Kuay Jap Noodles - A new restaurant in Phuket Town

Last weekend, after a little drive around Sirey Island to the east of Phuket town - where I finally got to see the reclining Buddha (the other times I have been there the temple had been closed) - we were heading home and I had half a mind to cook some pasta, but we passed a new looking noodle shop which looked interesting. Most noodle shops look the same, rather basic and cheap with plastic chairs and questionable hygiene (don't look too close - a good motto for Thailand!).



The Kuay Jap Champ Suphan noodle shop is in the Sam Kong area in the north of Phuket Town, just half a kilometer east of the Tesco Lotus store on the way into town. It has been open about 6 months they told us, somehow we'd not noticed before. Or maybe we were in the mood for Kuay Jap which is a kind of noodle soup made with rolled up thick noodles, crispy pork, "moo daeng" (roast red pork) and (unless you ask them NOT to include it) things like liver, heart, intestines, congealed blood.. aka "offal". If you are an ex vegetarian like me, some meaty things are still considered inedible - so if you don't want all the bits, just say "Mai Sai Kruang Nai".





This noodle shop makes an effort. The place has a little style, the tables are wood, not plastic, there are decorations, and it is clean! This is no local backstreet noodle stall, it's much nicer and yet.. it's still cheap. We paid 210 Baht for 4 dishes and 5 drinks. I had a delicious Kuay Jap with the Moo Grob ("crispy pork") and the Moo Daeng plus some egg; my wife had the full monty with all the bits, and our kids had Khao Moo Daeng - red pork on rice with a kind of sauce/gravy. Very tasty.





I do love a bit of moo grob! Crispy pork.. like porky scratchings/hog lumps in a soup. I think we will go again tomorrow!

Update 2011 - they have opened a 2nd branch in Kathu, opposite the entrance road to the Prince of Songkhla University, we have tried this one too - just as tasty.. and it's close to our house. Bonus!







(above) Kuay Jap Champsuphan noodle shop in Kathu near the Prince of Songkhla University (PSU) - it's just a couple of hundred meters from another favourite local restaurant of ours called The Big Chicken. It's much easier to find good local food when you are not in a tourist area!

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Phuket Thai Hua Museum

I have said it before and will say it again - I like Phuket Town, especially the old part of town which comprises a few blocks around Phang Nga Road, Thalang Road, Krabi Road and Dibuk Road. The narrow roads and turn of the century architecture combined with the old Chinese shops make a welcome break from the busier parts of town, and if you come from the tourist beaches it's like another world. Yes, you are in the real Phuket, which is what this blog tries to show!

The Phuket Thai Hua Museum is found on Krabi road, a block North and half a block west of the traffic circle near the market. Krabi road is pretty quiet, most of the buildings are of the "Sino-Portugese" style and life itself seems slightly old fashioned in this part of town.





The museum has been open a couple of years, and still has a museum-in-progress feeling. It has been used for art exhibitions too. The building dates back to 1934 when it was established as the Phuket Thai Hua School, a Thai-Chinese language school mostly for the families of local families of Chinese origin (there are many due to the arrival of many Chinese in the 19th century in the tin mining boom years). The Thai Hua School moved to a new larger home on the edge of town in the 1990's. We know people whose kids study there and the Chinese language is still part of the curriculum.





Inside the front gates, the car park is decorated with photos of the old school.



When my daughter and I arrived, there were loads of guys with fancy cameras all over the place. With my little Canon Powershot I felt quite inadequate! I asked a guy what was going on. Turns out to be a photo assignment for Canon. I looked closer, yep they all had Canon cameras. A model was posing for photos inside the museum. Well, even with a Powershot you can snap a nice photo!



My daughter and I then wandered around the rooms of the old school. Some still with old school desks, lots of photos on the walls of past students. I did feel a sense of history, and we even met a former student sitting in her old classroom. She told us she had been at the school in the 1970's, and her mother had been to the same school before her.





One room was full of old school books. The Chinese connection is clear! There was a wall full of little reading books ranging from Snoopy to what looked like "Why China is the best country in the world" type books! There were also old Chinese dictionaries and such. We did consider the Thai Hua school for our daughter some years ago, thinking Chinese would be a useful skill if they decide to take over the world, but in the end we opted for a school that teaches more in English.





