Wat Koh Sirey

Wat Koh Sirey is certainly a Wat to visit and the most pleasant thing about this Wat is that it is peaceful. It is not on a great many maps which are produced.

At the bottom there is a temple and is well taken care of.

Then there is still a very steep hill in front of the temple and this is an effort that you have to make to get to the top - there is more meaning when you do get there in the end...

On arrival at the temple there is the same reclining Buddha and it is still as exquisite as it was on the previous visit.

Recently the Wat was updated and the surround of the Temple was finished - great. This was after.

This was before.

But what is more of an attraction is the (I think) structure that was added - but I am told that it has something to do with the Myanmar workers that live on the island. It is a replica of Phra That In Kwaen (Golden Rock) from Burma (Myanmar).

The original rock represents one of the 3 most sacred places in Myanmar for Religious Worship and apparently the original one is certainly a sight to behold....

Well this is certainly special to visit and it was clear that it was not a simple tourist destination but had a lot of meaning for the visitors that we saw whilst we were there.

Please remember to remove your shoes if you enter in and dress appropriately.

Then there is the surrounding area of all the boats and the fishermen preparing for their fishing expedition. Koh Sirey is certainly a place to visit if you are interested in culture.

 

Previous visits

 1) September 2012  

and 

Think Positive

Think Positive is in the heart of Phuket Old Town and is certainly worth investigating if you are there.

So what is in the shop?

A little bit of everything - which means that you will surely find something for somebody in here. 

But there doesn't seem to be much change from my visit 6 months previously! 

I also notice that a number of the shops do sell the same set of pieces that others do - so it is certainly worth searching and looking a little more carefully.

Good luck.

Last Visit 

 1) March 2016

Approximate Price: $$$$$

Address: 15 Yaowarat Rd, Phuket Town

Hours: 9am - 9pm

Ong Sim Phye House

Ong Sim Phye House (The Beauty of Tiam Chu) is a very special house (there are a number of them in Phuket Old Town) which is the home of a family.

"This house was bought buy Mr. Simphye Sair-ong, a Chinese house owner from Hok Kian for 4,000 Baht in 1941. The dominant feature of this house is 'it's materials that are the large beautiful bricks made of clay and red soil'. This house is not normally built with the foundation pile , but it is made of stones overlapping each other to wonderfully maintain the balance of the pillars"

I understand that the Ong Sim Phye House is the home of a family and these photographs were taken through the door railings - I understand that sometimes they are at home - now that would be fascinating, I have also been told that the Phuket Heritage Trail has more information about this home.

Other homes that I am aware of are - i46 and China Inn and I imagine that there are a great many but these are the ones which I have visited.

 

Yellow Buddhist Statue and cave - Koh Si Chang

 Whilst on a visit to Koh Si Chang I took a ride with a local person - he took me everywhere. Up a long steep hill I was taken and then told to walk to the top and the driver would meet me at the bottom.

The first stop was the magnificent Hello Buddha Statue and cave - I think it is called หลวงพ่อเหลือง ถ้ำจักรพงษ์  - but I may not be correct. This was a beautiful place to visit and so peaceful...

Then the couple in the picture above were taken aside and blessed by a monk - again so peaceful...

So I watched and noticed that there was another place for worship to visit after the first one

but this was underneath where the monk had been sitting . I carefully took this staircase and then found 

this small Golden Reclining Buddha at the bottom. What a magical place to visit.

Thank you to Somewhere Hotel for the accommodation.

Rung market

Rung Market is behind Robinson's - a Thai Department store in Phuket Town. Behind Robinson's is where there is a local market.

This is a wonderful place to visit in the early morning, approximately 6am. The market sells all the traditional things for a Thai market. It is carefully divided into parts;

meat

and more meat

fish

foods to consume

and foods to cook with. 

Then there are the traditional foods drying. Flowers to buy and around the outside are clothes to buy and more food to buy for breakfast - it is always popular.

Then there are the traditional street sellers who seem to simple wait.

Then there are the small places where you are able to purchase animals to release somewhere - Feng Shang.

Then there are the traditional singing birds for sale.

After the market finishes about 10 am the inside market is cleared and food stalls are then put up to surround the market.

 

Tesco

Do you need a selection if gifts for Christmas? Well then here is a fabulous selection of bits an pieces at an incredibly good price, then it is air-conditioned as well.

I am sure that you will find something for somebody and they really are at a good price - although it does miss out on the fun on bartering for the best price...

But pop in here if you need to know an approximate price and if it rains...

There is just so many bits and pieces - I wonder whether the prices are different from last year? Then there are clothes shops, a bank, donuts, Food Mall, Pink Pvssy and of course a Starbucks...

Previous Visit

 1) Dec 2015

Bang Wad Dam, Reservoir and Shrine

We visited this reservoir because our friends wanted to go for a bicycle ride and a run - all with a push-chair.

After leaving and writing this I found that Jamie in Phuket comes here for a run in the mornings - so if you see him say hello.

It is certainly a peaceful place and it is popular with the local people to exercise in so it did get quite busy whilst we were there.

But then I looked again - there was a temple on top of the adjacent hill. I did count the steps to get up there.

It was worth getting up to the top of the hill.

At the top is a wonderful view - it's a lovely place to escape to and take some exercise.