Another site for sore eyes

As Adam and I wandered around a group of ladies, who told us that they were studying economics at university asked us if they could interview us and record the interviews. They said it was to practice their English language, but I think they just wanted to chat up a couple of ‘spunks’. When we told Rosalind and Sheila, later they laughed and said something like: “in your dreams”. Mid afternoon it started to get quite warm so we went back to Adam and Rosalind’s apartment via the MRT and taxis.
When we got home Adam turned on the BBC World News and we heard our first information about the earthquake and tsunami that followed. We al thought it a bit eerie that Adam had made the prediction he did on Christmas Eve. I sent and e-mail to my brother in the U.K. and some friends in Bathurst to tell them we were in Bangkok, and not affected. We also telephoned our next door neighbors, Betty and Jack Paterson so that they would not be concerned, and could also reassure our dog Chloe. A couple of observations I made at that time were:
If Aceh was near the epicenter and there had been no news that was not good news, and we should expect that when news did start getting out it would be bad.
A woman from a disaster response centre in Aberdeen was interviewed and she said that they were on standby ready to fly out when asked. I thought this ridiculous she had no knowledge of the language and local conditions and by the time they got there they would be only helping with body recovery not rescue, and their presence would be an additional strain on scarce resources.
BBC World invited victims to e-mail their experiences to BBC World and they cited an e-mail from a ‘victim’ who said he had been in the Banyan Tree Hotel Bangkok, and that when it had been severely shaken by the earthquake the hotel had been evacuated. That was rubbish we could see the hotel from Adam and Rosalind’s apartment, fifteen minutes walk away, and also Adam’s office is located in the same building and no-one felt anything. There is a disaster management phenomena called ‘the convergence principle’ when any disaster site becomes a focal point for people wanting to see what went on and to be associated with it in some way. I also describe it as ‘the Andy Warhol syndrome’, it is their chance for fifteen minutes of fame, and they are not going to miss out. If I am being charitable I also say that people do it to satisfy their security need, if they can see the carnage, and know that they are not affected in some way, they feel more secure in the face of some dangerous event. The victim and his e-mail from the Banyan Tree Hotel, I think is a new manifestation of the convergence principle, he wanted to be part of the event in some way, and the e-mail invitation allowed him to ‘piggy-back’ on the disaster via the world-wide-web. Sad that someone wants to make themselves ‘famous’ on BBC World, but also mischievous as it was wrong information, and could have caused distress to relatives of other people in the hotel or in Bangkok. The media should make themselves aware of this potential problem and be careful about inviting eyewitness accounts from ‘victims’ and check their source and double check the information before it is broadcast.
For dinner Rosalind ordered a huge Lebanese take away feast, of which we could only eat a little, but it was all superb. After dinner we relaxed a little by everyone, especially Rosalind helping me solve some of my cross word puzzle clues. This was followed by watching one of the set of DVDs that Adam received as one of his presents from Rosalind, a whole series of Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
Monday 27th December 2005
After another leisurely breakfast, Sheila and I were driven by Kuhn Boon Chuay to Jim Thompson’s house.
Jim Thompson was an architect by profession; Thailand’s most famous American resident went to Thailand in 1945, as the Bangkok head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a forerunner of the C.I.A. In 1948 he founded the Thai Silk Company Ltd turning an ailing industry into a thriving business, largely through contacts he made in the American fashion and media industry. Thompson became a social celebrity in Bangkok and anyone famous visiting Bangkok added to their status if they were a guest of Jim Thompson. He achieved some notoriety following his mysterious disappearance on Easter Sunday March 1967, shortly after his 61st birthday, while walking in the Cameron Highlands Malaysia. Adam and Rosalind had taken us to stay in ‘The Smoke House’ in the Cameron Highlands a few years ago. The Smoke House is a great old ‘Tudor’ style mansion that is located not far from where he went missing, and is a favorite holiday location of LEE Kwan Yew Special Minister of Singapore, and father of the current President of Singapore. Looking at the area where he disappeared without a trace being found it seemed very strange and unlikely. Explanations for his vanishing include falling from the path into the undergrowth, or having a heart attack, to more sinister suggestions of CIA involvement.
Jim Thompson’s house is one of the best-preserved traditional Thai houses in Bangkok, and finest museums in the country. His house stands in a flower-filled garden across a kalong from the ancient silk weavers’ quarters of Ban Khrua. It is an oasis in a number of concrete blocked apartments that have no grace. If you did not know that Jim Thompson’s house was two thirds of the way down an unremarkable No 6 Soi Kasemsan 2 (lane) just off Rama I, road opposite the National Stadium; then one would not wander down it. http://www.jimthompsonhouse.com/ In 1959 Thompson dismantled six teak houses in Ban Khrua and in Ayutthaya province and had them reassembled in an unconventional layout on its current site. Exquisite carved panels on the outside of Thai houses, to demonstrate the status of the owner were utilized by Jim Thompson on the inside of his house, so that he and his guests could enjoy them on the inside, rather than just be decoration for the benefit of passer-bys or visitors only their arrival. Thompson was an avid collector of antiquities and artwork from all over Southeast Asia. His distinguished collection, which spans 14 centuries, is very attractively displayed, and has been left much as it was when he disappeared in 1967. Unlike many other museums, this feels very much like a lived-in home. To tour the house one has to join a group of about ten people who have a guide allocated who speaks the language of the group. Each of the guides are Thai ladies who are dressed very elegantly in Jim Thompson, Thai Silk. Before the groups enter the house they have to leave their shoes behind on some shelves. One is also asked not to take photographs inside the house but any photos may be taken later from outside of the house. As the rooms are very open it is easy to take some photographs of the interiors of some of the ground floor rooms after the tour. One of the significant differences between Jim Thompson’s house and the Thai houses, from which his was constructed, is that Jim Thompson’s house has an internal staircase, whereas the traditional Thai style has an external staircase. Apparently Jim Thompson had married an American lady, in the U.S.A. but that she never came to live in Thailand, and they had no children. Sad in many ways it could have been a very interesting dynasty.
Sheila in front of part of Jim Thompson’s House

