's no road right by the beach, no tuk tuks, it's a real get away. Only thing is, there's not much to do, especially if it's raining. It's the beach or nothing!

So, why talk about a hotel in Khao Lak? Well, I was watching the BBC last night, a travel program called Fast Track, and they talked to the owner of The Sarojin, which is a boutique hotel right on the beach and looks gorgeous. The owner explained how they were due to open on December 24th 2004. Things were not quite ready, so they postponed until January 10th. Then, things were taken out of their hands by the tsunami. They decided to rebuild and finally opened in October 2005. I liked the fact that they kept all their staff during this 10 month period, despite having no guests to look after. It seems the owners and staff all pitched in to help the rebuilding and I got the impression it was a labour of love. So that's why the Sarojin is on this blog!

The Sarojin - Booking and Reviews

• The Sarojin Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• The Sarojin - Guest Reviews
• Khao Lak Hotels at Agoda.com


The Sarojin - 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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Wat Phra Nang Sang

Wat Phra Nang Sang is the oldest temple in Phuket, dating back maybe as much as 500 years. If I read what I can find on the internet, it seems the exact age is unsure and for sure the temple has been renovated and rebuilt over that time. It might be accurate to say a temple has been on the site for 500 years. One story says a powerful southern Thai ruler had the temple built for his wife. Another story says that the temple was built in honour of a princess who was due to be executed, although she had been framed and was innocent. When she was executed she bled white bood, thus showing her purity. The temple is also called Wat Luad Khao (White Blood Temple). In 1785, the Burmese invaded Phuket and were fought off by the people of Phuket led by 2 ladies. The Phuket people gathered at this temple before the battle which must have been fought nearby. At that time, Thalang was the main town in Phuket.



The battle is commemorated every year in March at the Phuket Heroines Festival in Thalang. A statue of Thao Thep Kassatri and Thao Sri Sunthon (known as Chan and Mook before the King gave them these names for their valiant defense of Phuket) lies in the temple grounds - a larger one can be seen at the so called Heroines Monument - a traffic circle on the main road between the airport and Phuket City.



Nearby you can also find Wat Phra Tong (which lies a bit further north) and Wat Sri Sunthon (a little south of Thalang). I've only stopped once at Wat Phra Nang Sang. Will no doubt go back - but it still appears to be undergoing restoration work, so I'll wait a while. The grounds are quite large, it's worth taking your time. I do need to get new photos as on this visit the main prayer hall was closed, and since it was a few years ago, my camera was not great either!





There's a lot of history here. My daughter was amazed to see a mummified Abbot who died about 50 years ago I think. Not sure she could believe she was seeing an actual dead Monk. There is another building featuring 3 large Buddha images. These were built before the Burmese invasion in 1785. The temple was home to 3 sacred Buddha images made of tin, which would have been taken by the invaders had they not been beaten back. The tin Buddha images were hidden inside the 3 images that you can see, which were made of concrete. The tin images were apparently forgotten about and only uncovered as recently as 1973. Phuket was until recently a major tin mining center and this helped to make Phuket quite wealthy.



Wat Phra Nang Sang - Location Map


View Wat Phra Nang Sang in a larger map

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Military Coup in Bangkok? All Quiet in Phuket.

Well, I have just come to the office and can see nothing abnormal here in Phuket. No military, no increased police presence, no worried faces. Thailand is very relaxed. Hard to work out last night what was going on. All the Thai TV channels went off the air and started playing music and showing pictures of the King. We got pictures from the BBC News (www.bbcworld.com or www.bbc.co.uk) showing soliders and military vehicles in the streets of Bangkok, but otherwise everything going on as normal. Called my wifes sister who works for a bank in Bangkok and she said she could see nothing at all.

So let's wait and see. Looks like Thaksin may be out of a job. The statement issued on Thai TV said the military were acting on behalf of the King, or at least with his approval, which makes all the difference here in Thailand.

As I say, no reason to worry, and nothing going on here in Phuket except schools and banks will be closed today. (Today is the last day of the school term anyway).

(Later) - Thai TV is back on, and there was a statement issued by the leaders of the military and police saying they are only trying to help and do not intend holding power any longer than neccesary.

News Sources

• The Phuket Gazette (best source for local news)
• Phuket Post (the other Phuket paper)
• www.bangkokpost.com
• www.nationmultimedia.com
• www.timesonline.co.uk/global
• Latest Coup news by Sunrise Divers

Also a lot of comments (many to be taken with a pinch of salt) on the Lonely Planet Thailand Forum:

• http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=51



(Update on Thursday 21st)

Nothing happening in Phuket, everything is 100% normal. Sun is shining. The news says that the King supports the leaders of the coup, which means (since everyone is loyal to the king) that there will be no trouble.

