Great Unique Photo’s of Insects

As much as I hate promoting mass media stuff, this is actually very cool.

Photo’s of insects at 3-4am in the morning in Poland from a Polish guy called Miroslaw Swietek. A very talented man who deserves praise for his dedication of amateur photography, although I hardly call his photos amateur!

You can find the photos on the Daily Mail website.

Peters Blog…. who?

One of my favourite blogs and a man I trust (as he always comes across honest) is Peter.

He answers many questions posed to him wondering about Thailand and things that have happened. Please visit hit Blog and enjoy it. I do rely on a lot of his information as well because he has an extensive background in Travel.

He can recommend great Phuket Villas to stay or places to visit. Also he has some guides on his website but this is my favourite guides site right now.

If I don’t know the answer he normally does

36 hours in Phuket, Thailand – Rebutal Part 1

Many of you may have seen this following review of Phuket in the New York Times Online. There are many misleading facts and things that are said. By the sounds of it, the writer Ingrid K. Williams really has no clue about Phuket and/or is just writing fluff.

The way the NYT has it laid out is like a time zone which Ingrid spent 36 hours in Phuket. For starters, the different time between Number 1 and Number 2 on the website is impossible. It is absolutely impossible to get from Kamala to Chalong in the time frame she has stated. At 4pm eating in Kamala, which would take maybe 45 minutes if you know where to go and what to look for, to get to the other end of the island would take more than an hour. Peek times in Phuket are a nightmare along with dodgy roads and bad driving, you have no way of getting there.

Anyway I will comment on each of her paragraphs with a real story about the place.

1) PARADISE LOST

Kamala is not a bad place, its quite quiet and not so much to do there. A few bars, some nice restaurants and people seem pleasant enough. The beach actually is very large and not so great. The beach seems to be quite littered and there are lots of “scummy” looking shacks around the place. Apart from that, Kamala is becoming a built up area. There are a lot of ugly tall buildings being built which is spoiling the atmosphere of the place. Houses are being built in every space and the threat of actually turning into Patong is very real.

That said, it is a nice place and worth visiting. Would I stay there? No I wouldn’t. There are so many better places to visit than Kamala. Think of it as a mediocre place with nothing of interest at all to do or see.

2) BIG BUDDHA IS WATCHING

Well if you enjoy tourist traps this is probably in the top 5 of Phuket. Once upon a time this place used to be fantastic. Very quiet, serenity was oozing out of everywhere. Until late, they have over developed the place, put loads of bad restaurants everywhere that over charge for the mediocre service. Please read this, about how a westerner was killed and many were injured because of poor judgement and bad driving from the locals.

Ok, go and visit the place, the views are stunning, but visiting the place at 5:30 means that you won’t see too much as the monks will be finished. You need to get there in the morning, do the monk thing, see them do their blessings and things, enjoy the show. Walk around the gardens, (which is a lot of steps, not wheel-chair friendly) and rub this huge gong thing, slowly, which then makes it resonate with a noise that isn’t pleasant to the ears.

Take some photos of the huge unfinished Buddha and donate money to the construction of the place if you want. Its fun, but just don’t get ripped off. Don’t feel sorry for people/monks/the place because it is richer than you think.

3) STALL TACTICS

Out of ALL the places to eat in Phuket, no one would want to eat here. It stinks chronically of bad rotten dead things. Seriously, there are so many nice places to eat in Phuket town, you are going to need a stomach of iron to withstand some of the worst food available. When you have some local restaurants scattered all over the place, this is a place to avoid. I know several people who have eaten at this place and have been sick afterwards.

Personally, I would go to a nice restaurant on the corner, opposite this market. Its nice, pleasant and the food is cooked properly and not left in the heat with no refrigeration. As for spending 200 baht, you would actually have been ripped off or ate enough food for a family of 6. Most dishes cost between 30-40 baht that is cooked locally in places like this. God knows what this person ate, or what drink they drunk but they definitely over paid.

