Monthly Archives: February 2011

The Swedish Beach

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Hakans BarThe Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

Pattaya is Russian, Phuket’s Kata Beach is French and Karon Beach is Swedish. Certain beaches pull in certain nationalities.

At Kata Beach, this is easy to explain. Club Med dominates the seafront.

Waboba being a Swedish product, we were pleased, but somewhat bemused, to see the mini-marts at Karon Beach doing brisk business selling what looks like a local Swedish newspaper.

But what draws the Swedes to Karon Beach? It was a mystery to us until we found this (see picture). If you’re Swedish, you don’t need me to tell you that you’re looking at Håkans Bar, one of the most famous (to Swedes) landmarks in all of Indochina.

It was, apparently, the base for some kind of Swedish television program. Was it a documentary or a reality TV show? I haven’t a clue, but I’m told it was immensely popular and it keeps the Swedes coming here.

There are bits of the TV show on Youtube here. Maybe someone Swedish can tell us what it’s all about.

What the Termites Left Behind

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The Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

If God or Buddha or the Cookie Monster gave you the chance to go back and re-experience any minute of your life, which minute would you choose?

I was thinking about this on top of the hill overlooking Kata Beach.

Almost exactly a decade ago, Misty and I had our honeymoon here in a hotel called the Plub Pla.

There have been a few moments in life when I knew instantly that the memory of them would shine for as long as I could remember anything. In my mind, they are invariably associated with supernatural conditions of the light – a laser beam of sun, a moon impossibly large… God playing with Photoshop.

The Plub Pla

The Plub Pla was a strange and beautiful hotel. You drove up a track through the rainforest and arrived at a sprawling estate of pools, huts, a tower and split-level decking, with views over the canopy of trees down both sides of the island. Continue reading →

Quickie from Phuket

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Been an age since my last post. Now in Phuket with the whole family, kids, grandparents. Struggling with an unreliable cafe wifi and my Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Phuket is every bit as good as I remembered it. In the decade since our last visit, Patong has changed beyond all recognition. Laguna is fabulous. Spent hours driving around lost in our hire car. Broke down once already. Found a super-cheap hotel, then moved to the hotel next door at half the price.

Already found plenty of retailers for the Waboba balls. Now all we need is the balls. They’ve been tied up in customs, but should be out next week.