Saturday 26 April 2014

Hok Nguan Kong Chinese Shrine - a Chinese Folk Story





Please enter the Hok Nguan Kong Chinese Shrine and have a look at the very special printings that are on display – ‘The Twenty-Four Filial Exeplars’. This is a famous Chinese Folk story written by Guo Jujing. 


If I do return (which I will) I will have a very careful look at this Chinese Folk Story.

Then I crossed the road for a Cappuccino at Circle Coffee.



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Sunday 20 April 2014

Ko Hor Mooncake Shop


Phuket Town has a lot of culture and traditions which the local people like to preserve - Chinese New Year, the Por Tor Festival and the Vegetarian Festival are three that spring to mind.

The Mooncake Festival is something which I covered in my blog - timinphuket.


Mooncake (simplified Chinese月饼traditional Chinese月餅pinyinyuè bĭng) is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu). The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching, when mooncakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
(text is from Wikipedia)


The centre of the Mooncake can be a number of things...




Balls of pastry encases this mixture.




The mixture is placed in a wooden block and then shaped.




The Mooncakes are placed directly in the oven.




The Mooncake is baked and made ready for eating - the spot is also a local restaurant when he is not making the Mooncakes - another restaurant to visit.


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Tuesday 8 April 2014

Phuket Gibbon Rehabilitation and Bang Pae Waterfalll


There has been so much bad press about this organisation that I felt that it was necessary to post another blog - my previous posts were over a year ago.


We visited here more recently with the Phuket Butterfly Release but they did not have one in 2013 - maybe they will have another in 2014?

The organisation are trying to reintegrate the Gibbons (and other animals) back into the wild. Many of the animals are found from the 'street people' who feel that it is a good idea to parade with an animal on their shoulder (not just gibbons now) and ask people to give them money to have a photograph...


I hope that the tourist stops wanting to have their photo taken with these wild animals - but isn't that what I did when I took Jemma to Tiger Kingdom

What is the difference?


Walk up Bang-Pae Waterfall whilst you are there, have lunch at Preang-Prai restaurant and if you are feeling adventurous walk to the Ton-Sai Waterfall BUT didn't I recently read about the tourists who got lost there recently? Next time I think that I will take a Geocache?



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Please remember to leave a donation as the entrance fee to the National Park does not mean the money goes to the support of the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project.


Previous visits 
 2) July 2010
 3) June 2009






Wednesday 2 April 2014

Motorbike Helmets and the Chinese Shrine


Please do not rent a motorbike without wearing a motorbike helmet. 


I spotted this mix when I visited the Phuket Old Town during the Vegetarian Festival last year (2013)

this was the 'normal shrine'
this was now in the shop as well
The shop (on Phuket Road in Phuket Town) usually sold a great number of helmets but this time there was a shrine set up at the front and joss sticks were lit.


Maybe you got more protection if you bought a helmet from there? If you do not think so please do not ride a motorbike without a helmet from anywhere.


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