Day 69, Year 4: Whirlwind Tour of Phuket Island
Date: Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Weather: Only Partly Sunny
Latitude: 08 degrees 04.101 minutes N
Longitude: 098 degrees 26.680 minutes E
Location: Ao Po Grand Marina, Phuket Island, Thailand
Okay, so we don’t know how to slow down. Today was Kevin and Claire’s last day with us and it was just as busy as all the rest. Kevin keeps asking when he is going to get a nap, but I guess that just didn’t happen on this vacation. We have seen so much in such a short time, and there wasn’t a lot of down time. So why make today different? We motored the eight miles from Ko Phanak to Ao Po Grand Marina. This is a marina still under construction, but it was the closest and the one we were surest would have space for us. It has great potential and great service, and I will talk more about this in tomorrow’s log, but for now I’ll give a brief overview of today’s Phuket island tour.
As soon as we arrived, I headed up the dock to see Jean and Ken on Renaissance 2000. I knew they had been here since before Christmas and would be able to give me a quick run-down on what’s available. I then went with them to the office and got more information. Our decision was to rent a car and head for Phuket Town, but by the time we got the car it was after 12 noon. Our brand new Yamaha dinghy engine has been leaking a black oil out of the lower unit and our first priority was to get that to an authorized dealer to be checked. So we hauled the engine to the car and off we went. The short story on the engine is that there appears to be nothing wrong. But we’ll just have to keep a close eye on that one. Our next stop was in Old Phuket Town where we parked and walked to a great Indian restaurant. I know we are in Thailand, but the Lonely Planet made this restaurant sound so good that we couldn’t resist. And the curries were fantastic. It was also a really kicky little place, so that was a good choice. Claire is learning to make jewelry and wanted to go to a gem shop, so that was the next stop. By the time we left Phuket Town and headed for the beaches on the western coast it was rush hour. We had a bit of a slow trek over the mountain and then descended to Patong Beach. What a zoo! I guess you can’t really say you have visited Phuket without seeing the beach scene, but now we’ve seen it and that will suffice. The beach is so crowded with chairs and umbrellas and people that you can hardly see the sand. And it is huge beach, so there are huge numbers of people doing all sorts of crazy and wild beach things. So on we went. As you drive north along the west coast, the beaches become much calmer. After driving half-way up the island, we turned back to the east to head home. It was dark by the time we reached the marina, but instead of going directly back to Windbird, we went down a little side road to a lovely resort called Chandara. It is within walking distance from the marina. We went to the poolside bar to have drinks and appetizers. We had eaten lunch too late to be hungry enough for dinner. The setting was perfect for a last evening together with Kevin and Claire. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the electricity went off about the time we arrived, so we enjoyed our time together by candlelight. When we got back to the marina, we were met by a staff member to make sure we had enough light to get back to Windbird. No sooner had we arrived than the electricity was back on and we are now enjoying the best wireless internet service we have ever had. A definite plus for this marina.
We have the rental car until noon tomorrow, so we will take Kevin and Claire to the airport 9 and then do a little more exploring before returning to Windbird. We might be spending a very quiet New Year’s Eve here before moving on. We hope to find a quiet anchorage where I can do varnishing, but then we might find it easier to just stay here and do that. We’ll make that decision tomorrow.
Life on Windbird is going to be very lonely with Kevin and Claire. They are wonderful sailing partners and we have shared some of Planet Earth’s most beautiful places together in the past fifteen days. Sharing the adventure with friends has been so special. Kevin and Claire, we are really going to miss you.
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| 081230 Day 69 Thailand–Phuket Island |
