GERERAL
The bureaucracy of Patong can move along at a near glacial speed. Bars and restaurants that submitted their paperwork for license renewal back in January have just had them issued at the start of August. The office wants all bars to submit their requests for next January early so that THEY can process them!!
Prices in Phuket for commodities and foodstuffs continue to rise. The big cry is "but the petrol prices for transportation have gone up." The hike in fuel cost is biting everybody from Taxi drivers to tour operators. As a tourist you would hardly notice the extra few baht here and there but for Thai locals and bar staff it hurts. You would think that this would make the girls a little more eager to secure a friend for the night, but no. As always their answer is to ask for ridiculous sums of money and end up home alone.
The opening and closing times saga continues. Luckily in Patong the police have adopted a softly softly approach and Soi Bangla starts to close at 3am. Some Sois like Crocodile are left alone and stay open until a lot later. Clubs are running till 5am and some Karaoke joints don't seem to close at all. The common factor in this is relative to how much dosh has been donated to the local nick…
BREATHALYZERS AND FINES
I have heard from several people about the plod's latest money making venture. This is using Breathalyzers at road-side checks. They simply stop a line of likely cars and ask each driver to blow into the machine. They allegedly make no effort to clear the machine between testing the next driver. Some people doubt if the machine has even been calibrated in the first place. You are then booked for being over their limit and have the choice of going to jail thence on to court the next day or clearing up the whole business with a 15,000 on the spot fine! A nice little earner.
KAMALA SCENE
The bar scene in Kamala has expanded quite a lot this year. The main street now has a fair selection of girlie bars. In fact there are enough places now to make a decent pub crawl out of it. The Beach road also has some bars and restaurants along it. In the old days it was considered that by about midnight it was bedtime, but not anymore. This is good news for tourists and local ex-pats alike. The ever-popular Kamala Beer Garden seems to be the starting point. It used to be a problem finding a taxi back from Kamala but that has been resolved. There is a taxi office near the Beer Garden and most bars have a few Tuk-Tuks on call.
BEER AND RUMOURS OF BEERS
Over the years the selection of beers available in bars has increased steadily, in the past there were only Kloster Beer and Singha brands. Carlsberg Brewery's abrupt withdrawal from the country resulted in Tiger Beer receiving an unexpected boost on its launch. On Phuket, Beer Chang inherited most of Carlsberg's draught outlets. So for the past few years Tiger, Beer Chang and Heineken have dominated the beer market. San Miguel was recently introduced and most bars now stock the San Miguel regular and San Miguel Light. It seems that the Light is the more popular of the two. Corona beer is carried by some bars but is relatively expensive.
The word on the street is that Carlsberg Brewery intends to return to Thailand. It will be interesting to see how they try and win back old customers. One thing is for sure it will be the drinkers who benefit if there are any discount beer wars looming. Beer Lao is now available in Bangkok , I fervently hope it can migrate all the way down to Phuket Island.
CHICAGO BAR
This large new bar opened recently on Soi Bangla immediately next door to Rock Hard. There is plenty of space downstairs in the open air bar and upstairs is an Italian restaurant. Meals ranged from a pizza at 200 Baht to meat dishes up to 450 baht. Beers were 80 baht a bottle. As with any brand new venture it is in pristine condition. The attractive female staff were attentive and service was slick.
CASA SUMMER BREEZE
This friendly guest house at the top of Soi San Sabai enjoys a steady flow of return visitors. The rooms are of a good standard and the lobby bar / restaurant provides a handy place for meals and drinks. The owner, Bill, hails from the US of A and is on hand most of the time for information and advice. The staff are chirpy and most helpful.
SOI CROCODILE
After the fire that destroyed the Moulin Rouge and Crocodile Disco the rebuild begins. Business in the street has been good in general and the bar owners are reasonably happy. The one thing that did survive the fire was the old toilet block under the stairs. Venturing back there for a wizz is like visiting a Hezbollah hide out in southern Lebanon . Since they charge money they should at least make an attempt to improve the standards. Perhaps the bar owners could approach the landlord to do something to improve the place?
LATINA
This Italian restaurant is located opposite the "Big Chicken" entrance to Anapus Estate near the golf driving range in central Kathu. There is a choice of seating outdoors on the terrace or indoors with aircon. I think outside would be too noisy due to passing traffic but at least smokers have a place of their own. Inside is quiet and the place is very tastefully decorated in a combination of maroon and green with comfortable bench seating along one wall. There is a choice of tables and chairs depending on the number of your group. Upstairs awaits a games room with pool table. The menu is extensive and the quality good. They carry a selection of wines and a cocktail list. The staff were on the ball and quick to offer to replenish my glass.
NIKITA'S
This beach side bar and restaurant is to be found down on the south west corner of Rawai Beach . A few years ago there were several illegal shanty shacks on this corner but they were forcibly removed and the new larger Nikita's emerged from the debris. During the day you can sit out on the beach or remain under the thatched roof and fans in the shady main area. It is a popular stop off point for anyone touring the coast during the day. In the evening the place is pleasant with dim lighting and mellow music. The restaurant does a good selection of snacks and tasty Thai dishes. They have a good selection of beers and a cocktail list too.
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