Great weekend at Racha Yai (Raya) Island

We've been waiting to do this for a while! Racha Yai island, also called Raya or Raja island is about 20km south of Phuket and I've been there probably 100 times for diving, as it's a popular dive spot, with clear water and easy diving, great for first time divers (for diving, contact me at Sunrise Divers!) But this weekend was not about diving, it was a family weekend with friends who run a travel company (Easy Day Thailand) - they book these Racha Yai trips, either day trips or overnight (or longer) stays, and we'd been planning a trip for months, but other things kept getting in the way like sick kids, other plans, work, and of course the weather! Finally we fixed a date at the end of September and crossed our fingers for sunshine. We all met at Chalong Bay to get a speedboat over to Racha Yai, about 30 minutes away. We were all booked in at Ban Raya Resort, one of just a few accommodation options on the island - the hotel provides transfers. We left Chalong about 9:30am and were at the clear blue waters of Raya island just after 10am...



(above) The landing pier at Racha Yai island



The water really is this colour. This is on the east side of the island which is nice and sheltered at this time of year with winds from the west. Unless there has been a week of rain and bad weather, you're going to get beautiful blue water on the east coast of Racha Yai. We were lucky. We did pass through a 5 minute rain shower on the way, but for the whole weekend at Racha we had blue skies and hot weather. We heard from people on the mainland that Phuket was pretty wet that Saturday. I often say this to divers - never mind a bit of rain in Phuket, if you go 20km south you'll probably get sun!

At the temporary floating jetty we were met by Ban Raya transport. The resort is less than 1km away and the transport of choice for guests is .... tractors! Well, trailers pulled by tractors anyway. Not much in the way of paved roads on the island. On a wet day, a tractor would be your only hope!





Ban Raya Resort is mid price, rooms from about 1800 Baht in low season. We'd all booked in the standard rooms and mostly all wished we'd booked the nicer deluxe rooms! Actually it was pretty decent and cool in the night time so aircon was not essential. The resort is spread over a huge area with lots of coconut palms providing shade. We were quick to have a look around as soon as we checked in.





What a great pool! The kids were off to play there before we could blink. We all gathered a bit later in the restaurant for a set buffet lunch, which I think would be very tasty for tourists but if you are used to "real" Thai food, it was somewhat lacking. The beer was nice and cold though, but beer on the island is not so cheap - remember that everything has to come by boat.





And then, off for some snorkeling. Below the pool is a small bay which they call Kon Kare Bay. We divers just call it Bay 3! Dive boats and snorkel tour speedboats stop offshore. At the resort there are some sunloungers and you can walk in from the beach. We went in with our kids and at one point followed a swimming moray eel for about 5 minutes. Our son had 'leaky mask' problems, I think the mask I bought for him was just a tiny bit too big, but he enjoyed his time in the water. I am a diver but can happily snorkel for hours especially in clear shallow waters like those at Racha Yai. There is a small dive shop at the resort too, so a dive can be arranged.





In the late afternoon we all took a walk to the west side of the island. At a bay which we divers call Bungalow Bay (also called Batok Bay or Patok Bay) you find The Racha Resort which is a more luxurious hotel, but the beach is public. Being on the west coast, with a west wind blowing in the low season, we could not snorkel there, but the kids could still jump!



The sand on this beach is really nice. I'd like to come back. Anyone from The Racha reading? I took a walk down the beach photographing footprints. Always trying to find the perfect footprint....



On the same beach as The Racha, some broken down but rather photogenic shacks ...



On the way back to Ban Raya, we found another side of Racha Yai. There have been claims in the local news this year of over-development and we did see building going on, and a couple of cleared areas, but a lot of the island is very rural. This buffalo was enjoying a bath...



I like early mornings when I'm traveling. I skipped the late night drinks at the restaurant after dinner and after a good sleep I awoke not long after sunrise. Always a good time of day to have a place to yourself. Since the resort is on the east coast, I figured that sunrise would be pretty. It was.



There was a big buffet breakfast after which we had more time for snorkeling and playing in the pool. I should point out .. you are not alone at Ban Raya. The resort has some local residents. Monitor lizards. Here's one we found after lunch before we headed back to Phuket, and this was not the biggest one we saw...



A great little family weekend break, I think we might do this again. Or maybe just a day trip. Racha Yai trips of any length can be booked with Easy Day Thailand who can also arrange plenty of other tours. Racha Yai island is just a short speedboat ride away from Phuket, but for sure the water is clearer, a great place to snorkel and to relax. Here's another view from the pool at Ban Raya Resort ...

