The Journey(s) of Ian

a local resident. a scary Buddhist hell and a heaven.            Phang-nga City, and Province (pronounced ‘pung-naar’) the main street. Phang-nga is one of the quiet  provinces of southern Thailand, the city council offices at night. Ser-way. the town fountain.    lying 700 or so kilometres to the south of Bangkok, on the Andaman Sea.   It is a region often overlooked by travellers. This is due, it must be said, to an absence of big ticket tourist sites, and its proximity to that haven of international beach hedonism, Phuket. local tourist site map.     Phang is the province immediately north of Phuket. Buses filled with dozing backpackers and tourists of all descriptions have only just managed to nod off when the bus pulls into Phang bus terminal  (80kms and an hour and half north) on the long journey to Bangkok,   The city of Phang is similarly small, stretching 3-4 kilom...