Phuket
Phuket island was on one of the major trading routes between India and China, and was frequently mentioned in foreign ships' logs of Portuguese, French, Dutch, and English traders, but was never colonised by a European power. It formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber and now from tourism. It was our base for the second half of our Thai holiday.
Sights & Culture
The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP)
The Sanctuary is inside the national park. The Thai government has decided to tax the entrance that the Gibbon Project is on, 200Bhat per person. None of this goes to the Gibbon Project. There isn’t a lot to see there, because the whole purpose is to rehabilitate the Gibbons back into families and into the wild so they don't want them to have contact with humans.
There are no wild gibbons anymore, they have all been poached and turned into pets and tourist attractions. Its sad. We got to see a handful of Gibbons who could never be rehabilitated, whether that is because they have been injured like Tam, who only has one hand and one leg, or they have a transmittable virus, or some other reason, they are in cages and you can see and take photos of them. I left a donation of 200bhat to match the toll from the Thai Government. Seriously, what is the point of taxation if it doesn’t go to useful locations? I also bought a Polo Shirt.
Wat Chandon
A pretty impressive temple we found on our motorcycling tour. We also spotted the turnoff for the Big Buddha, but lacked the time to go.
Khao Phing Kan
From the cave, we got taken to the longboat and travelled out towards James Bond Island or Khao Phing Kan. We jumped off the boat and got a bit of time to explore and take photos of the island. It's impressive, almost like a bowling pin, but upside down in a cove.
Quite cool. I also found a monitor lizard hiding in a giant ashtray and so took some photos of him too.
Parks & Gardens
Bang Pae Waterfall
We then walked further into the Gibbon Park to see the Bang Pae Waterfall. I'm afraid its not that impressive. Had a bit of a chat with a guy with a Film Pentax, as he didn’t bring a light meter so was asking what settings I was on, told him, but then had to chase him down to say I was on ISO 400! As that hadn’t come up. The waterfall isn't bit or rushing, but its pretty enough, but there was unfortunately a bunch of pillocks just getting in the way so we gave up...
Pa Tong
We took a Tuk Tuk in, and had a wander round, ended up eating lunch in a Russian place which was terrible and then stopped for ice cream to eat as we walked. Patong is ok, its busy, touristy and cheapish. Good for a night out. Wandered on to the beach for a bit and eventually found, on the main walkway, a bar serving cocktails at 50% off for the next two hours. We had lots. I jumped up from time to time to run across the road to get photos of paragliding and sunsets.
When happy hour was done, we headed back along the main road to a Mexican because you got to it by escalator.
We had further cocktails (Margaritas) and some dinner and decided to end the night at the Irish bar next door. Had more than a few drinks there, and got some shots of the live band. I also dropped my camera but it seemed to be ok.
Promthep Cape
We then journeyed up the Promthep Cape where we were due to meet the others. They'd arrived earlier and found a great table overlooking a small island which would give a beautiful view of the sunset at the most lovely spot in Phuket. Unfortunately, once again, the day was overcast and the sunset was more than a little disappointing. Fortunately, the food, friendly cats and beer redeemed the evening.
Ra Wai Beach
Ko Bon
Out the door at quarter to nine to have breakfast before heading to the private island. Unfortunately, my breakfast wasn't included, and I didn't find that out till half way through! Doh, so that was like a 12quid meal.... Still, had muesli, chocolate milk, guava juice, bacon, sausage, beans and eggs and an omelet, with a big mug of coffee.... So, I got my money’s worth!
We met up, and took the long boat across to the island, pretty cool trip, beautiful scenery! We almost immediately found out that due to low tide there were no activities allowed. So the snorkelling, sailing and kayaking was off. We've since checked the timetables, and any day after Sunday we can get a couple of hours done, So, I may well go back over tomorrow to do a bit of sailing, and I am definitely going Friday before I leave. I bought a pair of goggles and a snorkel and did some underwater photography with my new camera. Got some decent pictures and some terrible ones!
Because the water was SO low, there was a lot of sand kicked up into the water, so the pictures are murkier than you would hope.... Still, the fish were so 'tame' they came right up to the camera....
