Phuket (pronounced Pooket), Thailand

We had to take tenders from the ship to the town of Patong. Phuket is the largest island and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. The region is approx. 570 sq. miles made up of one large island and 39 smaller ones. The area was struck by the tsunami in 2004. Very little of the damage is obvious except for some isolated beaches where debris remains. More obvious signs of the tsunami we could see from the ship as we passed the island of Nicobar in the Andaman Sea on our way to India. Dead trees lined the shore from end to end killed by the sea water.

Back to Phuket. We landed on the jetty passing the typical low lying fishing punts with long pole motors on the back. These are very popular here as they can travel at speed in shallow water. The propeller enters the water about 10 feet past the end of the boat.

We were met by ten seater vans rather than coaches as the streets were narrow.

We were driven through the town to our resort, very much like the one on Koh Samui except we were not on a beach. The town was busy with many small stores and restaurants. It seems to be a lively and fun place for the young. We spent the morning and afternoon by the pool under an umbrella trying to keep cool in 101F heat and humidity. Lunch was Tia food and very tasty, with a cool Tia beer very good. We both spent and enjoyed time in the pool. The resort was attractive by any standard with great landscaping. There were many of these resorts and hotels along the main road. It would not seem possible for these to have been built in the space of time since Boxing day 2004.

Phuket is lovely but we did not see its main attractions. On the east side, small steep sided islands rise out of the sea like towers with trees on top. The islands are made of lime stone. They are cut through with caves forming sea lagoons in the centre. Local Thailand people, known as sea gypsies, scale the cliffs and collect the birds nests for bird nest soup. This dish is so highly prized the Tia’s get $1000/lb for the nests as they are so hard to find.

It is possible to hire sea going canoes to visit these islands and camp on the beaches. For young people this would make a fantastic holiday. It is a truly beautiful place and apart from Halong bay in Vietnam,, a unique environment. I hope some of you get a chance to see it first hand, but beware it is hot!

We returned to the boat and jumped in the shower to cool down. We watched the sail away from our balcony and were treated to a spectacular lightning storm over the hills of Phuket away on the main land. We had dinner with the Chief Engineer at his request where we had a lively discussion on a range of topics with the other guests.