Suan Luang Park (Phuket Town)

On a beautiful clear morning last week I decided to check out the big park on the west of Phuket Town called Suan Luang or King Rama IX park. I have driven past hundreds of times, but it's not that close to our house, so not really convenient for morning or evening walks (we normally go to the Bang Wad Reservoir). I don't think I realised the size of the park. After half an hours walking around there was still more to see. It's a gathering place for locals in the mornings and evenings when it's cool enough to take walks or go jogging or ride bicycles. There were also some people playing badminton and a football match going on at 8am!

The main entrance to the park is on Chao Fa road (see location on Google Earth), which heads out of Phuket town towards Chalong, but there are also a couple of side entrances. Just inside the entrance is a large lake, and you can turn right or left and start walking/jogging...





To the left is another small lake full of lotus flowers, and a maze of paths twisting and turning through the trees. Joggers passed by and a fair number of older folks out for their morning air - many of people had Chinese faces. Much of the population of the town is of Chinese descent. I had read that people come here in the mornings to do Tai Chi and had imagined huge gatherings of old Chinese people, but either they come another time, or not in large numbers. I did see a few here and there who had found their spot to relax.

 



The park seems to be well used, not just joggers and the like, but I found several greenhouses where plants were being tended to. Outside the greenhouses were Leelawadee trees, whose flowers have a beautiful smell.





It was a good bit of morning exercise for me, just a little detour on the way to work, and much needed, as I spend too many days glued to the keyboard. Might just take another walk around one day next week. It's one of those "locals" places. The people there all looked like Phuket people, not visitors or tourists or even people from other parts of Thailand who live and work in Phuket. A couple of folks seemed surprised to see a foreigner in their park. It's a place to go if you want to mingle with the local gentry.



Apparently, according to the Gay Patong website, Suan Luang Park is also a place to go "cruising"! It says "this is the place to meet"... must be an evening thing, as I don't think I saw anyone "cruising" at 8am.



Below - not sure a sign like this in England would use the same language. In any case I did not see any doggy doos in the park, or indeed any dogs. It's very clean and well looked after. There were gardeners at work while I walked around, and I can't say I saw any litter either which is a rare thing in these parts!



There's not much mention of this park on the internet as it's not really a tourist attraction, which is why it's on this blog! Rather like Bang Wad reservoir, Sapan Hin or Monkey Hill, its a place where the locals gather. Phuket has many green spaces like these around the town. I mean, much of the island is green, but in these places there are walking paths and views, great for some fresh air and exercise.

World Nomads Travel Insurance

If I can just stray off the topic of Phuket for a moment... I did a lot of traveling when I was younger - Africa, India, South America, all over the world from Alaska to Zambia, from Chichicastenango to Ouagadougou. It was an addiction that was somehow cured by a combination of scuba diving, a small island called Utila and finally Thailand. But that's another story! Wherever I did roam, I was sensible enough to have Travel Insurance to cover medical problems (such as my infected leg in Cameroon - I still have the scar) or possible theft of my camera (though I have never had anything stolen while traveling). Peace of mind, that's what insurance is, and it's so cheap! You can take a few risks when traveling, visit some strange places, but it's nice to have someone watching your back!

Travel insurance: simple & flexible

Recommended by Lonely Planet, World Nomads travel insurance is available to people from over 150 countries and is designed for adventurous travelers with cover for overseas medical, evacuation, baggage and activities such as skiing and snowboarding. You can even buy, extend and claim online even after you've left home!

Travel Tips from World Nomads

Here are a few things to consider when choosing your insurance to make sure that you will be covered on your adventure:

• Cancellation: It's no fun if you fall ill before you leave and can not go on your trip. To claim though, you have to buy your insurance policy when you buy your trip. Not all insurance policies cover cancellation, so please read the policy wording relevant to you carefully
  
• Lost or Stolen Gear: most travel insurance policies have a per-item value limit – make sure its high enough to cover your gear or choose a policy that allows you to increase the limit.
  
• Medical expenses over and above evacuation: check that your cover includes emergency treatment while away and transport to bring you home – remembering that insurance providers will usually insist on getting you home as soon as you are fit enough to travel.
  
• Adventurous Activities: look carefully at what your policy covers - you may find that you are not covered to do all of the adventurous activities that you are planning while you're away.
  
