Tourist brochures about Phuket, the largest island of Thailand at 12 miles wide and 30 miles long, taut its tall jungled hills, its coastline with incredible white-sand beaches and azure waters and its forested limestone formations that make it a popular destination for travelers in search of rest and relaxation. Except for the overbearing heat and humidity, Phuket is an island paradise.
We selected our tour because the research we had done before our cruise stated that a cruise on Phang Nga Bay was a must. The trip also included James Bond Island where the Sean Connery movie Man With the Golden Gun was filmed and Panyi Island, home to a traditional Muslim fishing village with homes and restaurants perched above the water on stilts. Our guide's name was Sudjai, who told us to just call her Sue. She talked about the tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004, that destroyed some of the west side of the island. Fortunately, we were heading north to the east side of the island and would then cross a bridge to the mainland. In between the bumpy roads and the rattling of the air conditioner that was not functioning in the back of the bus, it was difficult to determine most of what she was saying. We knew that our trip on the beautifully appointed, although somewhat hot, bus with pink and green pleated valances and green fringed draperies would take 1 hour and 15 minutes before we boarded the longtail boat. Sue also told us that this tour had two shopping stops. That news produced cheers from the women and groans from the men.
Sue mentioned that New Year's Day had been April 13 and that we were still in holy days with the children being off from school. In Phuket Town, we passed the Spirit House and learned that the citizens were very superstitious. They believed that almost everything can give off vibes and during holy days would purchase garlands to give to the spirits to appease them. We also saw the Heroines Monument of two sisters, who in 1795 disguised hundreds of women in Army uniforms and paraded them through town to trick the Burmese enemy into believing that they were troop reinforcements from Bangkok and eventually force the Burmese to withdraw. What a great example of of "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar."
Sue also talked about education but between the rattling and her accent, we took a while to determine that she was describing how the residents send their monkeys to school for nine months for about $135 US. When they pick up the monkeys, the monkeys eat the same things as their masters, pick up coconuts, serve as entertainers, accompany their owners everywhere and even give them massages. The monkeys work very hard and usually retire when they are 10 years old.
The terrain and towns reminded us of Vietnam, with most of the buildings looking like they needed a coat of paint. When we arrived at the restaurant where we would later enjoy a typical Thai buffet, we boarded our boat that had a wooden roof to protect us from the harsh sun. The cruise took us around and under a labyrinth of forested limestone pillars rearing out of the salt water, which also was home to mangrove trees. Cacti also grew on the limestone pillars. Sue noted when we neared James Bond Island that it had been damaged by the tsunami but the vegetation was slowly growing back. It made us think that all living things must have a strong will to live. The boat driver's two sons were on board and entertained us. The three-year old really liked Punxsutawney Phil and having his picture taken with him.
AT Panyi Island, our boat prepared to stop with tires dropping down from the roof to serve as bumper guards. We debarked at the market in the village on stilts to browse through the wares of the village people. A woman put a Macaque monkey wearing a pampers diaper on Ken's shoulder and motioned for Sara to take a picture. Then Ken took pictures of the monkey hugging Sara. Our friend Ron of Ron and Neilly from our China Trip joined in the fun to have his photograph taken. Then the woman started to scream that Ken owed her $9 US for all those pictures, which he paid but felt that he had been taken for a ride. Sara toured the school in the village where she met a young schoolboy who wanted her to buy a packet of postcards. Even when she told him that she had no local money, he continued to follow her. Judy, if you are reading the blog, this boy has a good future when he grows up, moves to Egypt and makes a fortune as a vendor in Luxor, the harassment capital of the world! Maybe the woman with the monkey is the boy's mother. They both could move to Egypt.
Then we returned to the restaurant for lunch where one of our travelers suffered from heatstroke. Perla put on her doctor's hat and watched her like a mother hen. Our driver said that the high temperature could be almost 100 degrees while two days before, the high was 105 degrees. It was very easy to become dehydrated. The rest of us immediately drank more bottled water.
When we left the restaurant, we learned that Sue had the tour company send a new bus for us, which was equally attractive with a red, blue and yellow color scheme and baby blue pleated draperies with a floral motif. Did we mention how gorgeous this country is? On our trip to the store that provided us with the outstanding maps of the island where we could once again feed our shopping fix, Sue talked about the present king of Thailand Rama XI, who is 83 three years old and will soon make a decision about who the next ruler of the country will be. The royal couple has one son and three daughters. According to Sue, the son is a playboy prince who does not work hard for his country. The single daughter devotes herself to her country but having a woman ruler would be a first for Thailand, unless one wants to consider Anna as the adviser to Rama IV in The King and I, a movie that was banned in Thailand. (After the movie was shown on the ship the next day, we could understand why the Thai government may not like it.) Rama V, the student of Anna, was the most popular king in Sue's opinion.
Our port talk speaker Martyn and our Asian expert Joe had educated us about the current political uprising in Bangkok with the yellow shirts, who wanted the elite to return to power, in contention with the red shirts, who supported the common people's or the Thais Love Thais Party. Joe said that most uprisings in Thailand were over with quickly and the current one, which had resulted in 20 deaths, was the first one to turn deadly. He had promised us that we would not notice anything happening in Phuket because of the "it doesn't matter" attitude with the residents quickly returning to a smoother, more normal life. Phuket's significant tourism industry is evidenced by the city's sister relationships with Las Vegas and Nice. Two months after the tsunami in 2004, much of the debris had been cleared and there was no evidence of the storm.
While our tour was scheduled to return exactly when all passengers and crew were to be aboard, Martyn and Tim, our tour escorts, requested that the bus drivers have us back in time to shop at the extensive array of booths the vendors has assembled on the dock. We wonder if we will be seeing a lot of Thai handmade items at the next white elephants sale? (With the elephant appearing on every other souvenir we saw, these items would be very appropriate!)
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