Phuket After the Tsunami
by stappm
It is OK here - come. I was here Jan. 1 thru Jan. 15th 2005 and everyday you could see a difference (visitng friends who live there).
The Thai people are working incredibly hard and it shows. The recovery is unpresidented and fast. Kata and Karon were not as affected and everything is OPEN. Beach Road in Patong (Road that parallels the Beach) is basicly the only part affected (about the 1st block moving inland). However they are making such a fast recovery, here it is only 1 week after the Tsunami, 85% of the Hotels are up and running, there are shops and resturants open. It is amazing. There are even a lot of tourists still here. Updates are posted daily on www.phuket.com if you want to see pictures. The Weather.
Manorah
by Tina-Perth
Manorah dancing is considered very special by Thais anywhere and is treated with great reverence. It originated in Southern Thailand, in the province of Phattalung. It is the dance of a half-human/half-bird creature, which you can see by the "tail" that is part of the costume. Frequently you will see beading on the costume as shown in this picture, which are representative of the feathers.
The dance troupe can vary in number, depending upon the story being danced. I have seen single Manorah performances through to seven or even fourteen dancers on the stage at once. The dancers are either male or female and I've noticed that when the dancers are male, such as the one in the 3rd & 4th pictures, they seem to be gay, very feminised in their speech. It is highly engaging, with the audience participating by going up to the stage and giving offerings of food or money to particular dancers during the dance. The dance is quite informal, as I have also found holy Thai ceremonies to be. There is the atmosphere of reverence, but also a lightheartedness with it that even involves laughter by the performers of the ceremony or dance.
Dancers of the Manorah begin learning and preparing as children. As you can see by the second picture, the fingers of dancers bend right back. This is because from when they are young, the mothers push their hands into the insides of a coconut shell to shape the hands to give the elegant look. Extensions like nails are added to the hands for extra grace.
If you get the chance to see a Manorah dance, make sure you do, it's great, but it's also fun to watch the audience as they get so involved with what's going on on the stage. Usually when there is Manorah dancing, there is also Nang Talung which is another cultural specialty from Phattalung, one of the oldest provinces of Thailand.
Nai Yang national park beach
by buasaard
Nai Yang is one of the least unknown beaches in Phuket, and yet one of the most beautiful.
The beach is included in a national park, and there is also the park's headquarter.
The sand is the whitest in Phuket, there's a coral reef with small coloured fished swimming around, and there is a long row of pine trees that border the beach. Only two hotels plus the park's basic bungalows.
To eat there are a few stalls plus the park's restaurant.
Definitely deserves a day trip.
Suits You
by trevndebs about G.ARMANI
Mr Jim, the manager of G.Armani Collection Tailors will always give a fair price and has never failed us yet. We've been customers for a good number of years and his standard of workmanship is always good.
Pay about £10 for a made to measure silk shirt for men. Debs has trousers made there at about £15 a pair ( she has lonnnnng legs lol).
Take a picture of a special designer item or your favorite garment and they'll run you off a copy in a few days that you'll be delighted with. They also have copies of the magazines, Vogue, Cosmo, Milletts catalogue etc, to help you choose. Another good touch is they keep all your details on file and you can order via the internet and once payment is received, they airmail your clothes to you.
Thai Boxing
by DONBURGESS about Patong Boxing Staduim
When your in Patong you must go to the boxing, its on Friday and Monday nights. You can book at any of the many travel agents and get picked up and brought back if you wish, we walked as it wans't far from our Hotel.
There are about 8 fights on the card and they start from the youngest through to the eldest, each fight is for real, they want to win.
You can buy a beer right from your seat and you can buy front row seats. Shorts and shirts are fine
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Take a photo of your jetski - after photo
The outline - I said to him "Is that it?"
Your bed for the night
Chalong bay, Phuket
