Having (in our previous blog) reminisced about and much anticipated re-entering Thailand / Phuket with all that makes it familiar and “home”, we were delighted that not much had changed: the sights of entire families travelling on one scooter still astonish; nondescript and un-maintained shop-fronts may hide the most wonderful classy stores; abundant and untamed greenery balances the chaos of concrete triple-story buildings dressed with untidy and indecipherable signage and fronted by an unbelievable network of power lines… and the latter still hum and occasionally shower sparks: re-assurance that the power stations are working!
The tastes, colours and smells of delicious (spicy) food abundant in vegetables (and deficient in meat!) particularly after the disappointment of Malaysian food; restaurant service still delivers the meal orders over a 30 minute period to accommodate the kitchen – and menus still offer an entertaining range of mis-spellings (is that a word!!??) to pass the time for those kept waiting. Here, a typical Patong street.
Phuket is a delightful place to receive visitors, particularly one’s children and at Christmas time! With Ketoro at Nai Yang, we awaited their arrival from the airport at sea in a “dinghy drift” with friends… what better way for yachtie friends to gather for sundowners?
When Barry and Kay arrived we started off in typical Thai fashion: white plastic table and chairs, toes in the sand, stars above and beers in hand (except for pregnant Kay!) as we inscribed a large white Thai wish lantern (Khoom Loy), lit it and delivered it with its wishes to the black sky, watching as the orange glow slowly disappeared from sight. A quick trip to the tailor sorted out Barry’s Christmas gift: fabric and style identified at 8 pm, two tailored shirts collected at lunchtime the next day, between mandatory beach-massage (or ubiquitous Thai foot-scrub treatment that miraculously turns your feet from elephant-foot-hide to baby-bottom) and lunch … and we set off for the next anchorage.
It was Christmas, and in our book that requires a decorated tree. With a dearth of “regular” conifers around and no space or inclination for storage of the plastic type, it becomes a local boat Christmas: beach pebbles and shells surrounded the driftwood, decorated with vermillion chillies threaded on emerald ribbon, some tinsel, and ornaments were photos of Christmases past! A friend’s gift of Thai tuk tuk and wooden angels lifted the show (while the litter of cans and bottles at the base lower the tone somewhat!).
Weather proved problematic, reminding us how pointless it is to make plans when on a boat. The plan had been 4 days on the west of Phuket, snorkel-spots and beaches identified as those far from the madding crowd. This was to be followed by 3 days on the east side, among the special hong islands and anchorages of Phang Nga Bay.
A developing cyclone far NW of us pulled the air in from the west of Phuket, resulting in 30 to 45 knot gales and unruly seas; happily Barry and Kay were unconcerned with the rolly sea and the missed opportunities for snorkelling, but we would have been unable to land the dinghy safely on the beaches so needed to anchor off in those bays where jetties are provided in the tourist season. These would be the beaches of the madding crowds, corresponding to the super-yacht and cruise-ship areas.
Christmas Day saw us feasting at a seafood restaurant on Surin beach, linen tablecloths but still toes in the sand, cocktails excellent. Without an entertainingly mis-spelt menu, we enjoyed watching beach-goers playing on the jetty, which had caught us unawares on arrival.
Made of interlocking floating plastic containers, the surge up the beach turned it into a rolling walkway from which people dove into the sea at its high points and on which you had to judge the timing of your steps; our “drunken sailor roll” on returning to the boat had everything to do with this and nothing to do with Christmas beverages.
The next day had us at Patong, where the jetty is exceptionally large and stable, joining the droves of tourists from the cruise ships. We had to wait a few hours for the sea to settle somewhat before venturing in to the jetty however, having come in to the bay under 45 knot winds. Nonetheless, secure Patong anchorage allowed us to wonder at Bangla Road night-life,
and gave us a day or so of island investigation. Sitting back in your tuk-tuk, watching as one exotic scene after another passes is an excellent way to get to sights like the Big Buddha, Chalong Temple (Wat) and investigate the old streets of Phuket town.
Perhaps it is useful to be accompanied by people who have been there before: at Wat Chalong, bad spirits are regularly chased away by setting off a string of firecrackers, and an unexpected fusillade of bangs can be unnerving.
