Wat Bang Riang

It may be clear from the blog that I like temples. Thankfully my wife does too, and the kids don't mind a bit of exploration and a temple now and then .. so long as it's an interesting temple with something different about it. I had seen photos online of Wat Bang Riang in Phang Nga province, and it certainly looked interesting. We'd meant to visit for ages, but ran out of time on our last trip exploring Phang Nga which is the province of Thailand just north of Phuket. Simply cross over the Sarasin Bridge and you're in Phang Nga which has a lot of beautiful places easily within reach of a day trip from Phuket.

Wat Bang Riang turned out to be further than I thought. I did not check a map before leaving home and had the idea that it was to be found in the hills just North of Phang Nga town. I remembered seeing a sign pointing to Wat Bang Riang before when we visited Sanang Manora Forest Park which is just a few km from the town. So, surely the temple would be close. We'd never taken this road before. North of Phang Nga town there are big hills, and the road wound up and up. No sign of the temple. The road was narrow and very quiet and I had neglected to fill up with gasoline. Where's the damn temple? After about 30km we saw signs to Thap Put, a small town at a road junction. You can reach Thap Put by another road from Phang Nga, a busier road. We figured maybe we'd missed Wat Bang Riang somehow. Filled up with gas at Thap Put and asked for directions. Wat Bang Riang is another 10km further on from Thap Put, so over 40km from Phang Nga! There's a map at the bottom of this page.

Found it eventually, after 10km on a small country road from Thap Put, and correctly assumed that even on a weekend it would not be very busy since it's miles from anywhere and hard to find! And very worthwhile visiting! We parked at the bottom of a slight hill leading up to the main temple building. Monks were busy cleaning.





Next to the temple is a wide open area from where you have views over the rest of the temple grounds, across some hills to a couple of impressive statues. The standing lady below is Guan Yin, who is the goddess of compassion (in Thai they call her Kuan Im).



And a little further away, a large golden seated Buddha statue looking over the hills. A wonderful sight. Phang Nga is very rural, there are no big towns, but lots of green hills. Phuket has plenty of greenery too, but driving into Phang Nga does take you to a much quieter place.





These views alone make the trip worth the effort. I was busy taking pictures as the rest of the family headed down a steep staircase down to the Kuan Im statue. Another Monk was on cleaning duty at the foot of the steps and my wife was saying her prayers to the goddess.





There's quite a lot of walking here! And plenty of stairs. Although we noticed that you can drive around from where we parked on a small road to reach Guan Yin / Kuan Im. I had a happy moment here when our daughter (hard to impress nearly-teen) let out a "Wow". Impressed by the statue and the sweeping views.



From the big Guan Yin statue, there was another few hundred meters to walk, mostly uphill, to reach the Big Buddha statue.





Despite being a Saturday afternoon, we saw only a few other visitors, small family groups mostly. Now we know exactly where to go, I think we'll visit again. We normally drive to Chumphon (my wife's home town) via Phang Nga and Thap Put, so Wat Bang Riang is almost on the route. From Phuket, depending where you start in Phuket, it's about a 2 hour drive.

A couple of details of the Big Buddha ...





We'd started the day quite late, thinking Wat Bang Riang to be closer! I had wanted to also stop at a couple of other places in Phang Nga, but this will have to wait for our next day out "over the bridge". Exploring Phuket does not need to be limited to the island, there's a lot to see in neighboring provinces and we've been doing Phang Nga trips quite a lot recently. Always more to find!


Wat Bang Riang - Location Map


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Sabai Corner Bar

Another sunny afternoon, looks like another golden sunset on the way.... I leave the dive shop at 5:30pm. Should I drive straight home? Normally yes, but now and then, a little detour is called for. From Karon Beach, it's only a 10 minute drive through Kata, then I head towards Naiharn beach. The road from Kata to Naiharn is steep and twisty. I was thinking of a sunset beer at the well known After Beach Bar, but then remembered seeing some friends photos on Facebook. A new place called Sabai Corner, not far from there. Just a few minutes further to the Karon Viewpoint, then turn off down a small road heading down towards to sea. Sabai Corner is not signposted, but I pass a small "Reggae Bar" .. did I get the location wrong? Ah, finally find it a bit further along the road, only a few people there, and I am happy to see there's parking space.