• Personal Liability: Accidents happen. If it's found to be your fault and someone decides to sue you, you want to be covered.

If you think you are too small to make a difference...
you haven't been in bed with a mosquito

In 2007, WorldNomads.com and our customers funded 300 sight-saving surgeries, built a primary school and repaired another, trained over 200 teachers and helped 40 kids get through school, gave a whole village solar-lighting, installed water and sanitation facilities in 3 schools and 2 villages, provided educational supplies in 4 schools and medicines to 3 communities and 4 orphanages, helped create two kitchen gardens and buy 300 egg-laying chickens, built capture fog-nets for fresh drinking water and provided a safe-home for girls of sex workers.

Find Out How!

World Nomads Insurance - Essential Links

• Prices & benefits
• Get a quote
• True claims stories
• Government Travel Warnings
• Travel Journals



Back to normal Phuket blogging soon!

An Evening at Bang Wad Reservoir and Dam

Just a few minutes drive from our house, Bang Wad reservoir is Phuket's largest water supply, located in the hills to the west of Phuket Town. To get there just find Phuket Country Club Golf Course and drive through and all the way to the reservoir. During the day there's not much going on, but in the late afternoon, lots of people come here to exercise, jog, ride bikes, picnic, play takraw, let the kids run around... There's lots of space, and some keen joggers even run right around the reservoir (a circuit of about 6km).



The reservoir is over 1km long, and the dam is 800m long - pretty big, yet with the increasing population and demands of tourism in Phuket, there are occasional water shortage "scares" in Phuket. There is talk of pumping water to Phuket from the enormous Chiew Lan Lake at Khao Sok (about 125km from Phuket Town as the crow flies).

• View Bang Wad reservoir on Google Earth







We like to take walks along the dam, let the kids race, play on some big rocks... There are stalls selling snacks (BBQ pork, drinks etc...) and people always seem in a relaxed mood. Something to do with the fresh air. We were up at the dam a few days ago and met some friends who were having a picnic. I took some of the kids for a walk/run along the dam and took a bunch of photos.

 

Restaurant Tips: Pak Nam Seafood

I admit that life sometimes becomes a bit repetitive, mostly governed by work and school, and we tend to sink into regular patterns. We eat at home much of the time (see Home Cooking), and when we eat out we tend to head for regular hangouts, places we know, places that are safe for the kids, places where we know we can get good food. I vowed to try some new restaurants this year, and finally last week, when I had a holiday and both kids were at school, we found a new restaurant which we liked and indeed went back a few days later with the kids.

 

Pak Nam Seafood is right on the northern edge of Phuket Town on Ratsadanuson Road which winds around the edge of "Monkey Hill" from the government offices in the extreme northeast of town to just north of the Mission hospital which is on the main road out of town to the airport. They said it only opened last year, but seems to be popular, and I think the answer may be the food.

Pak Nam Seafood had been recommended to us by friends. You may have trouble finding it. Best way to get there - take main road out of Phuket Town and turn right at lights after the Mission hospital, then drive about 2km, and you'll see the restaurant on the left. I have added a Google Earth location here. Views to the sea, you can see Koh Maphrao and also Koh Yao Yai in the distance, also views of a building site and the edge of Phuket Town. The view below is also from the restaurant. Try to get a balcony table looking in this direction.





Cold beer ordered. Now for food. One of my favourite dishes in any restaurant, if it's available, is "Yam Gung Seab", a spicy yet sweet dried shrimp salad. Until now the best I have had was at Laem Hin Seafood, but I think this one at Pak Nam Seafood wins.





Even the fried rice was good. You know sometimes fried rice can be very bland. This had flavour and accompanied the salad well.



Then we had the "mystery dish". We ordered Gung Cream Salad. Sounded interesting. Was very tasty. Some fried breaded prawns and a mountain of fresh salad covered in dressing....



We will be back again. And we do vow to try some more new restaurants in the near future. I'm sure there are more that suit "our style". If you can find Pak Nam Seafood, give it a try!

More of our Favourite Phuket Restaurants:

• Dairy Hut
• Kan Eang Seafood
• Ninth Floor

Wat Kosit Wiharn (Phuket Town)

It's temple time again! You'll find a lot of information about Phuket's Temples on the blog, and that's because I like temples! I have a vague plan to blog all the temples in Phuket including mosques and Chinese shrines too. Every temple has something special, but they all share a certain spiritual peace and are somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle of daily life.





