Now, it's not normally like me to recommend staying in Patong Beach. I prefer quieter places.. which means anywhere but Patong. BUT of course there are lots of people who like Patong, like the abundance of everything a tourist could want, like the busy streets and don't like it too quiet. OK, horses for courses, but one of the reasons I am now recommending La Flora is the first review I saw on TripAdvisor - the hotel got a great review, but the guest said "It all seemed so touristy, I really felt sad looking at all the Westerners lining up at Mc Donalds and Starbucks, come on, you're in Thailand eat Thai food!" - Amen! But the reviewer loved La Flora. An oasis in the heart of all the craziness that is Patong. It's sitting at top spot for Patong Beach hotels in the TripAdvisor ratings.
La Flora only opened last year, right on the beach in Patong, right in the middle of Patong. It's a sister hotel of La Flora in Khao Lak, a place which I remember from (almost) 5 years ago. You know, the tsunami. It's still strong in my mind, I mean, nearly 5 years. Our son was born on January 11th 2005. He's nearly 5. Tsunami was nearly 5 years ago. La Flora in Khao Lak was hit hard. The Kings grandson was killed near La Flora. So the name La Flora has some meaning around here.
La Flora in Patong - so if you want to be in the middle of Patong, in the middle of the most touristy place in Thailand, but also want a fantastic resort... well, La Flora has to be a top choice. Location - most central possible. Want bars, restaurants, shops... great. I say again, not for me, but if you want to be in the center of everything, La Flora looks GREAT.
One of the aspects of being an expat is that your circle shrinks dramatically. In South Africa my life was drastically different to life in London and I was a very social person. There were the frequent dinner parties at my house, nights out with school and university friends, picnics in the sun, lunches with family and of course, the frequent braais. Now it is just Stephen and I, occasionally my mum or brother and every once in a while I see some of my old South African friends. The purpose of this little insight into how sad my social life has become is to explain how it was that Stephen and I found ourselves fighting on Friday night. It is usually just the two of us and our four animals and we do get cabin fever sometimes.
As we are both stubborn Taureans, we were naturally still fighting on Saturday morning. Eager to avoid another night on the sofa, Stephen eventually conceded defeat and decided to take me to the centre of London to see New Moon.
We arrived in London an hour before the show and decided to take a walk around Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street.
'The Three Graces' by Rudy Weller atop the Criterion Building
Naturally, we had to take a look at the famous lights at Piccadilly Circus. It was at this point that Stephen looked at me and said, “you know, you’re just like a bloody tourist!” which was met by me blinking rapidly at him. (He certainly got The Look). “What?” he said. “You do know that the tagline on my blog is ‘The Adventures of an Eternal Tourist Living and Working in London’?”, I retorted. Rather than admit that he never actually reads my blog, he uttered a small “oh” and didn’t complain about my photo taking for the rest of the day.
I was quite excited to see some Christmas lights even if they were sponsored by the Disney film A Christmas Carol.
I love the grand old buildings of regent Street and I quite liked the huge snowflakes. (You can just see it there stretched between the buildings). They must look great all lit up at night! I did have one concern about the snowflake lights though – where would the Doctor land his Tardis? I mean, realistically, he could need to land it anywhere, right? (Oh, ignore me, I’ve gone Doctor Who crazy lately).
As mentioned, Stephen was paying some serious penance for fighting with me earlier in the day so he had to take me to see New Moon (which I reviewed over at Emm Media) and the Cranes concert later that evening. Thankfully, there was a shining beacon of hope and non-torture during the middle of the day for him as we happened upon the Ferrari store on Regent Street.
In case you’re trying to find it, it is across the road from the world’s most amazing toy store, Hamleys.
Stephen bought a nice red Ferrari windbreaker but they wouldn’t let me take a photograph of it. Our sweet-as-pie sales assistant turned into a demon when I did try to take a photo and I thought we were going to get kicked out of the store!!! They did let me take a photo of the Ferrari F1 car in the entrance though and I was somewhat mollified.
And I sneaked a photo of a very happy Stephen before we hurried back to the London Trocadero to watch the film. You can tell he was trying to please me that day – he even wore the FDNY shirt I bought him in New York. I have a bit of a thing for men in uniform, especially firemen and policemen!
So that is all for my Saturday afternoon in London. What did you get up to?
I usually book concert tickets months and months in advance and spend just about forever looking forward to them. To illustrate, this week I booked tickets to Muse on September 11th next year but I’ve resolved to only start counting down the sleeps after New Year.
