Life after the Tsunami (part III)

..Continued from Part I and Part II.

Sorry to keep harking on about it, but it's not the kind of thing you can get out of your head that easily, even with 10 bottles of Heineken. We had a bit of a party at our house last night, and I was talking to some people I'd not seen in a while, and naturally the tsunami came up in conversation. Where were you on December 26th 2004?

I still feel a kind of odd guilt that neither I nor my family nor any of our friends suffered at all. I lost nothing, lost nobody, carried on working, we had a baby boy 2 weeks later (I think having a baby puts a lot of things into perspective). It is amazing to be so close to disaster and yet not be involved. Had I been young, single and free I would have gone and volunteered as a diver. A friend of mine helped fish bodies out of the water. But I had a 9 month pregnant wife to look after and work to do. At the dive shop we became inundated with emails and phone calls asking about the latest situation. I talked to Sky News, talked to the BBC, wrote emails, updated information on our web site, tried to make sense of things. At the same time, we lost business, but many divers who were already booked did come and dive, even just a week after the tsunami. Many called ahead to check on the conditions, being rather scared based on what they saw on CNN. I gave honest advise and many thanked me afterwards for not bullshitting them. In that way, I guess I did something to help.

We got some new neighbours recently, an American family with 2 kids of similar age to ours. They come to our house to play sometimes. I only met David (dad) for the first time last night, as he works in Khao Lak, long hours, and quite a drive - it takes a good 90 minutes to get there from here. David is the local director of a charity foundation called 4Kali, set up by the Breisch family who lost their daughter (Kali) when the tsunami hit Khao Lak.

It was a long time ago, but also very recent. In Phuket now you can't tell anything happened. Patong beach looks better than before, Karon too. It's emotional scars that take longer to heal, even when you've lost nothing.

(Follow up on 5th August) - there's an article today in the Phuket Gazette about local people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Worth a Read:

• Phuket Gazette - Article about PTSD

Hotel Recommendations: Dusit Laguna

I had not originally intended to add any Phuket hotel information on here, but after thinking about it, whether you are a package tourist, a flashpacker or a family looking for a relaxing holiday, you're going to need a hotel! So, as time goes by, I will add some recommendations ranging from backpacker rooms up to 5 star luxury. Phuket has it all.

We'll start with luxury. I've met up with some friends this week who I used to know some years ago in Utila (Honduras), where they ran the infamous Bundu Cafe. After having a child, they decided to head back to the UK, where they now run a cafe in Loughborough called the Baobab Cafe (www.baobabcafe.com). When they told me they were planning a trip to Thailand in July, I first advised them about the weather, then about hotels. The weather in Phuket during July is normally decent, and so far they have had sun, sun, sun. For hotels, they wanted something pretty luxurious and away from the main beaches...

The Laguna Phuket complex is huge, consisting of 5 hotels - Laguna Beach Resort, Dusit Laguna, Sheraton Grande, Allamanda Laguna and the Banyan Tree. All are top class, not cheap, and extremely nice! Well, my friends are staying at the Dusit Laguna (see location on Google Earth), and when we went to pick them up on Sunday for a drive round the island we entered a different world. Everything from the reception to the pools to the staff are clean, friendly, comfortable, and my friends are being pampered to the max. In high season these hotels are bloomin' expensive (by my standards), but are always full. In low season (now) there are good deals to be had.

The various hotels are built around a lagoon complex, with a wide variety of restaurants, shuttles between the different hotels, and you are steps away from Bang Tao beach. Laguna is also conveniently close to the airport.

So there you have it - you want some luxury, try the Dusit Laguna. It's one of those hotels that you can recommend with no hesitation. Absolute top drawer.

