Shrine of the Serene Light

Phuket Town is full of history, full of interest. I keep stumbling upon new places... I wish there was more time to explore and less time in the office! On Friday I headed into the old town before work, in search of a Chinese shrine called the Shrine of the Serene Light or Ting Kwan Tang. There's not a huge amount of information about this shrine online, and if you are walking around old Phuket Town, as I have done many times, you'll probably miss it. The shrine is on Phang Nga road, just a hundred meters west of the On On Hotel... but it's well hidden. There is an entry off the road leading to a narrow alleyway. The shrine is not yet visible. If you were passing, you'd see the entrance, but the alley does not look like it leads to anything exciting...

 

I read about the shrine on the "Phuket Town Treasure Map" which you can pick up at various locations around the old town. The main office that produces this map is on Soi Romanee. I was happy to know that there are always some hidden treasures to discover! As you walk down this meter wide alley for about 40 meters you come to a second entrance and can finally see the shrine.



I was the only visitor. The shrine is built amongst the houses in the old town, the treasure map says it was built in 1889 by a local Hokkien Chinese family. The late 19th century was a boom time for Phuket, with money pouring in from the tin mining industry. Chinese families became very important here around that time. The old town is full of Chinese influence - check the shops, the shrines.. the people.



I'll have to go back to get some more pics... it started raining and I really wanted a nice blue sky with sunlight on the elaborate roof decorations. I concentrated instead on the details.

 

The shrine is well cared for, candles and oil lamps were lit, fruit offerings laid out. Only after about 15 minutes did I find that someone lives at the shrine. I did leave 100 Baht in the donations box. The old carvings around some areas certainly need more restoration. I have read that the shrine was all but forgotten for a while, but is now cared for by the local Chinese-Thai community, who do a good job looking after old town.





The walls are covered in murals showing old stories - the walls look old. Alone in the shrine, I certainly felt a sense of history.



The shrine has many prayer points, marked with numbers to ensure you pray in the correct order. Behind the first set of gods you find more...





As the rain fell more heavily I looked for more details to photograph. These shrines fascinate me. So much detail and so much history, most of which I do not understand at all. The Chinese-Thai community in Phuket is very important. Festivals like the Vegetarian festival and Chinese New Year are big events here in Phuket. I enjoy this history, and hope that more visitors might realise that Phuket is so much more than beaches and bars!







This little serene shrine is well worth finding if you are in the old town. Nearby you can also find Jui Tui shrine and it's maybe a 15 minute walk to Bang Neow shrine. I do like the old part of Phuket town, always something new to find.
And even now, I know I have to go back to this shrine, having just read something about a secret passage in the back which leads out to the next street.... I'll be back!

MapJack - Phuket Street View - Almost like being here!

I first heard of MapJack a couple of years ago, which was about when it started. It's very similar to Google Street View (available as part of Google Maps), which was launched about the same time. The idea with both - to map towns and cities with street view images. The MapJack images are taken by camera operators on foot or in vehicles. Every few meters, a new 360 degree image. Every street, every building.... put it all together and you can "walk" around your own town, or places you have been or want to visit. It's still in its infancy of course, covering some US cities (MapJack started with San Francisco) and (for reasons I am not clear about) quite a lot of places in Thailand too. Chiang Mai was added first and now... Phuket!

• MapJack Phuket - Start Here.

Google Maps has a lot more coverage - loads of cities in the US and Europe, but MapJack, which claims to be run on a shoestring budget, is doing Thailand. Hurrah! I think the Phuket images are about a year old... the problem with a project like this is keeping images updated, especially in a place like Phuket where there's building a plenty, new roads etc... Things look very different to 10 years ago when I arrived. Google Earth is another great tool, but some of the images of Phuket are over 5 years old now.

Not sure if it's the same for everyone, but I get defaulted to a start image at Kalim beach, just north of Patong. Here's the screenshot:



MapJack is easy to use, you can click on the blue dots to move to the next picture, you can click and drag the picture to spin round 360 degrees, or use the arrow keys to move forward/back/turn. Below the photo is a Google Maps overlay. Best to zoom in a bit to see which areas have MapJack coverage - you can click on the map to move "Jack" to that location. There are a few major Phuket roads missing in the coverage so far, but you can pretty much cruise the whole island and waste entire days at work. Here's a screenshot showing a view from Phromthep Cape:



Each image actually has it's own url (web address) - in the top left of the image you see a little arrow pointing to a circle - click that and you will get a message saying "Link to this location:" followed by the url - for the image above you can click on http://www.mapjack.com/?5R2vTCpvWcgA - and you can then rotate the image to see exactly the same as above.

Here's a screenshot in Phuket Town showing the On On Hotel:



Now, so far.. aside from the fact that some images in the seedier areas of Pattaya were removed, there has been no call for face blurring and licence plate blurring like in Google Street View. I have yet to find myself or anyone I know on MapJack, but I guess I need to waste more hours looking at the images! You might find yourself on there! What you also get in these images is a snapshot of daily life and if you click on different areas in Phuket - a good appreciation that Phuket has a lot of variety, it's not all beaches and tourists!

This is Phuket (Soi Bangla, Patong):



So is this (a small local market north of Phuket Town):



Darn, I could do this all day! You can explore all over Phuket with MapJack - main beaches, quiet side streets in Phuket Town, main roads, minor roads - sure, not every road, but anyway, I have been enjoying playing with this all week - thanks to Alasdair at Phuket Observer for the heads up! MapJack is a bit of fun for me, but a great tool for getting a feel for Phuket and finding places you might want to visit.

