Time for some more Phuket history and culture! I know we have nice beaches and lots of touristy things to do, but as a long time local resident, I have an interest in the local area, and I think that the long and interesting history of Phuket might surprise a few people! Phuket has several good museums - the Thalang National Museum, the Phuket Tin Mining Museum, and Chinpracha House are all worth a visit. The Thai Hua Museum I have blogged before about 3 years ago when it was newly opened. There was not too much to see beyond an old classroom and some old school photos and books, but entry was free :)



(above) Thai Hua Museum Entrance

The Thai Hua Museum has changed quite a bit in the last 3 years. There is an entry fee now (200 Baht) - but I think it's worth that. The museum now has many rooms full of displays and information about the history of Phuket. We visited again a couple of months ago, and we were impressed. There's been a lot of investment here and if you happen to be in Phuket Town, I say go and visit! For a start, the building itself is really nice. An old (early 20th century) mansion that was built as a school for the Chinese-Thai families who had flocked to Phuket in the 19th century for the tin mining industry.



Some parts of the interior still look like the old school, and other areas have been modernised with the rooms of the museum clearly labelled.. plus you can pick up a guide to the museum when you pay the admission.



The Thai Hua Museum now has some excellent information about the history of Phuket. I think many visitors maybe think of Phuket only in terms of beaches and tourism, but Phuket did not really have much of a large tourist "industry" until 1985 when the Club Med resort opened at Kata Beach. Before that.. there was some tourism, but Phuket made it's money in the 19th and 20th centuries from tin mining, rubber, fishing, prawn farms and agriculture. Many of the big Phuket families have Chinese origins and the Thai Hua Museum has some good information on this.



Our family enjoyed the visit.. there were even buttons to press on the history displays, and buttons are always good for kids! This room below explained which parts of China were originally home to the Phuket Chinese families.



The old school sections are still there. More family fun! My mother used to be a teacher and my kids are .. kids. Their grandmother tried to drill them in the old traditions : Morality, Intelligence, Sports, Unity, Beauty. The old classroom should give a good idea of what school was like here in the "old days" :)



Certainly worth a look, the Thai Hua Museum can also be visited as part of an old town tour with Phuket Heritage Trails. Easy to find, just a bit to the east of Thalang Road on Krabi Road in the old part of Phuket Town.



(above) Piles of lovely old roof tiles outside the back of the museum.

(update) I just found an older photo, taken in 2002 by my Mum :) View of the Thai Hua building before it was turned into a museum ...



Phuket Museums - Location Map


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Patong Beach is of course Phuket's busiest tourist beach, and right at the center of everything is Soi Bangla, which has always been full of bars, girls, boys pretending to be girls ... and restaurants, shops and hotels. Patong is a bit too much for my taste, but a lot of people like it! If you go back 12 years, when I first came here, Soi Bangla was a little different, indeed the whole of Patong was different. There is now the Jungceylon shopping mall where once used to be a dirty market, and although Soi Bangla is still the nightlife center, things are changing. Many people would like to see a more family oriented Patong, less bars, less bar girls, and I guess more shops and cafes. It's a personal call whether you think Patong (or parts of Patong) is seedy, or maybe you think it's just a whole lot of fun. I tend to think of the Soi Bangla area as a fun party zone, actually anyone can hang out there, it's not full of old male tourists looking for girls, although some people like to see it that way. The bars don't quite dominate as they used to, and in 2011, with the opening of The Kee Resort, and The Kee Plaza, the area gained a new, modern face. The old street called "Soi Sea Dragon" is gone. Replaced by something much nicer!

 

(above) The Kee Plaza, a shopping center attached to the resort, and the Sky Lounge - on the roof, got to be a good place for a sunset! I might have to try it, though I am guessing the prices are Sky high!

The Kee Resort is not huge, there are about 250 rooms, along with a big pool in the center of the resort, a restaurant (but then again, you're in the middle of Patong, so there's plenty of dining options nearby), and the Sky Lounge with 360 degree views. There's also a fitness center and (as the full name suggests) a Spa. The thing with a resort like this - it's in the middle of Patong, but once you are in the resort, it's like an Oasis. I wondered if the proximity to Soi Bangla might mean the hotel gets a noise problem, but I have read through some of the reviews and see comments like "Extremely close to the craziness of Bangla road without the noise!" .. might depend what room you get. You'd have to expect some noise I think. Probably a good place to stay if you want some nightlife, and if you want quiet in Patong, think again (or stay somewhere like the Amari, at the far south end of the beach).

