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Mae Pim fabulous food

July 28, 2016 by David Herd

Mae Pim fabulous food

Mae Pim fabulous food

Mae Pim fabulous food

Mae Pim fabulous food was high on our list when my brother & I took some Australian friends to this quiet little seaside village 90 minutes east of Pattaya. The 3 days & 4 nights had the feel of an eating odyssey centred mainly around the Tequila Sunrise bar & restaurant. There is an international team, a Swiss owner, Peter the German chef, Gary an Australian manager & some very nice Thai staff who run this popular establishment. We had lunch there 3 times, dinner once and cocktails every evening. Above is Swedish Skagen at Tequila Sunrise

Skagen is one of my favourite dishes, here is Jamie Oliver’s recipe.

Swedish smoked salmon

Mae Pim fabulous food

My good friend Tony Murphy rated this beautiful salmon 10/10 at Tequila Sunrise.

Tony Murphy strikes a pose

Mae Pim fabulous food

Here is Murph doing his best to imitate a rather dour Swede as a salute to this fabulous salmon dish. 

                          Jag älskar verkligen att äta rök lax
 Bratwurst at Tequila Sunrise

Mae Pim fabulous food

Naturally with a German chef you would expect bratwurst to be on the menu. 🙂 However let’s not forget the mash potato which was excellent.

Chris Lockwood aka Dr Evil

Mae Pim fabulous food

Dr Evil & Nikki Murphy fell in love with the Pina Coladas at Tequila Sunrise. Chris has just completed a terrific South American trip, read his hilarious blog, just follow THIS LINK.

Here is a Pina Colada recipe.

A bunch of Aussies

Mae Pim Thailand fabulous food

From the left we have Chris Lockwood, Warren Herd, Nikki Murphy and Tony Murphy.

Nikki snaps the Sea Bass.

Mae Pim fabulous food

This was certainly worth a photo, another excellent dish at Tequila Sunrise.

Peter the talented chef at Tequila Sunrise

Mae Pim fabulous food

Peter was a chef at the Hard Rock Hotel in Pattaya until he saw the light and moved to Mae Pim. Now nothing short of an atomic bomb will get him to move anywhere else. Originally from Hamburg in Germany, he returned home for 2 weeks in May 2016, after 33 years this was his only visit. After speaking with him I’m guessing it may be his last trip home. 🙂

Up to now it seems like Tequila Sunrise is the only place we ate at, however there were a couple of other places. Here is my Tequila Sunrise photo blog from February.

Thailand beach resort fabulous food at Xing Xing

Mae Pim fabulous food

One of the many Mae Pim seafood restaurants, lots of live product on offer at very reasonable prices. Above is their Prawn & Vermicelli which was absolutely delicious.

Rock Lobster at Xing Xing

Mae Pim fabulous food

 Rock Lobster at Xing Xing certainly lived up to the Mae Pim Thailand fabulous food category.

Seafood tanks at Xing Xing

Mae Pim Thailand fabulous food

Lots of fresh seafood to choose here.

Lots of varieties

Mae Pim fabulous food

I’m not even sure what this little beast is. 🙂

 Mae Pim fabulous food Curry crab & spring rolls

Mae Pim fabulous food

The crab was very good (B600) and the spring rolls were fantastic.

Book through THIS LINK for a great Pattaya hotel room rate.

 Next door to Tequila Sunrise

Mae Pim fabulous food

Sadly I didn’t get the restaurant name, however it was right next door to Tequila Sunrise, food was very good as was the beautiful breeze coming off the gulf of Thailand. My brother Warren enjoyed his fried squid in yellow curry with fried rice.

Chris also enjoyed his spicy Tom Yum seafood soup

Mae Pim fabulous food

All the dishes here were good and the price very reasonable.

A short video on Mae Pim beach

Mae Pim beach resort Thailand

 Wednesday special

Mae Pim fabulous food

The Wednesday special at Tequila Sunrise is the enormous double schnitzel for only B159 which is a bargain. Here is my friend Larry Krausz who was born in Australia so I guess he was raised on schnitzels. 🙂

Larry & I were here in February 2016 and I couldn’t wait to return.