The reception area and luncheon area in a modern Thai style at Jim Thompson’s

A fish pond at Jim Thompson’s next to the luncheon area

Jim Thompson’s sitting room

In the picture above one can see examples on the walls of where Jim Thompson brought the carving on the walls, from the outside to the inside. The piece of furniture in the middle of the room is best described as a ‘day’ bed and is a source of much relief during one’s siesta. The wood is predominantly teak and has been well polished by bare, and sock covered feet over the years.
Dvaravati Torso of the Buddha. This torso, made of limestone is in the garden, in fact underneath part of the house. It dates from the early Dvaravati period (6th century), it is said to be one of the oldest surviving Buddha images in Southeast Asia.
This wooden figure of an animist Nat spirit is among Jim Thompson’s extensive collection of Burmese images. When Buddhism developed in Burma, Myanmar, it incorporated the preexisting worship of Nat spirits. In the same way that Christianity incorporated many pagan rites into the Christian church.
There is a very modern European style building in the Tim Thompson House complex which houses a shop of the ground floor and an exhibition hall on the top floor. In the exhibition hall are some examples of Thai costumes in silk woven in marvelous colours. The Silk Industry The silk industry in Thailand is now located mainly in the Northeast of the country. The larvae of the Mulberry bombyx, probably the best-known Thai moth produce silk. This moth does not exist in the wild. Having long been domesticated, it has even lost the ability to fly. The lifecycle of the Mulberry bombyx involves 4-12 days in the pupation stage from which the moth emerges; 1-2 days of the ovigenesis or egg laying; 10-12 days for the eggs to hatch; 15-18 days for Ecdysis, that is a sloughing off of skin as it grows; then 4-6 days of silk spinning of the cocoon, the nest for the pupa. After ecdysis the silkworms are placed on bamboo trays known as jo, where they secrete a fibrous slime that forms the cocoon, and protects the pupa until metamorphosis into the moth. They must of course reserve some cocoons to continue the cycle as the rest are taken from the jo and boiled to remove the sticky sericin coating the silk filaments. The filaments are spun and eventually skeins are produced. Each cocoon yields about 2,000 feet of useable thread (mai luad), although in total a mature cocoon can contain over one mile of thread in about thirty layers. Silk made from thread still coated with sericin is called raw silk. Natural silk or tussah is the silk produced by undomesticated caterpillars/silkworms living in trees. The raw thread is bright yellow. Before weaving it is washed first in a herbal mixture made from the bark and leaves of the banana tree, and then in a ke solution made from a thorny vine that is commonly found on the local hillsides, then dyed. Traditional dyes used include lac, indigo, krajai berries and thalang roots. To the east of Chiang Mai, on the way to Charoen Muang, it is possible to visit a magnanerie (silkworm rearing house) and to taste chrysalides which have been grilled after the removal of their silk filaments. This reminds me of one of the food stalls that we saw at Chatuchak market, where deep fried cockroaches and spiders were part of the array of bugs on offer. No I did not try of those particular delicacies. Next to the exhibition hall, above the shop, is another room in which a lady was demonstrating silk weaving and a guide/guard insisted that we should take a photograph of some actual silk worm cocoons I did not think it would make a ‘good’ picture, but it was not worth arguing about and is included in the next few pages, so you can be the judge.
Sheila in front of a bamboo tray, jo, containing the silkworm cocoons
A couple of photographs of the costumes in the exhibition hall
Some pictures of the lady silk weaving on her hand loom
The silk worm eggs
During breakfast Kuhn Noy had mentioned that there was a market called ‘Impact’ at which Sheila might find some bargain handbags. So after lunch by the fish pond, when we left Jim Thompson’s, Kuhn Boon Chuay took us out past the airport in search of the Impact market. After driving around where it was supposed to be and making a few enquiries of other driers nearby Kuhn Boon Chuay heard that the last day of the market had been the day before and it was now packed up and gone. Sad for Sheila, but I was not too disappointed. When we got back to their apartment Sheila and I went down to the gym for a workout that included 5km walking and ‘pumping’ some weights.