• Contact Easy Day Thailand for Racha Yai island trips :)



Hotels on Racha Yai Island

• Ban Raya Resort
• The Racha
• Rayaburi

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Por Tor (Hungry Ghost) Festival in Phuket

The Por Tor festival (also called the Hungry Ghost festival) was something that I'd not even heard of until a few years ago, and last year was the first time I went to see what it was about (see Por Tor Festival 2011). Phuket has a mixed population of Buddhists, Muslims and people who lean towards old Chinese beliefs die to their ancestry - about 30% of the Phuket population is Thai-Chinese, due to large scale immigration mostly in the 19th century. Many mainland Chinese headed to this part of the world - some ended up in Phuket, some in Bangkok, some in Penang or Singapore. Phuket celebrates a number of festivals based on Chinese beliefs such as the Phuket vegetarian Festival (which starts October 14th). The Por Tor festival is based on the belief that the spirits of ancestors are released from the spirit world during the 7th lunar month. And they are hungry!

Offerings are made for the spirits, with the most common offering being a red turtle cake called an Ang Ku. These come in all sizes - more about them later. On the weekend of September 2nd the festival was based around the main market in Phuket Town. I had meant to get to this event last year, but seems the Por Tor festival is so local that even some locals don't know the details and we went on the wrong day! This time, I was at the market on the right evening and it was busy! Tables full of food, drinks, whole roast pigs, huge turtle cakes and people saying prayers...







These pictures were taken in the market around 6:30 - 7pm. Firecrackers were being set off up on the roof and there was incense burning all over the place and bells being rung as people said prayers at makeshift shrines.



Outside, the road was packed with foodstalls and there were several small stages set up where dancers and singers performed. The crowds are always quite large at these events, or seem to be as so many stalls are packed into narrow streets! the photo below was taken from the 2nd floor of the market looking at the street below.



After an hour of smoke, bells and crowds and an extra 10 minutes wasted as I had originally parked the car, walked almost to the market and then found that the memory card for my camera was in the camera bag (in the car), a cold drink was called for. Happily bumped into Tim who also blogs about Phuket and we managed a few cold beers at the Phuket Backpacker hostel, which seems to have been remodeled and has a nice bar downstairs on the road near the market and on this evening a little escape from the crowded street and a place to watch the festival goers pass by.

A few days later on September 8th (Saturday) I was back in town with the family - my wife and kids plus 2 brothers in law and an uncle in law. Now, one of the brothers in law is from a very Chinese family in Bangkok, but I was surprised to hear that he'd not heard of the Por Tor festival. Do they not do it in Bangkok? We split into 2 groups. My daughter and I wanted to visit the Kengtin bakery which is well known for making lots of the Ang Ku turtle cakes during the festival. They make plenty of other Chinese style desserts and cakes too, but it's the red turtles we came to see!





(above) Making Ang Ku at the Kengtin bakery - applying red dye and adding decorations. We bought a small (100 Baht) turtle, but some of the big ones sell for thousands of Baht!



A couple of doors down from Kengtin - more red turtles, and some big ones! The one in the photo below had a price label - 5,000 Baht, and was still being decorated...



They seemed to be making cakes in their front room. I am fascinated by the detail and the mix of sacred objects and pictures if you look closely at some of the shrines in people's houses. There are Chinese gods, family photos, a photo of an old monk and of course a picture of the King. If you just have a quick look through doors as you pass, almost all houses in Old Phuket Town have shrines like this.



We then walked down to the Por Tor Kong shrine, which is the center of the celebrations.. a Chinese shrine that I did not know existed until last year, hidden away on a small side street near the much bigger Bang Neow shrine. Lots of street stalls around the shrine, and inside the shrine itself .. organised chaos. Crowded, and it's a small shrine. There was not much room to move. We gave our turtle to someone who placed it with many others at the entrance to the shrine, and in turn we were given a little bundle containing incense, candles and "hell money". And we joined the queue to pass through the shrine and say a prayer. First, light our candles and incense...





Inside it was hot and very very smoky - you have to hold your incense up high out of people's faces, but I tell you it was hard to breathe and the smoke was in our eyes. Let's go say our prayers...



(above) Holding my incense up high. The walls of the shrine have some amazing decorations showing Chinese stories. But no time to stop and look, keep moving with the queue ...



I'd not done this last year and normally the kids and I would have my wife to guide us but we could not find her and the rest of the family in the crowds, so we copied other people and a guy told us to put 3 lit incense sticks in each place...



It was a non stop stream of people and incense. Quite a "cultural rush" and I think my daughter enjoyed the experience.





Having lit candles and left incense in the shrine, we still had our hell money to burn. Hell money is specifically made to be burnt as offerings to the deceased as it's believed that the spirits need money in the afterlife.