Songkran Fun - Patong Beach

Ah, Songkran! You either love it or hate it... It can be a bit silly, some people go a bit crazy, it does help to be a little tipsy and (warning!) don't carry expensive electronic equipment in the streets unless it's waterproof. Anyone in a sour mood... stay at home. I know some expats will happily spend the 13th of April watching DVDs and getting rat-arsed. I think it helps to have kids. I also now believe it helps to have a pick up truck so you can load up with big barrels of water and enter hostile territory fully armed for battle! So last year we bought a Toyota Vigo... so this year we were ready for anything!





We drove over to Patong after midday - already quite a queue of traffic coming over the big hill from Phuket Town. I was driving the "first leg" with my wife, sister in law and 2 kids in the back. Patong is certainly THE place to go crazy for Songkran in Phuket. We checked Phuket Town last year, we have been to the turtle release ceremony before, but this year we just wanted to ride around, get wet, throw water and have fun. And YES, it's fun. Humbugs stay home!







Of course, Songkran does have it's traditions too. We got fresh flowers for our Buddha Shelf, we cleaned the Buddha and King images.. and then waited for the morning rain to stop before heading to Patong. If you come for Songkran, it's best to get to Patong before midday. I can tell you, by about 2pm when we were leaving the traffic was backed up over the hill and down the other side, about a mile of traffic heading into Patong.





I had my trusty Canon Powershot in a plastic bag sealed with tape. Worked pretty well too. When my turn came in the back and my wife was driving I invited water to be thrown in our general direction. There was a bit too much ice water for my little boy and after about an hour he retired to the safety of the cab, but had plenty of fun until then :)





Oh, and if anyone was thinking Phuket was empty, tourist numbers down, credit crunch, Bangkok protests.... I tell you it was packed in Patong yesterday! The pictures do not lie!





I think it is important to remember why we are throwing water. This is not a water fight, this is not "I'll get you back, you bas***d".. the water is to symbolise a washing away of the old year. A good throw should be accompanied by a smile and a "Sawatdee Pee Mai" (Happy New Year). I did see some foreigners who were treating the day as a kind of war - shoot and hide, like a paintball game.. but most were getting the right idea. This is such a happy day. It gives me a "smile buzz".





Songkran is a public holiday for several days, but here in Phuket the water throwing is limited to the 13th, so normal life can continue afterwards! But on the 13th of April, anything goes!







All photos by Jamie - Canon Powershot in a plastic bag :) And I reckon we'll be riding around in our pick up truck next year too! Songkran is a fun day. But I am happy that it's only a day. Happy New Year everyone.

Phuket Bike Week

And now for something completely different. I decided to check out some of the annual Phuket Bike Week which takes place around Songkran every year - this year is the 15th time the event has been held. From the 10th - 12th April Phuket is full of big bikes ranging from Harleys to big racing bikes and plenty of amazing custom built choppers. There are bikes on show at the JungCeylon mall at Patong Beach, there are events/live music/foodstalls by the beach in Patong (at "Loma Park" towards the north end of the beach) and bike rides around the island. If you are here, you will almost certainly have noticed something going on!

There's more information on the Phuket Bike Week website, or (since the official website is mostly in Thai and partly under construction) try Phuket Wan.

Now, I'm not a biker myself. I currently own a 125cc Honda Wave... hardly a "Hog", but still a step up from my old 110cc version! I can see the attraction, but prefer driving a car. But even if you don't wear leather, you will have to admit some of the bikes on show are quite amazing, more works of art than a mode of transport. On Friday, I checked out some of the bikes at Jungceylon...







Laziness set in on Friday night - the beach party included a concert by Carabao, a very popular Thai rock band, but my wife and I were too tired... On Saturday afternoon I headed down to Patong Beach with my daughter to see what was going on. There was meant to be a "ride for peace" in the afternoon, with hundreds of bikes riding from Patong to Phromthep Cape via Karon and Kata beaches. I hoped to see the start of the ride and hear the roar of throaty engines!

But first we met Jack Sparrow...



Along the road were many food and drink stalls selling burgers, phad thai, chestnuts, fried chicken, fresh juices and beers, plus lots of stalls selling leather bikers clothes, tshirts, Bike Week souvenirs and more. Oh, and bikes too!



And along with the bikes, the bikers! They come from all over Thailand, and also from Singapore, Malaysia and indeed all over the world. If you want big bikes and fun in the sun, Phuket Bike Week is the place to be! I do like the bikers gear - leather jackets with club membership patches. It all looks very tribal, but I reckon these burly bikers are all jolly nice folk!

 

The bikes are a mix of custom jobs, big Harleys, sporty models, some 3 wheelers which are nearly as big as my car, all kind of bikes!





A little late, the riders set off from Patong on the afternoon ride. I wish they could have slowed down a bit! You need to be a sports photo pro to snap pictures of these guys (and gals). It took 10 minutes for the convoy to pass. Tonight (Sunday) there is more live music at the beach and also the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest at JungCeylon where you find lots of men telling their wives "I'm looking at the bikes, honest"!



It's almost enough to make me want to buy a chopper.. and a leather jacket.







(above) Bikes starting the ride on Saturday from Patong down to Cape Phromthep

Phuket Bike Week is well established in the calendar now. If you like bikes or want to find some live music on the beach, the Bike Week (well, actually only 3 days...) has a lot to offer.. Right, let's get ready for Songkran!

Phuket Bike Week 2010, 8 - 11 April - details in Phuket Gazette.

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.