Crocodile Farm - Crocodile and Tiger World

Phuket Zoo is not the only place in Phuket where you can find large and exciting animals in Phuket. The zoo is well known, all tuk tuk and taxi drivers are happy to take you, as they all make commission on the entry fee. But there is somewhere else. I only knew about it recently although it's quite obvious and is near the center of Phuket Town. The "Crocodile and Tiger World" has obviously seen better days.. or never really got off the ground, not sure which! My wife had been last month with the kids and a friend and her kids and they were the only visitors. We went again last week, and were the only visitors.



Now, the stated entry fee is 500 Baht. I suggest, if you decide to visit, that you try to bargain. We paid the "local" price. There are supposed to be some crocodile shows at 11am and 2pm - maybe some crowds turn up for this? The place is certainly in decline - we saw only a few staff - 2 at the entrance, one feeding the crocs and one sitting very bored next to a fridge selling drinks.

This place is largely about crocodiles. It's a crocodile farm, they breed crocs here and sell meat and skin (sorry, croc lovers). So... there are thousands of crocodiles here in huge enclosures. Actually quite impressive at times.



I'll just say again, there are a LOT of crocodiles - and when it's feeding time, and a guy throws baskets of fish into the enclosure, they come a running...





Within a couple of minutes, it's a croc free for all. Does not seem to be enough food, though I guess they get fish thrown at them on a regular basis. Teeth everywhere. You can view the croc enclosures from above, up a few steps, close but not too close...





It's a bit smelly to be honest - I think croc crap must be to blame! The crocs have plenty of space, well looked after.. except they are destined to be lunch and handbags! I tried croc meat once in Africa and did not think much of it. The zebra was better.

Moving on from the crocodile enclosures we found a few other animals - emu, ostrich and some rabbits (rabbits? wow!). In some large concrete pens were half a dozen tigers, all sleeping in the heat of the day. It looked clean, but I would not want to be one of those tigers. I believe they breed and sell tigers here too.



In a huge indoor area we found 2 young tigers in small cages. Nobody else around except aforementioned girl selling drinks. The young tigers played with us. One of them was very interested in my 4 year old son and appeared to be hunting him. I was a little disturbed by the lack of any staff, anyone looking after the tigers.





After the tigers we found some gibbons... one of them liked to try and attack us - he would sneakily circle around, not looking at us, then suddenly charge at the cage. I am not sure of the legality of keeping the gibbons here. The cages were certainly clean, the animals looked healthy, but ... read on.



This is an odd place. They have brochures, parking, plenty to see, but we were the only people there. What's going on? My wife reckons the money comes from the crocodile farm, opening to the public is just an extra. Obviously they don't promote the place much. Not much about the "Crocodile and Tiger World" online. I did find a write up in the Phuket Post from October 2008, but little else.. but I did find a more worrying story:

• 11 Orangutans Rescued from Private Zoo

The above story is from February this year. There's more here:

• Wildlife Friends of Thailand

Not sure if this explains the lack of visitors, or if that is just due to a lack of marketing. There are parts of the farm we did not see, if the map we were given is accurate.. so I might go again sometime to find baby crocodiles. There is certainly a lot more to see at Phuket Zoo, but based on my experience of both the animals seem just as well or better looked after at this "Crocodile and Tiger World". But do bear in mind the news story above if you think about a visit. It's in Phuket Town about half a km east of the Robinsons store on Ong Sim Pai road, next to the "Seahorse" traffic circle.

Frozen Beer! - Johor bahru.

The beer serve in this restaurant is totally different from the ordinary restaurant that you have at Johor Bahru area. They control well on the temperature of the Beer and the chilled mug! When you pour the beer into the chilled mug, it'll form an ice cube in the middle of your mug! And float on top! This ICE Cold beer will last till the last drop...isn't it interesting?

It might be common for other places, but this is the 'first' I experienced around Johor bahru area...

The ICE Cold Beer! Can you notice the ice cube?

The name of the Restaurant is "Hawker Center" (N1°29.716' E103°45.917'). It's located behind the Maybank of Melodies Garden - Johor Bahru. They serve others beer as well, but I chosed the local 'Jaz Beer', because I like the Jasmine taste of it.

The other good food you can get here is the 'Wuo-Tan-Ho' (Wet rice noodle). Some of my friends love this very much!

If you would like to order another bottle of beer , make sure you ask the waiter to change another chilled mug for you...otherwise, the Magic won't show up again! :)

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Famous Mee (Noodle) Soto of Pasir Gudang, Johor

This small little stall is hidden at the corner of Jalan Pantai of Kampung (Village) Pasir Putih. (N1°26.092' E103°55.772') If you familiar with the Rahmat Restaurant which is famous with it's Deep Fried Fish, this stall is located on the same street.

(If you drive from Johor bahru, once reach the junction of Johor Port...another 2.7km - turn right into Kampung Pasir Putih. Then drive until the end of the street and turn right, it's at the end of the corner.)

The Mee Soto stall has started business at least 30 years history from now...