Adam had been at work all day, and had been in contact with the owner of the villa that Adam had hired at Kata Beach on Phuket Island; and to which we were supposed to go in the morning for a week over New Year. http://www.phuketland.com/villa_for_rent/hunt/index.html. The owner, an American in Singapore, told Adam that he had spoken to the resident chef, and his sister the house-keeper and both had assured the owner that the villa had not been damaged by the tsunami, and that it still had power, water, and sewerage etc. The owner asked Adam to take us to the villa, because, if Adam cancelled the holiday the people of Phuket would suffer additional economic harm if people stayed away. Adam asked Rosalind, Sheila and I what we thought, and if we were still prepared to go to Phuket. I agreed with the owner’s view that one of the ways that we would be able to support the people of Phuket would be to go and help them to manage their own recovery by contributing to their businesses.
28th December 2004
Rosalind woke us at 0500 so that we would be in time for the 0800 flight from Bangkok to Phuket. Kuhn Bon Chuay was supposed to be at the apartment at 0600 to take us to the airport. 0600 arrived and past with no sign of Kuhn Boon Chuay. Adam was rather cross saying that normally Kuhn Boon Chuay was usually very reliable, but had raised some concerns in their minds recently. Rosalind telephoned Kuhn Boon Chuay and her call woke him up at his home. He offered to ride in and take us to the airport, but by the time he arrived it would be too late. Rosalind did have a little smile as we walked to the end of their lane to catch a couple of taxis, the reason for her smile was that this morning was also to be payday for Kuhn Boon Chuay including an annual bonus. Kuhn Boon Chuay would now have a week to ponder the fate of his bonus, and also a week of his wife giving him the rounds of the kitchen for not getting his pay. A couple of taxis were necessary as there was no room in one taxi for four people and all of our cases. There was no problem with the two hour flight from Bangkok, but I did notice that some of our fellow passengers included some Thai canine search and rescue personnel. I did reflect that by the time they arrived they would not be doing any rescue, just body recovery. There were also a large number of notices on pillars in the arrival/departure area asking for information about people who were missing. Many of them had black and white pictures/photo copies of the person that was missing. Some of them featured pictures of very small babies. It was a very sobering greeting, and none of us said any thing to each other about it, and I guess dealt with it in our own way.
We were expecting a driver to meet us, but were not surprised when they had not arrived. Adam very quickly hired a transit van and driver to take us to Hat Kata (Kata Beach). It took us about an hour to get to Hat Kata as it is nearly at the other end of the island of Phuket, from the airport.
Phuket is Thailand’s largest island and one of the most popular vacation destinations in Southeast Asia, attracting up to one million visitors each year; many of them from Europe during the northern hemisphere winter. It is about 48 km long and 10 km wide. It is a province in its own right and the wealthiest in the country. Originally the prosperity was based on tin production, but tourism is now the major earner. The northern tip of the island is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel of sea, over which is the 700 metres long Sarasin Bridge. Adam was particularly keen to get to the Yacht Haven marina just a few kilometres east of the Sarasin bridge. Dam and Rosalind had their boat moved to Yacht Haven in Phuket, from Reebak in Malaysia, just a few weeks before Christmas. Adam had tried to get news about their boat, after the tsunami, but without any success prior to us leaving Bangkok. The road south passes through a small town called Thalang, which features a large roundabout on which is a monument to ‘two brave sisters who rallied the women of Phuket to successfully defend the island against Burmese invaders during the battle of Thalang in 1785. The main village near where we were staying is called Hat Karon, (Karon Beach), and reminded me in a strange way of some small holiday spots on the Isle of Wight. I guess part of it is the holiday makers wandering around the shops in their bathing togs or not much more. The Baan Kata Villas at which we were staying are at the top of a hill (a good sign) just a few hundred metres south of Karon. The entrance is alongside a guard-house that is manned twenty four hours a day and a barrier moved by the guard to allow access to I think about seven villas. I say ‘think’, as each villa is surrounded by very large dense gardens that are a mass of vegetation of many sorts. The car park for our villa was right at the top of the hill on the property, and as we descended a beautiful pathway through the ‘jungle’ each of us expressed the appropriate number of ooohs and aaahs as the following pictures will illustrate. After we deposited our bags and had met Kuhn Bee, (the chef) and his sister, the housekeeper, Adam and I walked down to the beach front in search of a hire car. As we walked