Mangrove, บานขนมไทย ชาววง, Café-y-Té, Monkey Hill, พอตาโตะแซะ and รานสมตำเมองคอน-สะพานหน


Jemma and I got up early whilst mummy slept and we quickly did the homework which meant that we able to visit the Mangrove Panwa around the corner for breakfast. A small place and breakfast was until 11:30 am.


I like the location and the chess set that they have put in the garden



Jemma met a friend and they went off to feed the rabbits and then was soon searching for crabs along the waters edge.



We did find an interesting item - a post along the water's edge and it is not confirmed but I believe it to be - but Dawn told me

"I think these often appear where there has been some problem over land boundary. It will show where the public land ends (on the beach at high sea level) and where private land begins and building is allowed"

After the excitement of the crabs we needed to get changed, watch a movie and wake mummy up - it was now time for Lunch!



We had lunch at บานขนมไทย ชาววง (a popular Local Thai Restaurant - a review to come here) the Chinese Sausages were good but a little expensive to buy some to take home...


This meant that it was time for only the second coffee of the day - we drove into Phuket Town to find a coffee shop with good coffee, air-conditioning and good cake, we ended up at Café-Y-Té- delicious.



Parking was difficult so we had to walk and we ended up walking into the 'Drawing Room' - a gallery of paintings by a local artist.

Jemma decided that she wanted to go Geocaching - Monkey Hill was the closest and the most interesting place so this was where we chose.



We stopped on the way there because Jemma (and Daddy) liked the colourful stalls outside the Phuket City Office.



The top of the hill shows a great view and Monkey Hill was entertaining but we were very careful with the monkeys - the monkeys only seemed to be on the top half of the hill, dogs were below. 



The Geocache at the top of the hill could not be found - looking at the history of the cache we were not the only people who could not find it however.



We carefully fed the monkeys - especially as somebody had posted a number of posters up that feeding the monkeys was dangerous - I would agree, we threw the food out of the window and closed the window quickly.



There were a lot of monkeys!



As we went down the hill Jemma and I chose to visit the Buddhist Temple with a difference - พอตาโตะแซะ - which was on the side of the road.



Wat Charoen Samanakit is surrounded by a number of smaller temples and they are all very individual - a full review will be put here - in fact the more I look at the pictures the more confuse I am as to whether it is a Buddhist Wat or a Chinese Shrine or is it all of them?



A dinner was taken at Sapan Hin at รานสมตำเมองคอน สะพานหน a local restaurant and it really does serve the best Pla Duk Foo in Phuket - this is a MUST if you come to Phuket.


How to encourage children to use the waste bin?


I have written a number of posts here on this blog regarding the waste that I pick up from the beach and I was visiting the Phuket Aquarium and they had these wonderful bins!

They might not work for the adult but they certainly work for my daughter!

A good idea - thank you Phuket Aquarium.


Social Media



Facebook is likely to die by 2017?

Well I do not know whether it will but the article was certainly interesting - but to apply Disease mechanics to Social Media is always a little abstract AND it is not April Fools Day, yet.

So who will win?
Back all the horses and hopefully one will win?
So I did?

Facebook  
Pinterest    
Twitter    
StumbleUpon
Reddit
YouTube    
LinkedIn  
Google+   


Dim Sum, Coffee Shops, Crust, Graduation, ตำเวยเฮย and Zaab ice cream


We started early today because we had Jemma's graduation today - so we chose to have breakfast at a Local Restaurant at Phuket Town (รานแกวใจ-food--bakery).



Fabulous breakfast and then I met a friend from the UK - Jo who had come over for a break.



We went to the Chino Cafe in Phuket Old Town and then Since 1892 - reviews all at my coffee blog site.



It was then time for Jemma to rehearse her Graduation Ceremony so we her at school and we had lunch at Crust - fab pea and ham soup! (review coming here).



Jemma's Graduation was coming soon so we picked her up early the next day but then we ended up at Vichit Food Fair - which I have yet to review, but we did have a lot of fun!



The next morning was Jemma's Graduation - lovely but I have to say that I did miss the certificate being presented - next time...



This meant that we were to have an early lunch at ตำเวยเฮย - fabulous Thai food but I was not sure about the Issan Som Tam (review coming here) however!



The day came to an early close with an Ice Cream and a coffee at a newly opened colourful Cafe in Phuket Old Town - ZaaB Kafe - a review and forthcoming photographs will be placed here.

A fun 2 days.


Vichit Bike Cup


This was a Bicycle Race which was very close to where we live!


The riders all gathered in the local village - next to Klong Mu Dong and the local market at 8 am to swap techno and have photographs taken (here is a collection of mine).


Then I was moved to near our home because the actual start line was 50 metres away from the gate.


Watching the traffic get organised before the riders arrived was entertaining.


All the local people watched


At the beep of a siren the riders began to ride the circuit in carefully managed waves.


The camera man on the back of the motorbike drove off


and the man with the iPhone took a video


Unfortunately (well fortunately) I forgot my phone which meant that we got caught in the cycle route and very carefully followed them.

I went to work and the race finished back to where they all began.

Well done to all the competitors.

Damnoen Sauak and Amphawa Floating Market.


This was a treat and my mother-in-law was here so we chose to visit two Floating Markets in Bangkok - reached by air or an overnight bus.


Damnoen Saduak Floating Market  

and 
Amphawa Floating Market 


Bangkok used to have a number of canals that wound it’s way around and into the very city centre. The markets began in a time when water transport played a central role in their daily lives.

The development of Bangkok as a major city has taken away much of the traffic which was dependent on the rivers but there is a move to try to preserve this old way of trade - some may say that it is kept only as a tourist attraction.

This may be true but I believe that there is simple beauty in visiting.

Damnoen Sauak Floating Market.



We visited the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market first and I do understand the criticism of it being commercial – yes it is but you do not have to buy everything. 



The really beauty comes swiftly with the homes that line your trip into the Market. It is a predominantly Buddhist dwelling and many of the homes ‘on stilts’ with a small Wat on stilts outside the property.



We were lucky to be there at a time when there sun was rising and young children were swimming and performing ‘back flips’ into the water - lovely







As you are taken slowly into the Market you are surrounded by bursts of colour, cooking smells, laughter, flowers, engines, fruits to taste and so much more.


But who is this for?


My favourite is to interact with the people who are paddling the small canoes that are laden with fruit for you to buy. Many of these people are still wearing the traditional clothing – my favourite were the wide-brimmed straw hats.

Amphawa Floating Market.



I suppose that this is not quite a Floating Market in the same way as Damnoen Sauak - there are a plethora of street stalls either side of the river - selling what seemed to be everything that you would get at a standard market.


Then you found the bridge that was able to take you over the river and it meant that there was a different view of it all - fabulous.


As you can see there was also the beauty of watching people cook whilst sitting in these boats - never saw anybody fall in or drop a plate!






Then there were people siting on the sides of the river collecting food from the cooks directly - wonderful pandemonium but it worked seamlessly - fabulous (again).




There was also technology present...


Then there was the trip down the river in the evening where we sped along and watched the fireflies - Jemma fell asleep....

There was a lot of fun and laughter and it was an entertaining day out for me and my friends – I would recommend this trip.