Got myself a small Chang beer and enjoyed the view.



The location is such that you are actually facing North, although on the West coast of Phuket. There's a headland jutting out to the West and the bar is on the North side. So the sun was setting away to the left and the view was along the West coast of Phuket towards Kata Noi, Kata and Karon beaches, though the only sand you can see is at Kata Noi. Phuket looks very green from this angle, and in fact the island is very green, just get out and explore away from the busy areas...





Not bad, right? Coming back here for sure! The actual sunset was not so great, there was cloud on the horizon. You can get very picky with sunsets when you live in Phuket :) But sometimes you get a great colour in the sky just after sunset, so I thought, maybe one more beer and we'll see ...



I had a chat with Chaini, the owner. He also runs the Kok Chang elephant trekking company which is not far away from here on the road back towards Kata. He's building a few bungalows here at Sabai Corner which should be ready for high season. He also tries to keep Sabai Corner reggae-free! And quiet. This is a great spot for a few drinks, a sunset, maybe a few more drinks, but you don't want to be riding a scooter back in the dark on these roads. Dark, twisty, hilly and every now and then people get robbed in the area. Always late in the night. Car = safer, or get the staff to call you a taxi back home. Oh, at the moment they don't do any food at Sabai Corner, that might change, but it's meant to be a "Sabai" place for a few drinks. Sabai means happy, relaxed, comfortable, easy going and more. And the sunset was pretty good really!



Sabai Corner - Location Map


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Phuket FC - Come and Watch the Football!

Football is very popular in Thailand, although the national team has never done anything much though they have won the ASEAN football championship, but have never qualified for the world cup finals. But the TV in Thailand shows English, German, Italian, Spanish football and more. As in many countries in the world, football is a good conversation starter. You'll find plenty of Man Utd or Barcelona fans in Thailand, but the Thai league is also popular. I mean, not in the same league as big European countries, but popular nonetheless. Thai Premier league games can get crowds of over 20,000.

Phuket FC play in Division 1, which is a step below the Premier league. I went to watch Phuket a couple of times when they were in the regional Southern league, and blogged about it a couple of years ago - see Watching Phuket FC. They got promoted to Division 1, but last season was a bit of a mess, Phuket seemed to run out of money and supporters turned against the people who run the club. Now there is a new sponsor, who also owns the big Kata Group of hotels. And so ... we went along to a game last weekend, mainly because our son plays football with the "Kata Group Academy" and for this game he was going to be one of the kids walking out with the teams before the match :)



Thanks to Dane, who was there taking photos for The Phuket News, for taking some pics of our son. You can read a match report with Dane's goal action photos here.

Phuket fans were hopeful of a win here, against bottom team Chanthaburi FC. A win would lift Phuket out of the relegation zone. I would like to think that our presence helped, as part of a crowd of just over 2,000. Our son enjoyed his moment in the spotlight and our kids enjoyed the party atmosphere at the game as Phuket ended up with an 8-1 victory, which I believe is their best ever win! We attended with some friends whose son also plays weekend football with the Kata Group kids team. Of course at such a young age, it's just for fun (our son is only 7) but hey, he might end up in the Thailand team one day! Or maybe the England team, they could do with some decent players! We sat in the main stand, and I wandered to the end of the stand with the kids to join the serious supporters. Here's a short video I made ...



They were silenced after about 2 minutes of the game when the other team scored .. However, did not take long for Phuket to start knocking goals in, and it was 4-1 at half time. The stadium does look a bit empty with only 2000 fans, it can hold way more. If you like football, come to a game! You can find info on schedules on the Phuket FC Facebook Page. Home games normally start at 6:30pm, which is just before sunset at this time of year.

I do enjoy the crowd almost as much as the football. It was great to be here on this evening with Phuket doing so well, and with a new sponsor investing money it was easy to feel a sense of optimism in the air. Next home game on July 7th against Krabi FC. A local derby, should be good!





