Sapam Chinese Shrine (Kuan Te Kun)

I had meant to visit the Chinese shrine at Sapam for ages. Sapam is a village about 7km north of Phuket Town. Just south of the village is Wat Sapam which I have visited before. The village is/was a fishing community. The access is just off the main road between town and the airport, about 1.5km south of the bypass road. The Chinese shrine is right at the corner at the entrance to the village. The village road is only about 500m long before you hit the sea on the east coast of Phuket.



Although the shrine is commonly called "Sapam Shrine", or "Sanjao Sapam" (Sanjao is the Thai word for a Chinese shrine), the actual name is Kuan Te Kun - the sign above says Sanjao Kuan Te Kun, and I guess says a similar thing in Chinese. I wanted to visit, as this is one of the participating shrines in the Phuket vegetarian festival, and this year (2010), the first main street procession of the festival will start at Sapam shrine on Saturday 10th October. I intend to be there nice and early, around 6am. So this visit was a kind of familiarisation trip.

It's not a big shrine compared to Kathu or Jui Tui for example, which is not surprising as it serves a small community. You can read something here about the history of the Sapam area.



The dragon above is one of 2 on the stairway at the entrance to the shrine. Everything was looking very shiny, I could see recently used mops hanging to dry and pots of paint in a shed across the road. At the time of the vegetarian festival everything is made to look its best. Statues of gods are carefully cleaned, shrines spruced up... the belief is that during the festival the gods or spirits descend into the shrines.



The main doors into the interior of the shrine were closed, but I could walk around the covered area outside where statues such as the one above were found. Also, see below.... this spiked ball (I believe) will be tied to a rope and used by a devotee (Ma Song) during the vegetarian festival - swung into the flesh of his back. There is a lot more to the festival than just Tofu :)



I have more photos of this shrine on Flickr: Sapam Shrine. I'll be back here on the 10th!

Update - photos at Sapam Shrine on 10th October:

• Sapam Shrine Vegetarian Festival

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Marina Phuket Resort at Karon Beach

The Marina Phuket Resort has been around for quite a long time. Not sure exactly when it opened, but it's been in Phuket longer than me! It's one of those hotels that somehow manages to combine a secluded feel and a central location, sitting on the headland at the far south end of Karon Beach with beach access down some stairs at the "On The Rock" restaurant, unspoiled sea views and yet if you walk out of the main entrance you are in the busy Kata Center area with lots of shops and restaurants. I've been inside several times to see customers or to visit the restaurant - there is a webcam installed at the restaurant - see here: Karon Beach Phuket Webcam... so you can get a good idea of the view. the rooms are past the restaurant over the sea and the rocks. This end of Karon is decent for snorkeling, and I've dived there too. It's also only about 10 minutes walk to the sands at Kata Beach from the resort.

Marina Phuket Resort - Booking & Information Links

• Marina Phuket Resort - Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Marina Phuket Resort - Rates and Reservations at HotelsCombined.com
• More Suggested Karon Beach Hotels
• Kata Beach Hotel Suggestions

Reviews on TripAdvisor are almost all positive, I do see some things about rooms being a bit old, but there are different kinds of room with Seaview or "Jungle View" - the grounds of the hotel are well kept and very green and jungly. The reviews we\re good enough to put Marina Phuket Resort into the Top 10 Phuket Hotels list that I wrote in 2008. The resort was fully renovated during the summer of 2012.

Marina Phuket Resort - 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

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Tunk Ka Restaurant / Cafe on Rang Hill

Tunk Ka is a well known restaurant, a bit of an institution in Phuket, located near the top of Rang Hill in Phuket Town, open since sometime in the 1970's (I seem to remember reading that somewhere). I have meant to visit and blog Tunk Ka for ages, but my wife and I used to have the idea that the food prices were really high, putting it into the "fancy" bracket that we non-fancy folk avoid. We used to go there a lot 8 - 10 years ago just for coffee. They claimed to have the best ice coffee in Phuket and we agreed, plus you had a nice view and a calm environment. I don't recall ever eating there until a few years ago, just ice coffee until then. This blog page was first written in 2010, updated 2013. Although we have been up Rang Hill many times we've only eaten at Tunk Ka a couple of times and it's a good one!