4) KICK FACE, WIN PRIZE

Muay Thai maybe the national sport of Thailand and once upon a time I was a fan of it, but then I realised it just got boring when they get into clinches and tried to knee each other. I think you would be better watching a UFC fight instead. But saying that, Muay Thai is a great way to keep fit, so I do recommend doing it from a fitness point of view. Thankfully the writer said to go to the Gym in Chalong and not the rip off version held in Patong which you should avoid. She paid 900 baht for a fight that locals get for about 200 baht, so make sure you bargain for your ticket. If they give you the spiel about the taxi, tell them you can get your own taxi for 200 baht. Anyway, you shouldn’t be paying more than 500 baht really for a good match. There are lots of gyms in Phuket, this is not the best but its above average. The gym in Rawaii/Nai harn on the way to Kata is probably the better one. Although I do forget its name.

Being Sick in Thailand

Lately, I have had this nasty cough and I can’t seem to shake it. It all started when I got a sore throat, which after 4 days really started to hurt, so I decided to buy some medicines over the counter, such as strepsils and some cough syrup. Although this eased the pain for a while it really didn’t do much else.

I decided to visit the hospital here in Phuket called – Phuket International Hospital, on Bypass road. The doctor’s are professional enough and the staff are all pleasant, although their English could always be improved. I am lucky, in the fact that I have insurance that covers any problems up to 1500 baht for non emergency procedures.

After taking my vitals, I waited a few minutes and saw the Doctor. He did a quick examination and put his stethoscope on my chest and asked me to breathe then gave me a prescription with a cocktail of drugs.

Check out is nice and easy and the medicines are then given to you. The cost was a total of 1594 baht, so I ended up paying 94 baht myself. 500 goes to the doctor and the rest on medication. The thing is, once you have been diagnosed, and you have the prescription of which drugs the doctor recommends, most of them can be had at any pharmacy. So, although you are paying the 500 for the doctors diagnosis you don’t have to be ripped off with the medication.

Just pay the 500, tell them you don’t want the medicine then go to Tesco or Big C which is extremely close, walk into one of the pharmacy’s there and save yourself money.

Sai Taan Villa

To me, this place was the most idyllic of villas I have come across in Phuket. I was unsure as to what to expect behind this walled garden but as soon as the double doors opened I was in awe.

To me this is what a villa should be. It was so perfect. The lush green tropical garden was perfect. I thought I was in a James Bond movie. You know the kind, where they meet some rich arch villain relaxing in his private area.

So as I entered the place, directly in front of me is this swimming pool. Again you know the kind, perfectly clear blue water, and with the heat of the day above me, I just wanted to dive right in.  On the other side of the pool these double doors were open to which I could see the master bedroom. This really is a dream for me. I could just imagine waking up in the morning (well, early afternoon) opening these huge doors and just jumping straight into the pool.

I could imagine having a nice BBQ here with all my friends, waiting around the pool in the evening and having a lot of fun while drinking and eating and playing in the pool. Although this could happen at any time of the day as their is shelter all around the pool.

The whole house was so nicely decorated as well, it felt too clean for me. You know, I am not the tidiest person in the world, so it felt a little awkward to leave anything laying around the place.

There really isn’t anything I can complain about, apart from lack of TVs in the bedrooms, but I am on a tropical island with perfect weather surrounded by the most awesome villa I have ever been to. Why do I need a TV? Habit! Growing up in the west and always having mod-cons etc make me miss things I know I don’t need while out here, but you know it is always nice to have the option.

It did have a great TV and DVD player etc, in the living room. Western Laziness means I would want it in my bedroom.

Some other villas in the same development are pretty nice as well if this one isn’t available.

Phuket Romance Suicide

I was reading the local online paper and I read this story here.

Now I wonder how bad things must have been for the couple? OK, so the mother and father didn’t like the BF, but surely, enough to drive them to suicide? Their age was 24 and 29. Still young, and many things to experience in life.

I have many mixed feelings about this story, one is anger. Wanting to slap everyone involved to wake them up, and ask the parents is this really what you want to do to your own son/daughter. They took the extreme.

Crazy, Sad, Upsetting are all the feelings I have for this story.

Hello world!

I have been looking for where I can blog, and after lots of humming and ahhing, this is the place I have decided to do it.

So far looks impressive, a nice feel and  layout.

I look forward to spouting out many things in the future.