 

The Kee Resort and Spa - Booking & Information

• The Kee Resort and Spa - Reviews, Rates and Reservations @ Agoda.com

Phuket Hotels - More Info & Online Booking

• My Phuket Hotel Recommendations
• Top 10 Phuket Hotels 2023
• Online Booking for all Phuket Hotels

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The east coast of Phuket is very much under-rated, far less touched by tourism than the sandy beaches on the west coast and far less visited by visitors. Quite a few of my favourite places and favourite restaurants are on the east side. If you head north from Phuket Town, on the main airport road there is a small side road heading to Laem Hin, a fishing community where you find the very popular Laem Hin Seafood restaurant. A new jetty was built at Laem Hin a few years ago to serve Coconut Island and allow larger boats to dock in the area. On Coconut Island (Koh Maphrao) you find a very nice resort called The Village. And in the water just off the island there are several floating restaurants. We've been before and somehow I have never blogged anything about these places. The day when we went recently was not such a perfect sunny day, guess we will go again soon with blue skies for better photos.

There are several restaurants to choose from - Kruvit, Bang Mud and Kru Suwit. To reach them, you need to get a longtail boat from Laem Hin - boats depart from a wooden jetty with shallow muddy water all around, and longtail boats jammed in like sardines in a can! The deal with the boats.. something like.. if you spend a certain amount at the restaurant you don't pay the boat .. I don't know the amount .. but don't be worried, I think the idea is just to stop people trying to get free rides to drink a coke :)



On the way out to Koh Maphrao (only takes 5 minutes) there are fishermen's huts floating in the water too. Is this the same Phuket as the west coast? Things tend to be more traditional here. Fishing, prawn farms (you pass some on the road down to Laem Hin), it's the old way of life here (oh yeh, and the resort on Coconut Island). The restaurants have been here for a long time. I think first time I went there was about 2002. Very popular with locals at the weekends.



We chose to eat at Kruvit restaurant (full name "Kruvit Raft") - my wife had been recently to Bang Mud with some friends and says that's good too. Even on a grey day, quite a few tables were occupied (all local people, although I did see one "farang" arrive later with a Thai lady). I realise that places like this are not so easy to reach for the average tourist, but .. go for it! Explore! We were met by a friendly boatman who held the longtail steady so we (especially my Mum, who cracked a rib on a longtail last year!) could step off easily. Nothing to worry about really, the sea over here is always calm, it's very sheltered.



The Kruvit Raft probably has space for a couple of hundred people. There are tables with benches and tables which allow people to sit on the floor, for those that enjoy such things. I like chairs. We found our table near the fish tanks ... lots of live seafood is kept in large enclosed pools built into the raft. Fish and more .. I actually have to say I was not happy to see a leopard shark. I guess for decoration, not for eating. It's a thin line, I know.. I am not vegetarian, happily eat fish, and yet get upset to see a shark in a "cage" ...



We ate very well too - but with a restaurant like this, eating is only part of the experience! The boat ride, the view, the fresh air, getting away from the crowds ... good food is almost a bonus. I ordered my favourite - Yam Gung Siap, a salad made with smoked, dried shrimp .. it's quite spicy and is quite a local delicacy, really only found in Phuket and Phang Nga. I love it! My wife had some "Hoi Wan" - shellfish cooked with basil and sweet chili paste (not so spicy). There was plenty more too, but sometimes when I am hungry I forget to take photos of the food!





Food washed down nicely with a couple of beers (with ice). Rest assured that the bill was very reasonable (we don't do expensive food!). We'll go again sometime soon, maybe try one of the other floating restaurants. We do eat at Laem Hin Seafood now and then and maybe the food there is better, but hey, you don't get that floating feeling or the boat ride :)

Floating Restaurants - Location Map


View Floating Restaurants at Coconut Island, Phuket in a larger map

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Phuket is an island, surrounded by water, true. Yes, we should say "Koh Phuket" and many holiday brochures and websites will make a lot of this "island" idea. An island is exotic, romantic, a place where magic happens, palm trees sway and smiling people serve you cocktails made of coconuts. Yes, Phuket is really an island, but only just. It's less than 500 meters from the very north of Phuket across to Phang Nga province. We're not really cut off by the sea here! Well, not at all. If you ignore the international airport, Phuket is connected to the mainland of Thailand by a bridge. Or 2. Well, actually there are 3 bridges now. The first was built in 1967 and called Sarasin Bridge (สะพานสารสิน / Sapan Sarasin), named after a now-forgotten politician. Before that, there was the ferry .. photo below (showing an old photo on the wall of the Kopitiam cafe in Phuket Town) shows the ferry and no bridge!