down the hill into the town we could see down some of the lanes on our left and see that the shops down the lanes to the beach front had been severely damaged, also the ground floor of a hotel on the beach side of the main road. We looked at a few places that had cars for hire, but Adam thought that if we walked a bit further he would probably get a better deal. It was quite warm and humid, but good to be walking around after the travel. Eventually we saw a place just opposite the ‘Club Med’ complex and the nice young lady there told us that the wave had come up to the bottom step of their shop, which thankfully for them was about a metre above the water level. From what she said it was clear that the ‘Club Med’ complex would have been affected, as it was low lying, but it was not apparent from the road. We were told that the ‘jeep’ would be ready for us to pick up at 1300. Adam said that when it was ready it would have very little or no petrol in it, and we should not expect it to be there at 1300 as Thai time does not have the same precision as one might expect or hope. Nearby was a tuk tuk stand and Adam hired one for the trip back to the villa as Kuhn Bee was preparing lunch for us on the terrace. Lunch was a combination of noodles, tofu, eggs and chicken and was not too heavy on the chili; I guess that Kuhn Bee is experienced at preparing ‘farang’ (foreigner) food. After the great lunch Adam and I walked back to pick up the jeep. Adam was correct it was not ready and when it did arrive about fifteen minutes later it had no petrol. We drove off ‘on spec’, and luckily Adam’s superb sense of direction enabled us to find a petrol station before the ‘oily rag’ was drained of all its fumes. We went back to villa and picked up Sheila and Rosalind, any thoughts of a quiet afternoon to recover from the travel were gone. Adam drove to the other end of the island to Yacht Haven, where their boat is moored. They were very keen to see that it was ok and this was very understandable. The boat had been serviced and fueled and as we walked down the jetty to their boat the marina crew was just finishing polishing the inside of the cabin. The boat started at the first attempt and with the expert crew work from Rosalind we left the marina, but Adam became quickly concerned as he said the engine was working hard, but they were not getting up to the speed that they should for the amount of revs that he had wound on. We quickly turned back and headed into the marina and tied up at their jetty mooring. Adam put on a diving mask and went down to see if the stern drive was fouled by a rope, or plastic bags, or something else. The mystery was quickly solved the screw (propeller) was covered in barnacles, as was much of the hull. Adam was relieved to find out the cause, and that it was not dramatic. Adam telephoned the agent who looks after his boat, and John (the agent) organized a marina crew ‘boy’ to clean the barnacles off, so that it would be ready for sea next morning. On the way back we called into the large ‘Central’ shopping mall. It is very modern, very large and well stocked. Adam, Rosalind and Sheila went supermarket shopping, but I was content to people watch outside the supermarket. While I was waiting a tall well built German, in his late twenties, came up to me and asked if I could help him. He was quite distraught but our lack of a mutual language did not make it easy. He was very keen to find a Pharmacy, but as all the signs were in English or Thai he could not understand the maps of the complex. There was no way I could explain that I had just walked in and was unsure myself , but I was able to find a pharmacy shop number on a map and communicate to him that the shop was on the next level up, and what the shop number was. He ran off to the escalator and I did not see him again, I was left with the feeling that I should have perhaps done more somehow, but then again I have been told quite a few times to stop picking up lame ducks. The roads are very good and it did not take us long to get back to the villa with the large number of bottles of gin etc oh yes and milk and other essentials, like tonic. Sitting on the terrace , drinking ‘Adam strength’ G &Ts while watching the moon over the bay with about a dozen yachts at anchor, listening to Kenny G made it a great night, our first in Phuket. I went for a swim in our private pool as Sheila showered and went to bed. The shower is in an outside area next to our bedroom and I had to do the check for spiders, snakes, and centipedes, before Sheila would shower. The glass door has a bolt which closes into the floor and we had been advised by Kuhn Bee to close this when we went to bed to stop any monkeys getting into the room while we slept. The shower rose is a large sculptured head and the stream of water comes from ‘his’ mouth, it look very elegant, and especially in context with the trees and shrubbery that surround the shower ‘stall’.



