by slipper1 on 13 March, 2009
Thursday has been a quiet day mostly. The kids were very good today so they were promised a trip to the beach which was delayed until the sun was on it’s way towards the sea to avoid the worst of the heat and damaging effects of radiation. Now I am not a lover of Patong, least not now I am married with a family 
. There are many cheaper and quieter places on Phuket to attract me nowadays although if it is thai girls you are looking for they are mainly concentrated in the nightlife areas there.
Phuket beach has become a little cleaner and the recent renovations post tsunami have made the section of beach near the beach road more pleasant and we do sometimes come down for a picnic by the sea there as there is also a children’s play area. I wish the authorities would also consider providing [click to continue…]
by slipper1 on 12 March, 2009
So Wednesday is here and I was awoken by Monkey no. 1 coming in at 7.00 am for a cuddle. Well I enjoyed the cuddle – it made a pleasant change from the howling hordes of dogs at the back of the house. He might have waited until 8.00am though but beggers can’t be choosers eh? A little while later Monkey no. 2 came trotting in. No ‘Good Morning Dad’ – oh no! ‘Breakfast Daddy?’ was the question loosely translated as ‘Come on. Get Up! I’m hungry.’
So I hauled my sorry ass out of bed and after getting all showered and clean for the day we took off out of the house for breakfast. We were out of milk so the easy option of cereal and milk was out as was scrambled eggs (I use milk in mine to make them fluffy and moist – don’t you like your breakfast fluffy and moist? – I sure do!! Anyway easy option was a trip to the local outdoor restaurant.
On arrival we ordered Khao Man Gai. This is riced cooked [click to continue…]
by slipper1 on 11 March, 2009
Only the ancient among you will remember that tune but it describes my day today. As I said yesterday, today I am in charge of my Monkeys numbers 1 & 2, my wife being in transit to Nakon Si Thammarat. Thankfully the Gods are smiling because I am monkey free until 2.00pm when I have to collect them from school. That is fine but there is a downside – that is that school is now out for summer so tomorrow is full on Monkey Time. Anyway let’s stick to today.
Inside Central - it was busier than it looks here
My two little treasures were in fine persuasive form after school and ice-cream was the object of persuasion. Well I figured a trip to Central would be OK as it was on the way back home and so being the dutiful father took off Svenson’s bound. On arrival I was told ‘buy one get on free’ was order of the day for card members – that includes me – great value. Orders were placed and a lovely presentation of 6 scoops of ice-cream appeared. Yum yum I like ice-cream too being a big kid at heart. Now things were getting interesting as Monkey no. 1 decided [click to continue…]
by slipper1 on 10 March, 2009
Monday’s here and the temperature has been hot. My wife is off to Nakon Si Thammarat tomorrow to help an aunt in hospital so I am going to be looking after little monkeys nos. 1 & 2. To celebrate this event we decided to take a trip to one of my favourite restaurant’s in Phuket. Now this place is not cheap but it is higher end and the food is of very high quality. If you have been reading my posts from the beginning you will know dinner by the sea is near the top of my list of nice things to do, so it should come as no surprise that this place is also next to the sea. The photo on the left is taken sitting at our table.
Taxi Anyone
Dinner consisted of a fairly average bottle of white wine (though very pricey relative to most other countries due to the very high luxury goods tax on wine in Thailand), accompanied by several dishes. The Seafood curry starter was very tasy, the seafood pizza that is not a pizza was nice, a pleasantly zesty lemongrass squid dish and a favorite of mine, prawn & banana blossom salad. Yum Yum.
Whilst sitting at the restaurant the storm clouds started to gather to the north and within 40 minutes the rain was starting to fall. Fortunately they are well prepared at Kan Eng @ pier to cope with improptu downpours. There are several semi-thai style rooms provided with fans and air conditioning where you can finish your meal without showering whilst eating. We rejoined there are were treated to a fantastic natural light show with several strong bolts of lightening seemingly just a 100 or so metres offshore. You can see the storm clouds gathering in the picture.
The rain was pretty torrential but the outside kitchens have roof coverings so proceedings can proceed. The food is delivered under umbrella and protected by clear plastic trays and lids to keep the rain off the food. All very professional.
Our seat was opposite the chef so there was additional entertainment watching him prepare the food – again the whole setup here is very well organised, the staff are very cordial too.
Chef Cooking at Kan Eng @ Pier Restaurant
It is interesting to note when I first came to Phuket about 9 years ago this restaurant was nothing like it is today, comprising a few bamboo tables and a straw covered hut in which food was prepared. I remember the food being rather average and quite expensive for what was served up. They have come a long way since those times and Kan Eng is now probably my favourite restaurant on the island for a special meal.
Anyway a very pleasant evening out. The last picture is not very good because the flash on my little camera is not so great. Unfortunately although I lugged the big camera and flash out with me I forgot the battery and the Memory Card so couldn’t use. Spare a thought for me forgetting my memory 
by slipper1 on 8 March, 2009
After a frustrating start with B52 sized flying bugs attacking me while waiting for the family to get up again normal service was resumed and the bugs wrestled from the house and the doors secured. The kids need to blow off some energy so time to play with them on the Playstation 3. Guitar Tutor 3 is still the most popular game at the moment after an inspired Christmas present idea of mine continues to provide hours of fun. That, closely followed by The Simpsons game which I find very entertaining and the kids seem to enjoy too despite being only 4 & 5. The little one who isn’t yet 1 has yet to mastered the controls but at least is not bickering with the elder two and takes great pleasure in changing TV channels mid game much to the displeasure of the other two. He does it with a charming chuckle, actually it is rather a dirty chuckle which I think he must have got from me.
Nikita's Bar in Rawai
Anyway today wifey wants to go eat at the beach sans kids (what’s new – she is rarely far from food). So we are off to Rawai to a cute little bar called Nikita’s Bar. It sits right on the beach and you can look out across Rawai bay with the sea almost lapping at your feet.
We had a very pleasant meal there, some crab, mussels, clams and assorted other tasty stuff all washed down with Heineken (80 baht) [click to continue…]
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