The first bridge was enough for 1970's traffic with little tourism yet hitting Phuket. A second bridge was built not so long ago (I can't recall exactly when, but it was in the last 12 years) to allow traffic to pass more easily in and out of Phuket with one bridge heading north and one to the south. And now... just a couple of months ago, a 3rd bridge was completed. The old bridge has been tarted up and turned into a pedestrian bridge with lot of lamps and steps and decorations. We took a walk over Sarasin bridge recently on a sunny low season day, planning to walk and then eat lunch at the Thanoon Seafood restaurant which sits by the water just 50 meters from the bridge on the Phang Nga side.



(above) Thanoon Seafood restaurant seen from the north end of Sarasin bridge.

Best place to park if you want to walk.. close to the restaurant.. you have to drive over the new bridge, do a U-turn and turn off on a side road, back under the road bridge... The idea of the pedestrian bridge is to make a nice tourist attraction. The bridge certainly looks nice and is a good chance to walk to Phuket from Phang Nga, or walk to Phang Nga from Phuket with a pretty seaview.. but really? A tourist attraction? You going to take a taxi here 50km from Patong to walk over the bridge? Probably not, but if you are a more independent traveler, rent a car, take a trip to the north of Phuket or to Phang Nga.. then do stop and take some exercise here.



(above) That's me and Dad ready for a little walk. Got some good fresh sea air that day too! It was still low season with a strong breeze blowing in from the west. At the Phang Nga side (north side) of the bridge, to the east in the sheltered waters there is a fishing village. Longtail boats come and go. There were some larger fishing boats at the dockside too.



(above) Mum and Dad check out the view to the east on the Phang Nga side of the Sarasin bridge.



In Phuket, you don't have to drive far to find the "old Phuket" away from the hotels and tourism. The little fishing village above is a world away from Patong Beach, and I know where I'd rather live. We walked along Sarasin bridge back towards Phuket, stopping to pose for some pictures on the way. It was a nice sunny day, no rush at all. In the centre of the bridge, you have a little view tower with steps up and down to the bridge. Good place to pose. Halfway up the stairs is the stair where I sit.



Actually, I admit, my wife and I stopped halfway. The kids chased after their Grandma who wanted to complete the long walk back to Phuket. As an aside.. we don't actually use the word Grandma... our kids call my Mum "Nanny", which is what I used to call my paternal grandmother. So, they chased after Nanny and she found something interesting to point out in the water...



They all reached terra firma on the Phuket side safely and headed back to the lazy portion of the family (that's me, my dear wife and my Dad). We cross the bridge quite often for days out. We like heading to Phang Nga to visit Phang Nga Bay or to eat at the Samchong Seafood restaurant or the 360 Degree Cafe. And on this day we ate lunch at the aforementioned Thanoon Seafood. I reckon we'll take a stroll over the Sarasin Bridge again sometime soon. I'd like to explore the area a bit more when there's time.



(above) Yes we enjoyed our little walk over the bridge! Many times I had driven over the old bridge and wished to stop and take a walk - not possible without blocking traffic! Now that walk is possible. To the west - the open ocean, to the east is Phang Nga Bay. I have always enjoyed the view from Sarasin Bridge, it was nice to be able to get that view and take a leisurely stroll at the same time. Followed by a nice lunch at Thanoon Seafood - and here's a view from under the bridge(s) just along the sand from the restaurant ...



Sarasin Bridge - Location Map


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Last month, on the final day of my parents holidays, we took a little drive to the south end of Phuket island, carefully watching the weather as the low season delivered up a day of sunshine and showers. We got to Rawai beach in bright sunshine, had not really planned to stop there, but there were dark clouds to the west, so we figured why not take a little walk around Rawai. The beach here is not a swimming beach, it's very rocky and shallow. Rawai beach is good for food - most of the beach road is lined with small restaurants - and from Rawai you can get a speedboat or longtail boat to nearby islands such as Koh Bon, Coral Island, Racha Yai island. We did a trip last year from Rawai to explore the small island of Koh Kaew Yai which lies off the tip of Cape Phromthep and is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists - there is a big Buddha statue on the island and a giant "Buddha footprint". Legend says that Buddha stepped onto the island before coming to the mainland of Phuket, where he first visited Rawai. The name of the village is derived from "Rao Wai" meaning (something like) "we pray".

Toward the east end of Rawai beach is the jetty, and on the east side of the jetty is the fishing village. There are stalls selling seafood and quite a few stalls selling shells to tourists, also some small restaurants. The seawall has broken here. The photo below shows local kids playing in the rubble along the beach.



