Raw ingredients

Dr. Cracknell first gave us a lesson in the nature of food; why we eat the way we do, and how to eat healthier. “Look at your teeth. It’s been noted that only 12% of our teeth are meant for meat. Humans are omnivores. We’re meant to eat everything, but meat just isn’t healthy for us.” The 64-year old triathlete told us how he first stopped eating all meat, except for chicken and fish. Then, he took out fish. He then became a full on vegetarian, then a raw vegan. The process spanned about four years.

“Food today is heavily modified. Vegetables and fruits are injected with pesticides, and animals are full of hormones and painkillers. When you eat a steak, you’re also eating everything that cow was poisoned with. An animal in a farm dies in pain and anguish. That energy flows into the food, and you eat it. I think that’s quite harmful.” After spending time doing research, he decided he would take the challenge: going vegan. Four years later, the results of his experiments are in his shop, for everyone’s benefit and enjoyment.

We followed five recipes; pesto sauce, tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, combined them into a lasagna and then made chocolate brownies. We made each sauce from scratch with ingredients that Dr. Cracknell provided. With each step, he asked us for the next ingredient, helping us to remember the recipes. As we finished each sauce, we took a taste test. The verdict was unanimous: we made the best pesto, tomato and ricotta cheese sauces we had ever tasted.

Impressed with our saucy creations, we moved to the lasagna. We peeled strips of raw zucchini and layered them with each of the sauces, as you would with regular lasagna. After the addition of garnish, the finished product was on the plate.

We were all surprised. It was the quickest lunch we had ever made. After eating it, we concluded that it was also the tastiest. We learned that the best part about raw food isn’t just its health benefits, it is also the ease and convenience of preparing it. Our entire view of vegan cooking changed, and the transition started with our taste buds. Oh, and our committed carnivore isn’t so committed anymore.

In addition to the wellness house, Dr. Cracknell runs a shop and restaurant where he sells vegan cookies, power bars and breakfast bars; all made on site using natural ingredients and homemade dehydrators.

As of December 1st, his restaurant will become fully organic, which provides the people of Phuket even more incentive to go and try the food. The class goes from 9:00 A.M. until noon, and costs 2,500 Baht. If you can spare a Thursday morning from the beach to go learn from Dr. Cracknell, you should do it, the experience is worth it.

Living right and raw: a not-so-cooking lesson with Dr. Richard Cracknell is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Zipline to earth

No roller coaster, ferris wheel or other hair raising rides here. It’s all do-it-yourself.

Located on a hillside beside Wat Luang Poo Supah at Chalong , Xtremeadventures will give you up to three hours–more if you like– of challenging fun for B1900, children half price.

For example there is a climbing wall, rope-loop walks with three different levels of difficulty high up in the trees. The high wire that sways as you get to the middle–scary–is one of more than 60 activities.

Built and owned by Frenchman Gilles Bassi with French equipment and installed by professional riggers from France, Xtremeadventures offers tourists something completely different from the usual on Phuket.

All activities are built for safety with everyone wearing a harness if you are required to leave the ground. For smaller children there is even an area suspended entirely above a safety net so no harnesses are required.

A bit like being a trapeze artist in the circus.

Extreme Adventure Sports Comes to Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

It's cool outside and in.

With more than 200 stores selling everything from high end brand clothes and shoes, through a myriad of restaurants to silver and gold and Thai arts and crafts–and practically everything in between–Jungceylon on Patong’s Rat-u-thit Road has transformed the shopping experience since its quiet opening four years ago.

Then, the huge complex, which includes Robinsons, an apartment store; and Carrefour, the French based supermarket chain, was a cavernous blob on an already, apparently, overshopped Patong landscape.

But since then as it celebrated its fourth anniversary in March, Jungceylon has become the go-to place for shopping at your convenience on Phuket. Air conditioned comfort eliminates the often stifling heat in the markets and around the street shops–which, incidentally, all seem to do OK despite Jungceylon’s overwhelming presence.

