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.

Sukij "Em" Thipatima with wheat beer, dark beer and lager and, behind him, the copper brew kettle and lautertank of his brewery.

Remember we told you about Carlsberg coming back to the island? Now there’s more good news for lovers of brews: Patong’s first microbrewery is up and running, and the beer’s lovely.

The Full Moon brewery, bar and restaurant is in Jungceylon. Just find the big junk (not hard) and you’ll find Full Moon under its stern, serving an American-style lager (note: much better than Schlitz or Bud); a British-style dark beer, not far off a good bitter; and a Belgian-style wheat beer – all brewed on the premises.

The man behind this is 30-year-old Bangkokian Sukij Thipatima, better known as Em. He comes from a trading family who specialised in glassware. After an education at the University of North Carolina, he spent four years with Heineken in their marketing department and then joined the UK’s Diageo, the world’s biggest premium booze company, as brand manager for Smirnoff.

Always fascinated by the idea of making alcohol (as opposed to drinking and marketing it) he set about educating himself in the art of beer-making,  including taking a short course at the Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei (Research and Teaching Institute for Brewing) in Berlin, which is affiliated with the University of Berlin. Then he came to Phuket and, with a partner, set up Full Moon. It opened about a month ago.

This new career move was not entirely popular initially with his family, who are all teetotal. Em’s the only drinker in three generations. He used to sneak out with a friend of his brother to educate himself. And now he doesn’t just drink it. He makes it, too. “It was a bit tough for me. My parents, my brother, they all said, ‘What are you doing?’ Even my grandmother.

Being in Patong has one big advantage for a brewer, he says. “It comes from the Bang Wad reservoir [in Kathu]. It’s rainwater. I was thinking I would have to put in a lot of filtration equipment, but I had the water tested and it’s really very clean. We’re so lucky.”

The beers he’s making, Em says, are utterly unique. The hops and yeast have to be imported, he says, “but I’ve tried to combine Western and Thai ingredients. The challenge was to make a Thai-style beer.” Two years of research put him on the right track.

Ingredients, from left: Coriander, wheat, chocolate malt, caramel malt and crystal malt.

All three beers have Australian crystal malt as the main ingredient but the lager includes an infusion of malted Thai Gaba rice from the Royal Projects, which is high in sugar and minerals. “This makes the lager more approachable with a slightly sweeter aroma. For the dark ale I use the crystal malt as a base, then caramel malt and then chocolate malt. Finally, I add a little bit of Thai black sticky rice from the northeast of Thailand, which gives a more balanced finish with less bitter aftertaste.”

As for the wheat beer, the brew includes imported wheat and oatmeal, but with addition of tangerine peel from Bangmod, outside Bangkok, and coriander, “to raise the spice to complement the citrus taste of the tangerine. It’s quite different from the Belgian style.”

Em is very serious about the subtlety of taste in his beers. “I want people to try approaching it in a more sophisticated frame of mind, as you would a good wine,” he says.

At the moment only the lower floor of Full Moon is open. It’s smart and spacious, with big-screen TVs for sports fans. Upstairs will be more laid back, with, Em promises, “dueling pianos” – yup, two pianos.

All the beers cost B140 a pint or B80 for a half. Or go between 4 and 7pm when the happy hours price is B100 a pint.

Phuket Observer was given generous amounts to taste and wanted more. Our opinion: these are all excellent  beers. If you think wheat beer is a bit of a girlie drink, try some. You’re likely to change your opinion. And Em says that because no sugar is added, there’s no hangover to speak of. “You can drink 10 pints and you won’t suffer.” Naturally, we’ll drink to that.

Full Moon Brewery: More good news for Phuket beer drinkers is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Joe Conrad's a bit tied up for now - the illusionist does some magic for members of the International Business Association of Phuket, whose monthly meeting he used as the launch platform for his new theatre in Phuket

His name’s Joe Conrad. As far as we know he’s no relation of the famed writer Joseph Conrad, who wove such stunning word pictures of Southeast Asia 100 years ago.

But popular illusionist Joe is heading for Phuket’s Heart of Darkness, Patong. In fact he’s already here quite a bit of the time, overseeing creation of a 700-seat theatre in the Jungceylon complex, where he and his crew will put on two 1½-hour shows every nigh, with three on Saturday (closed Mondays).

Originally from Pittsburgh in the US, Joe started doing magic tricks when he was 13. He got his big break when he was invited to open for crooner Tom Jones on a tour of Canada in the 1970s. After that he performed on cruise ships, in night clubs and at venues such as Walt Disney World in Florida.

He came to Asia in the 1990s to redesign and perform at a magic theatre in a Korean theme park. After a long run there, he decided to stay in Asia, performing almost exclusively for casinos and for corporations – who find it handy to have a guy on hand who can make products such as cars appear or disappear with a snap of the fingers.

The Jungceylon theatre is a new level of involvement – and investment – for him (creating the theatre and performance is costing US$1.5 million). Joe promises the show will be a feast of unexpected appearances and disappearances, people being chopped, sliced and diced in different ways (and reassembled, of course), and assistants flying gracefully through the air.

The climax, Joe told the Observer with a grin, will be a disappearing elephant. Well, what a coincidence. That just happens to be the climax of the Phuket FantaSea show, too. There’s no comment on that from Joe, but there’s a bit of a wicked glitter in his eyes.

The theatre is scheduled to open on December 15. Tickets will be B900 for adults and B600 for kids. For a taster, see Joe’s show reel and other videos here.

