Seeking “hole in the wall” restaurants in CM for home-style farang food

[grumpyoldman]

Is that why Tony Robbins doesn't spend time in Phuket, or is it the Russian invasion that's made the island too crowded?

[JimTripper]

45 minutes ago, grumpyoldman said:

Is that why Tony Robbins doesn't spend time in Phuket, or is it the Russian invasion that's made the island too crowded?

I'm not sure. I'm guessing he would not be around drunks and money grubbers though and I can't see him being in Pattaya at all.

 

Guys like him just don't encounter much low life stuff. Once your energy gets that tuned it kind of repels negativity and you don't end up in low life situations because the universe has nothing to teach you there.

 

 

[lordflappa]

On 10/4/2024 at 11:39 PM, CallumWK said:

 

Let's talk again after more than a few weeks

Been a month now, loving it even more. Will update you again next month :)

[oldcpu]

On 10/6/2024 at 7:41 PM, theblether said:

Two things can be true at the same time. Phuket can be a hostile, rip-off hellhole for some, and an idyllic location for the long term expat type.

 

 

Phuket is a big province.  There are great areas in Phuket that are not over run with tourists that many simply aren't aware of.

 

I lived in Phuket from 1997 to 1999, and returned, purchasing a luxury condo unit in 2016 with direct beach access and a fabulous unobstructed (and close) sea view. 

 

15 minutes drive from Phuket town.  My condo is over an hour drive from Kata/Karon/Patong/Kamala, but I never go there, unless I have friends from overseas visiting Phuket, and in that case, and ONLY in that case, I make an exception (to go to that part of the over run west coast beaches) just to see friends who are visitors (who elected to stay there in those areas).  Let the masses of tourists hang out there - I much prefer the more quiet spot in Phuket where I live.

 

Frankly - the average tourist AND the average expat never explore Phuket enough to find the quiet spots. Instead they delve into the over run tourist areas, they generalize, they note how over run such is, and then blindly believe all of Phuket is like that and leave Phuket. 

 

Please excuse my being selfish, but I am happy Phuket is not explored more by those who criticize. It keeps some less known areas in Phuket quiet, and that's good. It keeps the quiet areas for those of us who took the time and made the effort to explore it more, and kept such areas for those of us who prefer the more quiet spots.  And those who criticize typically find good areas elsewhere in Thailand that they like - so it becomes a win-win. We each find what we like.

 

I do grant, ... Phuket traffic, if driving north south is horrible.  I also note one can also say that about some other areas of Thailand - so in that ugly aspect Phuket is not unique.  I feel fortunate in my day-to-day life (because of the location I choose) I rarely have to put up with the worst of the Phuket traffic.

 

Each to their own. Enjoy the part of Thailand where you settle.  I sincerely hope you do enjoy where you stay , ... and I will continue to enjoy where I stay (I practically pinch myself every morning for my good fortune), as I sip my coffee and have breakfast on a quiet condo balcony, over looking the sea.  And I enjoy the quiet sunsets many nights, and enjoy watch many a red dusk over the water, all of which can be fabulous,

 

Honestly - the worst part of where I live is it demotivates me to want to travel anywhere else.  Despite that, I do thou try (and manage) to travel for about 2 to 3 months outside of Thailand every year.  Since retiring in Phuket, I am a lot more fussy now as to where I visit outside of Phuket, ... which IMHO can be blamed on me liking Phuket too much.

Edited 14 hours ago by oldcpu

[ChasingTheSun]

6 hours ago, oldcpu said:

 

Phuket is a big province.  There are great areas in Phuket that are not over run with tourists that many simply aren't aware of.

 

I lived in Phuket from 1997 to 1999, and returned, purchasing a luxury condo unit in 2016 with direct beach access and a fabulous unobstructed (and close) sea view. 

 

15 minutes drive from Phuket town.  My condo is over an hour drive from Kata/Karon/Patong/Kamala, but I never go there, unless I have friends from overseas visiting Phuket, and in that case, and ONLY in that case, I make an exception (to go to that part of the over run west coast beaches) just to see friends who are visitors (who elected to stay there in those areas).  Let the masses of tourists hang out there - I much prefer the more quiet spot in Phuket where I live.

 

Frankly - the average tourist AND the average expat never explore Phuket enough to find the quiet spots. Instead they delve into the over run tourist areas, they generalize, they note how over run such is, and then blindly believe all of Phuket is like that and leave Phuket. 

 

Please excuse my being selfish, but I am happy Phuket is not explored more by those who criticize. It keeps some less known areas in Phuket quiet, and that's good. It keeps the quiet areas for those of us who took the time and made the effort to explore it more, and kept such areas for those of us who prefer the more quiet spots.  And those who criticize typically find good areas elsewhere in Thailand that they like - so it becomes a win-win. We each find what we like.