Had a beer on the island whilst waiting for the boat back to the hotel at about lunchtime, it was served in an ice-cold stone coconut-looking ceramic mug and was just what the doctor ordered! Still, it’s not a glowing endorsement of said doctors’ abilities that they proscribed beer.....
Restaurants & Bars
Nature Cafe
just outside the park. Lovely two story place, which afforded lovely views and had received rave reviews. Had an iced coffee and waited the rain out.
Nikita's
Set on Rawai Beach, we found a great little place on the beach called Nikita's and ordered a big starter to share and then main courses. It all arrived at the same time, the starter was king of like fondue, you got meat and vegetables and there was stock round the outside and a sort of frying dome, the problem is, it took so long, it ended up being eaten after the mains!
Shoppping
Phuket Town Central Market
Chaotic, loud and fun, the central market sells all sorts of things and was a stopping point for us on our motorbike tour of Phuket for a meal.
Sports & Activities
Rawai Town
We walked past a hostel offering rooms for 450bhat, which is a bargain, shame there appeared to be three prostitutes outside waving.. still, maybe that's a perk, like cable TV or something.....
We walked into Rawai Beach, it was pretty quiet really, which is a shame, found a great little place on the beach called Nikita's and ordered a big starter to share and then main courses. It all arrived at the same time, the starter was king of like fondue, you got meat and vegetables and there was stock round the outside and a sort of frying dome, problem is, it took so long, it ended up being eaten after the mains! Still, it was delicious! Picked up ice-cream at 7-11 on the way home, as well as some beer, scotch (well, been wanting some!) and coke for the minibar. Stopped at an internet cafe, it was 20 bhat for an hour rather than the 210 at the hotel! Way cheaper!
I headed towards Rawai to get something to eat, we stopped into an incredible backpackers hostel to get a price, it was extremely expensive, but had its own pool, flat screen tv in every room and it was seriously modern. It was too much for the target audience, but if he changed tac and aimed at family as a small hotel, he might do well. We then found, after a few false starts, a bakery which served fresh food, we ate pizzas, followed by cake (blueberry cheesecake! Mmmmm!) and headed to one last hostle.
It was about a 15 min walk in the midday sun (mad dogs etc) but when we arrived, it was very nice, and cheap, way under a tenner a day. Has its own pool, and claims satellite TV, that only plays knock offs of Scooby Doo cartoons......
I had got thirsty on the walk there, so stopped for a take away coke on the way back, for some reason, probably due to the recycling scheme, we couldn’t take a bottle with us, so I was served my take away coke in a plastic zip lock bag with s straw. It was actually pretty cool, and does cut the littering problem down!
Karon
For the evening, we headed into Karon town to meet up with some travellers, unfortunately, a miscommunication meant we had a wander round Kata beach first as that was where we thought we should be.... still a quick Tuk Tuk ride saw us to the right place!
Karon is a busier town than Rawai, and we stopped at a German/Thai place to wait for them to get back from their trip and had a GIANT beer each, they were, with no hyperbole, the size of wine bottles! We then went, en masse, to the travel agents and books a series of trips and stuff.
Simon Cabaret
Simon Cabaret was OK, the costumes were amazing and the sets were opulent, but the choreography was ropey, the dancers were not in time with each other and it was clear from the way they moved and kicked that none of them were trained dancers.... If I noticed these things, I'd suggest none of my friends in 'the business' go! Still, there were a couple of awesome acts, including a fat old Tina turner impression which was brilliant. There were also two of the performers, who were stunning, one, in a slinky black dress, had a body that probably only a handful of actual women in the world could improve upon.....! It’s a worrying thought; a man with cosmetic surgery makes a hotter woman than most.... The show, as Leo put it, took itself too seriously, and should have had more of the jokey acts to break it up. I understand that there won't be many transvestites who are trained dancers living in Phuket, but still, as they do several shows a night, I can't help but think they could improve without much effort.....
We bargained hard for the Tuk Tuk home and got it for 400baht, which isn’t bad at all, he decided to drive like a madman, one mistake, or incident and we'd all be dead...... we, with five people in the back, were zipping past motorbikes!
Circling Phuket
Tuesday was the day of Motorbike Madness! We met at the rental place and picked up two scooters, I was an all black model. We had agreed that our motorbike gang name was the “Wolverines”, complete with the hand gesture, I was Maverick and he was Iceman. (makes sense, my ego often makes promises my body can't cash....) Unfortunately they came with no petrol, so our practice ride (as neither of us had ridden before) was down the main road and then across it for petrol. Filled up, headed back into the Everson for a test drive round the car park. Once we were felling confident, we headed off.
