So here we are in another country – Thailand this time. The population is 68.2 million people that speak mainly Thai with some English. The capital is Bangkok and a wonderful huge city to explore. However, we have not been there for many years now and stop more often in Phuket instead. Words to describe Thailand can be friendly, fun-loving, tropical with lots of ancient history and culture. There are more temples than you can count as well as trips to Phi Phi Island for snorkeling and swimming. Been there, done that just once, and that was enough for us. We had been expecting white sandy beaches where you can snorkel with tropical fish in clear waters. Well, the ride there in local longboats was torture for the fact the seating is far below any windows. Then for the whole hour ride, we sucked gasoline fumes from the outboard motors. Then these boats are pulled up onto the beach, side-by-side, and took up all of the beachfront. If you could make it into the water, a film of oil and gas covered the surface. Lunch was just OK. No, this was not the type of experience we expected….not by a long shot. The movie, "The Beach" was filmed here, but we bet it was on a deserted island with no tourists laying side-by-side on the sandy beach. A better tour was to Phang Nga Bay, but it was pulled from the list this time. While we are on the subject, the Phi Phi Island tours were 8 hours and $240. The best of Phuket was 7 hours for $120. They all included lunch.
Food is an adventure here. Fresh ingredients are the key to flavors of spicey, sweet, salty and sour. In both Bangkok and Phuket there are noodle shacks and seafood pavilions. The Thai names for these dishes are complicated, but simple descriptions speak better. Lemon grass soup with limes and chilis carries a legendary "sting". It doesn't happen instantly, but give it a few seconds, and your mouth might be on fire. All it takes is one drop of hot oil in the soup and wow. Muslim curry with coconut milk is flavored with many spices. An appetizer made with mandarin and pineapple chunks top pork or chicken with peanuts, sugar, and peppercorns. Fruit juices have sugar and salt in them and are served over ice. Dried fish and shallots are deep-fried and served on watermelon slices. Finally, shredded fried catfish is served with chili sauce, peanuts, and a sweet mango dressing.
Today we should have docked in Phuket, however, at the last minute, we learned from the Captain that a naval ship was docked in our spot and it was not moving. Period. So the Zuiderdam was forced to drop anchor offshore and use tenderboats. Local tenders assisted us to the Co Co Pier landing, and were a big help as they held more people.
We left the ship at 11am and boarded one of those nice tenders. Although it was hot sitting in the sun, we were on the outside deck with a good breeze. A gangway to the tender pier made connecting to shore very easy, especially for the folks with walkers and scooters. It was a melee at the road outside the pier where too many folks were waiting for the next shuttle bus to Jungceylon Patang Mall. Rude people pushed and shoved their way to board first. The local directors could not control the crowd. There was another shuttle bus coming within seconds, but too many people boarded this bus, then had to get off. The bus was comfortable for the hour-long ride to this fairly new mall across the peninsula. A bad thing was that a number of people were sneezing and coughing all around us. Some were wearing masks and in our humble opinion, some should have stayed on the ship.
Our scenic journey took us past a slew of stores, shops, cafes and bars. This area was full of tropical trees and palms in this older part of town. Traffic was moving slowly with timed stop lights…some as long as 180 seconds. They count backwards, then when it turns green, you have 60 seconds to clear the intersection. As well as big box furniture stores and Home Depot-style warehouses, we saw many tattoo studios and cannabis shops scattered between outdoor restaurants. We guess that marijuana is legal here.
In the far distance, we could see a very white Buddhist statue on top of a hilltop. Good thing we got some pictures of it from the ship, because later in the day it was shrouded in a heavy mist of humidity. We were reminded of the many tours we took to see numerous temples in the city
The inner island had many reservoirs, golf courses, and schools from elementary to university level. Going through a very wooded mountain pass, we wondered if our bus was going to make it over the top since it was such a steep grade. Once over the summit, we spotted the Wyndham Sea Pearl Resort perched on the top of the mountain. Far from a beach, it would have commanding views. Passing many small and huge temple complexes, we found that this area was a densely populated area chock-full of touristy bars and cafes. Resorts and hotels were everywhere we looked.