We happened to be passing Wat Kosit Wiharn (or Wihan, or indeed Viharn), which is a little north of Phuket City center on the road towards the airport (route 402) - see location on Google Earth. It's quite an important temple, mainly due to it's large Buddhist cemetery (which I might revisit soon). Near the main temple is a crematorium, and around the main temple you find small recesses in the wall containing ashes along with a photo of the deceased and money for the afterlife.





 



You have to climb a fair number of steps to reach the temple, which is built into the jungly hillside. You have views to the west across the north of Phuket town. Just another temple? Not for the people in that part of Phuket town, this is their local temple, part of daily life. Sure you can visit a more "touristy" temple such as Wat Chalong or Wat Phra Tong, but if you have a few spare minutes, a smaller temple is certainly worth a look.

Views from Rang Hill (Phuket Town)

Rang Hill (Khao Rang) is located on the north side of Phuket town and is a popular gathering place in the evenings and a fairly commonly visited viewpoint, on the itineraries of tours. There's a well known cafe (Tunk Ka Cafe) on the top, which does food and great iced coffee. There are views over parts of Phuket City and also across to Chalong Bay and Buddha Mountain. We go up there now and then for a little walk and a bit of fresh air. There are several access roads, one of which is just behind one of our favourite restaurants - Dairy Hut, on a side road next to the Phuket Bangkok Hospital.

• Rang Hill location on Google Earth





(above) Romance on Rang Hill. Couples sit and enjoy the views in the evening.



The statue above shows Ratsada Korsimbi Na Ranong, who was governor of Phuket around the turn of the 20th century. He came from a political family (his dad was governor of Ranong), and did a lot to put Phuket on the map, especially modernising the tin mining industry, overseeing the building of Bang Yai canal through Phuket Town, and he is also credited with bringing the rubber industry into Phuket from Malaysia.





• More Hills and Viewpoints in Phuket

Thai Food - Good Ol' Home Cooking

I just cannot get bored with Thai food. The variety is endless, the tastes sometimes surprising, odd mixtures of sour, sweet and spicy, flavours to ensnare the senses. I have to say the food was one of the reasons I stayed in Thailand longer than originally intended. I don't like all Thai food - for example, I have never been a fan of Som Tam, and some of the curries are too spicy for me - though over the years I have gotten used to the spicy food. Not all Thai food is spicy of course. There are plenty of simple dishes like fried rice or mixed vegetables or egg dishes. And I don't exclusively eat Thai food, I don't pretend to be a local! I do like the occasional pizza or spaghetti or English breakfast or just a sandwich. Of course in Phuket you can get pretty much anything you fancy.

At home we eat mostly Thai food, mainly because my wife is Thai and when she's in the mood, she does like to cook. We go out to eat quite often because eating out here (if avoiding tourist restaurants) is cheap. Now, my wifes cooking is very good, though when we first met about 8 years ago, she barely knew how to cook apart from basic things like omelette and fried veg. That's because her mum is the ultimate mum, always looking after the kids, the house, the cooking etc... Her mum's Massaman curry is one of the best meals in Thailand!

Over the years, my wife has experimented with cooking and always seems to come up trumps. We are just chatting now and realise she's not done her "Indian Curry" for ages... We'll go and get the ingredients tomorrow!

The photos below show some of our favourite home cooked meals. I will add more as time goes by. Thai food rocks!


Green Curry (Gaeng Khiaw Wan)


Kai Yat Sai, omelette stuffed with minced pork and veg


Fried Mixed Vegetables (Phad Phak Ruam)


Yam Neua - Spicy Beef Salad


Tom Yum - a classic dish, I love it.


Spicy Fried Pork - Phad Pet Moo


Tom Kha Gai - Chicken/Coconut soup

Hope that makes you hungry! There are many reasons to visit Phuket, and the food is certainly one of those reasons. Yes, you can get foreign food too, anything from tacos to fish 'n' chips (and I like it!), but let me say again... Thai food rocks!

Ah, that Indian Curry... We had it a few days later.. Here's the curry cooking...



My wife was happy to see me drain the dish, tipping all the sauce over my rice.. a sure sign of delicious food! Aroy Mak!