Like
As could be understood there are the most wonderful orchids at this place nursed by the owner - Mrs Seweieb Wuthithamaporn:
She is seen in the mornings busy with her plants. Her daughter - Mrs. Siriporn is the big boss and mother to three nice little beauties Natalie, Jessica and Mukta. Below left Mrs Siriporn Wongpasarn with Natalie and Jessica and my wife - Karin - in the background. Right Mrs Siriporn, Mukta (6 months) and Mr Sathaporn Wongpasarn:
Below left Natalie with
her cousins (Mirod's children) Ao, Mae och Ai. The picture is taken
at Songkran (= New Year festival in
Virot has now opened an office at Orchidacea where land and house is marketed - an imposing project: Empyrean.
We feel so good coming down to this people and always find ourselves so welcome. The staff show us so much of friendship that life feels good. The chef serves us delicious breakfasts with a lot of variations:
Above left the omelette juggler and my Thai teacher - Maitree. Next the hostesse Sau and Karin. Last the waiter - Pornchai - who use to be very helpful and high-spirited.
Some years ago Mae (above) worked together with Sau as hostess at Orchidacea. Now (2007) she is studying at the university in Phuket Town learning managing hotel and restaurants. I met her one rainy day in Chalong when I was on my way home on my bike. That was a nice vitamin injection before the steep hill between Chalong and Kata.
Laila and
Judi are seniors in the reception, both very frisky. Laila has borrowed
Natalie's bunny ears. Our room cleaner - May - is so nice. Every day we get new
sheets. Her English is not very good, but we use the few words we know in
These
very nice ladies are responsible for the massage in
Sia
reminds me often of a rather embarrassing story some years ago. One night - a
very hot night - I felt I had to have a bath in the swimming pool. Since no one
was awake and my room was close to the pool I went out completely nude. But when
I was about to return to my room I found that the door was locked. Now I had to
go down through the garden to the reception to get an extra key. I had to wake Sia up. He looked at me as I was a ghost. Back to my room I found I hadn't got
the right key. Thus, down again. A new key and this time the right one. In the
morning afterwards I started to think over what had happened. Could it just be a
dream? A mare dream I have had many times in my life? I had reason to believe
so, since no one seemed to make any notice about what had happened that night.
One year later when I met Sia together with Mirod he smiled and reminded me of
this event. Thus, it was no dream! All in the staff new and they all made a lot
of fun over this story he said. Sia has now terminated his employment at
Orchidacea and returned to his home in in the Pangnga province. We are missing
him very much.
In November we use to take part in the Loy Kratong festival (see Speak Thai), which is selebrated in great maner at Orchidacea Resort. In the year 2006 they engaged children from Baan Sam Kong School giving an outstanding show. Most impressing was a 7 years old girl dancing and singing in Thai:
But even the rest of the show was first class. I will never forget this. Mrs Siriporn promised that this will be repeated next year again.
Orchidacea has now - 2008 - started a new building project. They will add 38 new rooms to their present 112:
Tom Yam Koong Restaurant & Bungalow
Below Orchidacea on the other side of the street you will find Tom Yam Koong Restaurant & Bungalow. One of my granchildren tried one of these 6 bungalows and we were surprised by a very low price and a very good standard:
Above one exterior picture, two interior pictures and one showing the owner, who, however, passed away in the year 2008. His son, Oat, is now running the business:
Phone: 006676 285163 or -4
On
the beach just below
When
we go down to the beach from
Kata
Bar B.Q.
The
restaurant is very popular, not only because of the rich menu of sea food but
also because of the magnificent view over the exotic rocks outside and the
eternal waves hammering against them. The scene is well illuminated night time.
To get a good table you have to order one in advance.
Here we meet Jui - a dear friend who has worked many years at B.Q. serving people in the sunset:
Her boss is Otto and is some what a legend in Kata. Next time, when visiting B.Q. I will get a photo.
Lobster
& Prawn
is
another very nice restaurant in
Maleena Restaurant and
Bungalows
Near
Lobster and Prawns you found Maleena. Owned by a Mora (
The picture is taken in Bhan Thai Kata (see below) where Noi was the boss before. Typical for Phuket things change every year everywhere and about Maleena the information here already is old. In the year 2006 the Swedish couple Christer and Mari-Anne Johansson took over the business here and made some refreshments. Today - October 2007 - the restaurant and the bungalows have disapeared completely. Noi and Tord is now opening another restaurant - 'Mama Noi's' 75 meters west of the fire station:
Something big is coming up instead of old Maleena. This is sad - small charming restaurants have short lives here. On the building sites the activities have a high tempo. It is important to finish the constructions before the high season starts, so the nights have to be used. Below a typical worker during a rainy night. She comes from Laos:
Bhan Thai Kata
This is a very odd house on a cross road to Patak Road West 300 meters from the crossing.