Sheila and the ‘jeep’ that Adam and Rosalind hired for the week


The path down to our villa
More detail of the pathway to our villa, this was Adam and Sheila walking up and out of the gateway; a climb each morning that we said was our aerobic work out.

More detail of our villa gardens, with the dinning room and terrace on the left, with our bedroom underneath; Adam and Rosalind’s bedroom on the right with a study underneath and the pool in front of that. In the back ground is the Andaman Sea.


Some more photos

I forgot to ask what the sculpture was depicting, but my guess was a dugong or manatee, which some claim were mistaken by ‘old’ sailors as mermaids. I guess the longer you spend at sea the better looking they get, and it did look better than some sea gulls (girls) who followed the fleet.
















Sheila resting after the climb from our bedroom to the dining room.

29th December 2004. We got up at about 0730, had a very leisurely breakfast, which included dragon fruit, mangos, strawberries and lots of coffee and toast. I had the toaster by my side so I was the master baker for the week. Then it was back into the jeep and north to the Yacht Haven Marina. On the way we saw two cars being towed along the highway. They were significantly damaged and full of sand, over the next few days we saw many cars that were in the same condition, all victims of the tsunami. Just before the marina entrance the road passes through a small Muslim village, with plenty of chooks and children playing in the road. Going through the village one has to negotiate about fifteen speed bumps. They look very innocuous, but they have been well designed and installed, and both the chooks and the children are very safe. Adam did try to take one or two at more speed initially, but the protests from Rosalind and Sheila in the back provided eloquent testimony to the efficiency of the speed bumps, and the design faults of the jeep suspension under the back seats. Adam checked the stern drive and all of the barnacles had been cleaned off and many of them from the hull. It was quickly apparent that it made a huge difference to the performance of the boat and Adam headed west under the Sarasin bridge and then south, taking us down the west coast of Phuket. I was amused to se that every time we went under the Sarasin bridge, Rosalind would duck her head. There is plenty of clearance, but Rosalind was not able to stop her reflex action.
The transit of the bar across the channel is always interesting, especially when one watches the depth sounder, but Adam is a very competent skipper so we had no real worries. We ‘flew’ south for about an hour, past Phuket airport, with a couple of planes passing over us as they lined up their descent to the runway which starts very close to the sea; in many ways very similar to Hobart airport. We stopped at a small island called Koh Hai, where there are mooring buoys for ‘dive’ boats. There were no other boats around so we could choose any mooring we liked. We did discover that it was much easier for my long arms over the stern to hook the mooring line, rather than Rosalind doing it from the bow.
Rosalind trying to hook the mooring rope at Koh Hai
We quickly put on our masks, fins and snorkels, keen to dive into the 30degree water and see the fish that had waxed lyrical about. It is fantastic, thousands of fish, of hundreds of varieties among very extensive coral. They included Angels, Parrot fish, Barracuda, and Moray eels all contributing to a kaleidoscope of colours. As we swum closer to the rocks of the island there were more and more fish, it was hard to stop and have lunch, but we managed. Rosalind prepared a feast of sandwiches that included artichoke hearts, and exquisite hams. After lunch Adam and I went straight back into the water, then Sheila and Rosalind threw us some slices of bread and the fish went into a feeding frenzy to get the bread, and when we held the bread in front of our masks we had hundreds of fish eating out of our hands, just the thickness of the glass in our masks away from our faces. As the bread vanished a few very keen fish try to nibble our fingers, I guess hoping that our hand were loaves of bread. It did not hurt, but was a little unnerving until you realised that they had not drawn blood. It is just like swimming in a fish tank that is full of tropical fish that have not been fed for a few weeks, a great experience that we were keen to encourage Rosalind and Sheila to experience. They enjoyed the spectacle, but the shrieks alerted us to when the bread had run out. After about another hour or so we slipped the mooring and headed back to the Yacht Haven marina. The mooring berths are fairly narrow so getting alongside, and tying up was always interesting with nearby yacht owners often getting a bit ‘precious’ about the boats. There is apparently a bit of snobbery associated with yacht owners who deride the ‘stink boats’, the motor boats. They seem to forget that they all have engines as well and use the prodigiously especially when entering and leaving their moorings. We got back to the villa about 1845 and as I went for another swim in the pool to cool off after the drive I nearly stepped on a tree frog, cute little bugger. When I went back to our room to dress for dinner, Sheila expressed some distaste at finding three packets of condoms in a small drawer next to Sheila’s side of the bed. It was some time before I could stop laughing enough to explain that they were ‘mossie mats’ for the mosquito coil that is plugged into the power socket.

Sheila on our bed at the villa with the door to the shower back right, and the ‘condom drawer next to Sheila
Prior to dinner we had more G&Ts on the terrace, followed by Chicken Thai salad and various other superb dishes prepared by Kuhn Bee. Adam also arranged for more barnacles to be cleaned off the hull. Apparently ‘Scotch-Brite’ scrubbing pads are the weapon of choice in the fight against barnacles.

John on the terrace.

















One view of the pool with the study behind and Adam and Rosalind’s bedroom above

30th December was again on the terrace and I was not sad to say that it was more of the same and the view does not pale.

Adam and Rosalind on the balcony in front of their bedroom overlooking the pool.


After breakfast Adam and I went to the Phuket Shooting range while Sheila and Rosalind went of an elephant safari nearby. It has only since we have returned to Bathurst that we heard a chap from Bathurst had been to the same place about ten years ago and had been killed by one of the elephants. He had been feeding the elephants bananas, so perhaps it was good that the ladies fed theirs pineapples, though the elephants did throw the green bits away.
Adam and I first used .22 rifles firing at targets 25 metres away. Adams’ score was very good so we had to have quite a few magazines. Overall Adam’s scores were 88% 90% 92% and 95%. Mine were 81%, 84% 84% and 89%, I have since claimed that I should have worn my prescription glasses as well as the protector ones, and then I would have won. Competitive us, no! We then decided that this was good fun and had a go with 9mm colt automatic pistols firing at targets 15 metres away. Adam’s scores were 58% and 47%, and mine 82% and 86% a result that left me somewhat mollified. Adam wanted to redress the result from the pistols, and insisted that we try the ‘clay pigeon’ shooting outside. I was somewhat nervous about this as I had not tried it before, and was sure that it involved some pain to my shoulder. I was therefore happy for Adam to go first and then I would have some idea about what was to happen. The ’birds’ were activated by a young chap who was helping us. Adam shot at nine birds and had nine misses; the last one was launched from a different launcher and rolled across the range in front of the shooting stand. In effect the bird had become a rabbit, the rabbit lived to become a bird on another day! I managed to get seven out of my ten birds; Adam was very magnanimous with his applause and my triumph is not something I will dwell on too much.

