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Published: August 25th 2007
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Language barrier problem
I asked for a "rental car and not a cart!" On the Beach in Phuket
After a loooong flight and one aborted landing, in the rain, (don’t look surprised) we landed in Phuket only one hour late. Grabbed a taxi to the Marriott. We were greeted by porters with flower leis and more importantly, a lady with mojitos-quite tasty. Most importantly, as we entered the lobby, there sat Marc. Since he had arrived earlier, he had taken advantage of the poolside lounging and the sushi bar. We settled into our lovely two-bedroom villa. It overlooked the Andaman Sea, but the foliage was so thick, we saw only green. Unfortunately, it is the monsoon season and the next day was torrential rain all day.
The Marriott complex is stunning. The grounds are very large, 5 restaurants and 3 pools, one over 100 meters long. Typical chairs and umbrellas but not everyday, one is greeted by a baby elephant at your chair. Jumbo is a regular visitor for all to enjoy. Another day, Dan and Marc saw a larger guy romping in the surf. The “beach” here is really never safe during monsoon season due to strong waves and powerful undertow and a steep drop-off. They even have a security guy
View of beach from our room
OK - too much green stuff and rain who gets to guard the beach all day for everyone’s safety.
Since we were far from town, we were ‘forced’ to have breakfast in one of two lovely restaurants, where the buffet was extensive. Sitting outside overlooking the pool, sea and gardens was quite a nice way to start the day.
Our first few days were spent bonding over cards and the computer due to the rains, but finally we hired a driver to take us to see a couple of Buddhist temples in town - a broadening experience to see another culture/religion in action. One of the interesting things we saw was a large dome-shaped brick structure into which a worker threw boxes of fireworks-very loud. This is done as a thank you by a person who had prayed to Buddha for something and things went well. Also stopped at a pearl farm exhibit/store in town. Town, by the way, is lots of mixed-quality buildings, some new residences going up, which look quite westernized alongside some “interesting” shops and homes, most of which we would consider ready for tear-down, but that is merely our perspective of a world in which the people are quite content. There are
cars and trucks, but most folks buzz around on motor scooters. These people are very creative in creating ‘space’ on their machines. Dan saw four people on one and I believe Marc saw a fiver-also saw one group riding along with a mattress. Some do have sidecars and little roofs, a good thing, given so much wet weather. There are assorted security checkpoints along the road. Our complex had a security gate, complete with under vehicle checkers using mirrors.
We next signed up for a speedboat trip to see the James Bond Island, the one used in the movie, “The Man with the Golden Gun.” Even though the movie is not recent, that’s the big draw. There were, however, many other very interesting island configurations, some of which contained caves we went through, while passing under uniquely shaped stalactites, some very close to our boat canopy. Now, once again-I hate to bring this up-but after a sunny start out on the water, the monsoons returned. We all had flimsy ponchos and some canopy cover, but at speedboat speed, you can imagine what fun Bert was having huddled behind the driver’s seat. Marc, on the other hand, was up at
the bow trying to capture pictures between rain bursts. We did stop at a fishing village on stilts for lunch, by which time the rain had almost ceased. Over 1,000 folks live here, mostly fishermen, along with people running markets. The food was very local and quite good. Our guide took us along some winding back streets to see the Muslim mosque, set among many Buddhists-seemed to work for them. Our next stop, despite the return of the rain, was the beach. A schedule is a schedule. So, everyone hopped out, finally even Bert, and played along the beach for a while - still wearing a poncho! We did receive an afternoon treat of fresh fruit-all the fruits are wonderful.
Our final excursion was to an animal park, where we all got to ride atop an elephant-rear suspension not so good. We saw how monkeys are trained to climb coconut trees to pick coconuts. We visited rubber trees and watched a demonstration of rubber production, from the sap gotten from a slit in the tree to an actual piece of rubber as we know it. I’m sure, in general, modern methods have replaced the hand-turned pressing wheel, but those
folks were pretty clever back then. We also experienced a brief Thai cooking class, which showed how red curry and various spices are made. Be careful with that red curry. We then had a quick photo op sitting on a water buffalo-big fells-and then had dinner-more rice, noodles, chicken and fish. Fruit is the big item, which serves as dessert, a concept we should probably look into.
Our last two days were actually rather rain free, so we had some pool-sitting time. Jumbo came back to visit right by us. The pools themselves were quite ornamental, with arches and water-spouting elephants.
Along the lobby area, there is an edgeless reflecting pool, which has underwater lighting in the evening. To add to the ambience, weather permitting, there is a torch-lighting ceremony at the pool, where dancers stand in the shallow water with flaming torches, twirling and tossing them. Along the edges, lovely ladies in long white gowns and longer golden fingernails and wearing white masks, danced to the drumbeat. An evening view from one of the upper level restaurants leaves quite an impression. Marriott has done a fantastic job in designing the facility and landscaping the grounds. All the
beauty, however, is harshly reflected in which I consider high prices for everything, even in greedy American terms. Considering what they probably pay the workers, Mr. M and company are dragging in a bundle. I know we chose to be there and it was a once in a lifetime experience, so I shall not dwell on the issue.
That about wraps up our time in Thailand. Eventually, if you receive Marc’s blog, you’ll learn more about the country. We didn’t go anywhere else. Quick note about Phuket. It is basically known as a resort area, due to the many beaches along the coasts. This area was hit by the tsunami and the area took this tragedy as an opportunity to rebuild and upgrade all the tourist facilities, at least. We are now about to make a brief stop in Hong Kong before we gear up for our 13 hours to LAX-yippee.
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Carol
non-member comment
Hello
Want a wonderful time you seem to be having and the adventures are certainly not those found in WI or AZ!!! I assume you will be getting a pet "Jumbo" upon your return to the states!!? Keep the news coming!! :-)