The Mee Soto Restaurant of Kampung Pasir Putih

I found this stall is unique because of the setup. It's a Malay traditional wooden house and the height of the entrance is about only 6 foot, and the ceiling of the restaurant area is about 8 foot height.

The entrance of the Restaurant

I ordered the original taste of the noodle. I felt the specialty is the 'Soup', which is different from others. And it's just mixed with slices of chicken, that's simple! But it's GOOD and satisfied!

The Mee(noodle) Soto of Kampung Pasir Putih

Another specialty is the chili that they provided...it's in green colour. But I forgot to snap the green but accidently shoot the Red chili... :(

The Red Chili

The damage was : MYR2.50 for the noodle & MYR1.00 for the drink.

If you are happen at that area, drop by and give a try!

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Kaewjai Bakery and Restaurant (Phuket Town)

It's not always 100% true, but I reckon that if you want good local Thai food, then you have to eat where the locals eat. We have been checking out some restaurants in Phuket town recently, helped by my wifes sister who works at a bank in town and has been giving us hints for the best lunch spots. If a restaurant is full of local people it must be good local food.. and most of the time quite a bit cheaper than Thai food at beachside restaurants. It's up to you - as a visitor to Phuket maybe you prefer to eat by the sea, make the most of your holiday - I also like eating by the sea, but I am not on holiday so have to find good Thai food without tourist prices! Thus a lot of the restaurants on this blog are more local style with prices to match. We like to eat out and if you find the right restaurants in Phuket, eating out is very cheap. Yesterday we spent 240 Baht on lunch for the family...

The Kaewjai (แก้วใจ) Bakery and Restaurant close to the Phuket Town bus terminal has been a popular local eatery for years. The menu says something about "since 1961". The area is busy with banks, businesses, the bus station etc.. so you get plenty of office workers and such taking lunch there, or just popping in for a coffee and a cake. You can tell its not a tourist restaurant, as I can't find it on Google unless I search in Thai! So I did find a nice write up on the Phuket Portals website. We stopped in for lunch yesterday with the kids. It's on the south side of Phang Nga road, just west of the bus station, very close to the Royal Phuket City hotel.



It's not a huge place, could maybe seat 30 people max. Aircon inside, and there are a few outside tables too. The coffee and cakes are easy to find, and without seeing a menu you might think that was all they had...





The menu is simple, basic Thai food, all the lunchtime favourites. Our kids love chicken fried with garlic (gai tod kratiem), I had a tasty fish with black pepper, my wife had a fried rice made with tom yum seafood. Plus drinks. As I said, 240 Baht. That's why you see so many Thais eating out! At that price you hardly save by cooking at home!





So now we have another restaurant for lunch in Phuket Town. I have aimed this year to try lots of new places to eat, partly to add to this blog and partly to stop me being lazy. My wife and I do like to play it safe sometimes and have a tendency to go to the same places where we know the food is good. Hopefully some more new restaurants coming soon!

More places to eat in Phuket Town:

• Rimtang
• Uptown Noodles
• Big Chicken (just out of town)
• More Phuket restaurants

Soon Lee Bak Kut Teh, Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru

Soon Lee Bak Kut Teh (N1°32.565 E103°47.609) is located at Jalan Bakawali 38, it's just opposite the Caltex Petrol Station at Bakawali area of Taman Johor Jaya. The business hour of this shop is from 6pm-12am.
I believe this is the one which was very famous those day at Taman Maju Jaya (顺利花园). (Correct me if I'm wrong).


Our order :-
1) Claypot Bak Kut Teh
2) Vegetables.
3) Onion type of Grill Stingray (Signature dish) (Ikan Bakar in Malay)
4) Grill La-la Clams.

The Claypot Bak Kut Teh

Vegetables

Charcoal grilled Stingray (Onion type-Non Spicy)

Charcoal grilled La-la Clams

The damage : MYR52.00 (For 4 adults and 1 child)
I still feel it's reasonable price, because of the portions of the fish and others.

Among all, the Stingray was the best! I never taste this before! It's really special....And it's good for those who don't take spicy grilled stingray.
About the Bak Kut Teh, nothing to shout about. It's just acceptable like others...
Grilled La-la Clams - Ok.
Vegatables - Ok.

I rated : 3.8/5

Bak Kut Teh at Johor Bahru :-
* How Yu Bak Kut Teh, Permas Jaya, Johor
* Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh, Tmn Daya, Johor Bahru
* Shi-Hua Bak Kut Teh, Permas Jaya, Johor Bahru*
* Soong Huat Bak Kut Teh, Taman Desa Tebrau - Johor Bahru
* Ah Soon Bak Kut Teh, Johor Bahru*

Bak Kut Teh at Muar :-
* Leng Kee Bak Kut Teh, Muar, Johor

Bak Kut Teh at Kulai :-
* Sze Hwa Bak Kut Teh, Kulai, Johor*

Bak Kut Teh at Pekan Nanas :-
* Tong Heng Bak Kut Teh at Pekan Nanas, Johor.

