Phuket, Thailand

Yesterday, Thursday, March 29, we had a half day visit to Phuket, Thailand's largest island.  You will recall that several days ago we were in other parts of Thailand (Bangkok, Pattaya and Koh Samui) before moving down the east coast of the Malay Peninsula to Singapore at its tip and then up the west side to the Malaysian cities of Kuala Lumpur and George Town.  By continuing north on an overnight sail from George Town, we once more found ourselves in Thailand, this for the last time on our cruise.

The island of Phuket, often called the "Pearl of the Andaman Sea," is best known for its many beautiful beaches and related attractions.  Historically it was a major stop on trade routes between India and China.  Colonial powers competed for its tin trade.  And it continues today as a major supplier of rubber.

When I pulled back the curtain in our room at 6:30 in the morning, I saw this:

Our ship was anchored just off of Karon Beach.  For only the second time (the first was when we visited Koh Samui), an island tourist company Viking must have contracted with provided the tender service to and from the pier.  Interestingly, this time the company brought its own platform as well.

Janis and I had signed up for 3-hour excursion that covered only a part of the island.  As we tendered in to meet our bus, I couldn't help but look behind us and notice the beautiful lines of the Viking Sun.

  
                                   
We could also see what looked like condos up on a hillside.

    

Within 15 minutes we were approaching the pier for tie up.  A young local boy was watching the action.

  

The harbor views were so attractive.

                                          

As we walked along the beach to the area where the buses were parked,  everything looked so appealing.  Wouldn't have minded spending some time on any one of those boats exploring the area.

          

The parking lot was up a side street and as we walked along it we passed one huge, open restaurant/bar after another.  Must be quite a party scene at night.  We also passed shops and stands like the one shown here.

 

Driving around,  generally along the shore, we took in interesting street and beach scenes.

                                       

After being driven around on a bus for awhile, we stopped at a location known as Promthep Cape, which is at the southern-most tip of the island.  From there we had spectacular views of the Andaman Sea and Nai Harn Bay.

                                       
 
There is a shrine at the Promthep viewing spot that depicts the god Brahma as a "Four Face Buddha" surrounded by more than 50 colorful elephant statutes, each one draped with garlands of flowers.

   

Adjacent to the shrine were a couple of monuments, although all the signage was in the Thai language so I have no idea what they represent.

                                      

There were lots of tourists up there, most of them Thais.  But the next largest group was Chinese.  I was amused by these girls posing for photos.

 

Our next and final stop before returning to the ship was at Chalong, Phuket's largest and most sacred temple.  Inside a tall spire of one of the several buildings making up this temple complex lies a splinter of bone believed to belong to the Buddha.  Here are photos of three different buildings, all of which, as you will see, are stunning.

      


                                                                            
  

Wish we had had more time in Phuket.  A day at one of the beaches there would have been nice.  We are now cruising the Andaman Sea on our way to Chennai (formerly Madras), India.  We are scheduled to arrive on Sunday, April 1.  I'll blog about that visit next.

Happy Passover to our families and Jewish friends and Happy Easter to our Christian friends.  We attended a Sedar on the ship tonight.  With input from one Jewish passenger couple in particular, the Viking staff went all out in putting together an excellent Haggadah and Sedar meal.