Want cheap DVDs/CDs/VCDs and cassettes? All there opposite the entrance to Carrefour, which also has three Japanese styled facial massage salons right outside. Upstairs in Robinsons are women’s shoes and accessories and probably the biggest selection of women’s underwear in Thailand. There is also a very attractive child’s clothing section and toy department nearby.

Exhibits side by side with shopping

In the basement beneath a recreational area featuring a dancing water display, sound stage for events and surrounded by the usual fast food mainstays, is a Thai arts and crafts and massage area, brimming with every type of Thai products you can imagine.

So to sum up Jungceylon it has seven banks, five eye-wear outlets, 40 clothing and accessory outlets, 10 fast food and beverage outlets, one food court, two furniture outlets, 10 health and beauty outlets, one pet store, two electronics and IT stores, 17 restaurants, one Thai arts and crafts centre consisting of 70 shops and 35 kiosks, one tailor’s shop and two travel and luggage outlets.

Four years on the shopping just gets better and better.

Jungceylon – Phuket’s Shopping Epicentre Celebrates Four Years is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Don't try this at home

IndoChine Group, an established Singapore based restaurant and bar company, is renowned for making a splash with its parties.

At its relatively new, four storey high bar and restaurant building on Phuket’s Kalim Beach on Saturday, 12 March IndoChine turned up the heat with the opening of its new Saint Tropez Beach Club, a rooftop bar set around a small swimming pool with spectacular views across Patong Bay.

Leading the party was IndoChine’s charismatic founder and CEO, Michael Ma and his sister, Executive Director Sue Ma. Since 1999 Michael Ma and his family have built IndoChine Group into a 15 venue, four country [ Singapore,  Phuket, Thailand, Jakarta, Indonesia and Hamburg, Germany ] arbiter of so-called fusion cuisine set around food from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

They are also famous for running a good party. The Saint Tropez event was a kaleidoscope of funky DJ sound, searchlights, exotic dancing and flashing lights that attracted the local glitterati.

The iconic, round, glass walled building also houses the Waterfront fine dining restaurant, Bar Opiume, a ground floor Deli Cafe and the IndoChine Surin Beach Club:Stereolab at nearby Surin Beach.

IndoChine Saint Tropez Club Brings Party Attitude To Phuket is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

All your shopping heart desires.

Phuket, like most parts of Thailand, has its share of great markets where value for money shopping is top priority.

For example the Phuket Weekend Markets of Chao Fah Variety, Jatujak or Talad tai rot just off Chaofa West Road are the places to head for.

Many items at these markets are considerably cheaper than in Patong–try the deep fried crickets, if you are game–at B10 per cup. There are huge selections of shoes, clothes, accessories at these markets.

To find the Weekend Markets if you are coming from Patong, turn right at the big intersection where Central Festival is on the left and Thai Nam restaurant on the right. Turn left at the first set of traffic lights going down busy Chaofa West Road and you will see the markets on the right hand side.

This is not to forget the great shopping on Patong’s Beach Road, facing the ocean. Look out for shops which have secret rooms where you can buy better quality bags and CDs/DVDs. It’s all a bit secretive as some of these hidden rooms are not at the actual shop where you may meet the owner, so be prepared for a little walk down a side alley or two.

Eat your heart out.

Further back, on the “second road,” Rat-U-Thit Road there are OTOP markets full of Thai made goods. Stalls along this road open around 5pm and stay open until late, selling clothing, shoes, sweets, orchids, ornaments, hair accessories and jewelery.

Be warned that visiting markets can be hot and hectic, but worth the effort for the great bargains. Available are numerous stalls and shops selling bags [copies mainly] cheap DVDs/CDs, football clothing [Arsenal Shop in Jungceylon] and anything else you want to take home at a fraction of the price.

Phuket Weekend Markets Are Great Shopping Value is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

This works: at the Banyan Tree Spa, Phuket

Banyan Tree Spa in Phuket, next to the Banyan Tree Hotel and Laguna Phuket Golf Club, has again been voted by readers of Condé Nast Traveller, the “Bible” of travel magazines, one of the top 25 spas in the world.

