We woke up in a new country today…..Thailand, and the city of Phuket. The population of Thailand in 2012 was in the neighborhood of 66,000,000 Thai-speaking people. The capital is Bangkok, and a city that we have visited on the Amsterdam’s world cruises in recent years. Hint, hint HAL in Seattle.
Thailand has everything for travelers such as beaches, dense jungles, ruined cities, exotic islands, golden monasteries, coral reefs, rice terraces, and Buddhist temples. It also has tropical weather and blistering cuisine. Ever tasted Thai peppers, you know, the tiny red and green ones? Innocent-looking, they pack an unexpected punch. There are 5 star extravagant hotels and resorts, or the chanced to travel on a shoe-string.
The bet time to visit is from November to April, to escape the torrential rains. Once again, a little of that would have been most welcomed today. Trademarks are golden stupas, floating fish and veggie markets, curries, monks with bowls, Thai silk, elephant rides, and tons of young backpackers. Speaking of monks with bowls, we are referring to the monks that dedicate their days to prayer, then are feed by the community. They literally walk the streets, and the locals will fill their bowls with food.
The coastal city of Phuket was our destination today. Once colonized by the Portuguese, French, and the British in the 1500’s, all of these cultures dealt in the tin trade. Today Phuket is known for being party central white sandy beaches and the night life. Especially at Patong Bay. Sometimes we would drop anchor out of that beach resort area, and tender ashore. We really preferred it, as you can easily access places for lunch and plenty of beaches for sunning and swimming.
Early this morning, Captain Jonathon backed the ship up to the Phuket Deep Seaport, fairly far from most everything. The ship was not cleared by customs until 8:30am instead of 8am. The folks had lined up one deck one, since the gangway was midship. We had to maneuver around the line of shore excursion guests in order to make our way to the elevators to the dining room. We are certain that many of them were waiting to see if we cut in line to get off. You could feel the stares from them as we passed by. Technically, we could do that legally, but most times, we choose not to.
There were 5 tours offered here from 4 ½ to 8 hours. The cost was $35 to $160. Compared to some other countries we have visited so far, these prices were not outrageous. The best of Phuket took in views, temples, Phuket Town, a Thai village, and a show with a buffet lunch. We have taken this tour at least three times over the years. Phi Phi Island tour took folks on a fast boat that you cannot see out of to this island made famous with the movie, “The Beach” starring Leo DiCaprio. Took it once, and once was enough. The most advertised white sand beach there was covered end-to-end with boats and ropes, with a fuel-slick on top of the surf. A better boat tour was to Phang Nga Bay, but it has been discontinued. There was a 30 minute elephant ride, that included lunch. Our tablemate George did that one and said it was a hoot. Although he added that later in the hot afternoon, the rides were reduced to 15 minutes. The elephants were hot and tired by then. Can’t say we blame them. Panoramic Phuket was mostly a bus ride, and the transfer to Old Town was not long enough to take in lunch. So we did not book anything here.
But that did not stop us from going off on our own this morning. Despite the oppressive heat and humidity, we walked through the gate, and out into the main street that took us to the coastal road. Some of our promenade deck buddies on previous trips had told us about some nice hotels in this area, but we had never ventured past the persistent taxi and van drivers. Today we plowed through the constant offers of rides, because we did want to walk.
Taking a left, we headed uphill, carefully sticking to the side of the road to avoid the cars, trucks, tuk-tuks, and motor scooters. We walked past mini markets, some houses, and some condo complexes. Eventually, around 45 minutes later, we came upon a promising resort by the name of Pullman Hotels and Resorts, Phuket Panwa Beach Resort. Tiered off the side of the hill, this hotel was gorgeous when we walked into the lobby. We sure did not expect this.
By now it was nearing 11:30am, and perhaps we might be in luck for lunch. Asking the lobby bartender, he directed us to a stairwell that would eventually lead us to the beach resort. Each floor we reached had a different type of restaurant, all with views of the beach and ocean below. Finally at the lowest level, we entered the Beach Café, and the several pools that were tiered all the way to the sandy beach.
This is where all of the hotel guests were today……either in the pools, eating, or relaxing poolside. And trust us, these guests did not look like those on the Amsterdam. Young, and younger, and scantily-clad, one of us was in “eye-candy” heaven. Hey, that used to be us not so very long ago……. Anyway, there must be some extremely good vacation packages to draw this crowd to Phuket. And we have to add that the staff at this hotel could not have been more accommodating and friendly.