We took the route we remembered from our trip to Kata and Karon, but took a wrong turning, and ended up back at the main road, we took the next left and explored. We headed up a mountain thinking we were going to find the Big Buddha, but we instead reached the end of the road at an abandoned mansion, we wandered around inside, it was ruined but incredible. The views were superb and I wonder what happened to cause the decay.
We headed backwards to where we got lost and drove the road, but found no sign of the big Buddha, but we did stop at a view point which was impressive. I listened in to a photographer who had gotten offended by an American dad with his family who had bought a decent Cannon DSLR to be impressive and was complaining because he didn’t know a thing about it and was blaming it for being complicated. So she basically lectured him for about 20 minutes on shutter speeds, aperture, lighting ect.
From there, we followed the coast, up past Kata Beach, through Karaon, and turned right and cut across the mainland. We stopped for lunch about half way through at some random cafe in an unnamed town and then headed onwards to the Gibbon Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary is inside the national park. The Thai government has decided to tax the entrance that the Gibbon Project is on, 200Bhat per person. None of this goes to the Gibbon Project. There isn’t a lot to see there, because the whole purpose is to rehabilitate the Gibbons back into families and into the wild so they don't want them to have contact with humans. There are no wild gibbons anymore, they have all been poached and turned into pets and tourist attractions. Its sad. We got to see a handful of Gibbons who could never be rehabilitated, whether that is because they have been injured like Tam, who only has one hand and one leg, or they have a transmittable virus, or some other reason, they are in cages and you can see and take photos of them. I left a donation of 200bhat to match the toll from the Thai Government. Seriously, what is the point of taxation if it doesn’t go to useful locations? I also bought a Polo Shirt.
We then walked further into the park to see the Bang Phai Waterfall. I'm afraid its not that impressive. Had a bit of a chat with a guy with a Film Pentax, as he didn’t bring a light meter so was asking what settings I was on, told him, but then had to chase him down to say I was on ISO 400! As that hadn’t come up. The waterfall isn't bit or rushing, but its pretty enough, but there was unfortunately a bunch of pillocks just getting in the way so we gave up...
We remounted our bikes, and the Wolverines headed off, and were immediately caught in a torrential downpour. Unwilling to drive in such rain, we pulled off into the 'Nature Cafe' just outside the park. Lovely two story place, which afforded lovely views and had received rave reviews. Had an iced coffee and waited the rain out.
Once it had calmed down, we headed south on the main road, skirting the outside of Phuket, but driving through busy three lane traffic, it was a bit manic and on more than one occasion, I suspected I’d lost my associate behind me. Never did, and we even managed a quick stop in Wat Chandon, which was pretty impressive. We also spotted the turnoff for the Big Buddha, but lacked the time to go.
Down the coast further, past the hotel and round Rawai beach, with a short stop to take a look at the extremely low tide! We then journeyed up the Promthep Cape where we were due to meet the others. They'd arrived earlier and found a great table overlooking a small island which would give a beautiful view of the sunset at the most lovely spot in Phuket. Unfortunately, once again, the day was overcast and the sunset was more than a little disappointing. Fortunately, the food, friendly cats and beer redeemed the evening.
We called into the festival at Rawai, and wandered through the various stalls and things for a while, which was interesting in how normal it was. It is also worth noting that Thai Bouncy castles are way better than the English equivalents I’ve seen, they had ramparts, separate areas, doors, windows, slides! They were quite impressive.
Accomodation
Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa
It was an hours transport from the hotel, the scenery is very reminiscent of Indonesia. We pulled down the drive, and after a long, green tree lined boulevard we pulled up at the entrance. It is amazing. Very open plan, spacious, peaceful. The reception is outside built over a reflecting pool. I've been upgraded to deluxe again, and the room is incredible.
I have a small private garden with table and chairs, a free bottle of champagne, fruit, bed with mosquito netting a small chaise-lounge, and a massive bath clearly built for two.