Fun for all the family. At half time, it was beer o'clock! A few drink and snack vendors wander around the stadium selling things like chicken, orange juice and dried squid on a stick .... For anything else, well, you can quickly exit the stadium and there's a minimart just over the road. I ran over there to buy some beers for myself and our friend who's a hotel manager with the Kata Group. The squid on a stick seller made several appearances during the game. I did not buy any, it's not my thing. Very popular Thai snack, but I reckon it stinks! Here's the dried squid man ...



We sat right behind the Phuket FC bench nearer the goal that Phuket were attacking in the second half. 8-1 could have been more than 10 easily, Phuket even missed a penalty. We had a good view of the goalmouth action in the second half. My kids now had little flags to wave (bought at half time, 40 Baht each) and put them to good use :)



The supporters club just kept on singing ... with a little help.



The girls were there selling an energy/health drink "for men" but joined the Phuket FC fans for a while to add some colour (red) among all the Phuket FC green shirts. I should get myself a team shirt before attending the next game. Entry fee is 80 Baht, games are played at the Surakul stadium on the edge of Phuket Town not far from the Central Festival mall. I would not be expecting any more 8 goal drubbings, but the team has some new impetus and my family wants to see more games now! Looking for something different and 'non touristy' in Phuket? Get to the football!

Here's a video showing the goals from the match Phuket v Chanthaburi. Also briefly shows my son and other kids coming out onto the pitch with the players before the game. He was a very proud boy. Hope they can do it again!



Surakul Stadium - Phuket FC - Location Map


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Update October 2012 - Phuket had a so-so season, but survived in the 1st Division after a couple of wins in their last 2 games. Hurrah!

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Krua Guilin Restaurant in Khao Sok

We first ate at the Krua Guilin restaurant a few years ago on a visit to Khao Sok National Park. It's located at the eastern end of the lake / reservoir close to the golf course and the boat jetty from where you can hire longtail boats out onto the lake. A bit too far from Phuket just to visit for lunch, but we have stopped here a few times when driving between Phuket and Chumphon. Normally takes around 2 ½ hours from home to the lake. We stopped here recently in April for a late breakfast with a view. The restaurant is inside the park entrance, up the road that leads to the reservoir just east of the small town of Phanom. Once inside the park, follow the signs! The road winds around, up and down hills and there are some nice views to be found.



Looks like a fancy place, and the carpark is huge - the restaurant caters to big groups sometimes including weddings. We've only been there when it's quiet. On this last occasion there was only one other car parked and one other table occupied. Mind you, we were there at 10am, not really meal time for most people. We had no plans for a huge meal, just a little break in the 5 hour drive from Phuket to Chumphon.



Well the secenery around the Khao Sok area is great of course. The better views are a bit further west and out on Chiew Lan reservoir. We did another boat trip in early May which I'll get blogged soon also. The Krua Kuilin restaurant would be ideal for a meal before or after a trip out on the lake. Anyhow - the views from the restaurant are not bad at all!



(above) Part of the Rachaprapha Dam and the reservoir, view from the Krua Guilin restaurant.



(above) Looking south from the restaurant over the golf course. The land to the east (left side of the photo is pretty flat across to the sea at Surat Thani, and to the west you have the hills of Khao Sok.

Aside from the views and fresh air, we will revisit this restaurant for the food. Despite the fancy external appearance, the prices are good, and I reckon this is the best wingbean salad I have had (in Thai : Yam Tua Pu - ยำถั่วพู). So tasty, and a big plate too, only 80 Baht. I'm going back just for that!



And as well as a plate of Pad Gaprao, a side dish of Gaeng Jood which is a soup normally made with minced pork, vegetables and bean curd, can be rather plain, but here at Krua Guilin, it was good. Don't forget - not all Thai food has to be spicy!



The restaurant is too new.. it's not on Google Maps / Earth, as the maps in that area are a few years out of date. If I see an update, I'll add a map here.

• Hotels in the Khao Sok National Park area

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Route 68 Restaurant and Bar in Phuket Town

Phuket Town has a lot of options for restaurants, many of them small and interesting, especially around the old town area. Now, we're not big on night life, and we normally go out with our kids so we're not out late. Every now and then I make a vow that we must try some new restaurants to keep life interesting ... and to make sure there's something new to blog! We do eat at home most of the time - remember we live here, we're not on holiday! And we are often a bit lazy with regards to eating out, we have our favourite places to eat and don't want to "risk" trying a different place. Yeh, getting old. I know.