As I say, the museum is still growing, but it's certainly worth a visit. Phuket has plenty of history and culture, but you are not going to find it in Patong Beach! The brochure I picked up says it's open every day except Monday. If you are in Phuket Town, have a look. If you are a backpacker and stay at the Old Town Hostel, no excuses, it's about 1 minute down the road!

(update 2010) - the museum has been renovated and there is more to see now, but there is also an entry fee of 200 Baht per person :)

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Loy Krathong 2013 - 17th November 2013

The date for Loy Krathong 2013 will be November 17th.

Loy Krathong is a very old festival which takes place on the full moon of the 12th lunar month (so the date is different every year). Loy Krathong is largely about giving thanks to the goddess of water, though may be based on an old Hindu festival. There are many links between Buddhism and Hinduism, being that the Buddha was born in India. The festival is not huge in Phuket compared to Chiang Mai for example, but nevertheless it seems that everyone does it!

Does what? Well, aside from a bit of a party, you have to "Loy" (float) your Krathong - a few years ago I wrote about Making a Krathong. There are also beauty contests and who-can-make-the-best-krathong contests. The story below is based on our Loy Krathong evening in 2008.

Despite the weather, we headed out in the evening to Bang Wad Reservoir which is only a few kilometers from our home. The reservoir is Phuket's largest fresh water supply, so a good place to give thanks. The evening has been wet. Yes, we had been "blessed" with plenty of water. Of course, everyone waited until the rain had stopped, so it was rather crowded and also muddy underfoot. We had several Krathongs to float - one made by my wife, one made by her sister and one made by my daughter at school. There were hundreds of Krathongs in the water and hundreds more people wanting to float away all their bad luck.





Near the water were some food stalls. We did not hang around. It was crowded and muddy... and getting late. I think next year we'll go somewhere quiet for Loy Krathong.





At the reservoir we bought some "kom fai". These are lanterns made of paper with a lump of solid fuel built into the base. Simple design. All you need to do is light the fuel, let the hot air rise and watch them go. People were doing it at the reservoir.





At home we found that lighting the fuel was not so easy with a bit of a breeze. One of the lanterns took off and then landed again in the garden next door.. then took off again and got stuck in their TV aerial. I thought the burning fuel would burn their TV cable, but the lantern blew off to safety in the end. We sent 4 lanterns off into the night sky to become stars (so I told the kids!)


(above) burning fuel heating the air in the Kom Fai


(above) Once the fuel really starts to burn, the air heats up and you can slowly release your lantern...

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Thai Street Food - Fruit Stalls

I seem to recall growing up in England that a pineapple was regarded as a valuable item... wow, tropical fruit! And things like mangos and papayas were just words. Even the humble banana was a special treat. Maybe my memories are hazy, but fruit in England meant apples and pears, plums and maybe peaches. Oranges were not uncommon, and there were always satsumas at Christmas time! There were raspberries in season, and we often went blackberry picking.

The words "tropical fruit" brought to mind jungles, far away places, unreachable lands. This was 30 years ago. Holidays to a place like Thailand were all but unheard of. A few brave backpackers maybe, when backpacking was still an adventure!



What is "Street food"? Well, I mean anything that is not a restaurant really - simple roadside stalls, sometimes with wheels or built onto the side of motorbikes. Temporary noodle joints that open in the evening outside shops that have closed for the day. Hawkers carrying baskets of snacks, grilled chicken by the roadside, motorbikes with kitchens as the sidecar.

And fruit stalls are everywhere, even in the main beach areas of Phuket. Mostly they are mobile. Honda Wave mopeds retrofitted with ice filled glass displays full of fruity goodness. On the photos on this page you can see watermelon, mango, papaya, pineapple, guava, canteloupe, coconuts, pomelo, rose apple... missing are things like mangosteen, durian, rambutan - all of which are pretty common.



Feeling fruity? A portion of whichever fruit you want is normally about 10 Baht. Great at breakfast time, or any time. I am a fan of rose apples (called cham-poo in Thai). I don't think I ever saw them before coming here. I also like a bit of papaya now and then. If you never had mangosteen before.. try it. If you never had durian before, you can feel thankful! Ah, go on, try it... try it all!