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Kamala Beach

We used to visit Kamala beach quite often, we had a few friends living there, we liked the quiet beach and the little beachside restaurants - we knew a couple of the owners of these restaurants too. But friends who lived there moved away to be closer to the center of Phuket. Kamala beach is a bit off the main road, and it has remained that way. Not a trendy beach, a bit of a backwater, not many bars as it's a Muslim area, and it always seemed to me like a bit of a drive to get there. Somehow, Kamala still has a quiet feel unlike any other area in Phuket.



• Kamala Beach Hotels - Look @ Agoda.com







And then there's what happened on December 26th 2004. Kamala beach was hit quite hard, and took time to recover. But Kamala was not mentioned nearly as much as Patong just down the road. More talk of the tsunami here: Kamala Temple, and 4 Years After the Tsunami. We were all on the beach at Kamala on December 25th 2004. So Kamala has some memories for me.



Yesterday morning, nice and early, I drove to Kamala in the early morning sunshine for a walk along the beach. It's about a mile along the beach starting from the temple at the south end passing fishermen and their longtail boats, then the main beach with beach chairs and small restaurants. The northern section is very quiet, as a large part of the land behind the beach is a Muslim graveyard. There are still a few little beachside shacks selling drinks. It's not most people's idea of Phuket!



My walk yesterday started at the temple...







The temple end of Kamala beach is not so good for a swim, as a couple of canals drain into the sea there - all the chairs and hotels are further up the beach. Not far from the temple there were longtail boats and fishermen cleaning their nets. I guess they had already unloaded the catch - you have to wake up REALLY early to catch a fisherman in the act!



 



Before 9am the heat is not too bad for walking, and there were patches of shade on the beach, shadows cast by trees, not by tall buildings - you don't see any huge hotels here, even the larger hotels at Kamala are quite low key. Beach chairs were empty, although some of the restaurants were already busy for breakfast.











The "main drag" along Kamala beach is a narrow path lined with small restaurants and hotels. The traffic mainly passes through on the main road which is about 500 meters away from the beach. Most of the population of Kamala lives along roads to the east of the main road, rather than near the beach. The school is close to the beach, but if you wanted to see more local life in Kamala you'd have to get off the beach.. much like anywhere else in Phuket! Much of the local population lives inland towards the hills.







It's very low key along the beach at Kamala, not flashy or over touristy. Small restaurants, guesthouses, hotels, bars and tour desks, and all kind of holiday related things for sale. No traffic noise, no jet skis and (maybe because it was early) I was not hassled once to buy this, try that, have a drink, massage etc... I enjoyed this little morning walk.











A sign helpfully points the way to the beach, just in case you hadn't noticed the sand and the ocean right next to you...!







Here's a couple of the little beachside restaurants. Nice. Simple. Unpretentious. On the sand. There must be at least a dozen all looking similar, I can't recommend any particular one, but I would recommend heading to Kamala beach for a sunset one day, a cold beer and an evening meal right by the sea as the sun sets.











Once I reached the north end of the beach near the aforementioned graveyard, the sun was heating up. Not many people up this end but still a few little shacks selling drinks and signs to a restaurant way up at the far end of the beach where you find a shady forested area. I had a couple of joggers for company...







Kamala is like the forgotten beach of Phuket. The local Muslim community kept things quiet for a long time. When we visited friends there 7 years ago it was hard to buy a beer in a local shop. There was no 7-11, and the "main" road was a fairly narrow 2 lane street. Things changed a bit when Phuket Fantasea opened - Phuket's largest "tourist attraction" is just at the north end of Kamala, but on the main road, not on the beach. A wider road was needed for all the tours and minibuses coming from Patong. There are now 7-11's and some bars, some new hotels have opened in the last few years, but Kamala is still quiet. Well worth a visit even if you are not staying there, and worth considering for hotels if you want some peace and quiet... and Patong is only about 15 minutes away by car if you do need a crazy night out!



Some Top Kamala Beach Hotels



• The Palms Resort

• The Trees Club Resort

• Kamala Beach Resort

• Marriott Courtyard

• Print Kamala Resort

Rhino Terrace Bar & Grille, Johor Bahru

Rhino Terrace Bar & Grille (N1°27.669' E103°44.562')

It's located just opposite the Hyatt Regency Hotel of Johor Bahru. It's also in the same building of JCSC (Johor Civil Service Club).

The reason I blog about this pub because it is the only pub without air-conditional at Johor Bahru! The Bali style design really attract me! The bar counter located in the middle of the pub as a island, and all the customers can choose to sit along the bar counter or the beautiful sofa beside....

The bar counter

The Comfort Corner

They were having a Halloween Beerfest on that day during my visit on October 2008. They charge MYR80.00 per head for foods and drinks on the house! Eat and drink as you can! Hopefully they will organize it this year!

Below 18 years old will not allow to go in! No children!

The Draft beer

The hard liquor and Whiskey

The artist was preparing the mug for everyone that night...

The mugs will be giving free for those who attend the Beerfest!

Another angle of the pub

Pay a visit if possible, feel the different with other pub in Johor Bahru. You won't have the disgusting cigarette smell on your shirt when you step out.

The pub open for business from 5pm-1am everyday.

Mr Fan - The friendly boss of the Pub

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