A Trip into Phuket Town

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One morning some guests from the Cape Panwa Hotel and I took a trip into Phuket Town.

We drove along the coastal road into Yon Bay where we could see over to Chalong Bay and the Big Buddah in the distance.

Our first stop was in Old Phuket Town where we visited the Fresh Market. Our guests tried fruits - Durian, Dragonfruit, Lychees and Salak. After this I asked the guests to try other delicacies but they politely declined.

We walked through the market and the backstreets of Phuket and came to Thamachad (Natural) – a quite exquisite restaurant serving authentic Thai food. Not only is the food special but so are it’s surroundings – the tables have Sewing Machine legs, there is a PC with a fish tank in it, there are some 45’s on the wall and more. Click here for a look inside Natural.

Then we visited a Chinese Temple and Shrine. The Chinese Temple and Shrine is full of colour, beauty and interest. We removed our shoes and entered, joss sticks and candles were lit by many guests and bracelets were tied. The details of all the figures on the three blessing tables in the Temple were magnificent and absorbing.

After this we visited Rang Hill to enjoy the view over to Phuket Town and the Andaman Sea.

Shopping was last - but not least!!!! We visited Phuket Town and it’s plethora of Shopping Malls, CD-shops, restaurants, coffee shops and clothes shops.

AN UPDATE

Click here for an interesting article about the History of Phuket Town

Gibbon rehabilitation

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We took some guests from the Cape Panwa Hotel for a trip to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) in Bang Pae to see first-hand the work being done and to walk through the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park.

Gibbons are small, acrobatic primates; advanced apes from Southeast Asia which are in danger of going extinct.They are a marvel to watch! We observed them in their pens and we were very lucky to hear the mating call of the female whilst we were there.

There are a number of different types of gibbons here and a couple have successfully bred and are now living back in the forest. Originally these gibbons were wild, living in the forests but they were knocked out of the trees and picked up from the forest floor, fed alcohol and given nappies!

Once the gibbon matures they can no longer be ‘pets’ and are discarded – this is where the GRP help and their goal is to reintegrate them into the wild – unfortunately they do not have a lot of success or support.

If you do visit Phuket please take a little time to visit the GRP. There is a 200 Baht fee for entering the National Park but please purchase something in the shop as the GRP receives no funding from them. You can even adopt a Gibbon – who will stay and live in the National Park.

We finished the trip with a stroll though the jungle to a waterfall where a number of guests went for a swim and others sat around eating fresh coconuts. Delightful!

For more photographs of our trip please click here.

Please click here for an article from the Phuket Gazette regarding the gibbons plight - please read page 26.