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Some Videos at Phuket Aquarium

We do like Phuket Aquarium. I have totally lost count of how many times we have been. I love taking the kids there and watching their reactions to the fish. As a baby they are amazed, then they start to look more closely, then they start to learn names, then they get older and ask questions about the fish. As a diver, most of the species in the aquarium are familiar to me so I am very happy to pass on some knowledge... and you know you can't fool a kid.

After our last visit, my 3 year old boy was looking at one of the aquarium brochures I had picked up. There was a picture of a small orange and white fish. He asked me "what's this fish, daddy?". I relied "It's Nemo". He came right back with "No! It's an anemone fish!". Proud dad.

So here's a few little video clips of the aquarium. It's well worth a visit I reckon.

Bannerfish and Moorish Idols



Moray Eels



Leopard Shark in the big tank (you can walk through a little tunnel).



Big Groupers have their own tank, or they'd eat the sharks :)



Leopard shark and Blacktip shark in the big tank.



Eagle Ray in the big tank.

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Sawasdee Village Resort, Kata Beach

Sawasdee Village is one of the hotels I have meant to add here for a long time, and today was reminded by some customers in our dive center who raved about how beautiful it is and how well looked after they felt there. It seems to me that Sawasdee Village is no ordinary hotel. It's not a big hotel really, only about 40 rooms, built in and around an oasis of tropical gardens, orchids and pools, with a 5 star spa thrown in for good measure.

It seems to me that Sawasdee Village has been around for ever... I came to Phuket in 1999 and it was there.. from what I can gather by "web research" Sawasdee Village opened in 1991. There have been a lot of improvements and additions since and now it really does seem to be well worth recommending and it's a very reasonable price for such quality. The new Baray Villa rooms look amazing (more expensive too but looks like you get a lot of extras with these rooms). I like the sound of the 8 foot beds - truly King size!

Sawasdee Village gets lots of very good reviews, and is one of the Top 10 Hotels in Phuket, but is considerably cheaper than some of the luxury resorts that make up the top 10, and unlike most of those resorts that are on the quiet northern beaches, Sawasdee Village is in Kata - central to just about everything, with plenty of restaurants, bars and opticians (if you are in Kata, you'll see!) nearby. The only disadvantage I can see is the location. Like many places in Kata, it's got Club Med between it and the beach, so you have to walk around, though it seems there is a free shuttle also.

Sawasdee Village - Booking & Reviews

• Sawasdee Village - Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Sawasdee Village - Hotel Reviews at Agoda.com


Sawasdee Village - 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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Seaplane Flight to Phi Phi

Yesterday (18th October 2008) was a very good day! We did something that we had not planned on doing.. in fact we had planned a day up to Khao Lak, but we got something a bit special instead. I had been contacted by a company called Destination Air the week before about maybe taking a ride on one of their seaplanes and writing about it here on Jamie's Phuket. Yes, sure! This week I decided to be very cheeky and asked if there were 4 seats available so I could go with my wife and kids. On Friday afternoon we got confirmation that a flight was heading to Phi Phi Island at 3pm on Saturday.. and they managed to find a seat for my sister in law too :)

I have been recommending Destination Air to people for some time now. Yeh, I know you can get to Phi Phi quite cheaply by ferry, but damn! A flight to Phi Phi? There are still many people who don't know the option even exists, and yes, it's not exactly super cheap - current price is 4,999 Baht per person. But this is more than just transport, this is an experience too, and if you have limited time, or arrive in Phuket at the wrong time for the ferry, a flight to Phi Phi is a great option. From Phuket Airport to your hotel on Phi Phi in about 25 minutes. And when I say it's not cheap, I guess that's the backpacker in me talking. It's 100 Euro, it saves hours of travel time, and ... this is one of those "picture is worth 1000 words" moments. This is something I had wanted to do for ages, so thanks to Destination Air for the experience, and thanks to Gerry our pilot and the crew. The whole family enjoyed a great day!