I love these local festivals. This is the real Phuket. I am not sure what to think of this, and I know a few foreign residents who did also go to the shrine, but that evening I did not see any tourists or anyone who didn't look like a Thai local. And on the other evening in the market I saw only Tim and a photographer who I think was probably Japanese. Does this mean tourists have zero interest in local traditions and events? Or nobody knew it was happening? Or knew about it, but found it difficult getting from the beaches to town and finding the right place to go? It really is worth making the effort to see and experience something like the Por Tor festival!

Ah well - next big event is the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which runs 14th - 24th October and is my favourite thing in Phuket!


Por Tor Festival - Map of Locations


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Khao Yam and Dim Sum for Breakfast

Not far from our house in Kathu, a few km outside Phuket Town, a small restaurant opened towards the end of last year. Nothing unusual there, small roadside restaurants are all over the place and are often the best place to find good local food (just try to pick a clean one). There are a number of small local places within 5 minutes drive of our house - it's good to live in a more local area rather than a tourist zone! This restaurant that opened last year does not have a name. the sign on the front just tells you waht it sells - freshly steamed dim sum, kanom jeen and khao yam.



That's the full menu. A lot of small restaurants are like this, specialising in a couple of dishes like the Moo Grob restaurant we like to visit. I think most people know about Dim Sum, it's like Chinese tapas, little portions which are steamed before serving. Can come in 100 different styles made from veg, tofu, different meats. It's mostly eaten at breakfast time. This restaurant is often very busy when I drive past heading to work at around 8:30 - 9am. Usually it's closed by midday. Here's some of the dim sum on offer ...





The white buns above are 'Salapao' which are a popular snack, you can even get them in 7-11! These are filled with BBQ pork (moo daeng). And (below) some dim sum on the steamer before serving ...



And dim sum for the kids! You can't get away from those birds...



Also on the menu - 'Kanom Jeen' which is a kind of white noodles normally served with different kinds of curry. My wife loves it, but I have (so far) not been weened onto it. There's a lot of Thai food that I eat now which I would have avoided 10 years ago, my tastes are changing, but Kanom Jeen is not my style.

Now, on the subject of trying different foods. The 3rd item on the menu here is 'Khao Yam' meaning rice salad. It's a very popular southern Thai dish, my wifes loves this too, but somehow I had never eaten it until this year when i tried the khao yam at this very restaurant one morning. Maybe I'd seen it before, but at this new, very clean restaurant I was finally tempted when I saw my wife's plate. I'll have one of those too! Khao Yam consists of rice with various other ingredients such as bamboo shoots, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves (Bai Ma Grood), crushed nuts, some coconut, dried shrimp, sliced green beans, sliced wingbeans .. and more! They prepare it very nicely with all the ingredients around the rice ...



And the finished product with a slice of lime and some sauce made from shrimp paste and raw sugar... Looks good!



And then after all that preparation, you pour the sauce on the rice and mix everything up. Damn, it tastes good! I am now a Khao Yam fan!



And this plate of Khao Yam is only 30 Baht! The dim sum is 18 Baht per portion and you can get drinks (tea, coffee) for about 15 Baht. No wonder it's always busy! Good taste, new restaurant and good price. Win.

Dim Sum and Khao Yam Restaurant - Location Map


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The Old Thavorn Hotel in Phuket Town

Phuket Town is where you'll find much of Phuket's history, and I like to spend time walking in the older parts of town, somehow always finding something new to photograph. I had meant for a long time to write about a couple of historic hotels in the town. There's the On On Hotel (on Phang Nga Road), which is currently (summer 2012) being renovated - I actually stayed 1 night in that hotel back in 1999 and I'd say the renovations are well overdue - the hotel opened in 1929 and think my bed was 70 years old! On the next road (Rassada Road) is another piece of Phuket's past - the Thavorn Hotel. Not as old as On On, but maybe marks a turning point in the story of Phuket. The Thavorn Hotel opened in 1961 and was Phuket's first 5 star hotel. The faded 1960's architecture does not look too thrilling now, but I guess for a small town like Phuket it was quite fancy 50 years ago.





The Thavornwongwongse family who own this hotel are a Phuket Chinese-Thai family who, like many others, made money from the tin mining boom in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have a feeling they keep the Thavorn Hotel for sentimental value more than anything else, it can't be making much money with rooms being promoted on the hotel website for as little as 600 Baht per night. The Thavorn group owns 2 large resorts in Phuket - there's the Thavorn Palm Beach Resort at Karon Beach, and the Thavorn Beach Village at Nakalay Beach, just north of Patong.

The old Thavorn Hotel is kind of a living museum. Just walk in the front entrance and you are in a scene from a movie with a wide lobby, wood paneled walls, a wide staircase leading to the second floor and a long wooden reception desk.





