Phuket (pronounced pu-ket) is Thailand's largest, most populous and most visited island. It was visited mostly by back-packers until the 70's when developer's arrived building beautiful resorts along it's beaches. The main industry is tourism (they get 5 million visitors a year!) but the inland area still has rice paddies, rubber, cashew nuts, cacao, pineapple and coconut plantations.
We had signed up for a tour in the morning we arrived in Phuket. The maximum size for vessels calling there is 690 feet. The Rotterdam is 780 feet so special permission was needed to dock at the wharf. Looking outside, we could see that the pier held a large market, as do most piers. Since we didn't have to meet for our tour until 9:30, we went out to do some scouting to see what types of products are sold there. I made a couple of purchases then returned to the ship for our tour.
Entitled "Siam Elephant Safari", we boarded a bus to the elephants! It was about a 30 minute ride. We were dropped at a complex with a number of different activities. As we arrived, there was a water buffalo standing there with steps next to him. I sat on it for pictures. There were 2 small carts hooked up to Brahma bulls. We had a ride in those also. We met Mr Phuket, the first elephant born on the island. He had been taught to bow, pose and paint! It was the first time I'd been up close and personal with an elephant. He had very wise eyes and coarse hairs.
Next was our "safari". They had a platform built so all you had to do was step onto the elephant. The driver rode on the back of his head while we were seat belted onto a chair. There were about 5 elephants who all went out together. We'd been promised a 1/2 hr ride thru the jungle and they delivered! The first part was on a path thru a field. It totally reminded me of trail riding when I was a kid only I was a lot higher off the ground! We circled around, down a steep hill (glad we had a seat belt!) into a jungle area. Our driver got off the elephant and walked down the path to take pictures. He even took a short movie of us with my movie camera. He was a good photographer too, the pictures turned out great. We were on our own on that elephant for at least 15 minutes. It was really a fun experience.
After the elephant ride we were taken back into the jungle area to learn about rubber trees. They tap the trees just like my Aunt used to do to her maples. The sap feels rubbery immediately. They mix it with vinegar and run it through wringers to make thin mats of rubber. It is sold in that form. We have been trying to think of what uses there are for real rubber these days. Most items that used to be made of rubber are now synthetic.
We were taken into a small building with bleachers for a monkey show. Before the show started we could line up to have the monkey sit on our lap. We were supposed to keep our arms at our sides, but I kept touching him. He was VERY soft. I stuck my nose in his fur also, just like I do with Koda. He made a funny face when I did that. I think Mel caught it on film. The monkeys had been trained to pick coconuts, put balls in a basket and ride a bike! One even dove into a small pool to retrieve something from the bottom. They swim well. While watching the show, it started pouring. They sure do get a lot of rain in Southeast Asia! They handed out ponchos and we headed to the next activity.
In an open building, there were tables and chairs set up. They did a Thai cooking demonstration then served lunch. There was fruit, rice, a chicken stir fry and a veggie stir fry. It was very good. We boarded the buses after lunch and were taken to a HUGE jewelry factory. It was a big tourist trap, so we walked thru quickly to find a taxi into town. The store was providing free shuttles which was nice. We were dropped off next to a large department store and a street full of souvenir shops. Perfect. We shopped and shopped. At about 5 we decided to take a break for dinner. We found a small restaurant which turned out to be the lobby of a hotel. Several back packers came in while we ate so it must have been a low rate hotel. We ordered Thai noodles, a specialty soup and veggies. The noodles were delicious. The soup was awful. The veggies were OK but not what we'd expected. I also drank a can of lychee juice then a can of another type of fruit juice. Our total bill was less than what they'd take VISA for...less than $8. We told them to just charge us $9, big tippers! :)
I'd really liked the shirts the elephant handlers had on. The servers at the restaurant had the same ones only with flowers rather than elephants along the bottom. We asked where we could buy shirts like that. We were pointed in a direction away from the tourist area. We found a store with some Disney clothes, unlicensed of course. Very cute. Also some nice applique tops. Bought a few things then had to follow the girl who helped us about a block away to a different store that could take our VISA. That store was inside a HUGE market full of clothing. I'd left Mel at a store on the street so I retrieved him then showed him that market. We were on a hunt for those shirts with no luck. We did, however, finally find a shirt Mel wanted. He'd looked at them all day w/out buying. I also found a shirt that says "Long Live The King!". They are very patriotic there. I took out dollars to pay the woman, she shook her head NO. Asked if she'd take VISA, again, NO! We were bummed that we were unable to buy the shirts and left the mall. Right on the corner was an ATM, so we withdrew 500 baht (about $15, the service fee will probably be more!) and returned to make our purchase. The ATM gave me one 500 bill. Funny.
By this time it was dark and about time to head back to the ship. I wanted to return to a store where I'd purchased some items earlier to buy a box I'd seen. Mel had been looking at wood elephants all day also, and finally decided to purchase one from that store when the shop keeper went down to a very low price. I asked her if she knew of a good taxi. She said her uncle has one and immediately called him to come get us. Mel examined the elephant's tusks which were separate, made of bone, then she wrapped it up and off we went in a nice car that wasn't a taxi! He dropped us at the pier where the market was almost packed up. Looked around for a minute then boarded the ship. I opened our purchases to see what we'd bought, like I always do. Mel discovered that the girl in the shop had failed to pack the tusks back with the elephant. We have a tuskless elephant! He was devastated. I figure it's a baby, haven't grown in yet. But now we are on a mission to find tusks in India. They'll probably think we're poachers of some kind and get arrested.
Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make dinner for $10 or less.
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