So one day a few years ago after lunch in Phuket Town we had some free time and I convinced my dear wife that we should try Tunk Ka Cafe again, just for a coffee. You need to drive up Rang Hill. There are a couple of different roads up there, both ending up at a hill top park with a fair amount of parking space, views over Phuket Town and a statue of a man called Korsimbi Na Ranong who was governor of Phuket about 110 years ago and is credited for introducing the rubber industry into Thailand - rubber became a major source of income for Thailand and for Phuket in particular.



A newer restaurant called Khao Rang Breeze opened a couple of years ago. We've not tried it yet! Past this restaurant is the main viewpoint with lots of benches. Quite a lot of tours come this way. If you want great views there are plenty in Phuket - see Phuket Hills and Views.



Oh, and there are normally monkeys hanging around the car park area looking for handouts...





(above) Buddha at the entrance to Tunk Ka

The Tunk Ka restaurant is clearly signposted, although you can't see it from here, as you have to walk down a stairway in the trees, the stairs being made from old railway sleepers, which is an oddity since there is no railway within 200 kilometres of Phuket! (note : update 2013, a new stairway has been built). The restaurant is perched on the side of the hill with views to the South and West. It's around 350 feet above the town. Most of the view is towards Chalong, you can't see so much of Phuket Town, as the center is to the Southeast.



There's lots of seating inside (the outer tables with a view) and some on a balcony outside which is where we chose to sit on that day in 2010 in the fresh air. We spent some time looking at the menu, and after a quick browse we decided we'll be back soon for dinner. Arriving around 5:30 - 6pm would be good. Sunset time in Phuket varies from about 6pm - 6:45pm during the year, but if you get there too early, it might be a bit hot to sit outside in the sun. And by the time you finish eating it would be dark, so there would be some night views with pretty lights..



The menu is very local food, no western options. I have had the fried rice made with dried shrimp chili paste (nam prik gung seab) and grilled pork (moo yang). Very tasty. Most things on the menu are 80 - 120 Baht. The iced coffee we had is 60 Baht, but there are lots of drink options from fruit shakes to various teas and coffees and beers. This felt like a "discovery" in a way - although we had been here many times before, it had been years, so I guess we have rediscovered Tunk Ka.



(above) The ice coffee is good - and here are some food photos .... on our last visit in 2013, I had the crab curry with coconut milk. That's a really tasty dish!



And here's a really local dish - Nam Prik Gung Seab, a chili paste with dried shrimps you eat with boiled vegetables and normally with omelette and rice too. It wasn't the best I'd had, but it's kind of addictive .. or if you have not tried it before, well it's a real local flavour to try!





(above) We went to Tunk Ka again in the evening one time for dinner when my mum, dad and cousin were visiting. We bagged the balcony table with the best view. Very nice evening. You gotta get this table!

Tunk Ka Cafe - Location Map


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Street Fair in Kathu

NEWS - This street fair will be repeated December 29 - 21, 2013.

Kathu district covers a large part of Phuket from Patong to the edges of Phuket Town. It's an old area of Phuket with lots of history, where the Phuket Vegetarian Festival originated and was the center of the tin mining industry in Phuket for 200 years. And it's where we live, as do thousands of other people. There are older streets and lots of new housing in Kathu. Lots of shops, schools, hairdressers, temples and the odd aircon dealer and vet. You know, normal everyday life. From Patong to Kathu takes 10 - 15 minutes by car. Patong is tourism central. Kathu is where people actually live!

On the way home from work last week, I had noticed tents and a small stage being erected along the road between Ket Ho junction and Kathu village. So on Friday night we went to look at what was going on. This was a very small local fair for the local community, the municipality basically blocked off half the road for a few hundred metres and in came food stalls, games for kids, and the first thing we saw, dance performances by kids from the local schools.





