Report # 72 Phuket (Patong Bay), Thailand March 11, 2014 Tuesday Mostly sunny, 90 degrees

OK, don't miss the boat

Arriving to Patong Bay, Phuket

Today's port of call was Patong Bay, on the island of Phuket, Thailand. Originally, we were supposed to be docking on the other side of the island, but that was changed about a month or so ago to this side. We were at anchor, not docked. Actually, we found it better, since there were more things to do and see right here without taking a tour. However, those with mobility problems or those who needed scooters, would not be allowed to leave the ship. This ship does not have the capability to lower or lift the heavy scooters into the tenderboats. And once ashore, you had to navigate through deep sand to reach the sidewalk.

We're getting a new wooden ladder

Our tenderboats

Tenderboat driver

The pontoon landing for the tenderboats

An interesting way to get to shore

But you have to be very moblie

Links between the pontoons

Very green island

Hillside abodes

Local boat

Thailand is a country of over 65 million very friendly people. They are mainly Buddhist and Muslim, as well as some Christians. Their major export in the past was tin, but now it is rice, corn,sugar cane, natural gas, and timber. Tourism has to be their number one business, judging by the huge amount of hotels, resorts, and condo rentals, restaurants and cafes. The island is full of white sand beaches, national parks, Buddhist temples, caves, and grottos, and elephants. Two nearby smaller islands are James Bond Island and Phi Phi Island. Both were made famous by movies that were filmed here over the years. It has been our pleasure to have taken tours to see all of these sights at least once, even twice, so today, we plan on staying right here in Patong Bay to see what is here.

Amsterdam anchored in Patong Bay

Rocky shoreline

Swimming right near the pontoon

The younger crowd of tourists

Many lounges for rent

The water was warm

Getting to shore was not going to work as easily today as it has been working. For some unknown reason, the powers-to-be decided to suspend priority tendering rights of the 4 & 5 star members, as well as the Pinnacle and Neptune suite guests. This meant that everyone was required to get tender tickets, and would have to join in with the exiting tour groups if they chose to get off of the ship before 10am. The only thing we could figure out was that since the tours were a bit more affordable here in Phuket, more folks bought them. And all of the groups went off between 8am and 9:30am. We were in no big hurry, so we went to the dining room for breakfast, and decided to leave around 10:30am. Tender tickets were not required by then.

All right, where are we??? (sign says you get fined if you 
build anything on the beach or go into the water)

Sandy walk to town

Kalim Beach

One quart of gas sold in used alcohol bottles

Asian influence

Two ways to spell Kalim Beach

Resort grounds

Tall palms

We tendered to Patong Bay two years ago, but for some reason, everything looked different today. The pontoon looked different, and so did the beach and roadside. Obviously, we were on the opposite end of the bay, compared to two years ago. Turning left, we soon realized that most of the beach was gone, and there were no more shops or cafes. In fact, things looked a bit seedy, so we turned around and headed south.

Nice spot

Cuisine of the beach

Charcoal-cooked fish

Many choices

Great for seafood lovers

Lobsters

Fresh fish

BBQ lunch

Grilled corn looked good

Many umbrellas for shade

Different architecture

Many trees create shade

Streets full of motorcycles

A longboat bar....good idea

Busy beach at the restaurant

Motorcycles are the way to go....easy to park anywhere

A banana boat

A jet boat towed on the beach

Locals eating lunch

Getting towards the end of this beach

Time to head back

Best to stay under the shade of the trees

Patong City sign

More palms

Be careful...be safe

Patong Tower

Woven goods for sale

Could be a platform for bands at night 

A mosque

So we walked and walked up and over the hills, following the beachfront road, and lo and behold, we came upon the area we remembered. The beaches down below were mostly rocky with limestone boulders and rocks in the surf. Not really the best place for swimming. Many swimmers were in the surf and laying in the shade under colorful umbrellas. From what we could see, the rental on the lounges with an umbrella ran about $3......a bargain. 

Limestone rocks

Rocky shoreline

Great for sunbathing

Massage is a big thing here and cheap (33 Baht to the US dollar)

More interesting, were the numerous elevated mattresses used by the Thai masseuses for the mere price of about $10. for one hour massage. All other services, such as manicures, pedicures, hair extensions, hair braiding, and henna painting were done on the beachfront as well. Little privacy, but it did not seem to deter anyone.

Massage beds on the beach

Massage tables

Songbirds

Busy beaches

One nice hotel in Patong Bay

Cooking for the crowds

Palm-lined beachfront

Sandwiches and fruit

Very pretty setting

Fresh fruit

The watchers

Patong Bay is considered the hot nightlife spot on the island. Evidence of that were one bar and club after another as we continued our walk. Souvenir shops were too many to count, which is always a draw for tourists such as us. We wisely stayed across the street from these shops, knowing that we did not need any more souvenirs from here. One pretty yellow top caught our eye, but we could not cross the street, because there were metal fencing barriers preventing it. Was it worth it to walk two long blocks to go back? No. It was too hot.

Reaching a nicer area, we began reading menus of streetside restaurants....looking for the elusive best pizza. 