It is a tribute to Banyan Tree Spa’s consistency that it continues to rank so highly as it was Asia’s first luxury spa resort, opened way back in 1994. The spa pioneered the tropical garden spa concept with Eastern therapies and holistic focus on spiritual, mental and physical harmony.

The Conde Nast readers’ Spa Awards have been going seven years. Banyan Tree Spa has previously been voted the “World’s Best Spa Resort,” by Condé Nast readers. The spa focuses on non-clinical and holistic treatment based on traditional Eastern healing therapies.

Also on the top 25 list from Thailand were The Spa at The Four Seasons, Koh Samui; Six Senses Spa, Evason Hua Hin; the Anantara Spa, Anantara Bophut Resort & Spa, Koh Samui and Chiva- Som, Hua Hin.

Banyan Tree Spa, Phuket One of Best in the World is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

A player gets his end away, so to speak, at the Kamala club.

You might think that nothing could be more respectable than a group of ladies and gents rolling bowls across an immaculate lawn, trying to get closest to a smaller target ball – the jack.

But the sport of lawn bowls – possibly imported into Britain by the Romans 2,000 years ago, and turned into a “British” game – was banned or restricted for centuries by various kings of England because it was seen as the sport of ruffians and drunks, and as distracting the citizenry from practicing martial arts such as the use of the longbow. In 1541, Henry VIII barred all young men from playing except at Christmas. That law was repealed just 160 years ago.

(His daughter, Elizabeth I, seemed to worry about this less than her father; the her favourite pirate, Sir Francis Drake, was supposedly a great fan of the game.)

Bowls is now played in many parts of the world, though it is most popular in British Commonwealth countries. World Championship competitions are held every four years – the next is in 2012 in Adelaide, Australia. Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have dominated the championships since they began in 1966, but there have been worthy winners from the US, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Jack and bowl.

Happily, Thailand doesn’t seem to have any laws barring lawn bowls, though it is not a big sport here – much more popular is the French cousin of the game, pétanque, in which Thais are world-class experts. In Phuket, there is just one place to play – the Kamala Lawn Bowling Club, opened by Don and Alaya Moore five years ago.

The action trends to start at around 3pm each day. In conventional bowls, teams usually play 18 rounds, or “ends” to a game, but at Kamala a game tends to last 10 ends (about one hour to 90 minutes) – then it’s back to the shade of the well-equipped bar for fluid replenishment.

The club also lays on barbecue buffets some nights. Non-members are welcome. There’s a green fee of B350 and the barbecue is B150. For more details see the website.

An afternoon’s quiet competition on Phuket’s only bowling green is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

The resort’s inaugural ‘Passion for Perfume’ programme in April was such a success, the resort says, that it will repeat it in August, with two two-day courses, on August 19/20 ad 21/22.

As in April, ‘Passion for Perfume’ will be hosted by perfumer Stephen Dowthwaite, founder of Perfumers World in Bangkok. “Over the two days,” the resort explains, “guests will experiment with fragrances and understand the connection between scents and emotions. In the end, couples can create their own signature perfume, a pheromone-sparking fragrance that sets pulses racing and sends a shiver down the spine.”

Steven Dowthwaite of Perfumers World in Bangkok will teach the courses.

Each day the ‘Passion for Perfume’ programme will consist of a two-hour morning session followed by a three-hour practical afternoon workshop.

Day 1 – In the morning, guests will be introduced to the ABCs of perfumery, learning the basics of blending and beginning to identify a fragrance’s key notes. After lunch, using their newfound knowledge, they will reproduce their favorite perfume using a selection of 26 base fragrances.

Day 2 – In the morning participants blend their own perfume to convey a feeling, place or atmosphere, and in the afternoon, once they understand the senses-stirring ability of essential oils and natural extracts, they will create their own personal aphrodisiac.

Along with a bottle of their signature scent, at the end of the two-day escape couples will receive a 40-page guide to perfumery and a certificate.