Further along the beach, things look rather more idyllic, we walked along the beach passing all the longtail boats. You can't have a trip to Phuket without some photos of longtail boats! This end of the beach looks OK for swimming actually, though there's nothing here for tourists, no hotels or bars. This end of the beach is for the locals and the fishermen.



Further up the beach in front of the village, a big tree acts as a natural temple, adorned with coloured cloth, Buddha images and it seems that the Rawai people like to make offerings of red Fanta! Another shrine next to the jetty also had a couple of bottles next to the incense and flowers.



This is not really a rich area of Phuket. Fishing is still important, though for sure some people make a little money from tourists. The fishermen and local people in the area are largely "sea gypsies" who are not the best looked after by the Thai government. The fishermen make their own fish traps and head out on longtail boats, dive down to the traps using home made scuba gear. We found some guys making a new lo-tech fish trap...





When visiting a more local area, I try to quietly blend in, wander about as unobtrusively as possible (not so simple, since I am 6 foot 3!) and get an idea of local life. In the fishing village here in Rawai, there's just a lot of sitting around to be done.. the fishing has all been done by early morning. The kids were all off school (it was school holidays) so they had to find ways to amuse themselves. I'd like to wander around this area some more when I get a new camera, but did get a few nice pictures of the local folks...



(above) this guy was carrying some fresh ice to put on the fish



Not just fish for sale! Phuket people boast of having the best pineapples in Thailand. Sweeter and juicier and not as sour as other pineapples. You can buy little bags of fruit from fruit stalls all over Phuket, indeed all over Thailand, normally you pay 10 - 20 Baht per bag.



Kids were all over the village, the kids above are getting some snacks from a mobile snack stall built onto the side of a moped. The girl below has found a quiet spot for a drink behind the market surrounded by ice boxes.



Rawai beach doesn't seem to have changed that much since I first went there more than 10 years ago. OK, for sure there is more development inland, and the main road in from Chalong is now 4 lanes with a lot more happening along the road, but the beach, the boats, the fishermen, the little restaurants ... it's still quiet and a good stopping off place for a walk or lunch or dinner. Mum and Dad got a bag of pineapple (below) and with the clouds clearing we headed off to Ya Nui beach, just a 5 minute drive from Rawai.



Rawai Beach Links

• Hotels Near Rawai Beach
• Nikita's Bar at Rawai Beach
• Rimlay Restaurant

Near Rawai Beach

• Phromthep Cape
• Koh Kaew Yai island
• Ya Nui Beach
• Phuket Seashell Museum

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During my recent holidays in October 2011 when my parents visited from the UK, we had the chance to try quite a few new restaurants that had been "on my list". On the day we visited Kin Dee, the weather was not so nice, one of those low season days that has no sun. The rain seemed rather patchy, we figured that if we just drove north we might find a rain-free area! So we had no particular plan for where to eat.. just drive and see where we end up. The east coast seemed rather wet just north of Phuket Town so we headed further and drove through heavy rain with kids moaning about hunger in the back of the car ... we though to head over the bridge into Phang Nga and eat at Samchong Seafood which is a favourite of ours. But as we reached the far north of Phuket I remembered Kin Dee, although could not remember exactly where to find it! We kept eyes open for a sign .... and finally just before the Tha Chat Chai police checkpoint we saw "KIN DEE LOCAL FOOD" - did a u-turn just before the checkpoint and headed down a small side road into the trees, into the rural Phuket that is easily found in this part of the island.



A restaurant with a Sang Som advert is a sure sign of a local restaurant. Sang Som is a Thai brand of rum, pretty cheap and doesn't taste too bad mixed with coke or soda. We pulled into the small car park... nobody else there.. was it open? Thankfully yes, otherwise kids would have been distraught! The restaurant is built of wood, bamboo and with a canvas roof. It's built on stilts right in the trees and certainly looked very nice.



So we took the "best" table and hungry bellies scanned the menu. It struck me right away that this "local restaurant" was not priced for locals - most dishes were 150 Baht or more, and as we are.. how to say ... cheap discerning local residents we were a bit surprised. Looks like their target audience might be customers from some of the nice resorts in the north of Phuket like JW Marriott, Sala Phuket, Holiday Inn or Indigo Pearl to name but a few. If you are staying there, 150 Baht will be cheap and of course I recognise that 150 Baht is only 5 Dollars / 3 Pounds / 4 Euro and thus it's cheaper than eating out in England, but we are not tourists :)



For anyone who is not as cheap as us, I do recommend Kin Dee! A very unique little restaurant, very green, quiet and natural, there's a little river / mangrove creek below and there are orchids everywhere. The view from our table...