Last week, we had an evening stroll on Thalang Road in the heart of the old town. It's pretty quiet down there most evenings, as mushc of the street is still occupied by old businesses such as printers, fabric shops, hardware stores - this was the center of the business district 100 years ago and some of the stores such as the Nguan Choon Tong herb shop have been run by the same families since they were built. It's not really a party zone. There are a few livelier bars within a couple of blocks such as Roxy, The Mine, Timber Hut and Rockin' Angels are all close by. Thalang Road stays nice and quiet. This time, we decided to try Route 68, which I must have walked past 30 times. It does have live music sometimes, but we were there early, around 7:30pm.



It's built into an old shophouse, though the external facade of the shophouse looks rather different to the Sino-Portugese style that most of the buidings in the area retain. Route 68 has been modified with a retro 1960's look which fortunately does not spoil the view of the street as a whole. Would not be allowed to - the old town is well looked after by the local people who want to keep the old town looking old. Thalang Road and the little side street called Soi Romanee (directly opposite the entrance to Route 68) are the jewels in the crown, having been rid of overhead cables back in 2010. There is work on-going to remove the overhead cables from several other streets in the same area (see Phuket Town getting a facelift). The photo below shows the full front of Route 68 (picture was taken in October 2011).



I think Route 68 will be a place we visit again. Small and friendly, decent prices, great location with a view of Soi Romanee outside, and like many of the small cafes in town, it's decorated in an original style. There are old pictures on the wall, colourful mirrors, diner style booths, old clocks and lighting that makes the place feel homely. And then at the far end you have musical instruments, sheet music and old records on display. And there's a pool table.







Actually, we only popped in for a snack but the kids asked for spaghetti. My son said the spaghetti with beef was "the best", my daughter had spaghetti with tuna, said it was not better than Dairy Hut, but it disappeared pretty damn fast! My wife and I just ordered some snacks and drinks. Here comes my Chang beer!





We're not too strict with kids bedtime especially if there's no school next day, so I fancy we'll be back at Route 68 sometime soon and hope to catch some live music. On the same street a bit to the west you can find Kopitiam, which is a regular favourite of ours. There is sometimes live music on Soi Romanee at the Glastnost Cafe. There's also a place called Rockin' Angels nearby and another one called Rider Cafe. It's only a 15 minute drive into town for us, so we go quite often, even just for a walk and a drink. We joke about buying our own shophouse in the old town, as it's our favourite part of Phuket! Maybe there will be a Jamie's Cafe one day!



(above) Some gentle live music at Route 68


Route 68 Restaurant - Location Map


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UPDATE MARCH 2013 - Route 68 is not a restaurant any more, only a bar with live music and sometimes big crowds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

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Indy Market in Phuket Town

The 'Indy Market' in Phuket Town is a place we like to visit now and then with our kids. It's only existed since late 2010 and was set up as an outlet for young people to meet up, sell handmade goods or clothes, have a snack and a laugh, listen to some live music .. and it's all very wholesome and clean. It's very popular with teenagers, all trying to dress to impress. It's not a big market, just one street called Limelight Avenue on Dibuk Road in Phuket Town next to the popular Lemongrass restaurant, and it's open only Thursday and Friday evenings from late afternooon until about 10pm. In Thai, the market is called "Lad Ploy Kong" (หลาดปล่อยของ) - which means something like 'Market to get rid of things'. The Thai word for market is 'talad', but the South Thai dialect misses off the first sylable, so you have 'lad'. They do the same with other words, for example 'sanook' (fun) becomes 'nook'.