Larry Krausz wasa friend for around 30 years, sadly he suffered a major stroke on October 28 2016. After 2 months in the Bangkok Pattaya hospital on life support he was transported to Australia by a hospital Leer jet, thanks to his Medibank travel insurance. After a further month his life support was removed & he passed away peacefully.

I rest my case

Mae Pim fabulous food

What a monster, comes with French fries or mash potato.

Peter is the chef at Tequila Sunrise

Mae Pim fabulous food

Thanks for visiting my Mae Pim fabulous food photo blog, for an excellent hotel use this link for a discounted rate at THE MAE PIM RESORT.

 

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1g Duck

 

Pattaya live webcam
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Breil Sur Roya devastated

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New Zealand Holiday 1991

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White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

September 12, 2013 by David Herd

Welcome to Koh Chang

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang I first visited 10 years ago & I wanted to see whether there were many changes on this lovely island. This jetty is the first thing you see upon arrival, then after a 10 minute hilly drive down the west coast you arrive at White Sands Beach.

It really has not changed much since I was there in 2003.

Ferry was a rust bucket.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

The ferry service is very good, 1/2 an hour across the water and only 280 Baht or $9 for our SUV & 2 people. Lots of drinks & snacks on board as well. For those without a vehicle there are busses waiting to take you to your hotel.

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

In many ways Koh Chang reminds me of Koh Samui 15 years ago. I used to love Koh Samui in the 90’s but the more it developed the more the attraction faded. That is until I returned in 2015 and found Chaweng had much more to offer with restaurants, bars & shopping centres.

Pool at the Kacha Resort.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

 The Kacha Resort was a great place to stay, close to lots of restaurants and bars and probably one of the best hotel rooms I have ever stayed in. This time I lived up to my name, the Five Star Vagabond. Here is a short video showing some details of this terrific hotel.

Use THIS LINK for a great room rate.

Kacha Resort

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

A great location on the beach & near lots of restaurants & shops.

Nice pool

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

Pool or beach, decisions decisions. 🙂

A cold Singha beer hits the spot.

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

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Banpu Resort, White Sands Beach.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

A more conventional Thai resort which is right ext door to Kacha.

Nong Bug restaurant.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

 

 

This Thai seafood restaurant with the great name was the busiest in White Sands Beach by a long way. To us that meant the food was fresh because of the turnover. The price was low and the food excellent.

Street market White Sands Beach.

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

All the usual stuff is on sale at the street markets, a sexy ladies bikini can be bought for 250 Baht or $8. Naturally you are expected to haggle.

Genuine reproductions here.

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There are many art shops in Thailand where you can have your favourite painting copied for a very low cost, want a Picasso? Well this guy will paint you one.  😳

Happy beach vendors.

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

 The beach vendors here are a happy bunch, lots of bracelets, and goodies for 50 to 100 Baht.

Amari Emerald Cove hotel Koh Chang.

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

 The Amari Hotel Emerald Cove is quite an amazing property, absolute luxury. It is on the beach and has the biggest swimming pool I have ever seen in a hotel. If you want to spoil yourself this could be the place for you.

La Dolce Vita.

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La Dolce Vita is a very good Italian restaurant in White Sands Beach, the staff are friendly and the food is good. The owner hails from Milan and knows how to make a very good pizza.

Caught up with the owner

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

A happy Italian who serves up good food.

Beautiful Coconut Beach.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

Just 6 kms south of White Sands Beach is Coconut Beach, a beautiful almost deserted stretch of white sand where the water is clean and calm. A number of resorts are here for those who prefer a quieter more peaceful environment. The Coconut Beach Resort is one worth considering.

Coconut Beach Resort.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

Much quieter than White Sands Beach, and a much nicer stretch of sand, I imagine it would be an ideal honeymoon destination.

