Halloween in Phuket

The house was decorated the night previously with Jemma, Halloween shapes were made and painted, cobwebs were strewn through the house and a flying bat attached to the ceiling.

The next day started earlier with make up for Jemma to go to school as a witch...

Then the fun began at work - guests were invited to be painted.

fun was had by us all...

Feeding bread to the fish - a good idea?

During our trip to Koh Yao Noi we visited an island when the feeding of bread to the fish in the lagoon was not allowed and there was the possibility of being fined.

I did not know why until a few weeks later I saw the poster above on facebook  - with the text below.

We all know that throwing food into the water is bad ..But Why ?

1. Adding food to the water around reefs increases nutrient levels which will then increase the growth of harmful algae that will damage corals.

2. By feeding fish we modify their behaviour and these fish will then not graze on the harmful algae that need to be removed from the reef.

So tell your friend and boat captain not to throw their lunch scraps over board after a dive and place them in a bin....Please help us to protect the reef. Many thanks.

Think twice before you feed bread to the fish.

A trip from Phuket Airport - wats, shrines, traffic, festivals, people and more

Driving from the airport I took some 'snaps' as we drove home.

The Phuket Vegetarian was underway - a festival which must be visited

Roti Sai Mai must be tasted.

Chinese Shrines must be visited.

I love Cashew nuts and chilli.

The Heroines Monument is seen - there is a Geocache.

I love to visit Chinese Shrines 

I love to visit Buddhist Wats 

There are always new restaurants to visit.

The bus station takes you everywhere

Interesting passengers - where are they going?

Chinese burial areas are taken care of

Some Buddhist Wats are further away

There is a canal into Phuket Town

Always something different - fishing outside Hongsyok House?

There is still natural areas.

Best Tau Sar Piah in Phuket - Keng Tin

This is a very small pastry which I first had at Keng Tin in Phuket Old Town. I was then at Phuket Tea Station and found that they sold pastries which were baked by Keng Tin.

What they are specifically I am unsure - but here it is in Thai. But they do seem to be similar to a shop in Singapore called Loong Fatt?

Eggs and Nuts for sale

Why would someone want to walk around Phuket Town selling cooked eggs and nuts?

As I sipped my Iced Coffee from one of the many street coffee shops I watched this egg seller walk past sounding his horn but I could not understand why they chose these two products to sell together?

As he walked past me and down Rasada Road I saw nobody stop him?

7th Worldwide Photowalk - Phuket Old Town

The 7th Worldwide Photowalk took place recently over the world and here are some photographs of our exploration of Phuket Old Town.

This was our team.

An old building behind a bank in Phuket Old Town

Cups in a shop...

Soi Rommanee

Fancy a haircut?

The roundabout....

In a Chinese Shrine.

Asking a question.

Phuket Old Town is certainly an interesting place to investigate.

Tropical Pitcher plants

Tropical Pitcher Plants are commonly seen by me in Phuket because the next door neighbour propagates them and is very good at it.

If you have patience it is amazing to watch the insects fly to the plant because of the sweet smelling liquid and the decorated leaves which adorn the plant. 

Once on the rim of the pitcher the 'prey' falls down the sides to the bottom of the pitcher. Once here the 'prey' cannot climb out because the sides are covered with downward pointing hairs which ensure that the 'prey' is unable to climb out.

This liquid is called phytotelmata - the body of the floating insect is slowly dissolved then able to 'digest' the fallen prey whilst it slowly 'drowns'.

A truly carnivorous plant.

โบสถ์ปรกโพธิ์ วัดบางกุ้ง - Wat Bang Kup

โบสถ์ปรกโพธิ์ วัดบางกุ้ง - Wat Bang Kup was a Wat that we visited when we were on a trip to the Damnoen and Sauak and Amphawa Floating River Markets on the outskirts of Bangkok.

WOW - was the biggest description of this.

The surrounding area was a large sized car park with a lot of people hanging around a tree and then adjacent to this was a Thai Wat. Where in the grass area surrounding it were models of what looked like farm workers?

Then my focus was drawn to the tree - there were so many people hanging around this tree! As I drew closer I remember the stories of the Bodhi Tree - the tree which the Buddha sat under and to the right of where he attained enlightenment. BUT what I found was NOT this.

It was a Banyan Tree and underneath it's roots was a small temple referred to as Bot Prok Po (โบสถ์ปรกโพธิ์).

As people filed in I was made aware that there was a temple under the roots of the whole tree - how on Earth did this happen?

Moving closer it was clear that it is a very popular destination for Thai people to celebrate their Culture and Religion.

Outside and around there was an even great number of things to see

a life-sized doll dressed in traditional Thai dress

traditional bells to ring

places for donations

Muay Thai boxing figures in the adjacent field

Stories were told;

The Holy Wooden Nymph Memorial

A special place which is worth visiting.

I only read this later; 

However this chapel isn't the only important place of the compound. In fact, this temple is an historical significant place, as it was the camp of king Taksin during an attack by the Burmese army in 1768. However after the successful campaign the site was abandoned for almost 200 years, until in 1967 it was redeveloped by the Ministry of Education. - from My unseen Thailand Blog.