Taking pillow-padded chairs on the patio, we ordered Chang beers, the local-made draft brew. The glasses were a bit shy of a quart , cold, and life-saving. The best aspect of this hillside property is that the breeze was blowing in our faces all day. Right after 12pm, a waitress offered us lunch service, so we ordered a Margherita pizza (350 Baht or $12USD), of course. Most of the sun bathers were having the burger special, which we figured cost about $14 USD. That included fries and a soda. Good value for the money we think. The waiter highly recommended the mango cheesecake, so we shared one. It came not looking like any cheesecake we have ever seen. Layers of crumbled cake, diced mango, filling, then repeated twice, it was presented in a small mason jar. It was topped with a rich creamy whipped cream. By the way, no USD were accepted here, but if we chose, we could have gone to the reception desk area to exchange our money to their baht. The rate was 30 baht to $1 USD. And credit cards were gladly taken.
Relaxing for almost 2 hours, we decided that we had better move on. We walked down the last two levels to reach the gentle surf of the beach. There had been three ladies from the ship dining near us (Seaview Pool companions we don’t really know). They had made their way into the water, but we saw that even at 100 yards from the shore, they were still only waist-deep. And the water was a muddy shade of aqua green. At this part of the day, we did not know, it was high tide on a very shallow beachfront shelf. Later when the ship sailed by this cove, the water line exposed the muddy bottom for ¼ mile it seemed.
On our way back up through the hotel, we inquired about a day pass here. We were informed that for 500 baht ($17 USD), you would be allowed to use the pools with Jacuzzis, towels, showers, restrooms, and also get discounts towards food and drinks. Now that is a good deal.
Walking back to the pier was even hotter than coming here. No breeze. Good thing it was mostly downhill. Yes, we could have taken a taxi, but part of the adventure is getting in with the locals and their everyday life. It is the best way to get photos as well. A taxi driver would not stop for us to take a picture of the double-flowering hibiscus, or mixed colors of the bouganvilla.
A “newbie” fellow passenger was on his way up the hill as we strolled back. Asking directions, we told him where we ended up, and he said that sounded good. But at an intersection, he turned left and went over a different hill. Later on at the sail away, he found us to say he located even more nice resorts on that side. Having beers at several spots, including the Pullman Resort, he was most happy with his walk.
Back on the ship, we washed up, and headed back out for a sweep through the pier marketplace. It looked different, because we remembered the tents set up on the concrete pier, and not the weedy field. Probably has something to do with security. If you want some nice souvenirs, this is the place to find them….and at good prices, since the vendors are most happy to bargain. The more you buy, the better they deal. Within ten minutes, we negotiated the purchase of two tops, suitable for casual dining.
All aboard was 4:30pm, but not everyone was adhering to that time. We had gone to deck nine to take some panoramic photos, when the Captain blew the horn unexpectedly. He did this to summon the last of the shoppers getting the last minute deals onshore. They sure came running back quickly with the warning. By the way, they did take USD at this market…..happily.
The beating sun was almost unbearable on the Seaview deck. It wasn’t until the ship pulled away from the pier, that we picked up more of a breeze. Captain Mercer mentioned that the heat today was oppressive, but we can look forward to a couple of sea days to recover. And we may get some passing showers to cool us down. Fine with us.
At 7pm, we had an invite for another President’s Club gathering in the Officer’s Bar on deck A. We understand there are about 40 members (including the new inductees) on this voyage right now. Together with our officer hosts, the room was totally full, but hot and noisy. Still fun getting together with this group, it lasted an hour with unlimited beverages through the whole affair. Some canapies were served as well. They do treat us well. Earlier at sail away, we had chatted with our buddy Eddie L. Being that he is Chinese, he said who is “Erin”, referring to the person it was suggested on our invitation to bring to the party. We believe it was in conjunction with the special holiday, because we did not know Erin either. He and Lee did not attend because he said they do not drink.
All were present at dinner, but most everyone was beat from the heat. Tablemate George seemed to have the best tour with the elephant ride, while Brenda enjoyed her tour of the best of Phuket. In line with St. Patrick’s Day, the menu had many old time favorites. One of us had the lamb stew, but it was minimal, which turned out to be good, since it was not that great. Sharing some linguine noodles that came with the coq a vin, was even better. Many tried the corned beef, and liked it. Desserts of cherry crumble and cheesecake were a good way to end the meal.
The celebration for St. Patrick’s Day was held in the Crow’s Nest at 9am. By the time we finished dinner, this was over. Although the dining room chairs were draped with beige or green chair covers, the rest of the festive decorations were in the Crow’s Nest. Our waiters did look nice in their green vests and bow ties.
The entertainer this evening was a fellow named Simon Coronel, with an astonishing show from a two-time award winner at the Magic World Championships. We take it he was a magician. Since it had been a very busy day, we called it a night after dinner. And to add to that, we put the clocks back one hour. Perfect.
Sure looking forward to a couple of lazy sea days, as we head due west towards Sri Lanka.
Mary Ann & Bill
The new flower arrangement
Islands surrounding Phuket
Backing into the Phuket Deep Seaport
Modern boats near the pier
Scenery of Phuket