You enter at the enrance gate above where I always see youngsters snapping photos of each other with their smartphones and no doubt uploading direct to Facebook! This is a very different little market to the larger Weekend Market (which is open Saturdays and Sundays). It's almost all teenagers, the odd family here and there and I have never seen too many tourists. I mean, it's not a huge attraction, but certainly worth a look if you are around Phuket Town on a Thursday or Friday. We combined our last visit with a walk on Thalang road and a meal in a small restaurant nearby. You may also be able to pick up some reasonably priced and original Phuket souvenirs or artwork. But mostly it's clothes, shoes and local teens trying to look cool :)







(above) Girls get their nails painted at the Indy Market.

You can walk around the whole thing in 15 minutes, longer if you are interested in shoes and clothes - and it's mostly girls stuff. There might be some live music going on, just local kids who want to take the stage. And there are quite a few snack and drink stalls. One popular stall does some very tasty deep fried pork which is served with sticky rice. And our kids like these crepes (see below) onto which can be added a variety of sauces and toppings. Since the market is mostly for teens, most of the drinks for sale are non-alcoholic, though I did see one stall selling beers. Anyway, we just got some orange juice.







Oh, and this is a No Smoking market. Good!






Phuket Indy Market - Location Map


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Old Phuket Town Getting a Face Lift

One of the things that everyone notices here in Phuket, and just about everywhere in Thailand - overhead cables. There are power cables, phone cables, internet cables, all kinds of cables and sometimes it looks terrible. After living here for so long, I have developed a blind spot for cables, but when you come to an area with no wires hanging over the street, it's very noticeable! It looks so clean and tidy. And there are very few wire/cable-free places in Phuket. Putting all cables underground is expensive and with continual upgrades in technology, can lead to endless digging with cables being replaced. In the heart of Old Phuket Town - which blog readers may know is my favourite part of Phuket - a couple of streets were cleared of cables already a couple of years ago.



(above) Thalang Road, photo taken December 2010 during the Phuket Street Show



(above) Soi Romanee, a narrow lane connecting Thalang Road with Dibuk Road

Only these 2 streets had been done, but plans were in place to remove cables from many other sections of street around the old town along Dibuk Road, Krabi Road, Yaowarat Road and Phuket Road. A map might be useful to explain, and voila ...



Thanks to the Phuket Gazette website for the map. Well, plans are all very well, and over the last year, certainly some roads have been dug up, but all the cables were still there. And then suddenly a couple of weeks ago, we drove through the old town, and along Krabi Road we could see a whole new street view with no ugly wires. It was like the work had happened overnight, because I'd just driven down Krabi road the day before. The cables and electric poles were all gone and other wires had been run very neatly along the front of the buildings, barely noticeable. Great!

Doing this work in Old Phuket Town will allow the old buildings to show their true face. Much of the old town was built in the late 19th and early 20th century at the height of the tin mining boom. Some new buildings are present, but there is a very active old town association led by important local families, so these streets (I hope) will not be allowed to become ugly! Some buildings certainly need some paint and some need a bigger fix, but I do like a few crumbly façades and I love old tiled roofs too. Hope that the remaining streets in the plan can be attended to soon. I went to take a little walk on May 19th, a week after the work had been completed in "Phase 2" (well, not totally complete, the section on Phuket Road is not done yet). But part of Dibuk Road is done, and has some great shophouses...





(above) On Dibuk Road with no wires



(above) The Aekwanit building on the corner of Dibuk and Yaowarat Roads. Now wire free and looking great. And look at the photo below. This is on the opposite corner of the same junction from the Aekwanit building, corner of Dibuk and Yaowarat, photo taken same day, this section yet to be done - it's quite a difference! Once you've seen a street looking great without wires, then the wires look even worse!





(above) Krabi road, just to the west of Thalang Road, now wire free. The Thai Hua Museum is found here. Of course some parts of old Phuket town are like a living museum with businesses such as the Old Herb Shop on Thalang Road that have been run by the same family for 100 years or more. And I love the old buildings. My wife and I joke (?) about trying to buy one, but a small shophouse might be too small for us and the kids to live in!



(above) Old Tiled Roof on Krabi Road

Old town is looking good, and I read that a new museum will soon open celebrating the local Peranakan culture (for more about this, see my story on Baba Weddings in Phuket). There's always something new to see around town. The Shrine of Serene Light is being renovated, hope that's finished soon. I plan to make some more walks in town during the next few months. Always something to photograph!

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