Browsing tag : Patong
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Playing the Tourist in Phuket – Part 3
Posted onWhen I last posted, an ungodly amount of time ago, I left the story of my long weekend being a tourist in Phuket on the drive back from a cruise around Phang Nga Bay. The minivan dropped my friend, Malinda, and I at my apartment at about 6 or 7pm. We decided to immediately go and look for something to eat.
By Ben Reeves
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A Busy Chinese New Year: Part 2
Posted onIn Part 1 of my account of my unusually busy Chinese New Year holiday, I told of my previous experiences with working in food retail, and how they helped me to prepare for my role of general dogsbody and dish washer at my girlfriend’s Chinese restaurant. I also mentioned that I had a scrap of paper in my pocket with the Chinese phrase “Happy New Year” written in an anglicised form, ready for me to use to help the customers feel welcomed and happy. Well, this is where things start going a little awry…
By Ben Reeves
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A Busy Chinese New Year: Part 1
Posted onThis last week has been quite a busy one for me. Not only did it contain Valentine’s Day, but also Chinese New Year. As my girlfriend is Chinese, there was quite a lot for me to do. Said girlfriend owns and runs a Chinese restaurant in Patong called Anita’s Kitchen, so it struck me that the most romantic and meaningful gift I could give was time – that most valuable and irreplaceable of commodities. Specifically, my holiday time as Friday 16th February 2018 was a national holiday in Thailand.
By Ben Reeves
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Ta Khai Restaurant
Posted onFinding a Thai restaurant in Phuket is very easy. Finding a good Thai restaurant in Phuket is less so. I don’t mean that there are a lot of bad places, but there are relatively few which really stand out; that are really remarkable. Ta Khai Restaurant is one place which does.
By Ben Reeves
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Café de Paris Patong Beach
Posted onBefore last Thursday evening, I had never realised that wine is such a complex subject. I knew there was a lot to it, in the same sense that I realise that rocket science is not particularly simple, but the sheer depth and intricacy involved was made much clearer to me during the wine dinner at Café de Paris Patong Beach.
By Ben Reeves
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Week 33: Hot
Posted onThere are certain aspects of this photo that I really like. The motion blur in the chef’s utensils was created by using an unusually slow shutter speed. Below about 1/60th, there is a danger of the whole picture becoming blurred by the camera movement created just by trying to shoot freehand. However, I seem to have managed to get away with it here. This slow speed was partially an intentional effect and partially a result of my not wanting to raise the ISO any further. I am beginning to notice that my Canon 7D does not perform well at ISOs above about 800 so, unless I want a grainy effect, I tend to stick to below that figure.
By Ben Reeves
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Week 25: Food
Posted onWhen it came to Week 25, photographic assignments were very thin on the ground because the weather was absolutely rotten. We had something like a solid week of rain or, at the very least, blanket cloud cover – not particularly good for taking enticing travel photos, though hardly surprising for this time of year. It’s called the rainy season for a reason! Anyway, as a result, I had to quickly find a restaurant to review on deadline day so that I could get my “food” photo.
By Ben Reeves
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Kaab Gluay Thai Restaurant
Posted onNaturally, the most important part of a restaurant experience is the cuisine. Being in Patong – the main tourist resort in Phuket – and having most of the signage written in English, there is a chance that the restaurant is slightly tourist-oriented and that the genuine Thai flavours have been adapted for tastebuds not used to the intense flavours the locals like. However, the clientele are mostly locals, so obviously the tastes haven’t been adapted that much. The prices are a little higher than, for example, street food vendors and the sauces are noticeably richer, making this slightly higher-end Thai food.
By Ben Reeves
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Week 4: Shadows
Posted onI consider that this qualifies as a ‘shadow’ in two senses. Firstly, it is all in the deep shadow of a valley as the sun is setting. Secondly, the building itself is a shadow of what it should have been; a failed attempt at grandeur. Its a flimsy interpretation, but it is as good as it gets for now.
By Ben Reeves