One reason I have enjoyed doing this blog - it stops me (and my dear wife) from being lazy! Sure we have our favourite places to eat, but sometimes we try new restaurants either because they look interesting, or they have been recommended by a friend or just "for the Phuket blog"! I forgot the food photos at Kin Dee - my Mum had a green curry, the kids devoured their fried rice, and I ordered their "Kin Dee salad" which was rather good.



A good eating experience, I am not sure if we'll go again, just priced a bit high for us - the bill was over 1500 Baht for 4 adults and 2 kids (and we did not order the more expensive dishes!), which for sure some will think is cheap. Actually while the food was not local price, the drinks were just about the same as other restaurants. A beer was 60 Baht, which is pretty standard. The Kin Dee restaurant has character and I reckon most people would love it.

Kin Dee Restaurant - Location Map


View Kin Dee Restaurant in the Jungle in a larger map

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Ya Nui beach seems to have remained pretty much unchanged since I first saw it more than 10 years ago. Quiet, undeveloped, easily missed if you don't know where it is - squeezed into a small bay in between Nai Harn beach and Phromthep Cape. Ya Nui is a different side of Phuket compared to the main beaches. Ya Nui has no big hotels or shops, not much at all except one small restaurant and a few shacks which serve as little groovy bars. There are some nearby bungalows, invisible from the beach itself and if you were to stay in this area, would be best to have your own transport. The view below shows Ya Nui beach, photo taken from the viewpoint just to the north where you find the big wind turbine. Nice views from up there!



I don't remember the last time I stopped at Ya Nui beach. Never seems to be enough time to visit old hangouts. We used to like it. We have good memories from many years ago. A photo of our daughter when she was about 3, pretending to play drum on a wooden stall at the little cafe. We visited with my parents, this must have been in 2004. Later that year, Ya Nui was hit hard by the Phuket tsunami. We found new places to hang out, had another baby and I can't seem to recall stopping at Ya Nui for years now. Should go for often to all these nice places, but .. I am not on holiday here, I normally work 6 days a week. However, last month, right at the end of my holidays on October 12th, I went back to Ya Nui beach with Mum and Dad. Looks like we should have gone the next day for free beer :)



The weather on that day was a real mixture of sun and sudden showers. We walked on the beach in the sun at first. Ya Nui is a small beach, quite rocky at low tide, and in high season the snorkeling is said to be good here. They do put beach chairs on the beach sometimes, which uglies things up a bit.. there's just the one restaurant, run in very casual local style :



We wandered the beach for a while trying to find an interesting photo of rocks and waves - it was still low season and the sea was pounding away. Mum enjoyed getting her feet wet - you can see the sky behind her (below) - blue skies and sun, with a side dish of dark clouds and rain. The kind of low season day when you can get sunburn or soaked, and we played "dodge the shower" all day.



We were almost alone at the beach, only a couple of young ladies there at the same time. Crowded Phuket? Get out and explore and lose the crowds. The photo below, with added foreground interest, is looking more to the south over the jumble of rocks at the south end of Ya Nui. It's only 1km from here to Phromthep Cape.



Oh, there was one other guy at the beach - a good old fashioned beachcomber, armed with metal detector....



Should you go swimming at Ya Nui and get into trouble, don't worry, be happy.. There is a Lifeguart on hand. Nobody was swimming that day, but in high season when the sea is almost always calm, you can certainly swim here, or snorkel or dive - I have a friend who likes to dive here, starting at Ya Nui and swim round the corner (about half a mile) to Nai Harn then get a tuk tuk back to Ya Nui.



The rain did come that afternoon for a while, so we sat in the restaurant, had a beer and then went for another little walk. At the far north end of the beach I found several memorial plaques dedicated to loved ones who had died in the tsunami. That seems a long time ago, and yet very recent.



The southwest corner of Phuket is good for a day out - including Ya Nui, Nai Harn, the windturbine viewpoint, the Karon viewpoint, maybe a sunset beer at the After Beach Bar or dinner at Phromthep Cape restaurant. A very nice part of Phuket.

(added later) Found the photo - our daughter age (nearly) 3 at the cafe, Ya Nui beach in July 2004. For this reason, the place has an emotional attachment and seeing the tsunami plaques brought it back. Ya Nui is rebuilt of course, it happened 7 years ago. We were there before. We are here now.



UPDATE 2015 - The one restaurant right at the beach is now gone. There are a few just over the road (like 10 meters away). It's still very quiet.

Ya Nui Beach - Location Map


View Ya Nui Beach, Phuket in a larger map

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