B GOOD BAR

B Good Bar , What can I say , Is full of beautiful wimmin !. My good friend the Mamasan whom I have know for over a year ran this Bar ,

As you can see the ladies are gorgeous and friendly ( some very good friends of my girlfriend and I), bar entertainment is limited to chatting and bar games = cards/open the box (thai dice game) and Jenga , No Tv, though does have good music and that's about it folks other than myself and a couple of other local Thai & ferrang , most of the visitors weren't just there for the chat ,( other curricular activities adult themed). There are many of these type Bars throughout Thailand , though in Kata Beach itself were very few, so if your looking for abit more than culture , diving and relaxing better head off for the larger towns (though Kata Beach is a great place to base yourself out of ).

Madam Bar

WELCOME PLEASE !! This is probably what you will here if passing this bar !This is Madam Bar located near the Hotel IBIS and the Boxing Stadium on the Patak Rd west, These were a great bunch of Girls pretty much coaxing you in to have a drink and play pool there , Extra activities are available !! if you so choose , but generally just hanging out and relaxing is the order of the day, As I spent over a year staying in Phuket some of these girls became good friends and got to know quite well ( not that I was window shopping as my girl friend would of been more than angry to say the least!!).The Bar has many large TV screens for the sports fans and a good pool table , drinks prices are a little higher in these type of bars but are still cheap approx 80 BHT (£1.50) .

COFFEE HUT BAR

This is the Coffee Hut Bar ( not that I saw much coffee being drunk !!) another great little quiet Bar located on Soi Kok Tanod on the brow of the hill opposite Hotel Sarrine, It has a fantastic selection of European music and a good pool table and many sports channels for the avid sports lover, However if your not a sports fan you can just relax with some very competitively priced drinks ( very cheap!!) this Bar is also great for Couples or families or anyone looking to relax in a nice friendly atmosphere. The bar workers and owner are friends of mine and will soon become friends of yours too as they are most hospitable ( as are most Bars in Kata Beach / Karon).

Mee Bar Kata Beach

This Is Mee Bar , the boss is Mee !!. A lovely Thai guy living in the local area, A great Bar for relaxing in , Has most football matches /Sports channels, Pool Table, Darts Board and a great relaxed atmosphere and drinks prices are reasonable.
This Bar is great for families and couples alike and is situated in the Kata Beach resort Center area off the Patak Rd West with other alike restaurants and bars and souvenir shops on the same street.

COCKTAIL BAR

This is the cocktail bar Located in central Kata Beach Just off the cross roads (opposite the new Pizzeria) between the Patak Rd West and Kata Noi Rd, They do excellent Thai cuisine including FRESH lobster in the tanks at a reasonable price with very friend family orientated atmosphere .
This was one of my favorite places to visit, when I wanted a quiet relaxing drink and some good dining , and would make an ideal visit for any family or couple wishing to relax in very friendly surroundings, They do also have nice accommodation though I will write about this later.
Warning : the cocktails are not the same as at home they contain much more alcohol than you would normally expect ( so if your minding your drink levels , go easy , If NOT then lap it up and enjoy !!!).

November 2009 - February 2010

This Time I visited Thailand I spent three months traveling to Banagkok, Phuket, and Up country to Esarn province.

I Travelled with Etihad Airways, which I believe to the best flying experience I have had, my flight out of Heathrow to Abu dabi took approx 8.5 hours with an hour stopover then approx another 6 hours to Bangkok. The in flight services were excellent, the quality of in flight food menus and entrainment were exceptionally good, ( See Photo) and yes thats correct you can see metal cutlery in the photo.

I arrived in Bangkok and stayed at the "Hotel Opera" located on the Petchburi Rd Soi 11, this is a great Little family owned hotel has good aircon, sky tv, swimming pool, and all the other trappings of a good hotel and is very reasonable priced 1 nights stay = approx 700bht = £14 .

It is located in the centre of Bangkok city with connections to all the main transport links MRTS, BTS(sky train)coach stations, taxi , motor bike taxi ( though I would use this mode of transport with caution as you pretty much take your life in your hands, though is exceptionally good in rush hour!). Connection from hotel to Airport is approximately 30 mins however this can be excessively longer at peak times.
Eating out in Bangkok is varied with so many different tastes and experiences that just make your mouth water , personally I ate out at street food sellers located on many if not all soi's in bangkok centre, these can range from, Fish, Chicken, Pork, Beef, Seafood, Noodles, Vegi,Rices, but to name a few as I could write pages alone just talking about food !.
Prices of street food can range from 30 bht - 80 bht (approx 60pence - £1.70) per meal. There are street stalls which mainly consist of plastic tables and chairs lined along the street, and smaller restaurants tucked in to small door ways and shops fronts again generally with plastic furniture, DONT NOT BE PUT OFF BY PLASTIC FURNITURE AND THE NOT SO STERILE ENVIRONMENT WE ARE USED TO BACK HOME, as a rule of thumb with Thai restaurants , if it's full of Thai's eating and is very busy , then there's a good chance that this eating place comes quite recommended with the Thai's and good quality dining.

Another alternative street eating out is ( As I found to be a fantastic night out!!) a Thai music night known as " kow-wang-dang" ( apologies for any spelling mistakes)
Here I was only one of two non Thai's the rest of the clientele are the workers of the city ranging from taxi drives , office workers, some bar girls, doctors and hospital staff, plus many others disciplines, THIS IS WHERE THE THAI'S GO TO RELAX AND SOCIALISE. Basically for less than a 1000 bht ( approx £17.50) this will include a huge meal a bottle of Whisky and mixers and a night of cabaret and musical dancing which EVERYBODY joins in to , this is a fantastic experience and you leave at the end of the evening gagging to go back the next night ( as I did many times) not to mention some great Thai friends I have made whilest at these evenings.

Early December I visited Chaiyaphum ( Esarn Province) Very deep country Thailand , Four words come to mind: Beautiful, Breath taking , Poor, unfortunately this is the same as many countries where it is unspoilt and beautiful also has very poor people inhabiting these areas, however just because they are does not mean there hospitality is poor in fact quite the other end of the scale , they are very hospitable and do everything to make you feel welcome and comfortable, HOWEVER be advised most locals DO NOT speak English and speak local dialect Thai /Loas , thankfully I thai is not bad and my Partner is from this area.

Photos Will be uploaded in due course.

June & July Visit

In my Blog this time I will write about new bars I visited and the Restaurants I ate at.

Where to start?
Kata Beach : Now the season is low and there very few tourists to this resort, so the prices for accommodation and eating out have dropped a little, making your money go that little bit further. Some of the Bars I have been to (known as Jo bars where Thai ladies will join you for a drink if you so wish !!), have been great, and very friendly. Just relax and play pool and just chat with new friends, which to be honest is generally the order of the day, I have made some good friends through these bars and found some fantastic local parties. A few of the bars worth visiting include:- Madam Bar , B Good bar, and G P Bar and I will attach some photos at a later point so you can see for yourself :-)

Kata Noi / Kata Hill Road leading out on the Ko Chang Road is a fabulous restaurant serving fresh fish dishes and many Thai dishes as well, the views from this establishment are an outstanding setting for an early evening meal with views over Kata Noi Beach and the Andaman Sea , the prices are little bit higher than in the main town but well worth it for the experience the name of this restaurant is "Baan Chom View"