ash'ventures

around Phuket - Boat Bar

In Phuket, you can see katoey shows at bars, discotheques, restaurants and they even have the Simon Cabaret. In my opinion, the folks at Boat Bar provide the best cabaret show in the whole of the island. Boat Bar is a gay disco, but straight friendly. They have 2 shows every night at 1145pm and 0130am. The Boat Bar dancers are professionals and dancing is their livelihood. Some of the dancers also perform at Simon Cabaret or at other establishments, most of them working 7 days a week. As gathered from the performers, their makeup, costumes, dance routines, choreography are all done by the performers themselves. Don't be mistaken, some of them are pure men who dress as women for the show.

If you are in Phuket and want to catch some diva's in action, head to Boat Bar, located at the Royal Paradise Hotel complex. There is no entry charges, you just need to buy some drinks, and if you choose not to buy, they dont chase you out. Remember to tip the good performers, beyond the money, it motivates them to feel appreciated ! Believe me, they are good !!

around Phuket - Wat Chalong (Chalong Temple)

Chalong Temple is dubbed the pride of Phuket, and according to tales, in the old days, the Chinese secret society gangsters started to terrify the locals and they took refuge in the Chalong temple. The abbot of the temple, Luang Poh Cham encouraged and gathered the locals to fight the gangsters and defeated them. The then King of Thailand, King Rama V heard the news and gave the official title of Wat Chaitaram to the temple.

Chalong temple is situated in a large compound, and have 2 main sacred sites. The first one houses the statues of Luang Poh Cham, Luang Poh Chuang and Luang Poh Gleum, all ex abbots of Chalong temple. The grand pagoda contains a splinter of Lord Buddha's bone and the temple's walls are decorated with paintings Buddha's lifestory and images.

The entrance to Wat Chalong.





The main pagoda.

A monk entering the temple.


According to local belief, if you pray for something and get it, you have to come back to the temple and light firecrackers in this special burning place.

around Phuket - Hat Rawai (Rawai Beach)

Rawai Beach lies on the southern tip of Phuket and is one of the less commercialised beaches in Phuket and is relatively less crowded and quiet. Ironically, Rawai was the first tourist beach in Phuket, as in the older days, there was no road through the mountains leading from Phuket town to the beaches on west coast.

Rawai is home to the sea gypsies of Phuket who are fishermen. Of late they also take advantage of the tourism boom by providing boat transfers to nearby islands on their long tail boats.

The beach is lined with casuarina trees and the longtail boats are found lining the coast. Rawai is a popular spot for people looking for good food and also a cheap place to suntan as there are no vendors renting out sundeck chairs.

around Phuket - Wat Nakaram (Naka Temple)

Wat Nakaram is situated on the sub-road connecting Chao Fa west and east roads. If you are not sure, drive along the direction from Central Festival shopping centre towards Chalong, shortly after passing Central Festival, turn left at the next traffic light junction.

The main entrance to the temple.

Not sure what this means, but seems like the guy on left is pointing to the main temple.

A shrine

These are tombs with the ashes of followers of the temple.


I think the monks stay here.

This is an angsana tree? or a banyan tree ? Anyway it looks like a meditation place or a place where people gather to chit chat and have village meetings in the old days.

around phuket - The Phuket Big Buddha

I made another trip to Phuket Big Buddha and this time I took two videos, one of the road leading up the Nak-Kued mountain to the site of Big Buddha and another one at the top of the Big Buddha. Enjoy and vist the Big Buddha !