Well we're here. It's like we've arrived but haven't arrived. For many months we have always had another destination. Should we spend a few more days in Bali or move on to Kalimintan? Now we are here in Thailand we actually haven't got another destination at the moment and it feels rather strange.
We checked in at Ao Chalong with Don and Anne, and the boat is legally here for 6 months as are we. Sue and John of Storyteller let us use their car to go the round of chandleries and shops which was an immense help. It's a strange feeling to be back in a place where you can get parts and service albeit quite expensively. The town of Phuket is a bustling modern town which stretches out in all directions. We haven't actually visited any of the famous or infamous beaches yet. Modern shopping malls with familiar names abound. Some stocks are low in the shops because of the flooding in Bangkok but to our eyes there is a cornucopia of delights.
Thai people are very courteous. It is important to greet people with a smile. It is still a surprise to have the marina guards salute as you pass by in your scruffy shorts and t-shirt.
The marina is a strange mixture of super yachts, cruising yachts and boats for charter. The boat is hooked up to shore power and the air conditioning switched on. We look around at the ravages a year of constant sailing has done to the boat - polishing, cleaning, electrical connections corroding, rigging and even sails needing replacing. Where to start? Well probably the best place is a lovely Thai restaurant just by the marina. It's a bit like eating in someone's kitchen. Beautifully cooked food appears from a couple of woks for next to nothing in the glance of an eye. With our friends from Storyteller and their guests Tony and Annette, Don and Anne from Harmonie many beers were drunk and we discovered Tony's word perfect knowledge of Tom Lehrer's oeuvre as well as Flanders and Swann. Records I inherited from my father! Still amusing though.
We visited the Rolly Tasker sail loft, a huge warehouse like building where sails are constructed to computerised designs and then shipped all over the world. They are often sold under other names. Our genoa sail has delaminated and needs replacement. Technical discussions and measurements were taken, and we should have a new sail for less cost than the previous one, allegedly made in the UK.
However, the pleasures of marina life were not to last long as we headed South out of the marina to visit some of the Southern beaches in the guise of watching the King's regatta - a series of sailing races which mark the King's birthday.
The bay where the races were held was quite rolly so we did not stay there for long. An attractive beach lined with closely packed hotels and bars. The beach itself was busy with numerous tourists, most of whom seemed to be Russian. Large tattooed males, some with slim Slavic consorts, others partnered by weighty women perhaps inadvisably wearing bikinis. Amongst the throng locals sell massages, ice creams and drinks.
The bay to the East however was far more pleasant. A small beach bar on the East of the bay with a large beach at the head and to the West a high point with a lighthouse and elephant shrine. We took the dingy across and climbed the hill. The shrine has a vast collection of model elephants of all shapes and sizes. Some are standing, some are hooting, some are having sex. They are made of wood and plastic in the main. Even the adjacent lighthouse has elephants surrounding the light. The views are outstanding across the South end of Thailand.
All in all a superb spot.