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Published: January 16th 2007
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Woke up as we were sailing off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, into the harbor on the east side of the island. Another organized tour line up for shore excursions, put us on bus #7 bound for Phra Nang Bay. Our local guide was named Jennifer Lopez and reminded us of our friend Liz Guillen.
We had a pleasant 90 minute drive past temples, rubber tree farms, water buffalos and strip malls on modern roads where drivers actually obey the traffic rules. This is our first port of call on this trip, where this has happened. We also enjoyed the clean air and tidy streets. There was no evidence at all of the devastation from the tsunami that struck here almost 2 years ago.
We were surprised at how many local adults, dutifully wore helmets while riding their scooters, but had their children riding on front and back without helmets. Go figure !!
We boarded wooden boats with wooden benches that sat very close to the water line. Our guide handed out rain ponchos and life preservers in case the waters were rough and waves come up into the boats. Thankfully, the bay was calm and we didn’t
need either.
The best place to be in the boat is the back area, especially if you want to take photos, so you can move around. The other option is to climb a rickety ladder and sit Indian style atop the roof with nothing to hold on to. I declined this option.
We passed magnificent limestone rock formations and motored under a sea cave. Next time I want to try it on a kayak, as we saw many people doing. From there it was on to James Bond Rock used in the movie “Man With A Golden Gun”.
Our next stop was the floating village of Koh Panyi. This is a Muslim community with houses built on stilts in the bay, adjacent to one of the large limestone rocks. It was interesting to walk around and see people going about their daily business. I was fascinated at how well furnished some of these shacks were, complete with marble flooring. There was a small gold domed mosque in the center of the village and plenty of restaurants and souvenir shops to service the boat tourists. We were fascinated by the “Tsunami Evacuation Route” signs posted throughout the village.
Where the heck can you go when your village is located on top of the bay?
A few minutes from there, our boat ride came to an end. We walked from the boat dock over to Phra Nang Bay Resort for an alfresco style buffet lunch. Thank god there was a breeze, because the temperature was a very humid 88 degrees F. The food was good, but we really appreciated the unlimited, very cold and delicious Singha beer served in bottles.
A 30 minute ride from there brought us to Paradise Elephant Camp where we saw the rubber tree tapping demonstration. They mix the sap with formalin to turn it spongy and then pass it through a press to weave it into a bathmat looking substance, and then dry it in the sun for 3-4 days until it turns brown. This is the form they use for export. Billy was chosen to turn the press during the demonstration. He was really struggling to push it through.
We had some free time after that and got to feed the elephants little bananas (2 baskets for $1.00) and got some great photos of them and their mahout (soulmate) trainers.
The elephants are paired up with a mahout when they are both young and they grow up together.
Another hour drive took us back to the ship just in time for trivia where we managed to eeck out a third place finish. Then it was out to the pier stalls for some last minute shopping.
Lobster tail dinner was the treat tonight in the Grand Dining Room with an amazing dessert of chocolate mousse with a passion fruit filling. Pure heaven !
The production show finale was Solute’ where David actually sang. The highlight was when all available ship’s staff came to the stage and everyone sang “Auld Lang Syne”. The disco dancing followed with the Captain and ship’s officerson the dance floor to dance with the guests. My favorite part, was leaving the theatre with all of the waiters lined up along the exit corridor, posing for photos and cheering as I ran down “the gauntlet” giving them all high 5’s. It was a blast !
A nightcap was in order at Horizons where we were entertained, watching the staff hang Christmas decorations. Gorrin was the “true supervisor”, directing with “higher”, “lower”, “more to the
right”, “more to the left”, etc.
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