Dusit Laguna Resort - Booking and Reviews

• Dusit Laguna Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Dusit Laguna - Hotel Reviews

Dusit Laguna Photos

 

 


Links for the other excellent Laguna Resorts:

• Laguna Beach Resort
• Sheraton Grande
• Allamanda Laguna
• Banyan Tree

Another very good place on Bang Tao Beach:

• Best Western Resort and Spa

Phuket Hotels - More Information - Online Booking

• Phuket Hotel Info and Booking at Agoda.com
• More of Jamie's Phuket Hotel Reviews
• Jamie's Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• Thailand Hotels at Agoda.com

Up Radar Hill Again

Sunday was such a great sunny day, I felt the need for some fresh air having been cooped up in an office all week with grey skies and rain for company. Best place to get the wind in your hair is the hills. So we took a drive up Radar Hill again in the sunshine. Phuket is very green at this time of year, and heading up the hill you are in the trees. We stopped the car to listen to the sounds of the jungle and to watch a snake wind across the road - a pretty big one, bright green with a brown tail - wife said very poisonous. From doing a bit of research I think it was a white lipped pit viper, rather dangerous indeed! We have had small snakes in our garden before. I would not like to find one of these. It must have been a meter long with great big teeth...

The views from the hill were fab under blue skies and with the greenery shining after all the rain we've had lately. From up here you can see over Patong Bay, over Chalong Bay and also Bang Wad Reservoir. (See location on Google Earth) And the air is clear and fresh, perfect for clearing out your lungs. Get up a mountain today!









• You can read more about Radar Hill here...

Offshore Islands - Koh Rang Yai

Koh Rang Yai is a small uninhabited island about 5km off the east coast of Phuket, featuring a kilometer of sandy beach on the west with views back to the mainland. There is no accomodation on the island, but there is a nice restaurant which is open all day. There is also a pearl farm, and some tours do come to the island...if you want to have the place more to yourself, get there early, or in the late afternoon.





To reach Koh Rang Yai, you'll need to take a longtail boat from Laem Hin jetty, next to Laem Hin Seafood (yum yum). We rented a boat for 800 Baht for the 5km trip, with the boat waiting for us at Koh Rang for a few hours. On the way, you pass Koh Maphrao, a much bigger island and also worth a stop off.

• Koh Rang Yai - Location on Google Earth



Koh Rang Yai is a little paradise. Take a walk along the beach if you want to get away from the few beach chairs that exist. The water on the east coast is not always really clear, but we found the beach ideal for swimming and splashing around with the kids. You can sit in the shade of the coconut trees, play with the sand and ash down to the water for a refreshing dip. There are shower facilities there, so you can clean up before getting back in your longtail for the ride back to Laem Hin.

  

(Photos © by the Monk Family 2006)

You can see some new photos around Koh Rang Yai here: Speedboats and Helicam - a trip I took in March 2010.

Wat Sapam

Phuket is full of temples. If you haven't got your fill in Bangkok, it's worth checking out what Phuket has to offer. The biggest and most famous is Wat Chalong, and there are always lots of visitors there, but smaller local temples are usually overlooked by everyone except the locals, so these are the ones we like to visit.

We recently visited Wat Sapam, the local temple for Ban Sapam, a small fishing community on the east coast of Phuket, in Sapam Bay, just north of Laem Hin. We were heading for Laem Hin Seafood, and realised we had never visited this temple before. It was a pleasant surprise. The entry road into the temple is just off the main Phuket Town - Airport road and easy to miss. The temple is built on a small hill overlooking Sapam Bay, with the main temple at the highest point, the monks rooms on the hillside and the monks dining hall lower down. It's a beautiful location, and the temple and grounds are very well kept, with lots of plants and flowers.

• Wat Sapam location on Google Earth

Inside the main temple, you find a 10m gold Buddha, and some very colourful paintings around all 4 walls depicting scenes from the life of Buddha. Quite stunning actually. Highly recommended!

