October saw us go from working on Ketoro-on-the-hardstand (whilst
we were apartment-dwellers), to working on our home whilst she was tied up in
the marina, to free-as-a-bird cruisers when we finally said enough! … and set out into Phang Nga Bay
to enjoy its incredible beauty and peace.
It was a month of many contrasts that also saw us
juxtaposing work and thorough enjoyment of some new Phuket experiences. For
example, we heard of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival and decided to investigate…
Phuket has several different communities (amongst whom: Buddhist,
Hindu and Muslim; Thai, Burmese, Indian, Malay, Chinese and expat) that appear
to exist mostly-companionably alongside one other, allowing one another space
and freedom for individual expression.
The large Chinese community recently (for nine evenings in
October, the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar) held their annual
Vegetarian Festival, with accompanying sacred rituals which are said to bestow
good fortune upon those who religiously observe the rites: hold to a vegetarian
or vegan diet for spiritual cleansing and merit-making, and pray regularly to
certain gods. Chinese shrines and temples were homes to these sacred rituals,
food markets, prayer, fire-walking and body-piercing.
Boat Lagoon Marina is close to a large and beautiful Chinese
Temple so we decided to investigate; early one morning we, on motorbike, joined
(inadvertently) the procession of trucks and cars carrying the devotees
part-way to Phuket town, then got a good spot to view the proceedings from
where they started their walk to Sapan Hin, their final destination.
This festival commemorates a travelling company of Chinese
opera singers in the first half of the 1800s who got terribly ill soon after
arriving in the jungles of Kathu on Phuket Island, but astonishingly all
recovered after honouring two of their emperor gods through prayer and
observing a vegetarian diet.
Most procession participants dressed in white; many carried
shrines, flags, and joss sticks, but the most stunning part for observers was
to see the extensive body piercings of the entranced devotees ("Ma
Song"), dressed in particular clothing to indicate that the gods have
entered them during the festival. They are said to manifest supernatural powers,
and perform self-torture (as we understand it) in order to shift evil from others
onto themselves, and to bring the community good luck. They demonstrated that
through their beliefs they can withstand body hardship and are spared pain. The
man above has a long pole piercing both cheeks and supporting a Chinese lantern
on each side.
To our eyes, it was all quite incredible, albeit gruesome. All manner of
implements were used: one man put the tall handlebar of his children's scooter
through his cheek, one had a large fan-palm frond on either side of his face, piercing
his cheeks; one guy was pierced by two curved-handle walking-stick type
umbrellas. This was on top of the usual knives, swords, skewers etc. We saw almost
no blood.
Throughout the festival, fireworks and drums are a constant
backdrop, especially during ceremonies; the louder the better, because the
noise drives away evil spirits. Street scenes are bedlam: crowds of
participants being waved across intersections, others going about their daily
business as best they could, dealing with traffic jams, crackers, smoke,
dragons.
All wonderful for observers, and no doubt a bonus for those
on the tourist bus stuck in the traffic below!
After the procession, it was back at 9am, a cup of coffee
and back to work on the boat: just another ordinary day for us!
October also saw Ketoro’s re-launch into the sea (well, the
filthy muck that is the marina water in Boat Lagoon). This marina, dredged out
of a mangrove swamp, is generally very shallow and all yachting activity must
wait for high tide. For our non-yachtie friends: monohulls (yachts with single
hull) have very deep drafts (very deep keels) and so cannot enter or leave the
marina except at very high tides. The catamarans like us have shallower drafts
so, although we still can only leave the marina at high tides, the actual water
depth required is somewhat less.
But we have other issues, like our broad beams. (Yes,
Irene’s beam IS becoming broader with all the convivial local food court meals
with friends, but we are referring to Ketoro’s beam here!) So, here is the
picture of our launch:
The sides of the launching slip slope inwards, so we can
only be put into the water when it is near the top of the slip; the tidal range
here can be more than 2m. A nerve-wracking exercise, the launch: there are few centimetres to spare, and one is
very concerned at the thought of scratches on freshly painted and polished,
gleaming hulls…
The deed was done (successfully); all the furnishings, dive
gear, locker storage items that had been stored at a friend’s home were brought
back to the boat, we moved back on board, further work was completed on it,
and, with the tides dropping each day, committed to leave the marina while we still
could do so.
But of course we had to prepare for the change from a life
with access to transport and shops (at a marina, easy bike hire) and unlimited
fresh water and electricity, to one for which the boat had to provide all that
we could need: it was shopping time! It was occasionally difficult to figure
out which was our bike…
Most importantly, there was still fun to be had whilst tied
to land… and it was Halloween! So Ketoro saw her first Halloween celebration
when Melisa, her friend and their children came to “trick or treat” us on
board.
It was time to leave this marina which has now seen Ketoro
three times taken out of the water for working on, since our arrival in 2010.
It is a great base to do boat work, with all the contractors and chandleries at
hand; it is well placed to access the rest of the island, and a walk around the
hard-stand provides endless interest, not least for the fact that some workers
bring their pets to work…
Thai people love birds, and they, in their decorative cages,
are often seen carried by men-on-motorbikes to and from work. They sing
beautifully on the hardstand, providing a wonderful contrast to the
angle-grinders, hammering and general noise that is a boatyard. And it appears
that they do not mind sitting in their cage in the sun at lunchtime, while
their owners take lunch in the shade of a boat!
Well, after a time of feeling caged by all the work that was
demanded by the boat, we have now fuelled up…
And are dancing at anchor in magnificent Phang Nga Bay,
sometimes (like here) alone in a spectacular spot, feeling that there is nobody
else in the world. We revel in the contrast with the previous 6 weeks…
… but look forward to the days of springs high tide when
friends on monohulls can escape the marina and come and play in the bay!