I am sat at the 'Into Pondering's' bar (all the bars and restaurants are called 'into' something, except the one on the private island, which is called 'outto') with a glass of very palatable Riesling (they have a very well stocked wine cellar that I can’t afford to indulge..... much......) It is covered but outdoors, with a lovely sea breeze and a decorative pool, reflecting the few pale lights from the tables, the moon and stars. It is actually quite breathtaking and deeply peaceful and relaxing. Glass of chilled wine, smooth music, not too loud, candles on ever low dark wood table, trickling water in the pool. Its is a soothing place, melts stress away, and the DB I work with is a world away and not my problem for ages now. If you could get one of the women from the spa up to do a shoulder massage whilst I type this, it would be perfect!
I explored the hotel somewhat, but wanted to watch the sun set with the fading light at the ocean's edge, so stopped at the 'infinity pool' a cleverly built swimming pool that, from most angles, appears to be part of the ocean. Got a couple of nice images, but really need to come back at a brighter time to really capture the vibrancy of the place. Had a gorgeous mango daiquiri, unfortunately, clouds obscured the sunset. (and I am on the wrong side of the island.....)
The cleaning lady who came to turn down my bed gave me a little dolphin stuffed with sand. It’s very cute and totally unexpected, and I love that.
I can see this being an incredible place for a couple to come on honeymoon; I suspect the Thais would make an incredible effort for honeymooners. The national character is so focused on conciliation, hospitality and kindness. Which is not a criticism, when you are told to have a nice day or someone says 'welcome' it is sincere. As a jaded westerner it can be a little jarring.
It is interesting, as I can see echoes of it in my own character, the drive to mediate and reach an amicable compromise, the dislike of raised voices, the almost pathological need to respond to a problem with a smile, a laugh and a shrug. It seems my time in south east Asia as a child had a more profound impact on me that I had realised, I have always known America affected me, the 'Thinking Is Basic' program for advanced children, the American dream and the central driving American concept that we are all special little snowflakes which has given me that same sense of entitlement to life. I don't mean that as a criticism of myself or of America, its a powerful trait, if you feel you deserve the good things, that it is not necessarily luck but skill which brings you to success, that you are indeed 'special and different' you tend to make it happen because you drive others to think the same way about you. So much of life is defined by other people's perceptions of ourselves, and so much of their perceptions of us are from unconscious clues we provide to them. The Dutch gave me my open mind, that is a huge thing, but one I think people understand from the statement. Nigeria taught me you can't help someone who won't help themselves and that not everyone will repay kindness in kind. They may, instead, steal your television hours after you die from a heart attack. It also reinforced that people are people, good and bad, and the best will do everything they can for you, no matter how little they started with or how little they have. England, ah, England she gave me the confidence to walk into a room, any room, in any country, whether it is a hostel or a board room and feel I belong and no one can question my right to be there(yeah, some of that is the ex pat thing, but that is a key component to my England), that I am there by necessity, ability and it is not to be disputed. England gave me the deep seated need to wait in a queue, any queue, not matter how long, without swapping to a shorter one or asking what the line was for. It gave me the basic genetic requirement to order cream teas when I am on the south coast, to always have a working knowledge of the weather over the next few days for casual conversation with strangers and that nothing goes down quite as nicely as a G&T in the evening sun, a brandy in front of an open fire, a scotch with a heavy conversation and a 25 year old port with good company and good cheese and Bond, James Bond, taught me a dry gin Martini is to be drunk of a stylish evening. He was wrong about one thing though, a Martini should be stirred, not shaken.
Had a wonderful lay in till ten, then watched the end of Fifth Element, sprawled in a massive bed with mosquito netting covering it. Finally got up and headed out for a run, went around the jogging track, but its tiny, so ran down to the beach, climbed some rocks, and a very brief swim but the area was pretty rocky.... headed up a random track and ran down a deserted road until I reached the main road, followed it round and back into the complex and found the family pool with slide and waterfall. Had quick swim to cool down and a sunbathe and came back to the room for a bath in the most giant bath in the world!!! Bridget Jones in the background, and a cup of coffee on the go. Good stuff, relax-a-tastic!
Figured it was time for lunch, to headed to the beach and had a stunning fish and chips, with a beer and iced coffee at the Into The Beach restaurant. Read my book and it was a great way to spend a few hours.