  

    

  

Saleng Zoo

Intend to spend my whole day with my family. After breakfast, decide to bring my kid to the nearest Zoo (beside the JB Zoo) at Saleng......the Saleng Zoo (N1 37.985 E103 37.844)

The entrance fee is RM12.00 for adult, RM6.00 for children & free for kids below 3.


Below are some pictures for sharing.............

Asiatic Black Bear

Angoli Cattle, Africa

Iguana-Africa

Crocodylus Porosus

Spotted Deer

Tapir

Malaysia Crocodile

Spohed Crocodile

Goat? What to call this......?

Forget the name of this species......some sort like long life turtle.....


Hello???? Can I help you??

The KING of the jungle

Milky Stork

King of Cobra

The 'Entertainers' of the Zoo

After about 2 hours walking around, we finish the Zoo almost 2pm........

Places to Eat in Phuket: Tesco Lotus

Er...Tesco Lotus? The big supermarket and mall? You gotta be kidding? Not at all, and as we live but a few minutes from here, and use it for shopping, banking, video rental etc., we find it very convenient. I would not say it's worth a visit specifically for a meal, but if you are passing by and feel hungry, there are lots of choices inside. Located at Sam Kong junction, one of the busiest bits of road in Phuket where the bypass road starts, the store is huge, being not just a supermarket but a mall too, with shops, banks, a post office..and places to eat.

Leaving aside the shopping, what can you eat in Tesco Lotus?


The place we eat most often is Texas Suki. The sukiyaki dish sits on every table, and you order the ingredients from a menu. Up to you what you want to add to the soup - lots of veggies, all kinds of meats, prawn balls, fish cakes, yum yum indeed. You don't have to eat suki, there are also noodle and rice dishes and the spring rolls are quite tasty. Also dim sum dishes available. And not expensive. We normally stuff ourselves for about 200 Baht all in - that's for 2 adults, 1 child, well and a baby boy too. Don't under estimate the amount a couple of kids can gobble up - our daughter had 2 plates of noodles last time we ate there!


We also eat at Pizza Company sometimes, though you can certainly get better pizza in Phuket (my favourite is a little place called Thai-Italy, on Nanai road, Patong). My daughter likes the spaghetti, and the Pepsi refill is a good deal if you're thirsty! Pizza Co also does delivery (call 1112). Actually the pizza is pretty decent for a chain/fast food joint. There's a also a salad bar where you can practice balancing as much food as possible on your dish to make the most of the deal. Some of the little snacks like cheese and bacon twists, bread sticks, chicken wings are good too. Must stop now, getting hungry.


Then for desert, or a little treat...Swensens Ice Cream. Yup, real authentic Thai food! BUT, no good getting all high and mighty like some travelers do. The place is always full of Thai families, so if Thai people are eating it, then you are eating local food, right? The current special - 59 Chocolate - is delicious, with 3 scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, banana, brownies, tiny peanut butter cups, and a truffle on top. Enough for 2 to share unless you're a greedy guts, and only 59 Baht. They always give crayons and paper to the kids, which is nice.

More? Well, there's a KFC and a McDonalds. I admit to the occasional Big Mac, yes it's true. There's a Dunkin Donuts too. Also Black Canyon Coffee, where the food is decent and they have about 50 different styles of coffee.

Then there's the food court upstairs above the supermarket. Noisy and crowded, but cheap. Buy your electronic card at the cashier and choose from a range of simple Thai dishes. I normally have Phad Thai or Roast Chicken on rice. Wife likes the Kao Ka Moo (rice with pork), they also do some basic breakfasts - eggs, toast, ham.

So there - Tesco Lotus has a wealth of dining opportunities! Same can be said of the Central Festival Mall, just a couple of km up the road. These malls were not here when I arrived in Phuket in 1999. Tescos was just a supermarket. Now you have Tesco Lotus, Big C, Central, and also the Index Mall. Great for shopaholics, bad for your bank balance!

• Tesco Lotus Website
• Tesco Lotus - find it on Google Earth
• Central Festival Mall
• Big C