We watched a few of the dances and then took a little walk along the street. It was pretty crowded, given that everything was packed onto one side of the road and there were stalls lining both sides. The kids had already seen that they could do some painting, so we dropped them at the painting stall where they could entertain themselves for 20 Baht and get a canvas and paint, sit down and create a masterpiece.



Many of the stalls were selling food, everything from spicy sausages to grilled squid and spicy salads. We actually went back on Saturday (the fair was on for 2 days) and bought up a whole load of snacks, back to our house with some friends, pick up some cold beers on the way and whaddaya know, an impromptu party!







It was a fun thing.. very Thai... "Oh what the heck, lets close off the road and have a party!". And a LOT of people were there, or it seemed like a lot in the narrow space. I liked this bunch of kids all dressed up and painted dancing with bamboo poles.. I think this is a Northern Thai tradition actually, but given the number of immigrant workers in Phuket, no surprise to see it here.



Meanwhile, our son had completed his Ultraman painting, and our daughter had done a cute cat. Our kids like these events, in fact they seem to enjoy doing pretty much whatever we do. I am thinking of writing a "Phuket for Kids" page, but from my point of view, I say just take your kids along to whatever you do, except maybe shopping and massage. It's different as residents but wherever we go, our kids see something new, and learn something I hope. On Saturday we took a little detour and drove round some back roads in the center of the island passing huge fields of pineapples. We stopped to show the kids - this is what pineapples look like when they're growing. Now they know, and I tell you, kids enjoy knowing things. I had no idea how pineapples grew until I saw them here! Anyway, here's Ultraman:



And a quick word for our sponsors... it needed a good bit of support by the local constabulary to run the event, to keep traffic flowing since the fair took up half the road! This guy below is a local policeman who we see often, sometimes on duty, sometimes in local restaurants. I have also seen him with pierced cheeks during the vegetarian festival - check the scars...



Here he is... this photo from 2006:



The vegetarian festival starts October 7th this year - details here: Phuket Vegetarian festival 2010 Schedule. You'll always find something going on around Kathu during the festival.

I realise this kind of very local street fair will pass most visitors by, but I know some tourists do like to explore, rent a car, drive around, find some back roads.. where the real Phuket is found. Welcome.

Map showing location of this street fair:


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Baba (Peranakan) Wedding in Phuket

A what wedding? If you are not familiar with the history of Phuket, you probably don't know about the Baba or Peranakan culture. I am not an expert either. In a nutshell, Nyonya (female) and Baba (male) are the terms used for the descendants of mixed marriages between Chinese immigrants and locals. Malaysians use the Malay word Peranakan. Apparently the word "Nyonya" is not used much as it's hard to pronounce, so male and female alike are all Baba! Many Chinese came to Phuket in the 19th century as traders and to work in the tin mining industry which created a lot of wealth for Phuket. Some of the biggest and richest families in Phuket are "Baba" families, including the Hongyok family. The current Mayor of Phuket City, Somjai Suwansupana is also a Baba. There is a lot of history there, a lot that I think we cannot fully understand without being a part of the "clan"!

So - about the weddings - the Peranakan culture is not just in Phuket, it's found also in Malaysia and Singapore. The Phuket Baba wedding has been promoted by the TAT and this year some 18 couples from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China were due to be wed in traditional style, meaning lots of dressing up and lots of tradition. The wedding event took place over 2 days, 14th - 15th August starting with a garden party at the Hongyok family house in Phuket Town. I had driven past the house before and wondered who it belonged to.. now I have been there! Saturday afternoon was a bit rainy, I arrived quite early and sat in the car for 20 minutes hoping the rain would stop. It did, as it has a habit of doing. Thankfully, or the garden party would have been a washout. I entered the gates into a world of old ladies dressed in their traditional clothes. There were many more old ladies than men. A stage was set up in front of the house and seating for a good 150 people in the garden. Nothing happening on stage yet, so I approached the house, not sure if I'd be let in! Entering this old family house was an odd experience. The history was clear, the house is from the early 20th century, and the main drawing room was full of old Baba ladies chattering away...



