Journeys From A Small Room

Thankfully not everything was closed or locked down over December 2020, here in Phuket. I was able to get around and spend some time visiting some of the places I had promised myself to go. Here The Tha Rua Shrine, which cannot be missed as any traveller arriving or departing Phuket will pass it on the way out or to Phuket Airport.Along side a busy road, this Temple has caught my eye so many times, i was so glad i stopped to give it a look. I was not disappointed!

One of Phuket’s largest and most elaborate Chinese temples, the Tha Rua Shrine is also one of the most colourful, adorned with numerous brightly painted statues of dragons and deities.

The Tha Rua shrine is one of the oldest Taoist foundations on Phuket, although the site has been greatly expanded and the present building dates from 2002.

Located in the Thalang district, north of Phuket Town, the Tha Rua Shrine is an easy excursion for those visiting the island. It’s certainly an unmissable and arresting sight, with its bright gold, red and green colour scheme and its outsized statues of mythical creatures and Taoist divinities.

Visitors are greeted at the entrance by a pair of multicoloured Chinese dragons, while inside devotees burn incense and offer prayers in front of statues of Quan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and altars covered in statuettes of various gods.

The Tha Rua Shrine is a popular and busy temple and visitors are welcome to explore the complex throughout the day. To avoid the crowds, it’s best to visit in the early morning.

It’s a great place to take photographs, too. Statues, traditional Chinese paintings and carvings fill the interior and cover the façade, while outside stands a giant statue of Guan Yu, a revered Chinese general from the second century AD who was deified after his death.

I’ve never been to Patong beach in the whole two years i have lived here. Expecting the worst of heaving numbers of people during what is now high season. Imagine it like this, today, peak season, with only a few people here……

Patong Beach, or Hat Patong as it is called in Thai, is the main beach in Patong and is a wide 2,85 km long stretch of white soft sand. Patong’s 3-km strip of golden sand is one of the most popular beaches in Phuket. The Beach has a row of coconut, palm and tropical almond trees separating the shore from the main road.

The northern part of Patong Beach hides a small sandy creek where the water is very shallow and clear during high season. The southern part is the mouth of a river, where several fishing boats anchor. The bridge over the river leads to a small fishing village and the various bays and beaches around the headland that separates Patong from Karon.

The best time to visit Patong Beach in Phuket is between November and April when the sea is very flat and calm. From May to October, the beach experiences large waves and dangerous swells.

There are two small beaches in this bay south of Cape Panwa on the east coast of Phuket, separated by rocky headlands. It is about 10 kms from town and easily accessible by car and motorcycle. The road from Ban Bo Rare which takes you to Ao Yon is attractive and full of shady trees.

The bay is tranquil, the sea is very blue, and the sunset here is also magnificent. Tourists like to relax by sitting under the coconut palms watching waves twinkling in the sunlight.

Travelling to Ao Yon Bay There are two routes to this beach. From town, follow the road to Panwa Beach. There is a small soi to take you to Ao Yon pass Bor Rae Village. This road offers a nice scenery of beaches and a view point. The other route to Ao Yon is from Panwa Beach and Makam Bay. Follow the Ao Yon Khao Khad Road to the beach. This route is shorter than the other one.

Paradise beach bar and restaurant is located Rawai Phuket Thailand.

It is not that which is the focus of this video though, more a point where I started a beautiful walk along what at first appeared to be a very small part of rawai Beach, but as the tide went out during the morning gave me access to other more secluded parts of the beach, which curves round towards the cape of Panwa.

Sometimes time is better spent waiting for better moments to present themselves to you.

Just south of Chalong, there is a long stretch of Chalong bay called, Friendship beach, also known as Mittrapap beach. The beach is not a great place for swimming as it becomes muddy at low tide.

However, the view of the bay is delightful for walking and getting away from the hustle and bustle of Life. You get some lovely views across Chalong Bay to some of the offshore islands such as Koh Lone, Koh Bon and Koh Racha Yai, and there are hundreds of boats in the bay – everything from dive boats to catamarans to speedboats and a couple of huge sunset cruise boats.

