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Published: April 21st 2012
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Phuket Island
Bill Kepper at grand temple complex We arrived at Phuket Island at 8am this morning. It was another beautiful sunrise. The port here is much quieter than the others we have entered so far. There were a few small fishing craft, a couple military vessels and some smaller freighters, but nothing like the crowded bustling ports of Bangkok, Saigon or Singapore. This is a resort island and it reminds me somewhat of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We are told that the island hosts thousands of mostly European tourists in the winter. There are beautiful villas and hotels peaking through the forest on the hillsides all around the harbor. The royal family of Denmark apparently maintains a villa here. The locals have set up shops all along the main roads selling everything imaginable. The beaches are supposed to be spectacular, but we will not be going there. I have gone beyond the desire to roast myself on a sandy beach. Fair skin and multiple skin cancers have convinced me to find other forms of amusement.
We took a bus to a place back in the jungle where elephants are kept and took a ride on one. The beast was a friendly chap and was steered through
Phuket Island
Elephant caravan the dense growth along a path by a young Thai boy who talked incessantly to his elephant. If you have never ridden an elephant, don’t expect a smooth ride. The animals lurch along at a very slow pace. We fed the critter bananas from our perch on its back. It would reach back with its trunk, scoop it up and toss it into its mouth. Back at a small arena we watched a couple of elephants playing basket ball, soccer and one threw darts at balloons attached to a target. These are very talented elephants. The high point for me was when I volunteered to lay on my stomach on the ground and a 4,000 pound elephant came up and massaged my back by pushing his front foot into the middle of my back. He was very gentle. Later we toured a beautiful Buddhist temple and a cashew factory and learned how rubber is made here from rubber trees brought from Brazil centuries ago. It is the beginning of the rainy season and at one point I got to experience a very monsoon moment by getting drenched.
One thing that is not talked about much here is
Phuket Island
Bill and Jenohn riding an elephant that this was the site of tremendous destruction in 2005 when a terrible earthquake occurred off the coast of Sumatra south and east of here. A giant tsunami swept into the beach areas of Phuket killing thousands of people. Many, many tourists from Scandinavia, Germany and Britain died here, not to mention a quarter million other souls in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. There is no evidence of the tsunami now except for signs that indicate the direction to run if a tsunami warning is sounded. We heard earlier today that this entire part of the island was evacuated just last week after two strong earthquakes struck again in Sumatra. This time there was no tsunami, but it was a reminder that this area is in a very unstable part of the world and is prone to seismic activity.
Phuket is beautiful and peaceful and the people are extremely friendly. But now that I have seen it I can cross it off my bucket list. There are other resort areas just as nice, not quite as remote and where there may be less of a chance to have to head for the hills at a moments notice
Phuket Island
Jenohn getting up after elephant back massage to keep from being swept out to sea and turned into fish food.
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