• Phi Phi Island Hotels - Book Here
• Phuket Hotels - Book Here




If you want to get to Phi Phi in style, I hope the following photos and mini videos will give an idea of what you can expect on a flight to Phi Phi! After meeting at the Destination Air office at Phuket Airport, we had time to buy the kids a donut before boarding. This was not a 747, not even close! We were shuttled over to our little plane by minibus and waited as customers bags were loaded. The plane seated just 9 people (plus a "copilot" seat). It was not big!



Unlike a big 300 seat aircraft, boarding here takes 3 minutes, a quick safety briefing, fasten seatbelts, and you're off! The take off was very smooth, I could hardly tell when we left the ground. It's been a while since I flew in a small plane in the Caribbean. You have to ignore the noise and rattles! As we left the airport and flew over the east coast of Phuket the view below was very green...



On the outbound flight I did not take a window seat - better let a "paying customer" get some great photos! I just enjoyed the ride. If you take a flight, and want to take good pics, best to bag a window seat or ask if you can take the copilot seat. Here's the view after flying over Phuket looking towards Koh Yao Yai...



I learned later that you can also charter a plane for a sightseeing or aerial photography tour - you'd need to contact Destination Air for prices. If you had a small group, I reckon you'd have a great experience and a chance for some great photos without spending too much per person.



It's only 45km to Phi Phi, the flight is about 20 minutes. The customers on board were staying at the Zeavola Resort in Phi Phi. We landed on the water on the east coast and taxied to a floating platform where customers were met by a longtail to take them to the beach. The resorts on Phi Phi's east coast are very nice places, a real getaway from noise, from stress. I can assure you it's very nice to stay in a place where there are no cars!



Video above - landing at Phi Phi on the east coast of Phi Phi Don. Landing on the water!

The floating platform is moved according to the season. Right now it's still on the east coast but once the NE winds start, this will move to the west coast of Phi Phi Don. We said good bye to the passengers heading to their hotels and I chatted a while with Gerry the pilot. He's a Canadian and used to fly seaplanes in Fiji as well as in the frozen North, eh. He told me that he'd read Jamie's Phuket Blog and the blog had helped him decide to come to Phuket! After a while we found out that nobody else was heading back to Phuket - the return flight was just for us!





No holiday in Phi Phi for us... we just headed straight back home to Phuket, well.. almost. Gerry detoured a couple of minutes to the south so we could fly right over the amazing Phi Phi Le Island! Oh, and I got the copilot seat :)



No matter how many times you have seen this island, the view from above is absolutely breathtaking. And here I was thinking I was too old for breathtaking experiences... (Note: the images on this page can all be found on Flickr - see Flying Over Phi Phi Island for a full screen slideshow!)









Video - flying over Phi Phi Le ... I should have thought to clean the window!



Koh Yao Yai is a huge island in between Phuket and Phi Phi, stretching up into Phang Nga Bay. We have been to Koh Yao Noi several times, but Koh Yao Yai remains a target for me.. before the developers move in. We got plenty of views from the seaplane. Absolute paradise.





Anyone for sailing? You can sail around Phang Nga Bay for days and hardly see a soul. And yet, you're within sight of Phuket island. This area is absolutely gorgeous and from the air you really get an idea of the wide open spaces, the green islands, the nature...





A final couple of photos of islands off Phuket's east coast and of a mangrove river in the NE of Phuket. We also flew over one of our favourite restaurants at Bang Rong, near Bang Pae Waterfall. Sometimes hard to know where to point the camera... All photos on this page by me or my wife. Photos look great, but wish I had a better camera!





A couple of minutes later we landed back at Phuket Airport. I was momentarily worried by an eagle that decided the runway was a good place to hang out. It took off rather lazily towards us as we landed. One hopes the eagle knew what he was doing! Our great experience was over. I must say.. If you want to do something different, I reckon Destination Air can help! They can do flights to other places too, such as Krabi or Koh Lanta, or charter flights to just about anywhere within range, either for transport or for a tour with the most amazing views.

I hope we can do this again someday, it was truly a great day yesterday for the whole family :) Thanks to everyone at Destination Air for the experience.

UPDATE 2012 - Destination Air no longer exists, but hey, we had a great day! I hear rumours of helicopter tours now in Phuket....

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