 

I do grant, ... Phuket traffic, if driving north south is horrible.  I also note one can also say that about some other areas of Thailand - so in that ugly aspect Phuket is not unique.  I feel fortunate in my day-to-day life (because of the location I choose) I rarely have to put up with the worst of the Phuket traffic.

 

Each to their own. Enjoy the part of Thailand where you settle.  I sincerely hope you do enjoy where you stay , ... and I will continue to enjoy where I stay (I practically pinch myself every morning for my good fortune), as I sip my coffee and have breakfast on a quiet condo balcony, over looking the sea.  And I enjoy the quiet sunsets many nights, and enjoy watch many a red dusk over the water, all of which can be fabulous,

 

Honestly - the worst part of where I live is it demotivates me to want to travel anywhere else.  Despite that, I do thou try (and manage) to travel for about 2 to 3 months outside of Thailand every year.  Since retiring in Phuket, I am a lot more fussy now as to where I visit outside of Phuket, ... which IMHO can be blamed on me liking Phuket too much.

Yes it is a big island and offers something for everyone.

 

East coast property is much cheaper and far less visited for many reasons.

 

Enjoy the east coast if thats your thing, but most people understandably prefer the great beaches and amazing sunsets on the west coast.

[oldcpu]

4 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

Yes it is a big island and offers something for everyone.

 

East coast property is much cheaper and far less visited for many reasons. 

 

Enjoy the east coast if thats your thing, but most people understandably prefer the great beaches and amazing sunsets on the west coast.

 

Agree there is something for everyone in Phuket - although one does need to take the time and effort to look. 

 

Compared to most other (non-Bangkok) places, Phuket is expensive. And for those on tighter budgets, that is IMHO a good reason not for staying in Phuket.   Thailand has much more inexpensive places to live.

 

As for the East Coast of Phuket  - yes there are great places on the East Coast. I drove up and down it a lot , exploring it.  One gets the morning sun there, and over 30 years ago, when working for six months (supporting a rocket launch campaign), I lived in Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA) in a East Coast beach front condo, with direct beach access.  It was great, and possibly part of the motivation for me purchasing a beach front condo in Phuket.

 

BUT I don't live in such areas in Phuket.

 

I previously, in this thread, posted on the area where I live.   For one who know Phuket (and many expats who live here for over a decade don't as they typically do not explore the entire island) ... but for those who do know Phuket, they will note from that post of mine where I noted the location where I live, that I don't get a sunrise view. I have a sunset view in Phuket, with the sun setting over Chalong and Rawai, and at times setting behind the Big Buddha.  I have some fabulous images from my Balcony. 

 

As for 'great beaches' ... do you mean ONLY the quality of the sand. Because despite the fabulous quality of the sand of Kata, Karon, Patong (on the west coast) I don't consider those over crowded beaches great beaches. Just the contrary.  I see them as horrible.  Maybe during COVID times (when they were empty) they were great for solitude, but definitely NOT before COVID and definitely NOT after COVID - unless of course, one loves the shoulder to shoulder mingling with the crowds on those beaches as being enjoyable. In that case - yes, they are great beaches.

 

When I go for a walk in the morning on the beach (and adjacent beach) where I live in Phuket  (typically from 06:30am to 07:30am), I might see two dozen people in the space of an hour - and they are either walking on the beach too, or are enjoying a morning dip in the water.

 

Thailand has many amazing places.   I think thou many on this thread who claim they visited Phuket for a few days and decided Phuket was not for them, ... in fact they saw only 5% of Phuket (probably they saw the horrendous traffic on the North-South roads and they experienced the madness of Patong Beach crowds and hawkish trinket sellers on that beach).  They never took the time to rent a car and drive to explore every nook and cranny in Phuket - because that exploration can NOT be done in a few days.

 

From my selfish perspective. Good.  Hopefully they find a great place outside of Phuket (and they should find a great place, as there are many such great places in Thailand outside of Phuket ) ... and its a win-win situation, as by their not moving to Phuket, its one less person who may stumble on the area where I live and start making it more crowded.

 

Already real estate prices are climbing to be more and more expensive in Phuket (for both buying and renting).  I feel fortunate I bought in 2016 before the current pricing madness took place.  Its also becoming very difficult for people to find long term places (at a non crazy price) to live in the area I live - and I suspect that true for most Phuket coastal areas (especially those with sunset views like mine, or better).

 

As an example of the view from my condo balcony - here is an image from last night (dusk) and this morning (at breakfast).  As noted - I still 'pinch' myself in the morning.

 

Edited 2 hours ago by oldcpu

[oldcpu]

4 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

Enjoy the east coast if thats your thing, but most people understandably prefer the great beaches and amazing sunsets on the west coast.

 

As for sunset views - here are a couple of views I took from my condo balcony.

 

One is sunset.  The other is moon set.  Pretty amazing I think.  (My camera is a 'cheap' Nikon CoolPix P900 bridge camera).