The price for the two-day programme, which includes lunch and snacks on both days, is B7,000 per person (about US$260), plus tax. For more information or to book, go here.

If you can’t make it this time around, the course will be repeated in October.

Pavilions Phuket in pursuit of perfumed perfection is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Phuket Archery Club owner Santi (left) and his brother Chai, on the range. Chai is holding a conventional long bow, while Santi has a modern compound bow. - Photo © Alasdair Forbes 2010.

Twang. Thunk. Robin Hood was good at it. So was William Tell – he could split an apple at 100 paces. Henry V of England won the battle of Agincourt 600 years ago in great part due to his archers. Closer to Thailand, Phra Narai in the Ramayana was an astonishingly good archer.

And now you can be too, maybe. You won’t know till you try, and you can now try at the newly opened Phuket Archery Club, in Phuket Town.

The club is the brainchild of Santi Tontungtrong, who learned how to use a bow and arrow in Bangkok, got hooked on the sport, and decided it was just what he and Phuket needs.

“We have all these shooting ranges here, and guns are too easy to get hold of,” he said. “When kids get hold of a gun, they are going to want to use it. This is a much healthier outlet for them. It’s a real sport. I want to get schools involved, too.”

The range at the club consists of a piece of open grass surrounded by a metal wall on two sides and a building on the left. Set up in this space are 16 targets at various distances from the covered firing area.

There’s a shop with arrows, bows of various types and prices, finger guards, arm guards and quivers for those who want to get really serious about things.

But the club has plenty of equipment for hire. Pay B200 for the use of it, and B50 for the range, and you get a happy hour of twanging away. The club will even throw in free lessons for those who’ve never done it before.

If you have your own equipment, you pay just B50 an hour for using the range, or there’s a deal until the end of October: pay B300 a month and get the use of the range at B20 an hour.

There’s plenty of parking space, and there’s an area for a café when Santi can get someone to rent it.

The Phuket Archery Club is just off Ong Sim Phai Rd. Heading away from the Robinson department store towards the seahorse roundabout, keep an eye on the right side of the road. You’ll see two enormous arrows sticking out of the ground.

Santi can be reached at +66 (0) 8 1979 5680, or contact his niece, Sudrak Phongpheng, by email to phongpheng@hotmail.com

Archery Club opens in Phuket Town is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Fun and games at a summer camp in Germany, 1952. Photo by Roger and Renate Rössing.

Baby boomers will probably remember the 1963 hit song Hello Muddah Hello Fadduh by Allan Sherman, a parody of letters from his son, incarcerated in a summer camp called Camp Grenada. It includes verses such as:

Now I don’t want this should scare ya,
But my bunk mate has malaria.
You remember Jeffrey Hardy…
They’re about to organize a searching party.

Take me home, oh Muddah, Fadduh,
Take me home, I hate Granada!
Don’t leave me in the forest where
I might get eaten by a bear.

Things in summer camps have improved since those days, and most kids now can’t wait to get away from home and join in.

That’s what Phuket International Academy is no doubt counting on to fill its Kids’ Camps in August. And for homesick kids who live in Phuket, there are day activities so that they get to sleep in their own beds, and not worry about getting eaten by bears in the middle of the night.

Parents can opt to pay for half- or full-day options, or full residential stays taking full advantage of the slew of sports, arts and adventure activities each day.  ”The emphasis of these camps is to help students develop their self esteem, confidence and leadership qualities,” PIA explains. Yes… but fun is surely the main point.

Children from six years of age up to 14 are eligible. There will be two five-day camps, from August 2 to 6 and 9 to 13, with a weekend camp in between. Prices for non-boarders are B500 for a half day, B1,000 for a full day, B5,000 for five days and B2,500 for the weekend camp. For boarders the prices are B10,000 for either of the five-day camps.

To register your kids, send email here or call +66 (0) 76 336 000 and ask for Mik.

Time for summer camp at Phuket International Academy is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.