"All along Yaowarat Road" a Phuket Travel Page by Hewer

Here are my three good mates at the Relax Bar on Yaowarat Road. This is a large beer garden-type restaurant similar to what one would find all over rural Thailand. I wandered in one night to watch a premier league match on their big screen and ended up chatting for a couple of hours with Goon and Bla, who manage the place. Goon speaks English very well and Bla and Boo are studying. I rarely missed a night after that, and I either had dinner there or called in a for a couple of quiet ones.

On my last night, they gave me a little farewell dinner. After the "official" closing time, they dimmed the lights and we sat through a long rainstorm polishing off a bottle of whiskey. It was light when I went home!

I never got their name, yet they washed my clothes every day. Phuket is very humid, and I found that half a day's wear was just about enough for anything. So I visited these guys quite a lot. Got it down to a routine in the end and didn't even need to talk about the price or when I'd come back. We'd have a bit of a chat every day too. They didn't speak any English so it was a good place to practice my Thai.

And these girls are very sharp. One day, the lass on the right indicated my wedding ring and asked if I was married. I told her I was and showed her a picture of my wife and son.

She asked, "Where is your wife from?".
"Trinidad", I replied.
She shot back, "Ah, Trinidad and Tobago"

I am yet to meet a Japanese person who has heard of Trinidad!

The gang at E-Sarn kept me well fed for the time I was staying in Phuket. This was where I had my lunch most days, and although I had intended to go through the menu, the first few dishes I tried were too good and I didn't go any further.

I always thanked the cooks as well as the waiting staff and we always had a little chat, usually about the weather or how good the food is. We always greeted each other around town too. I really wish there was an E-Sarn Terrace in Osaka!

If E-Sarn Terrace was my lunch venue, then this qualifies as my usual breakfast haunt. I went there on my first morning in Phuket because it was crowded with locals so I figured they would know where the good food is. I nicknamed the head chef "Tom Selleck" because of his mustache; I nearly laughed out loud two weeks later when he told me his name was "Toom". In any event, he makes good use of a simple set-up to produce a fast healthy breakfast. He keeps his servers very busy and still manages a brief chat or a wave. One of the friendliest faces along Yaowarat Road.