Some pictures of Adam and I at the shooting range


We concluded that based on our demonstrated prowess Adam would qualify for hire as an assassin while I could shoot for the cooking pot. Adam’s of course being the ‘best’ paid option.


















Sheila and Rosalind on their elephant trek
www.phuketdir.com/phromtheptour

A photo that shows Rosalind’s and Sheila’s trek through the rubber plantation






















Rosalind and Sheila with ‘their’ elephant

We went to Kata Beach, and had lunch at a street café and people watched. I hold a firm opinion that many German women tourists should not wear the brief and tight clothes that they do. The ‘builder’s crack’ was very evident and it is not a good look, neither are rolls of fat cascading over skimpy ‘thongs’.
After lunch we went shopping in a ‘dive’ shop so that Sheila could get her own set of fins and a mask. Sheila and Rosalind then decided that they would have a foot massage while Adam and I set off on a quest for some fireworks for New Year. Adam drove to Phuket Town stopping on the way at a likely looking store that sold incense etc. “Fireworks illegal” was the response from the lady who owned the store. Adam said that this was what she said just because she did not have any for sale hoping that we might buy something else. After about seven shops with each one giving us the same answer to our questions I thought that our quest was going to be frustrated. But Adam was not to be denied and in another Chinese owned shop a young man led us into the back of his shop and displayed a huge stash of fireworks that would have been the envy of the Sydney pyrotechnics organizers. Adam was like a young kid in a ‘lolly’ shop and as each large firework was explained and what it did, Adam’s response was: “oh yes we must have one of those as well, and Ros is going to be so mad.”
As far as we could understand the fireworks were a mixture of very, very large ‘Roman Candles’ with multiple tubes nearly a metre tall, and coils of ‘bangers’. Adam was also keen to get rockets, but these were not available anywhere according to the young man. Adam was also keen to get some large lanterns that are like hot air balloons, which we could launch into the night sky. Adam was very pleased when we were shown some, but an elderly lady, who we think owned the shop told us that they were made of plastic, not paper and that they would not work properly. We were impressed that she told us not to buy them as they would not work, when we could have easily been conned into taking them. When we lifted the bags with our stash of fireworks we found that we could barely lift them and did ponder at how much ‘black powder’ they must contain. Still ‘carpe diem’ is still part of our philosophy. When we got back to the jeep we thought it was perhaps a good idea to hide the fireworks under some towels while we went in search of some paper lanterns. After we exhausted the possibilities of Phuket Town Adam decided that we should try Patong Beach where he thought we might have more success, as the ones he had seen before had been launched from a beach. As we approached the top of a hill, with the road leading down into Patong there were a large number of motor-cycles, and their owners by the side of the road. As we made our way down into the town we passed a large number of cars and motorbikes heading in the opposite direction. It was a few days later that we heard of the reason behind the sudden exodus. It appears that a rumor had been started that another tsunami was on its way because of aftershocks, and those who had heard the rumor were seeking refuge on high ground. We of course were blissfully unaware of the rumor, and as we drove along the beachfront we were able to drive past some temporary barricades without impediment. Prior to our holiday Sheila had bought a digital camera, via e-bay, and this is why there are a lot more photographs from this trip and especially those showing the damage in Patong beach from the tsunami.
There are quite a few photographs, but I thought that it was important to include them, from an historical perspective.

Pictures of the ’tsunami’ damage in Patong Beach.













Note the depth of sand that has been left by the sea on the ‘tarmac’ road, it can be judged by the red and white kerb.


Some idea of the force of the wave may be judged from the displaced brick pillars








Note the sign: ‘Happy New Year 2005’




Again note the sand that has been deposited on the tarmac road in this arcade of shops.


Once again from the kerb stones one can identify the ‘new’ beach.




Note the remains of a boat behind the root ball of a palm tree.




We did not think that they usually offered a drive through service







It would seem that the strongest structures are those that can ‘bend in the wind’.


More remains of another boat.


I thought that the ‘express’ service would have been slowed down somewhat.

That is the last one of the Patong photographs that I have included, thank goodness, but the words have reminded me of a couple of signs that I noticed as we drove around. They were a source of amusement for me while they either showed some of the complexities of translation or a clever use of the English language. One was describing the virtues of a printing business: ‘EXPRESS PRINTING: YOU WILL WAIT’ and the other was a pet shop, near the shooting gallery: ‘WE SELL FRIENDS’.
I think that my all time favorite was on a billboard on the highway near the airport, it featured a large portrait of a female local politician with the words: ‘WELCOME TO PHUKET WE HOPE THAT WE ENJOY YOUR VISIT’.
Adam and I were a little subdued as we drove back to the villa, I guess both of us affected by the damage that we had seen, but retaining our composure with our phlegmatic personas on display.
It was close on sunset when we returned and we decided it was time for a swim in the pool with a bit of posing by Rosalind and I and Sheila trying out her fins and mask.