We arrived at the Jungceylon Patong Mall around noon time, where our driver said we could pick up the ride back in the same area every half hour. Sounded good to us. Many years ago we kind of recall being in this area, but it took some time to get our bearings. We sure do not remember this huge three- story mall. We entered one of four openings and found the mall to be very modern and well-laid out in a circular pattern. All of the high-end stores were here as well as dozens of eateries like Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, and of course McDonald's and Starbucks. Every Asian type of cuisine could be found here. With a population of 430,000 locals, and an influx of 16 million annual visitors, this place would handle many diners and shoppers. A fact we learned later while doing some research on Phuket, the number one country of foreign visitors come from….Russia. Who knew??? India takes second place. On a side note, one of the favorite foods here is called Moo hung, which is pork belly with palm sugar, garlic, coriander, pepper, anise seed, and oyster/soy sauce. If we had taken time to do more homework, we would have found a Hard Rock Café just two blocks from Patong Beach. Oh well, maybe next time…..
After circling the ground floor of the mall, we decided to go find Patang Beach, one of the most favorite spots on this island. Asking a security gal, we found the street that went to the beach. We located Bangia Road, which is the way to the Patong Beach entrance. This street reminded us of the Night Market in Hong Kong, only a smaller version. It is obviously the place for nightlife loaded with bars and cafes mixed with souvenir shops and night time entertainment venues. One of the biggest draws here is a boxing stadium, which was being advertised by one of those annoying trucks with loud speakers driving up and the down the streets. Beers were inexpensive….like $3 US dollars, but we were not sure they would accept US dollars. There were money changers and ATMs on every corner, but we chose not to use them.
Finally at the end of this crowded street, we found the entrance to the beach. It was over-loaded with beach-goers enjoying baking in the sun and lingering in the shallow water. Once again, the heat was oppressive with no shade to be found. We did take enough photos before heading back down the busy souvenir road and finally back to the mall. Since we did not find any suitable restaurant here for lunch, we rushed to the bus stop and made it there by 1pm. Most all of the passengers coming back like us, were soaked from the heat and happy to be back on the air-conditioned shuttle. Unfortunately, the coughing resumed once again reminding of the reason we hate buses and don't do tours anymore. Just in case, we used plenty of hand sanitizer all day.
The ride took exactly an hour giving us views on the opposite side all the way back. Going over the mountain pass was dicey once again. You know there was one time we were in Mexico, and all of us had to get off a rickety bus so it could go over a hill. Lucky for us, it did not happen again today. The shuttle arrived back to the pier by 2pm, where we took some time to check out the tented souvenir tables. There were treasures to be found here like the usual silk purses, cotton "elephant" pants and blouses, t-shirts galore and some magnets and keyrings. One of us quickly located two silky tops that were quite appropriate for casual and even dressy evenings on the ship. They never wrinkle and weigh next to nothing when it comes to packing. The prices were so good, we did not have to bargain.
We took one of our tenders back to the ship, although we liked the local tenders much better. The first order of business was lunch, which turned out to be a Dive-In hot dog and one cannonball burger with fries. Their fries still tend to stick together because they are double-coated. Not our favorite, it would do just fine as we dined on our veranda.
The last tender was supposed to be 4:30pm, but a tour must have been late, and we saw the last of the guests off-loading the local tender closer to 5:30pm or later. Captain Frank came on with his daily talk and mentioned that we had a beautiful day. Hmmm, where have we heard that expression before? He said we will have three nice sea days now as we head for Colombo, Sri Lanka. He predicted favorable sea days with temps in the 80's and smooth seas and a 2 foot swell. Kimberly followed with another hand-washing and sanitizing reminder with no hand-shaking. After our bus rides today, we are certain there is a bad virus spreading around the ship and is not going away anytime too soon.
At sail away, we remembered we had a bottle of sparkling wine chilled and ready to drink, so we sipped away as the ship's mates hoisted the anchor, and we sailing out and around many of the islands surrounding Phuket. We passed many old-style fishing boats and commercial ships as we left the area. There was such a heaviness in the air like a veil of fog, we could not see a complete sunset. It has not been the same as the dark clouds we normally see blocking the sun, but more like a pollution-related haze.
We kept busy with photos and reports until dinnertime. Both of us had the shrimp cocktail and salads, then added one catfish dish and one rigatoni plate. Desserts were ice cream – one scoop for each of us. Today happened to be Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. It was celebrated with drinking and dancing in the Ocean Bar from 3:30pm to 7:30pm. From what we saw on the way to the dining room, most of the party-goers were done and on their way to listen to Annie Gong, the instrumentalist that seems to join us every world cruise. She played pops to rock tonight. It was pops and rock to bed for us as it had been a very busy and hot day.
Looking forward to the upcoming sea days.
Bill & Mary Ann