Certainly somewhere I love going to relax and practice photography.

Chillva Market Phuket is a cool, trendy night market with a somewhat bohemian vibe and an impressive selection of food and fashion stalls. Hard to miss by the side of Yaowarat Road (which runs by Tesco Lotus, on the way towards Phuket Town), the market has a distinctive look created by the use of colourful shipping containers as shopfronts.

So i went during the day when all was quiet and saw lots of the style that gives this place such a bohemian feel to it.

At the heart of the market is a small stage with a pond behind and amphitheatre in front, both of which host live performances when the market is in full swing. There’s even a full size go Kart track!

Chillva Market Phuket is more popular among locals than tourists. Everything happening on stage is often completely incomprehensible to anyone not fluent in Thai.

Food vendors make up around more than half of the stalls and permanent stores at Chillva Market Phuket. You’ll find funky pubs, cafes, ice cream parlours, and a wide selection of street foods. Prices are generally very low. Large servings from the market’s more popular shops rarely exceed a couple of hundred baht.

Being quite small, taking a leisurely walk around Chillva Market Phuket won’t tire you out or take you half the night to explore.

12.11.2020

Nai Harn beach is located on the southernmost tip of Phuket, to the west of Promthep Cape facing the Andaman Sea. This is one of the best and most beautiful beaches on the southern coast.

The actual area is an open front beach but surrounded by hillside on both sides.The surface of the beach under the shallow waters is pure soft sand and feels luscious to walk on. From around 11 am – 5 pm, the water can become very warm due to the sun shining on it.

It is extremely popular with the locals, but not so much commercialised with tourists. The sea is absolutely fantastic to swim in between November and April. In the low season, it can still be nice, but the sea is much more unpredictable.

Nai Harn has some great surf, and lovely clear waters to swim in. There are no rocks on the bay, it’s pure sand that so it makes it perfect for a beautiful swim. The rip currents can get very strong at times depending on the time of day and sea behaviour. Because of this there are always life guards.

A lovely atmosphere, great for families, children, and in general people who appreciate a beautiful beach. Another part of the beach to the eastern side is a very shallow pool set about 50 metres from the actual sea. There is a stream of water that runs from this small pool to the sea. The pool is only knee deep, and perfect for small children to swim in and play. It has no current as it is not the actual sea itself, but joins on to it.

In either high season or low season, the beach never seems overcrowded, as you can see from my photos.

The beach part of Laem Ka Noi is minuscule, so tiny that one hesitates to call it a beach. The focus of Laem Ka Noi is its restaurant which attracts many Thai people on weekends with good seafood and local delicacies at fair rates.

On my very recent visit it was shared by some locals fishing, and gave a stunning view of Chalong Bay and the elephant shaped Island of Koh Lone is also known as Koh Lohn or Lon Island, and is mainly populated by friendly Muslim communities that make a living from fishing, rubber tree plantations and coconut planting.

Laem Ka Noi, a place to find your inner peace…………even if it is only for a few hours.

So finally able to get out and abut again, after heavy monsoon rains. I wander around the off beach road in Rawai to find a collection of street art and the Art Village.

I think all types of street art are Art, so there will be a variety of “wall art shown in this video.

Phuket Art Village is a creative community tucked away down a small lane in Nai Harn at the southern end of Phuket. Home to a diverse and growing collection of home studios and galleries, the village was built from the ground up by the artists themselves.

The village is set on a small plot of land on Soi Naya 2 off Saiyuan Road, not far from Wilson’s restaurant about two kilometres from Nai Harn beach. A large banyan tree shades a central courtyard, while the artists’ studios are set around the perimeter. The galleries are all open all day and visitors are welcome. There are usually at least one or two artists around to greet you, though you may need to wander around for a bit before you find them. Overall, the atmosphere is relaxed. friendly and welcoming.

The village artists, currently all Thai, work in a range of mediums, mostly contemporary works of art.