Some pool pictures




After our frolics in the pool we walked down to Katong Beach and had a huge meal in a restaurant overlooking the main street. Adam selected is lobster from a fish tank, and to be honest I can’t remember who selected what else, except none of us chose the option that was advertised on the menu as ‘Scillian pizza with crap fish and tomato’.
Sheila and Rosalind were impressed with the motif on their water glasses, which featured erotic posing of couple, with a different pose for each astrological sign. As we paid the bill I asked if we could buy the glasses for the girls, being the last to leave I think they were glad to see us go and happily agreed to sell them to us for a few cents each. The glasses safely traveled to both Bangkok and Bathurst, but any suggestion that the poses might be replicated by us each month has been met with distain.
I have forgotten to mention that before we left, we had another couple of drinks on the terrace, with Adam ‘enjoying’ a quick smoke. All of a sudden he jumped about a metre in the air accompanied with a loud expletive. Out of the corner of his eye he had become aware of a white shape on the edge of the terrace, and he thought it was a ‘boogie man’. The rest of us could not stop laughing at his response to the statue that is featured in the next photograph.
Adam and Rosalind went swimming in the pool until 0200, while Sheila and I slept.
The ‘boogie man’.

On the morning of the 31st December 2004 we had a very slow breakfast on the terrace and then drove north again to Yacht Haven and Adams and Rosalind’s boat Kobetai.
All the barnacles had been removed and it was flying across the top of the water. I have included a couple of photographs of their boat ‘up on stands’ to show how pristine it can look after being cleaned.




We went back to Koh Hai, with Adam and I keen to start diving straightaway. Adam headed off around the seaward side while I took the opportunity to ignore Adam’s advice about the barnacles on the rocks and try to get ashore. The swell and wearing fins made it impossible to walk onto the rocks, so I had to back onto the rocks trying to make sure that when I sat down the swell did not push my bum across the top of the barnacles. Mission accomplished safely with a little bit of heavy breathing and I rock hopped to the top of the small island. I shouted to Rosalind and Sheila, who were still in the boat, asking them to take a photograph of me on top of the island. I shifted position so I could keep an ‘eye’ on them.
I was about to leave the rocks when Adam appeared, and he came ashore as well, keen to conquer the peak. There were a couple of coconuts at the top of the tree and Adam was keen to try and dislodge them with a couple of rocks, so that we could add them to our lunch, but without any success. Before we left the peak there was another photo opportunity of the two of us keeping an ‘eye on the girls?A picture of Adam and John keeping an ‘eye’ on the girls.




The wind started to pick up a little and the girls were a little concerned that the water seemed to go a bit murky, so Adam decided that we would head back and get ready for our fireworks display. The sea was a little choppy on the way back, and it made the trip a little ‘bouncy’, which Adam said was unusual for that time of year. We concluded that it might be associated with some small aftershocks of the earthquake, and determined that if we saw a big wave coming we though that the best strategy would be to head towards it, as we would not be able to out run it, and the further from land we met it the lower the amplitude, and the better chance of riding over it. That was our standby theory anyway. I was pleased that we did not have to test our theory.
When we got back to the villa Adam and I started to look for a suitable site for the ‘explosives’. We considered a piece of lawn near the pool, but after reading some of the instructions (place fireworks on conclete, or some other staple surface) we decided to move the fireworks down to the rocks in front of the villa. We did have some minor reservations about the spelling of the instructions, and hoped that it did not indicate any mistake in the methodology of their firing. Rosalind asked Kuhn Bee if he thought we might cause any concerns with letting off fireworks at New Year, given the tragedy of the tsunami, Kuhn Bee said that it would cause no offence, and that we should celebrate the New Year, and give thanks for the lives of those who had passed on and those who had been saved.

A view of our villa from the sea showing the rocks on the left hand side, from which we launched our display.