Towards the end of Barry and Kay’s stay, the weather settled enough for us to enjoy anchoring in Nai Harn for two nights and actually having a beach day.
Whilst a relaxed beach, the friendly Thai vendors of umbrellas, loungers and food are obviously very territorial - it came as a great surprise when a territorial dispute ended with one ice-cream vendor fighting another in his turf, and after being separated by others, escaping their control and chasing after his rival with a coconut cleaver! Well, without menus or rolly jetties, what was to entertain us?
While Barry and Kay enjoyed the Phang Nga Bay area on a day-tripper tourist boat, we moved Ketoro to Boat Lagoon Marina to have our generator installed: finally repaired after 4 months - a Christmas gift! Of course there will be no blog without a reference to recent boat maintenance / repair. Just prior to our visitors’ arrival Rolf had a fun day as follows:
No, this is not a post-festivity head-in-the-big-white-telephone activity: rather, the heads (loo) needed addressing in a different way: it received a new pump and motor for Christmas.
After Barry and Kay left us New Year celebrations were beckoning, with memories of the spectacular fireworks at Patong last year. Circumstances did not allow for us to get Ketoro to that side of the island from the marina, and the local hire shop was out of vehicles so, for the first time in about 40 years, this crew did not party the New Year in! Instead, it was wine, a DVD (Hamlet, at least!) and bed at 11pm. But nevertheless we still saw in the New Year in Thai-style: woken by noises that suggested military attack, we looked out to find that it was midnight…. and fireworks were sprinkling the sky above us.
A stroll of the marina shows that the owner of this almost-sunken dinghy (front) is surely hoping for a new one for Christmas, and no more bad spirits in the New Year.
In fact, as we write this, on New Year’s Day 2012, a thunderous burst of crackers has just assaulted our ears, continuing for several minutes; we are sure all bad spirits have left now.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It was Christmas, and in our book that requires a decorated tree. With a dearth of “regular” conifers around and no space or inclination for storage of the plastic type, it becomes a local boat Christmas: beach pebbles and shells surrounded the driftwood, decorated with vermillion chillies threaded on emerald ribbon, some tinsel, and ornaments were photos of Christmases past! A friend’s gift of Thai tuk tuk and wooden angels lifted the show (while the litter of cans and bottles at the base lower the tone somewhat!).
Christmas Day saw us feasting at a seafood restaurant on Surin beach, linen tablecloths but still toes in the sand, cocktails excellent. Without an entertainingly mis-spelt menu, we enjoyed watching beach-goers playing on the jetty, which had caught us unawares on arrival.
The next day had us at Patong, where the jetty is exceptionally large and stable, joining the droves of tourists from the cruise ships. We had to wait a few hours for the sea to settle somewhat before venturing in to the jetty however, having come in to the bay under 45 knot winds. Nonetheless, secure Patong anchorage allowed us to wonder at Bangla Road night-life,
Towards the end of Barry and Kay’s stay, the weather settled enough for us to enjoy anchoring in Nai Harn for two nights and actually having a beach day.
While Barry and Kay enjoyed the Phang Nga Bay area on a day-tripper tourist boat, we moved Ketoro to Boat Lagoon Marina to have our generator installed: finally repaired after 4 months - a Christmas gift! Of course there will be no blog without a reference to recent boat maintenance / repair. Just prior to our visitors’ arrival Rolf had a fun day as follows:
After Barry and Kay left us New Year celebrations were beckoning, with memories of the spectacular fireworks at Patong last year. Circumstances did not allow for us to get Ketoro to that side of the island from the marina, and the local hire shop was out of vehicles so, for the first time in about 40 years, this crew did not party the New Year in! Instead, it was wine, a DVD (Hamlet, at least!) and bed at 11pm. But nevertheless we still saw in the New Year in Thai-style: woken by noises that suggested military attack, we looked out to find that it was midnight…. and fireworks were sprinkling the sky above us.
A stroll of the marina shows that the owner of this almost-sunken dinghy (front) is surely hoping for a new one for Christmas, and no more bad spirits in the New Year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Happy New Year to you too and what a year you are going to have!! Loved this blog which brought back wonderful memories. xx
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