So imagine my surprise when I visited my favourite band’s MySpace on Thursday and realised they were having a concert last night! It was all very exciting and I booked tickets immediately.
My favourite band is called Cranes and I’ve been a huge fan since 1993. Naturally, I have all of their albums including the rare and obscure ones. This is the third time I’ve gone to one of their concerts – the first time was in June 2004 and the last one was in October 2008 when they released their latest album. (Click for reviews of the Cranes concert in 2008 and the review of their latest self-titled album Cranes).
The concert was at the Luminaire in Kilburn which is an okay venue but they obviously haven’t heard of the credit crunch or current financial crisis. The cost of one lager shandy (only half a pint of lager in that plus lemonade!) and a Red Bull was £6!! There was nowhere to sit in the venue and huge pillars everywhere blocking the view of the stage so I can definitely say that the venue didn’t warrant the prices of the drinks. Or I should say drink – we decided not to buy more after the first round.
Please excuse my terrible photos! I’m often able to get great results with my little point-and-shoot camera but last night was not one of those occasions! In fact, the only usable photos of Cranes were taken by Stephen!!! :( Unfortunately, I was afflicted by terrible photography at last year’s concert too!
The support group was called worriedaboutsatan, a wonderful minimalist electronic duo from Leeds. I really enjoyed their show and bought two of their CDs. Their show was interesting as they had a full backing film to go along with the music. They were good!
Cranes’ sound can best be described as belonging to the shoegazing or dream pop genres. The lead singer Alison Shaw has a dreamy, girl-like voice and their music is moving and melancholic. I really love their music.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this concert as much as I enjoyed the others. They had a couple of problems with the sound at their last concert which seemed to happen again at this concert. The mic, bass and guitars seemed too loud and the sound just wasn’t harmonious. There was also something wrong with the amplifier or something, as there were a couple of grinding, screeching noises towards the end of the concert. The set list was also disappointing. They played most of their sedate, quiet songs which is fine if it is a seated concert but not nice for a whole evening if it is a standing concert.
So in the end, it was a little disappointing which I guess is also okay. You can’t always go to absolutely brilliant concerts! Which reminds me, I still need to post about the Pixies and Shpongle concerts in October!
Like a phoenix rising up from the flames, it looks like the Quiggins Centre in Liverpool has been revived. Quiggins was a quirky little shopping centre made up of loads of little alternative, counterculture shops. Every time I visited Liverpool in the nineties and beyond, my stepmum and I would go along to Quiggins. Of course, being a Doc-wearing, black-clad coffin kid, Quiggins was the ideal place for me back then and I absolutely loved it.
Quiggins was under threat of closure for years and years. I don’t quite understand the legalities of what happened but I believe that some greedy land developers wanted the land that Quiggins was on and it was eventually closed in July 2006. We had heard that it had reopened and were looking for it when we visited in December but we weren’t successful. Imagine our happiness then when we saw the following sight on Thursday morning:
This is not the official Quiggins Centre and Wikipedia says that although it houses many of the old occupants, it is not actually associated with the owners of the original centre. Take a look inside though; it is full of the magic and wonder that we remembered from the old Quiggins Centre:
Grin @ Quiggins
See that t-shirt at the top left? The black, long-sleeved one? I would have looooved that back in the day, before Trinny and Susannah told me not to wear clothing with high necklines.
Isn’t it just quaint and kooky?
On the first floor, there is a vintage dress shop and a dress designers. I really like that black mini dress on the right. What a pity I’m not as teeny weeny as I used to be!
Grand Central Hall used to be a Methodist Church and the main hall was amazing. They were currently building more shops in the main hall but at one stage, I looked up and was so glad that I did.
It’s not a great shot but the photo on the bottom right shows what the hall looked like in its former glory. Having little stalls and shops there definitely changes the look of the building but if they can maintain some of the features like the organ and the ceiling then it will all be worth it. I’m also hoping that they will refurbish the gallery and allow people to sit upstairs again.
It was good to see the old Quiggins traders again. I didn’t buy anything on that day but seeing as I usually hate shopping and shopping centres, it was good just to browse and to enjoy it! (Oh, I know I’m a grumpy so and so but seriously, Amazon was launched with me in mind!)
Go to Liverpool, visit Quiggins!
Quiggins Centre, Grand Central Hall, Renshaw Street, Liverpool.