Illusionist chooses Jungceylon as home for his magic show is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Just three days from now – on July 17 – Phuket will be the battleground for two major events in the world of cool-and-sexy-see-and-be-seen, as two leading names in the world of deejay night clubs, Bangkok’s Bed Supper Club and Ibiza’s Hed Kandi, go, er, Bed-to-Hed.

Tata Young has apparently already checked out the new Sound nightclub in Jungceylon. Photo copyright © Alasdair Forbes.

Bed Supper Club, possibly the capital’s coolest nightclub, is the place to go to gawk at stars. In fact, if you haven’t been been photographed in Bed with someone sexy, then you’re probably not a star or even a starlet. Now Bed is about to officially open the very sexy Sound, at Jungceylon in Patong.

Meanwhile, down at Surin Beach, Stereo Lab – which is not as sexy but is right on the beach – will be the venue for the first appearance in Phuket of Hed Kandi (a subsidiary of Ministry of Sound) which has organised deejay parties all over the world as part of its World Series Tour, whichhas already included Tokyo, Seoul, Dhaka, Macau, Jakarta, KL and Phuket.

Now we don’t know whether there’s been a pledge of cooperation between the two, but consider this: on opening night, Sound will initially be open only to invited guests (ie, stars, starlets and other people with beautiful faces, bodies or wallets), who will mostly be flown down from Bangkok. They will have the place all to themselves from 9pm until midnight, when the doors will be opened to the hoi polloi – you and me – for another couple of hours.

But the Hed Kandi gig will be open to all, starting at 9pm. So it’s going to be a busy night, heading for Surin Beach first for the Hed Kandi gig featuring deejay Dean Rigg and percussionist Dean Oram until sometime before midnight, then hopping in the car – no, better make that a taxi after all those cocktails – for the dash to Jungceylon where the line-up will include now fewer that eight deejays from Bed – Fred Jungo, Octo, Duke O’Phive, Em, Ome, Josh and The Bangkok Invaders.

Sound soft-opened a few weeks ago and report that they’ve already received visits from from Thai glitterati Tata Young, Navinta, Dome (Pakorn Lum), Matthew Dean, Helen Pratumrat and Mark Kingpayom, presumably all down in Phuket for Fashion Week.

Manager Dave says that Sound will have different themes on different nights: Monday is Retroactiv – Old Skool dance hits from the 70′s onwards; Tuesday is Kinky Beats – sexy chilled out house; Wednesday is Jet-set – Hip-hop, R&B (also Ladies’ night); Thursday is Samba Loca – Latin Dance music; Friday is Ultra-sound – hardcore house for serious clubbers; Saturday is ‘this is SOUND’ – with international guest DJs; and Sunday is Bootlegs Inc -Mash-ups and remixes.

SOUND Phuket nightclub opening in battle of DJ parties is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

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Phuket Fashion Week Photo Report is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

The event was given its press launch in Bangkok, complete with fashion show. Photo by Thaicatwalk.com

Phuket’s film festival may be dead, but fashion is very much alive, with more than 150 models and celebrities heading for the island for Phuket International Fashion Week, from June 24 to 30. There will be 21 fashion shows during the week, with the promise of  concerts by 20 or more top artists every night – no names announced so far, although there is a strong rumour going round the Korean all-girl band Wonder Girls will be performing at some stage.

Proceeds from the event, which is being organised by the Phoenix modeling and media production agency and graphics house Matchfame, will go to the Thai Red Cross and the Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation.

I wonder... will the Wonder Girls really come? Photo by True World.

The brands of clothing on display have yet to be announced, but for those who know their models and celebrities, the people on the catwalk will include Patcharpa Chaicheau, Wanarot Sonthichai, Nattawut Sakitjai, Nina L, Napatcha P, Irina L and many others with single-letter family names.

For us provincial hicks of Phuket, this promises to be a jaw-dropping festival as faces and bodies we’ve seen only on TV and in glossy magazines strut the latest fashions – live! – in front of the Jungceylon fountains.

The organisers expect to make this an annual event, “a regular event on the world fashion calendar”. We certainly hope so. We also hope it doesn’t rain…

Update: Complete Phuket Fashion Week photo report can be found here.

Phuket Fashion Week all set is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Photo by Joachim Köhler

Organised every year to coincide with Songkran is Phuket Bike Week, which runs from April 9 to 12. This year is the 15^th Bike Week, and hundreds of bikers with their machines are expected to descend on Phuket from all over Asia and further afield.

Formal events will include a bike exhibition at Jungceylon in Patong, which will feature some truly amazing custom machines, and a formal dinner for bikers (black leather tie, no doubt) on April 11 at Tainaan restaurant opposite Central Festival.

Other events on the calendar:

April 10: Beach party and music festival at Loma Park in Patong, headlined by top Thai bands Carabao and Job2Do.

April 11: Ride for Peace, with bikers going for a rumble along the coast from Loma Park to Laem Phrom Thep; beach party in Patong with music by Tom Dundee and Mu Pongthep, along with (according to the website) a “cowboy / Indian / rake show”. Rake show? Maybe if you’re a biker you’ll know what that means.

April 12: Tattoo competition and Miss Phuket Bike Week contest at Jungceylon; Beach party and rock concert at Loma Park featuring Pong & Pe & Jeap.

Expect a really friendly atmosphere with lots of guys in leather and girls in very tight denim shorts. Even if you’re not a biker yourself, it doesn’t matter. Anyone is welcome.

Phuket Bike Week Rolling in at Songkran is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.