It was a glimpse into another world, a Phuket far removed from tourism and modern conveniences, an old Phuket. You can get a taste of this with a walk around the old part of Phuket Town, but this scene was like old Phuket brought back to life! Nobody minded me being there.. I mean, it was not a private party, it had been advertised in the local papers and the event is partly organised by the TAT.. but just being the only foreigner felt odd! Phuket has seen so many changes in a lifetime, I wonder what these 2 ladies have seen...



Not being a regular at top social events for wealthy locals, I admit to not knowing who most of the people were. I recognised some faces, but if anyone reading could tell me (leave a comment) who the people are in these photos, I'd be much obliged. In particular, who is this man below? He seemed to me to be part of the family, an elder member of the Hongyok family?



An orchestra was starting to set up on the stage outside, and with the last of the drizzle clearing up, I also went into the garden. Behind the assembling orchestra, this guy was hidden away and setting up his Fender steel guitar. Maybe there was some country music later in the evening after I left?! I was there when the music started but I did not hear any steel guitar.



The older ladies started gathering in the garden to watch the show, I continued snapping photos. There were noticeably very few younger people. Does the younger generation not feel so connected to the traditions? The older ladies sat sipping tea. There is certainly a real sense of pride among the people here. It's in the air.



A handful of other foreigners appeared including Alastair and Tim who both do websites and blogs here, and a couple of wealthy foreign residents who I have seen before, but despite the mentions of this event in local websites, like many other local events I have attended, there were just a few foreigners present. I did find some young Baba girls in the garden too, probably members of the big families. The traditions are yours to carry on...





More guests were arriving including some important people like Khun Anchalee who is deputy secretary general to the Prime Minsiter, her husband is a Phuket Democrat MP, and then the wedding couples also arrived, not all dressed up yet, as the actual wedding ceremony was to take place the next morning (the Sunday morning ceremony included a procession in town, unfortunately I had to work and missed it.. a couple of links at the end of the page to other people's blogs/photos).





After some music (including "Over the Rainbow"... I often hear rather odd and rather un-Thai music coming from Thai orchestras!), there were speeches given (in Thai) about the Baba wedding tradition, and all were translated into English - I suppose this must be mainly for the non Thai couples taking part in the event which I read that they pay 39,000 Baht per couple for. At one point I could see the guy translating into English looking around for people to "translate to", he spotted me and Tim hiding behind a tree and seemed glad he wasn't talking English for nothing!

As the evening progressed and it started to get dark, it was time for me to head home. Another taste of Phuket history and culture. I would have liked to be at the ceremony and see the procession next day, but for now, continue working 6 days a week looking after a dive center :) People were still arriving as I was leaving, guess they were being fashionably late. This little baba arrived with her family...



These events, these very local events are what I enjoy most in Phuket. I always happy to discover new places to explore and attend festivals that are based on the history and traditions of Phuket. I realise this kind of thing passes most visitors by, it's totally unrelated to beaches and tourism, but for me, the longer I stay here, the more I get pleasure from the "other" Phuket.

• Baba wedding - Gallery on Flickr


The second day of the wedding event was Sunday 15th - I did not attend the procession, should have gone to work late I guess! But Alasdair was there, so was Tim, you can see some photos on their websites...

• Alasdairs Photos on Phuket Observer
• Tims photos on his blog

More festivals in Phuket on this blog:

• Phuket Vegetarian festival
• Phuket Heroines festival
• Kathu Village Festival

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Going to watch the Football - Phuket FC!

