Friday 26 June 2015

Chinese Temple Shopping


I do not know how many of these shops that there are in Phuket but I do love to visit them.



Throughout the shops are all of the pieces that you frequently find in one of the many Chinese Shrines throughout Phuket. 



Many of the statues are purchased and put in theses shrines. You may find that some people will also have one of the statues in their homes.



This particular one is in Phuket Old Town and I was more than welcomed by the owner of the shop.





I did not find the Vegetarian Festival aprons in here and I do wonder how each shop 'decides' which products that it will sell.



Places in Phuket Town
 1) Mar 2015 - Centre of Phuket Old Town


Saturday 20 June 2015

Pussy's Penitentiary Bar (Soi Bangla Patong)


Pussy's Bar - why did I choose to post it here? Have I been? No.

Well there are a plethora of bars (here's Suzy Wong) to choose from and I am sure that there are plenty of guides and prices but how many have a facebook site.


(they wanted to be my friend). So my next question would be does the guest know they are here? I wonder if there any bars with a Live Web Cam?


Sunday 14 June 2015

Tham Phung Chang Cave - Elephant Cave


Phung Chang Cave - Elephant Cave is something that there is not a lot written about.


At the front of the cave there is a long road leading to a temple - lovely surroundings.


At the side is a long wooden terrace - not really something to photograph or write home about!


At this point you are kitted out with with a head light and a torch...
Walking down some steps you come across a number of smaller Wats in front of a big cave entrance.... The stalagmites and stalactites give the most amazing sites as you enter (carefully) in. 


It was at this point that I was told that we were not allowed to take a photograph! Why?

"Tham Phung Chang is a cavern on Khao Chang or Chang Hill (Elephant Hill) within Phangnga Municipility. The Cave has two entrances, one on the West and one on the Eat of the hill, inside Wat Tham Pung Chang. The cave houses beautiful stalagmites and stalactites of various shapes, as well as contains sparkling calcite crystals on some parts of it's wall. A stream flows through the cave all year round with deep water in some parts. The distance from one entrance to the other is approximately 1,200 metres.

According to legend, Yomdung, a wanderer, sought refuge at Chongdong's house. The couple moved out of the house to establish their own family, earning living by farming. Towards the end of the harvest season, a herd of wild elephants trampled their crops. Disappointed and infuriated, Yomdung got a spear and pursued the herd. He encountered an elephant that belonged to a man called 'Ngum', mistook it for for the one in the wild herd, speared the animal to death through it's belly, gutted it an cooked the guts for food and lso cut the tusks - unaware of the animal's innocence.

The dead elephant became Chang Hill and the speared belly became 'Tham Phung Chang', the elephant belly's cave.


This was written on a board.


The cave length is about 1,200 metres and you first enter on foot and are swiftly put onto the canoes. Carefully canoeing along you look everywhere and as you are told by your guides the shapes are actually the shapes of animals - I am very lucky having a Thai wife as she was able to translate everything for me!


This made me thing of the oddness - what would the caves look like on film? Despite this we were taken in by the atmosphere and I did not mind in the slightest... Then there was a raft - now this was a little scary to say the least and I was glad that I was not trying to take photographs....

Returning was easier. Leaving the canoes was a relief...


We then left a different way on foot walking past a Buddha footprint where we left some money - we don't see many of these.




Monday 8 June 2015

Fresh Mango and sticky rice





2) Fresh Mango and sticky rice 

Living in Thailand for a period of time you do eat the Local foods as the Locals prepare. 

I am asked a number of times whether I eat the food and I do indicate that I do. Then I am asked whether I think that it is safe for the tourist - I could not indicate this at all BUT I do think you should go and browse and think about it.

Fresh mango is something that I look forward to every mango season in Phuket. There are mangoes available all year round and the best way to tell the season (April to May) is the plethora of street stalla which are selling on the street and how cheap they all are.



The mangoes that you are looking for on the street are the yellow mangoes, there are sometimes green ones but these are the ones to either take home or to use to make a dinner.



Khao Niaw Mamung is what you need to ask for. This is a dish of slices juicy mangoes, glutinous rice (sticky rice), lots of coconut cream and alum.



So how much does a serving cost - about 80 Baht, but I reckon they make enough I suppose?  But i have to add I always ask my wife to chose which mango to have because when I choose it I am invariably wrong. Do I have a guide for it - sorry but no...


Monday 1 June 2015

Drawing Room


Drawing Room is one of the larger Artist Studio's in Phuket Old Town. (Number 30 on the map below).


SO what can I say to add to to the photographs which I put here?


The Drawing Room is certainly somewhere interesting to visit and although I am not going to purchase any paintings it was certainly an interesting place to wander about.



This cavernous warehouse in the Old Town is a showcase for artist Isara Thaotong’s whimsical art. A Fine Arts graduate from Bangkok’s Rangsit University, he moved down to Phuket where he designed a nightclub and condominium before he deiced to devote himself to art that is wholly his own and not a project where the owner and other people give their input. 



His body of work is divided into styles, introspective abstract acrylic canvases and quirky black and white cartoon-style art inspired by Japanese manga, most of which feature ‘Peepho’ a cute character he created. While the former are mature expressions of emotions he feels, the latter are illustrations of his daydreams. Most of his works are for sale, and the chatty artist is happy to explain the inspiration behind his art.

Text is from Destination Amari


I did think that the hanging bicycle was a piece of art though but on reflection I think that it was actually the artist's bicycle to get there.


I also wondered whether the Vespa worked?


Opening Hours: 10am - 6pm
Address: 56 Phang-Nga Road, Phuket Town
Telephone: 086 899 4888