Tag: Phuket Travel

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Thai Smile Not Quite Taking Off As Planned

Where: Thailand
February 28, 2013 at 9:38 AM | by | Comments (0)

Back in March we were excited to talk about the news of a new budget airline coming to Thailand. Our excitement was then justified as Thai Smile took to the skies in August. Now, the little Thai LCC has already overhauled its service model.

Going from a modern offering of mostly economy with a few EconomyPlus-type seats flying domestic routes and key regional international routes, the airline has now moved to a full-service airline similar to its parent company, Thai Airways. The reason for the change? Thai Smile cites "poor reception" from flyers for the Thai Smile layout.

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It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...Flying Nok Air, the Planes That Look Like Birds

August 31, 2012 at 11:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

Don't knock Nok Air. Their planes may be painted like tropical birds, their flight attendants young enough to feel more like candy-stripers, and their hub airport of Bangkok's Don Mueang International empty enough to inspire more smirks than all that "we fly smiles" claiming they make, but our own flight on Nok was actually pretty great.

First off, a little background. Nok Air is a Thai low-cost airline that started up in 2004 and now runs routes out of Bangkok to a slew of popular vacation destinations typically no more than several hours' flight time away. View all their routes right here. Flights start around 1,300 THB ($41) on average, which even includes an in-flight snack and one free checked bag up to 30kg.

We hopped onboard, flying from Bangkok-Don Mueang to Phuket International, a 1.5-hour flight that cost us only around $51 USD total (and it was a last-minute booking).*

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Jeremy Renner's Latest Action Scene? A Bar Brawl in Phuket, Thailand

Where: Thailand
January 5, 2012 at 1:29 PM | by | Comments (0)

Action star Jeremy Renner had to fight off a real-life attack last night during a bar brawl in Thailand, one that sent two men to the hospital.

Jeremy was drinking with friends at Rachada Pub in Phuket Town around 4:30am when, according to the police, one of Renner's friends, Vorasit Issar (GM of the luxurious Sri Panwa Resort), dropped a glass on the floor which started an argument with the staff.

As the disagreement escalated, six men, who worked at the bar and the Canara restaurant next door, started attacking Renner and Issar with a a rotor axe, metal pipes, and a wooden club.

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Munching McDonald's Exotic 'Samurai Pork Burger' in Phuket

October 18, 2011 at 1:52 PM | by | Comments (0)

As dedicated as we are to trying out the most local and unique foods for our Foreign Grocery Friday series, we also have a definite thing for investigating the fast food preferences of destinations. This usually involves stalking the pastry cases of Starbucks in Switzerland or snacking as the world's fanciest Taco Bell, but more likely we're around the corner squinting up at the menu boards of a McDonald's.

Hoping for some rice patties or other exotic offerings, we wandered into the Golden Arches in the Central Festival Mall in Phuket Town, Thailand. Instead we came face-to-face with the Samurai Pork Burger, a standard item on Thai McD's menus, and something that sounded safe to try.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Pancake-Flavor Pretz Sticks of Japan

Where: Japan
September 30, 2011 at 12:32 PM | by | Comment (1)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

This won't be the first time we feature the tasty little pretzel sticks beloved by all of Asia, and available in as many flavors as to give everyone a favorite. They are Pretz, the savory brother of the sweet treat Pocky, which is a miniscule breadstick dipped in chocolate or fruit-flavored white chocolate.

Pretz, instead, are not dipped but covered in salt or flavoring. Hong Kong has a thing for Shark's Fin Soup and Abalone Pretz, but Japan keeps it classier with options like "Salad," "Butter," and...what we've deemed the creme de la creme: Pancake Syrup Pretz.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Salak Fruit of Southeast Asia

September 23, 2011 at 10:36 AM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Heading to a store and identifying the fruits of Southeast Asia can prove a workout for both Wikipedia and Google Image Search for your smartphone. It's like a game! That is, until you encounter one fruit that remains anonymous even with all the googling of "brownish fruit, sharkskin texture, thailand."

Thus, we turned to Twitter a few days ago to identify the above fruit, and several of our awesome followers @Jaunted recognized it immediately as Salak, or palm fruit, a plant native to Indonesia but grown through SE Asia. It also has varying names: Sala in Thailand, Salacca or Salak everywhere else.

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