The house is built of wreck wood and beautiful stones from Laos. Here you can rent a room cheap. The rooms are equipped with aircondition and fan but nowadays not in so good order any longer. Host was the Swedish guy Une and his Thai partner Tim. Une said he will turn business to renting out motorbikes. The year 2007 I found that Une has moved to Rawai Beach and Tim has finished her connection to Baan Thai Kata and open a nice little massage business some few meters east of Baan Thai Kata:
Opposite Baan Thai Kata you will find this oasis, consisting of a restaurant, several bugalows, and a small swimmingpool. A nice staff makes your stay here very good:
The staff, however, has changed, but I often meet them on other places on other activities. Ae (no 2 from left) is married with the Belgian owner - Paul Mahler. She is very active. Beside the kitchen, the garden and teaching her staff English she also make beautiful batik. The right picture shows how she is preparing a frame for me:
The left picture shows Tuk making a layout for one of Ae's creations. On next Ae is teaching me. The result is shown on the last picture. This was a very interesting experience for me. I made two additional cloths.
Here
Ae shows one of her batik cloths, which will be framed and hanged up in one of
the bungalows.
Today - September 2007 - big reconstructions are going on here. The old reception is replaced by a new building and the new reception is now in another new house - both in two floors:
At the same time new furnitures are produced at the construction area:
This project is now - 2008 - complete:
On the same street as Bahn Thai Kata and Kata Orient House there is a massage - Sirada Massage Body & Face. It was last year 2007 manned among others by our favorite Nang. Here with her three children Pen, Pae and Peng, but now she has moved to Raway Beach:
On the same massage shop you will find Nang's workmate Aum, who is not only giving massage, but singing good if asked to in English and Thai:
And here a picture of the whole staff at present:
Standing are Aum, Lin, Dohm and Pra and sitting in the background Mong and Nang behind Nang, Pui, Yaya (the boss) and Kai. Lin should in fact work in show business - she is singing and dancing like a Goddess. It is wonderful to see her acting. I can really recommend this salon.
Just close to the massage there is a very nice restaurant:
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It is owned by Tanawat, his wife Tittinan and his sister Nattie. Below you find Tanawat an Nattie behind Tittinan with their daughters Chutikan (Kae) and Shupitzera (Poy):
We have come to the conclusion that this little restaurant is the best around here.
Near the restaurant there is a good internet café:
The owner is Somkiat Chanton - nickname Da. She is very nice and helpful:
An other old acquaintance on this street is mama Da. As long as I have known her, she has had a troublesome life with temporary jobs. This year (2006) things have changed and she is happy. She has now her own little cafeteria where she is cooking. Her favorite dish is 'Makroni', a mix of macaroni and a lot of delicacy. She also have a little clothe shop:
In the year 2008 we found, however, that this little pearl had disapeared. Mama Da is said to be in Karon Beach now.
One little bar in Kata Centre has been my favourite bar. Here I am mostly alone with three happy girls trying to teach me Thai. One of them knows some Swedish. In the year 2006 this bar has got two new girls Yong and Tengmo, who teach me Makrook (Thai chess). With them I have played over 100 games. Tengmo has a beautiful singing voice, to which I love listening. She has a big Thai repertoire. The picture shows Yong with a victory gesture after a game:
The only picture of Tengmo is her right eye:
By and by I meet some interesting people
here. Like one day when I met
http://www.thailand-sail.com/index.html
An interesting restaurant, which I found in April 2006 is 'Small View Point Restaurant' close in north to 'After Beach Bar & Restaurant'. It is situated halfway up to the viewpoint on the road to Prom Thep och Nai Harn Beach 1775 meters south of Orchidacea. Owners are Gai and Saw (01-8943750 respectively 09-5947475). It is a good and cheap restaurant with an outstanding view of the sunset. I and half my family (Karin, Elin, Johan, Katarina, Hanna, Mikael and me) visited the restaurant:
After dinner we continued up to the viewpoint with our tuk-tuk-driver, who could not understand what we were looking for in the complete darkness. The answer is this: In April if the horizon is clear one can see the southern cross - four stars aranged like a kite. That situation does not occur very often, but we were lucky this time.
In September 2007 I visited this restaurant together with my massage girls Aum and Tit. We had a nice evening with a good orchestra. An ad hoc guest star - Don Holton - climbed the scene and had a show for about half an hour in a fascinating tempo. When we offered him a drink he came to our table and we had a nice talk together. He is an American on a world tour including Phuket, Bangkok, Austria, Dresden, Trawemünde and Denmark.
On Patak Road East you will find the old market, which is open some days in the week. The local people like this place in spite of the fact that it will be fairly dirty when it is raining. Now there is a new one on the other side of the street. This one is clean in all weather and open all days of the week:
The lady on the new market is Laddawan. She is very satisfied with this, but she has to pay 8000 Bath/month for 4 squaremeter, which is much more than on the old market. I must say that I like better the old markets. There I can buy some food and sit down on a bench and eat it - allways in good and nice company.