They had pizza

Looks like a perfect place for lunch

We found it at a place by the name of Sala Bua
Restaurant, part of the Impiana Hotel and Resort Complex. It was situated right on the beach with a driveway leading from the main road to the back. There we found ponds and Thai gardens with the open-sided restaurant facing the sea. It was not busy yet, because it was not noontime. We think that the tourist crowds are late-goers and lunch may be 2 or 3pm. We were not complaining, however, because we had the best service ever. Our kind waiter even moved two sets of umbrella stands to give us extra shade.

Hotel

The Impiana Resort and Spa Complex

The restaurant faced the beach

Manicured grounds

Nice property

Heading for lunch

Lily ponds

We were early for lunch

We dined outside

Enjoying the shade

What did we order? You got it.......margherita pizza and two bottles of Singha beer, the local Thai beer. The price of the food and drinks was one third of what we paid in Singapore. And the pizza was way better, almost as good as the pizza we had in Sydney.

Oh, the best Thai beer....Singha

Even a better margherita pizza

Time to leave

As we were finishing up, a beachgoing vendor strolled by the rock wall that separated the patio from the public beach. A guard that had been sitting near this wall, stopped the fellow, who was carrying two wood-carved elephants to sell. Always intrigued with this type of souvenir, we motioned for the vendor to come over to us, and the guard relented. The price for one elephant was $100 US dollars. No way. His price went down, but not enough in our minds. We may have bought one of them for under $30, but the more we considered having to pack it back three or four miles, we decided against it. It weighed a ton. We never did see any more of these carvings near the pontoon back at the ship's landing, so that meant we really did not need another one.

Almost purchased an elephant, but it was too heavy to pack back.

Also while we were eating, we realized that the beach was "clothing optional". Yes, we did see some topless gals, and some men, all of whom should have been more covered up, in our humble opinion. And when there are young children all over the beach, the lack of clothing may not be appropriate.

Even a few topless sunbathers

Time to head back. All we walked back with were photos as we got back to the pontoon by 3pm. A couple of souvenier stands were being pilfered by our guests, looking for last minute deals. They were coming back with bags full of stuff. Prices are so reasonable in Thailand, it is hard to resist. We were happy to drink two cupfuls of ice cold ship water, handed to us by one of our kind waiters.

Looks like a huge hotel

Graceland Resort

Gorgeous pool on the property

Henk & Christel Mensink running

Phuket Fantasea, amusement park including an 
elephant show and dance numbers

Low tide

Heading back to the ship

We stayed in our room, downloading photos, while watching a Stallone/Arnold S. movie about prison breakouts. It wasn't bad, as it kept our interest. The best part was cooling off with copious amounts of ice water.

Sailaway

The sailaway party was held at the aft deck at 5:30 to 6:30pm. At least today, we left on time. Another ship, the Star Cruises, Libra, was anchored in the same bay. We left her behind as we headed in a westerly direction into the Andaman Sea on our way towards Colombo, Sri Lanka, three days from now. Not too many people were at the sailaway, because it was the start of the first seating dining time. 

Star Cruises......Libra

A highrise off of the beach

Large hotel perhaps

Hillside condos

Older pontoon landing was used by Star Cruises

More modern

Old part of town

Leaving Patong Bay and Phuket Island

That gave us the perfect opportunity to discuss some points about the cruise with our cruise director, Gene, who came to chat with us. We pointed out that we have seen some positive changes with programming since he started his new position here. However, we also thought he may like to know the overall chatter among the seasoned world travelers regarding special group parties and repeated TV movies. Many of us feel that if special parties are given for some groups, they should be given to all groups, regardless of how big they happen to be. What is fair for one, should be fair for all. 

The imbalance of this rubs some of us the wrong way. Gene agreed. And added that is why they hosted the complimentary beer/wine/and champagne party when we left Manila. That was a success, so he indicated that there may be two more such parties before we get back to Ft. Lauderdale. Now everyone is included in these parties, but at least it is a step in the right direction. The other subject of repeated movies also drove Gene nuts, because he found that everytime he turned on his TV, he was coming into the same place on the same movie he saw at least four times in four weeks....just like us, the passengers. He gets it, and did explain why these movies are repeated weeks at a time. Bottom line is that it involves what they pay for in terms of purchased discs supplied by the folks in Seattle. The rights to broadcast these movies have to be bought. OK, we understand the process, but what they need to keep in mind is that we are not a two or three weeks cruise. We are the "grand poobah" of HAL's voyages, and they should realize that. Gene said he will definitely put in his 2-cents worth of suggestions to make that happen. 

Has HAL ever heard of interactive TV that is available on other cruise lines? Try 200 movies, documentaries, popular TV shows....all at the touch of a button to start and stop at your disposal, anytime of day or night. Speaking of DVD's, we finally got the movie we have been asking for since January.....The Hunger Games. Being on a wait list did nothing, since we had to ask for it at the front desk. Two months to get it? Come on......

Maureen, our most friendly arts and crafts teacher, joined us again for dinner. She has become a welcomed member of our family now, and we have invited her back anytime she chooses to come. We all shared our experiences for the day in Phuket. It is always fun to hear how different our day spent here can be from each other. Some liked it, some did not. It all depended on what you did. Sometimes the organized tours are not always the best, as we heard directly from some folks today.