Yes, you can watch live football here in Phuket! And I am not talking about the English Premier League in a bar, but real life football in a stadium with real players. Phuket has a football team (that's "soccer" for those of you who are uneducated). Phuket FC play in the regional southern league division 2, one of half a dozen second division leagues from various parts of the country. The winners of the division 2 titles enter a play off to get promoted to division 1.. there is a Premier division above that. So right now Phuket are in a low division, which is hardly surprising, as FC Phuket was only formed in 2009! In their first year, Phuket FC did rather badly, only winning 2 games all season, but this time around Phuket are top of the table and heading for the playoffs. I have been vaguely following the teams progress via the Facebook page for the Phuket FC Fan Club.

I have meant to attend a match for months. Had a plan to see Phuket v Ranong a few months ago, which Phuket won 5-0, but ended up drunk and watching Chelsea v Man Utd instead. I think the Phuket game would have been better. With the end of the season approaching, a friend sent me a good ol' fashioned Facebook message on Sunday "Going to watch Phuket, you coming or what?" - Yes! Looked like a rain free evening, kick off due for 6pm, I was delayed at work until 5:20, dashed to Phuket Town by 5:45.. made it. The Surakul stadium is on the edge of town near the Darasamut school, not far from the Central Festival mall. There's parking behind the stadium, or you can park bikes out front. Fortunately this is Phuket and not Liverpool. No huge crowds. There were people buying tickets but my friend had already bought ours, and some beers! Yes, you can take beers in.. cans only, not bottles. Entrance fee? A huge, whopping 50 Baht for adults and 20 Baht for kids. Win!



Crowd was arriving right up to kick off. No big queues, friendly staff at the gates including the guy above with his vuvuzela. We found a seat in the main stand right behind the main supporters club, all in green, with drums and hooters already making plenty of noise, totally drowning out the handful of opposition supporters from Hat Yai who were at the other end of the main stand. By kick off, I estimated the crowd to be at least a thousand, maybe as many as 1,500. The main stand is best, but there were a few hundred folks in the (uncovered) stand on the far side of the pitch too. Here's some of the Phuket FC fans just before the match started:



The seats in the stand are built for smaller people than me! Not much legroom, better to stand up.. after all, it's called a "stand", right? Sitting right behind the die-hard fans was good, they started with chants and drums and pretty much continued through the entire match. A very friendly atmosphere. I had not been to a live football game for many years, this was good! But Phuket needed a goal. Top of the league, not yet guaranteed a place in the play offs, though. Nervous times in the first half as Phuket went close a couple of times and Had Yai hardly saw the ball. With a 6pm kick off, the first half was played with the skies still light (sunset around 6:45pm), though floodlights were turned on during the half. Could Phuket get a breakthrough? YES! GOOOALLL! Excellent free kick by Ali Diarra, who is from the Ivory Coast and actually on loan to Phuket from Muangthong United who play in the Thai Premier League.



No wonder one of the Phuket fans favourite chants is "Ali! Ali! Ali!". The goal was near the end of the half. The interval, time to stretch legs, my friend went to buy some more beers. The bathrooms are on the far side of the stadium, and I'd say in need of some renovation. Not the nicest toilet in Thailand.. if Phuket FC get promoted, might be an idea to improve the facilities! The stadium itself is pretty decent, the pitch looked to be in good condition too.



Second half in the dark under floodlights. No let up from the crowd, non stop songs and drums, but you could feel the nerves. One goal is never enough, and Hat Yai started to get some chances. Every rough challenge by a Hat Yai player was booed, and when one of them got a yellow card, a big cheer! Phuket's keeper made one great save, and the crowd started to wonder if we could win this. My friend bemoaned the lack of goals - we should have come to that match against Ranong which Phuket won 5 - 0! And then that second goal came, a well worked move ending with Camara Ahmed slotting home. Cheers and a palpable sense of relief in the crowd! Now the singing could really begin. There are only 4 games left this season, Phuket should have a chance at promotion, but 3 of the remaining games are away from home. That's why this home game was so important.