The guys arrived at half three is, and we met up and decided on a plan. Explore a bit, After that we spend a couple of hours with sangria in the infinity pool watching the sun go down and the lights come on.
Thai Experience Tour
I was picked up early in a 4x4 by my tour, along with a domineering mother from Hong Kong and her two daughters. We were taken to the tour location; it was basically a single large 'theme park' which offered pretty much everything on the tour in one place. It’s a great idea, but needs some work, everything felt a little rushed.
We got a short ox cart ride around the outside of the complex and then had a wander through the Orchid Gardens.
We were then taken to a river by 4x4 and had a short longboat ride. We were then told we had to canoe back. This was a surprise to most. I was, as I’d come alone, offered a member of staff to help, this seemed a little pathetic to me, like I was so friendless they'd pay someone to spend time with me, so I waved it off. I was last into a canoe, and did it alone. I raced past everyone except the first people released, and was only a tiny distance behind them. It surprised al of them, me included to be honest as I was using a paddle intended for a twin canoe rather than a decent single person paddle. Still, it was funny! Good exercise too!
After that we were given a short Thai cooking demonstration, but that was a bit poor really, it was a simple salad and the ingredients had been pre-prepared. We then saw how rice was traditionally prepared, which was interesting
As well as watching some rubber being harvested.
After this, things improved. First there was an elephant trek for half an hour which was ok, all I was looking for really.
Then, a Thai Boxing demonstration. The demonstration was a staged fight, which made it good for pictures, as they telegraphed their moves somewhat so I could anticipate and catch action shots. They asked for a volunteer. I looked around, fully expecting one of the big tough Aussie guys to try their hand at it. Nope. No-one made a sound. So, I said, ''Hey, I’ll give it a go'
You could see the crowd thinking, ok, the fat sweaty guy is trying, this will be funny. You could also see the boxers were a little disappointed. I climbed into the ring, and had the gloves tied on. They demonstrated a simple kick and asked me to duplicate. My first was misaimed and a bit rubbish. I'll pause here to mention a few things a lot of you probably don't know. I've done a variety of martial arts over the years, Taijitsu, Karate, Judo and Tai Kwon Do, I have excellent balance and I’m stronger than I look. Ok, back to it. My second kick connected properly to the pads and knocked the trainer back about a step. So did the third one. I duplicated a set of punches, right, left, elbow, and then messed up a move that was showy and useless. Punch right. Punch left, spin round and connect with the right elbow to the right pad. This move presents the back of your head to you opponent without any protection. It is idiotic. They then asked me to do ten kicks in a row, counting them off. '1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9...9....9.....9....9.....9.....9.....9.....9....8....9.....10' There was surprise that I didn’t seem to have a problem maintain the kicks. So, I finished there, bowed and left the ring. A profound silence answered when the guide asked if anyone else wanted to try.
After Martial Arts, came the monkey show, four monkeys doing various tricks, basketball, coconut picking (Did you know a trained person can pick about 80 coconuts in a day, whereas a trained monkey can do about 600!) weight lifting, rope climbing, it was pretty cool, but shadowed by the gibbon rehabilitation project. These are Macaws and the guide mentioned that Gibbons weren't used because they couldn’t be trained for life.
They then put on an elephant show, with football, dancing and elephant massage. They were only babies, 5-8 years old, it was pretty cool and they were clearly well cared for.
We were then fed, nice enough food, but I was put at the table with the miserable Hong Kong lady, so there was no conversation, instead of being with the two people I’d been chatting to throughout the day,
We then were dropped back at our hotels and I caught up with the guys and we planned our night in Patong.
Muslim Vilage
We then finished on the Canoes and went to the Muslim Village, the standard 'we want you to buy stuff' stop on any tour. The village is built on slits in the middle of the water with only a tenuous connection to the land, it’s a hodgepodge of wood, concrete and steel holding it all together. Plenty of gibbons here, 'pets'. The mosque is being rebuilt, probably still repairing damage from the Tsunami.
Sea Canoes in Thailand
After the Monkey Temple, we were taken to a 'standing' boat where we were put into sea canoes and taken through the sea caves of the area. The guide on the back did the paddling and was a little ambitious at one point with what we could get under, but still, they have a huge and impressive system of caves. Some lagoons are only assessable at low tide.