BBC News says "During the day, coup supporters brought flowers, pizzas and donuts to the soldiers and took turns taking family pictures in front of the armoured vehicles which have cordoned off the government district.

Many of the tanks that have been deployed in Bangkok have yellow ribbons tied around their barrels to signify loyalty to the king."

Have a good day!
Jamie

These Blogs have or had updates from Bangkok:

• http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com
• http://19sep.blogspot.com

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Restaurant Tips: Chen Long (All you can eat buffet)

Update 2013 - Sorry, this place no longer exists.

We just went a couple of days ago to this new all-you-can-eat buffet place located on Wichitsongkram road, just before Central, on the corner of the road to Big C. The place is called "Chen Long Kung Kata". My wife tells me Chen Long is Jackie Chan's name in Thai (well, Chinese I guess). Recommend getting there early! It's only open from 5 - 11pm, and by the time we got there at 5:30 it was busy. When we left a couple of hour later it was heaving!



You pay on arrival, 98 Baht per person. This includes all food. Drinks are paid as you go, so when you leave there is no bill to wait for. Find yourselves a table, and then head for the food hall where you find fresh shrimps, mussels and other shells, tables full of pork, salads, noodles, mushrooms, fishcakes, chicken, fruit etc.. Theres a "make your own somtam" bar, free ice cream, and a couple more tables that I'll have to investigate next time! Pile up a plate or two and back to your table where you'll find a cooker - see photo - with soup around the outside and a griddle on top (use some butter so it doesn't burn so much). Cook and eat and repeat. Wash it down with a coke (15 Baht) or Big Chang (65 Baht).







It was Sunday when we were there and I was worried I'd maybe miss the football - not to worry, they have TV's and one area has a big screen TV too. There's a kids play area where my kids had fun on the slide and swings, and the staff are very efficient and friendly. We'll be back.

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Up Buddha Mountain Again

If you want a great view, a bit of off road driving, a temple, some fresh air and more, take a drive up Buddha Mountain. The access road is close to Chalong circle on the road to Wat Chalong. Its about 5km drive, at least half of which is on a dirt road that can be kind of rutted in the wet season (now). But we made it up in our Toyota Corona (albeit wishing we had a Toyota Fortuner). We have been up before (and I have blogged it before - see here), but my wife's mum is visiting so we took her there on Sunday and I wanted to see how building of the Big Buddha (the "Mingmongkol Buddha project) is coming along. Slowly is the answer, but Rome wasn't built in a day, and this Buddha will be 45 meters high when completed. And I reckon I'll be 45 years old by the time it's completed!

 



Note : This is an old post - for updates on the Big Buddha, see Big Buddha Phuket Photos.

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Phromthep Cape (Laem Phromthep)

This post is from 2006 - there are updated posts about Phromthep Cape on the blog:

• Sunset at Cape Phromthep
• Hiking to the end of Phuket at Cape Phromthep

At the extreme southwestern corner of Phuket is Phromthep Cape, just to the south of Naiharn beach and just to the west of Rawai beach. This corner of the island has long been a favourite area of ours - it is slowly getting developed and there are quite a lot of foreign residents around, but its still quiet, you can still eat at little foodstalls at Rawai, and you're close to little beaches like Ao Sane and Ya Nui. Combined with a visit to Chalong Temple, this area makes a good day out, with great views, quiet beaches and good local food. If you're staying in Patong, Karon or Kata, rent a bike or car and get a map and see what you can find! Note that there are quite a number of little roads around this part of the island, easy to get lost!

Promthep Cape gets a fair number of visitors, and there's a sizeable car park, a restaurant and tacky souvenir stalls, but if you climb up the steps you'll find a great view, along with an elephant shrine. The elephant is important in Buddhism, representing strength and wisdom. Beyond the shrine is an odd looking lighthouse, built in 1996 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Every time we have been there, even if there seem to be several busloads of tourists, the lighthouse is quiet. You can climb up inside for a view of the ocean and offshore islands - and (bonus) it's airconditioned inside, so on a hot day makes an excellent place to cool off!

• Thai Navy Website - The Golden Jubilee Lighthouse Project

Some photos at Cape Phromthep (photos by Bill & Paula Monk):

 

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