That was an enjoyable evening, and hopefully I'll be able to watch the last remaining home game, which is on the 29th August against Phang Nga, plan to take the whole family next time, I know our 5 year old boy will love it. With the match complete, hands shaken, the Phuket fans chanted "Hat Yai, Hat Yai" to show respect for the beaten opposition, and then the Phuket players came over to the stand to thank the crowd and the supporters thanked the players. More chants of "Ali! Ali!" which seemed to amuse the player himself.



Well, maybe next season Phuket will have tougher opposition. Hope they can get promoted! If you are a football fan and want to watch a game, the stadium is easy to find, as I said it's only 50 Baht to get in, and aside from the football, you can call it a "cultural" experience. There weren't more than a dozen foreigners in the crowd as far as I could count. A couple of them were from the Phuket Gazette, who do reports on the games (here's Phuket 2 - Hat Yai 0). A few German guys were sitting near us, one of whom I knew, a dive instructor. And I saw a few others one of whom set up a Facebook group for Phuket FC. You can find info on the games on there, as well as on a blog. There's also a Thai website and Facebook page.

• Phuket FC Supporters Group on Facebook
• Phuket FC Blog
• Facebook Group (Thai Language)
• Phuket FC Fan Club (Thai Site)

Ha! Just found a Youtube video showing very very brief highlights from the game...



Surakul Stadium - Location Map


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Sabai Sabai Indian Restaurant

The local radio station 91.5FM has a bunch of very local advertisements, many of them seem to be voiced by the same geezer with what used to be called a "suburban cockney" accent. One of these ads is for an Indian restaurant, of which there are several in Phuket. The geezer proclaims "I've not had a curry for Ages, I really fancy a Tandoori Chicken" or something like that. I know how he feels. Kind of. I mean, this is Thailand, so curry is everywhere... Red, yellow, green, jungle, massaman, penang. You want curry, Thailand has it, but you know us Brits abroad, we like a taste of home. And, at least to my generation, an Indian meal is British food! And I had not eaten one for ages, so was happy to join a bunch of dive folk last week for a curry at a little restaurant in Kata.



Sabai Sabai is on Thaina road in Kata center, next door to Calypso Divers. The owner used to work as cook in another restaurant which stopped doing curries, so he opened his own place. It's not big, only half a dozen tables, nothing flash but I was assured the food was good and cheap. See the sign outside - curry from 99 Baht. Win!

The menu is pretty extensive, all the favourites are there - Vindaloo, Rogan Josh, Madras, Masala, Korma made with different meats or vegetarian. And of course you can get the add-ons like onion bhaji, popadoms, nan bread, and rice. Everyone knows that you should order rice OR nan. I ordered both so I could roll home nice and full. Only nan next time, as it was the size of a small pizza...



Beers are not expensive, I think 50 or 60 Baht, and you might have a few as the food does take a while. It seems that the restaurant had only 2 staff, being the owner (chef) and his wife (service). Well, good company ensured that the wait was not too long, helped by a few cold ones. One of our group had a smoke on a shisha (or hookah, or however you want to call it). You can see them lined up just outside...





Food started to arrive, beginning with the bhajis...



And the curry! I ordered a chicken Madras (spicy) to go with the pizza nan and rice. Looked good and spicy and the sauce good and thick.





Was spicier than I expected.. well, of course when out with the lads you have to say in a deep voice 'Make it Spicy' :) Others ordered tikka masala or vindaloo. The food was very tasty, a great reminder of Indian food. In the great British tradition of going out for a curry, I was stuffed full. Did not have 6 pints of lager, though, just a Chang or 3. Hope to eat at Sabai Sabai again soon. Good curry, good price!

UPDATE 2013

Food is still good here - see photo below - I was back on July 1st 2013 - great Chicken Madras, friendly service. The prices are up somewhat - no more 99 Baht curries. My meal was 170 Baht plus rice and onion nan and a few beers, total for 2 people 780 Baht. Worth every Baht - I would not eat Indian food so often, but might go back there more regularly now, it really was very tasty ...




Sabai Sabai Indian Restaurant - Location Map


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