Apparently the Thavorn Hotel also had Phuket's first elevator. Most of the old buildings in Phuket are only 2 floors, whereas this hotel has 5. Of course I had to take a ride in the elevator, though I don't think it's the original! Inside I saw a common sign - "No Durian" - the durian is a popular fruit but has a very strong smell, and is often banned from hotels, as the smell will linger.





And here's an old luggage trolley complete with old leather suitcases, ready for a ride up to the 5th floor. There are odd little decorations all over the ground floor. It may not be the best hotel these days, but I do recommend people to stay a couple of nights in town, to get an idea of the other side of Phuket that existed before the tourism. By comparison - the Thavorn opened in 1961, a good 10 - 15 years before any major tourism hit Phuket and Club Med, which was the first really big mainstream tourist hotel, opened in 1985. There are plenty of newer places to stay in town - see my list of recommended Phuket Town hotels, or look at Agoda for more options.



And I've not mentioned the Thavorn "museum" yet! Well, given that the whole place is a museum, I'm surprised they have a special room that they call a museum. Looks like it was formerly the dining room, and you can enter if you pay a 30 Baht entry fee. So I did, and a lady turned on a few very dim lights. Almost too dim for photos, I'll have to go again with a tripod. The museum is a collection of old junk and photos, all mixed up in one room. Now, I happen to like places like this, as you're never sure what you'll find. I'll add in a couple more photos later. The largest object in the room was this enormous old movie projector.



And there were a couple more projectors gathering dust in a corner. A rusty sword was on display with a notice claiming that the sword belonged to one of the two Heroines of Phuket. Certainly looked old and rusty. There were many signed photos of (I guess) Thai celebrities who (I suppose) had stayed at the Thavorn way back when it was fashionable. Another wall had a collection of royal photos documenting a tour of Europe over 50 years ago. Here a young royal couple meet another young royal couple ....



It's a room full of all kind of photos, old toys, musical instruments and it's only 30 Baht, so why not have a look! Phuket Town is full of little oddities and so I keep going back to find more...

Thavorn Hotel - Location Map


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Phuket Meteorological Radar Hill near Phuket Airport

I was rather happy last week to find a hill that we could drive up, one that I'd never been up before. It was a fairly sunny Sunday afternoon, one of those afternoons when we sometimes just "go for a drive" in a random direction. Sometimes we follow new roads, or roads that we've not explored for a long time. With Phuket island being over 500 square kilometers, there are plenty of roads to try, and with neighbouring Phang Nga province being just over the bridge, even after all this time in Phuket, we still find new places. On this day, I did have an objective in mind. I had seen this hill on Google Earth with a couple of photos of the view, and it looked nice. I just never realised it was possible to drive up there...

Just north of Phuket airport, there's a hill where the Phuket weather radar is located. I knew it was there, but figured it would be closed to traffic / private or something. Well, maybe it is... but we drove up anyway. I went with the kids and we first took the narrow road that runs alongside the airport runway, hoping to see a plane land right next to us, but it must have been a quiet afternooon for flights. We've done that before and my kids like it.. when a plane is zooming along the runway less than 200m from the car. Dad likes it too :) A bit less than 1km north of that road, is a left turn heading towards the West Sands resort and Splash Jungle Waterpark. And a little more than 500m down this road, a narrow, crappy looking road to the right, it was not signposted but I figured it would be this way. The little road was bumpy and got steep, passing several Thai style villas (seemingly not occupied), heading up through the trees. And up. I hoped this was the right road! Finally topped out and for a second I thought it was all fenced off, but we could drive through to the met station buildings (nobody there) and park.



According to Google Earth the hill is about 250m above sea level, but it's quite flat-topped and covered in trees, so there were no 360 degree views. Damn trees, always getting in the way of a good view. Nevertheless, there was a fair sweeping seaview to the west just peeping over the tops of the tees ...



And looking southwest we could see the airport, and Nai Yang beach. Again was hoping to see a take off or landing, but this seemed like a very quiet Sunday afternoon at the airport! Didn't want to hang around too long with the kids on a lonely hilltop, plus they were asking for dinner, so we didn't wait for a plane.

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There's also a small shrine on the hill, facing to the west.



Another hill conquered! Maybe not the best view, but it was in the spirit of "adventure". My kids enjoyed the scary, narrow jungly road and the feeling of seeing something new. They do get dragged around by us quite a lot, but mostly they are happy to be exploring. I always enjoy a view and some fresh air. Phuket is very hilly, plenty of hills you can drive or walk up - see Phuket Hills and Views.

Phuket Weather Radar View - Location Map


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