Koh Chang sunset.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

Koh Chang is famous for beautiful sunsets, I never get tired of watching the sun set in the west. My next Thai island adventure will probably be a return to Koh Samui.

In fact I went back to Koh Samui in June 2016, & was pleased to see it has improved out of sight.

Pothole is happy

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

Pothole aka John Martin loves Thai ladies & orange clothes. 🙂 He is with Tom & Annie from the Double Lucky bar.

Motorbike taxi

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

I gave this nice lady 100 Baht to drive me 500 meters to the hotel before the rain, a small price to pay to stay dry.

Farewell to Annie & her friend.

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

A nice friendly island.

Fun with the elephants

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

Here is my friend Hamish Elton having fun with the elephants.

This is lovely Nitt

                   White Sands Beach Koh Chang

 The gorgeous Thai girl is Nitt from Khon Kaen, Hamish of course is known is Thailand as the king of selfies. 🙂

White Sands Beach Koh Chang

White Sands Beach Koh-Chang

About a 40 minute cruise from the mainland.

Thanks for visiting my White Sands Beach Koh-Chang photo blog. 

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1g Duck

Well folks, many thanks for visiting my White Sands Beach Koh Chang photo blog, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed being here.

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Pattaya is only a 4 hour drive away

 

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Southern tropical Thai island

August 30, 2013 by David Herd

Koh Chang is a place to relax

Southern tropical Thai island

Southern tropical Thai island

Southern tropical Thai island, beautiful white sand beaches and pristine clear water. Koh Chang is one of Thailand’s most beautiful islands with long white sandy beaches, most half deserted. The island is also home to a wide range of wildlife, including a good selection of birds, snakes, deer and a number of elephants. The island and its vicinity are great places for snorkeling, diving and jungle hiking. The “discovery” of the island as a tourist destination since 2000 has brought on a large amount of rapid development, and while still far quieter than places like Phuket or Koh Samui, it’s probably better to go now than later.

The beach at Coconut resort.

Southern tropical Thai island

Ko Chang has the same seasons as Bangkok. The best season to go is the (comparatively) cool season between November and February. March to May are roasting hot and between June and October it rains, and a lot at that: 4,000 mm in an average year. Many guest houses close during this season, so accommodation is limited.

 Coconut beach resort

Southern tropical Thai island

Coconut beach resort is just south of White Sands beach, it is very peaceful and relaxing with some bars & restaurants across the road. They have bungalows on the beach or more modern rooms if you prefer.

Bungalows on the beach

Southern tropical Thai island

 Koh Chang has turned into a major tourist destination, both for foreigners and local Thais.   This sudden tourism boom however, has been fraught with controversy concerning land use, etc. The government is trying to “develop” it from a backpackers’ paradise to a top-level destination, and construction work is going on throughout the island, with basic huts torn down to make way for fancy resorts. Sadly it will end up being another case of “paradise lost”.

Southern tropical Thai island White Sands Beach 

Southern tropical Thai island

White Sands Beach has lots of hotels and restaurants.

My friend from Beijing

Southern tropical Thai island

Mable & I met in Beijing last year so I flew her over to spend some time with me in Thailand.

Southern tropical Thai island beach bungalows

Southern tropical Thai island

When you stay in a bungalow it seems to feel more like a Southern tropical Thai island.

Peace and serenity

Southern tropical Thai island

Beautiful calm waters of Koh Chang.

Gorgeous children

Southern tropical Thai island

Such happy beautiful faces

Starting very young

Southern tropical Thai island

They start learning to box at a very young age.

Chang means Elephant in Thai.

Southern tropical Thai island

Elephants are such wonderful beasts.

 Koh Chang sunset

Southern tropical Thai island

There are some wonderful sunsets in Thailand.

Beautiful Koh Chang

Southern tropical Thai island

It would be ten long years before I would go back to this lovely Southern tropical Thai island

 

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Pattaya Hilton

Pattaya hotels, Hilton & Holiday Inn

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate. 

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