There is a question that comes up quite often, maybe asked by people who don't realise that Phuket has moved on since the 1970's. "Where can I find a beach hut or little bungalow right by the beach in Phuket?". Ah, well, I am sorry to say that for the most part, beachfront land in Phuket is now much too valuable to allow such cheap accommodation to exist. On the main beaches in Phuket like Patong, Karon or Kata, no chance of finding that kind of accommodation. In fact I was not sure there could be anything like it in Phuket, but was recently in contact (via Facebook) with Mal, owner of the Seaside Cottages which is found on Mai Khao Beach, the very northernmost beach in Phuket, north of the airport. Mai Khao Beach stretches for about 10km from the airport right up to the northern tip of the island near Sarasin bridge. That's a lot of beach.. and so far there is not TOO much development on Mai Khao. OK, you have the Marriott and Sala Phuket and a few other things but this area of Phuket remains quite rural.
The Seaside Cottages has been open for a couple of years. They offer simple accommodation in bamboo huts, slightly more rugged wooden huts and a couple of fancier concrete huts. No aircon, no cable TV. Little huts right by the beach. There is also a restaurant, but otherwise, just nature. The huts are set back a bit from the beach - they found that if the rooms were too close it was not good in low season when wind blows in across the sea. They closed up last low season but might try to stay open this time. Mal told me they are pretty fully booked for the next month. They are listed on Tripadvisor, which does seem to help and also on Hostelworld. The prices start at 500 Baht/night for the little bamboo huts up to 2,000 Baht for the concrete huts. If you want it quiet and simple, good choice.
If you want a few days doing absolutely nothing, sit on the beach, lounge in a hammock, it's for you. The restaurant is not super cheap, and it would be a bit of a hike to find anywhere else to eat, though they can arrange bike rentals for you, and when I was there the owner gave some customers a free ride out to the main road to catch the bus. It's a small and friendly place and I am happy to have found a place like this in Phuket that I can recommend. Oh and if you have a tent they will let you pitch it on the grounds too for about 200 Baht a night.
Oh, one drawback, at least for now.. there is a resort being built next door. You can't see too much construction from the front, but there is bound to be some noise. The other drawback might be getting bored with having miles of beach all to yourself. Anyone looking for parties and crowds, look again! Mai Khao Beach will surely get more developed in years to come, but for now, this part of Phuket is still nice and quiet.
I'm currently in my second favourite city on Earth. It used to be my favourite city but then I went to New York and this city was relegated to second place. Considering how very much I loved New York, I'd say that being second place still means that I love this city very, very, very much.
A couple of clues:
It had been my favourite city for most of my life.
It took me two hours and eight minutes to arrive here by train.
My brother worked here before he moved down to London.
And less personal clues:
There is a bombed out shell of a church still standing here from the Blitz. The outside walls are still standing and there are trees growing in the middle.
Arguably the most famous band on Earth emerged from this city.
The Dubliners sang at least two songs about this city, one of which I quoted when I last visited here.
Righty-ho! I've put moderated comments on and I'll send postcards to the first five people who can correctly guess where I am.
I know Halloween is already a distant memory for some but I just had to tell the world of the horrifying experience I had on Saturday! We got up bright and early and went to our usual restaurant in Dartford for a full English breakfast. May I take this opportunity to present exhibit A, evidence of my very long hair that morning.
We go to the Wetherspoons in Spital Street, Dartford and I usually get a traditional breakfast for £2.69 and Stephen gets a large breakfast for £3.89. It is so good that we go every single Saturday morning! Anyway, back to Halloween… after breakfast, we went to the salon next door, Raw.
In retrospect, I should have realised something was up the minute I walked into the salon.
I wasn't even perturbed when a witch came to pick Stephen up for his haircut!
It was around the time that I realised that The Devil was going to be doing my hair that realised something was seriously not right.
I took one last look at Stephen stuck away in the corner with Liewe Heksie and I sat in the chair and resigned myself to my fate.
First, Her Devilness measured my hair to maximise the devastating effects of her actions, then she heartlessly chopped off my ponytail and held up her prize for all to see.
With an evil muah-ha-ha-ha, she put the final touches on her evil plan.
As you can see, I was devastated by the results.
With one last look at the hellish Alice in Wonderland, I finally made my escape!
The haunted Raw Salon looked so normal from the outside!
I hope you liked my little Halloween story! The real tale is that I went to cut off my pony tail so that I could donate it to Banbury Postiche who make natural hair wigs for chemotherapy patients (amongst other uses). I knew that Raw were also dressing up and raising money for charity that day and thought it would be a fantastic photo opportunity. As first time clients, Stephen and I were each given a 30% discount which certainly helped towards the cost. We needed a minimum of six inches of hair and we managed just over ten inches. It was an absolutely amazing experience to finally cut it off as I have been trying for so long to grow it long enough. Just in case my post was confusing, let me just say I was really happy with the haircut and this was the best salon I have ever been to! They were so friendly and accommodating and I loved the massaging chairs in the hair washing room.
I’ve decided to also raise money for the NACCPO* and am asking people to sponsor me per inch of hair donated.
"The National Alliance of Childhood Cancer Parent Organisations (NACCPO) is made up of parent run organisations that have common aims of working together to support children and young adults with cancer" - NACCPO
There is no minimum donation and every little bit helps. Remember to include your blog address in your message so that I can thank you and show your blog some link love! The money donated doesn’t come anywhere near me and goes straight to the charity via JustGiving. JustGiving give the full donation amount to the charity and make their money from Gift Aid which is the money made on tax breaks on donations from British residents.
Donating money is not the only way to help me. You can also Stumble or Digg this article using the “share” button below or you can link to the post on Twitter or Facebook. I don’t usually ask for so much attention but this is for a good cause!!!
I'd just like to express my thanks that my Dad has been clear of cancer for two years and that my Auntie Barbara has a good prognosis. We lost my step-Auntie Lorraine to this year after a long battle against lung cancer.
As we enter high season in Phuket and the Andaman coast, visitor numbers increase dramatically compared to our low "summer season". Of course that's due to the weather. From November to April (on average) the weather is better than May - October. In particular, the Phuket Rainfall Averages show that December, January and February are the driest months of the year. Of course you can get plenty of good weather in the low season too, but in high season you'll get more sun. I don't promise no rain, hey, this is the tropics, but the next 6 months is the time to visit Phuket! Plenty more weather information on my Phuket Weather Blog...
Enough about the weather! I hope if you browse this blog you will find that Phuket is a wonderful place. Now, this blog is mostly about the "other" Phuket, not the main tourist beaches, tours, shops and shows. But whether you come here for the beach, a family holiday, a honeymoon, a quick trip or a erm... gentleman's holiday.. everyone has one thing in common. You need a place to stay. Phuket has it all. You can get a backpackers dorm for 200 Baht, you can rent a villa, and there are guesthouses and hotels to suit all budgets. If you care to search Google for "Phuket Hotels"... you get over a million search results. There are thousands of online hotel booking services. So how do you make a choice?! Might as well stick a pin in your screen and say "That one!"... well, I hope that Jamie's Phuket can help in making a choice!
Some people will always book direct with the hotel. Others prefer to book everything in a package through their local travel agent. But often, if you want the best rates and the best choice of hotels - an online hotel booking agent can be the best choice. Over the last few years I have experimented with several hotel sites, linking to them from this blog. The recommended Phuket Hotels section of the blog grows slowly and for each hotel there are a couple of options for online booking.
Agoda - not such a common name in Europe or North America, but in Asia Agoda is well known, being based in Singapore. The site is well designed, very easy to use, they offer rewards when you book (equivalent to a discount on a future booking), and guarantee lowest rates. Have a look!
Agoda is also available in many languages such as German, Japanese, Russian and many more. You'll see a language picker at the top of each page.
LateStays - Part of the Asia Web Direct company that was recently bought by Wotif, LateStays specialises in last minute bookings - up to 28 days in advance. Website is very very easy to use, the discounts are often considerable, although you may want to check Agoda too - LateStays does not guarantee lowest rates, but for a late late booking, it's very very good.
Have a look at these two - Agoda and LateStays. Plenty more out there if you want to look, but here on Jamie's Phuket I stick with them when it comes to hotel booking. High season is here! If you are reading, hope you can make it to Phuket soon!
I had to go to the bank today to deposit a cheque which was great because I was a couple of days behind on my weekly lunch break!
I decided to get a carb-rich lunch (for no other reason than I felt like it) and so I went to Shrigleys which is half way up Borough High Street.
I think what I love most about Shrigleys is their friendliness. They call to you the minute you walk in and they invite you to take a seat in such a way that you can’t possibly refuse (well, I couldn’t). So I got out my book (I’ve moved on to The Host) and had some tea while I waited for my cheese and bacon baked potato to arrive. It was yummy and only cost £3.20.
I’m getting quite good at this lunch thing. I think it is all to do with reading such good books lately that it pains me to work for too long without taking time to read!!
Apparently the weather is going to turn this week and our ridiculously warm and sunny autumn will come to an end, to be replaced by more typical wet and windy weather. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. I must dry clean my winter coat (yes, I know, I should have done that about 8 months ago but I didn’t).