It is not clear from the pictures, but it was a bit of a struggle to get the fireworks, over a fence at the left hand side of the ‘sala’, through a bit of jungle and down a very steep earthen pathway. It took Adam and I a few trips that were accompanied by a few laughs as we imagined the power of the pyrotechnics.
Kuhn Bee prepared an outstanding feast for our New Year’s Eve dinner that was accompanied by Adam’s superb selection of French wines, and a reasonable Californian one that I had picked up. We persuaded the ladies that they should come down to the rocks with us so that they could have a ‘ring side’ view of the display. It was with much trepidation that they agreed, as long as they could take their champagne and glasses with them. Their trip over the fence and down the slippery slope did nothing to allay their fears especially when it started to rain a little. We found them a place under a very large rock, which would give them shelter from the light rain, but not impede their view. It would also give Adam and I, a clear run for our hiding hole when the fuses were lit. The first firework that we unpacked from its plastic cover was a bundle of 100 bangers that were wrapped around in a coil. There were no instructions other than light the fuse and move away. Adam was all for following the instructions, but I demurred a little, and suggested that perhaps we should investigate undoing the small plastic bands that kept them in a coil. When we undid the bands, it uncoiled into a ribbon of bangers about two metres long. We agreed that this ribbon of bangers looked like pictures we had seen of Chinese fireworks, and that it made sense to have them separated a little so that they did not all go off at one time. Adam lit the small fuse, and as it started to sputter we raced around a large rock to our hiding place. We did not count the hundred bangs, but we could not stop smiling at our success in the overture. Our satisfaction was not shared by the girls who asked to be assisted back up to the ‘sala’, where they claimed they would have a better view, be sheltered and not have to enjoy such a close relationship to the ‘bigger’ ones to follow. We transported the girls and the champagne back up to the sala and slipped back down to continue the display.
As we about to ‘set up’ Adam pointed out some lanterns drifting up into the night sky and out to sea. We figured that they were being released from Kata Hat (Beach), and then soon after some more from Katong or Patong Hat (Beach). In all we saw about sixty lanterns, and then some paper boats also drifting out to sea. We watched them until they appeared as small specks of light towards the horizon, each of us I guess lost in our thoughts as to what they represented.
The next our of fireworks to be set up was a octagonal bundle of sixteen ‘Roman’ candles, as there was only one fuse and the packaging seemed to enclose them all we decided not to try and unwrap them any further (good choice). The fuse was even shorter on this firework and seemed to stat hissing as soon as Adam put a flame near it. With the ‘fire in the hold’ our speed to our shelter increased with the shortness of the fuse. ‘Woof’, ‘whump’, ‘bang’ and “wow look at that” were the only sounds for the next minute that it took to fire all the missiles up to a very large height. At the apex of each missile’s flight it burst into huge clouds of lights of various vivid colours and sounds. The next bundle of ‘Roman’ candles were quickly set up, with aplomb, given our increased confidence in our ability to light and run, and given our vast experience we decided unilaterally, that we did not need to take as much cover and stood by the next ones as they exploded upwards. “Oh yes, yes”, our delight was almost orgasmic, well not quite, but boys do enjoy their toys and these were absolute ‘crackers’. In all there were about ninety ‘Roman’ candles, and we all agreed afterwards that it had been the best display we had seen. The finale was another bundle of crackers, this time 150 bangers in a ribbon. In our enthusiasm we did not unravel the ribbon properly, and a few of them set off others that were in close proximity, so we have a few examples of premature conflagration, but it no way diminished our satisfaction. We concluded with some ‘toasts’ to absent friends and family, best wishes and kisses all ‘around’, then bed.
1st January 2005.
We were of course late up for breakfast and Adam and I noticed that there were some scorch marks on the rocks and also some red paper debris from the fireworks. We decided that we would see if the wind would clear the paper debris during the day, but if not we would clear it that night. In fact Kuhn Bee cleared it for us while we were away for the day. As we were getting ready to leave, Adam noticed a message, on his mobile telephone, indicating a missed call from our other son Patrick who lives in Hobart with his wife Karen. Adam called Patrick, who told us he was worried about us because they had been contacted by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. D.F.A.T had told Patrick that we were in Thailand and not been accounted for after the tsunami. We had told Patrick the dates that we were in Bangkok and Phuket so did not think it would be an issue, especially since I had sent Patrick an e-mail on Boxing Day saying we were still in Bangkok and ok. Patrick told Adam that he had not been concerned until D.F.A.T had telephoned him, when they raised concerns that perhaps we had changed our plans and had been affected in some way. After being reassured and talking with Adam for some time Patrick said he would contact D.E.F.A.T. and let them know that we were safe and well. We set off for the Yacht Haven marina, and I guess as it was New Year’s Day, there was very little traffic. The plan was for Rosalind and Sheila to take the jeep and drive down to another marina, called Boat Lagoon, located on the east coast of Phuket. This was to enable Adam to take on a full load of fuel next day, and take us to see Phangnga Bay, that is very famous for it’s limestone stacks, plus Koh Phi Phi and Koh Khao Phing Kan (James Bond island) and nearby Koh Tapu (nail island), both of which featured in the 1974 ‘James Bond’ film, ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’.
Koh Tapu (nail island) in Phangnga Bay.
With just Adam and I aboard, and the girls playing at being ‘Thelma and Louise’ on the highway, Kobetai flew down the east coast of Phuket to the channel that leads into Boat Lagoon. The channel starts a long way out into the bay, and is about eight kilometres long, very narrow, and even shallower. As luck would have it we arrived at the channel entrance just about at high tide, at 1400 on that day. We did not appreciate it at the time just how lucky we had been, but Adam did say that he felt the engines push us through some muddy bottom a couple of times. After we tied up Adam called Rosalind on her mobile and we all met up in the marina. Adam arranged to get the boat fuelled, and the chap in charge of refueling was keep to persuade Adam to move his berth from Yacht Haven to Boat Lagoon. Adam said he was quite agreeable to this suggestion as the facilities at Boat Lagoon are far more extensive, and up-market. However on this day all the restaurants and shops were closed with no-where open for us to get lunch. On the way back to Kata Beach I asked Adam if we could stop at the Phuket International hospital, and check to see if there were and Australians or Kiwis who might appreciate hearing an Australian voice and who might need some assistance. Rosalind came in with me as they thought we might need her Thai speaking abilities to make ourselves understood. The nurse at reception spoke very good English, and told us that all Australians and Kiwis had been treated and evacuated. We left quickly as it was not pleasant to see the columns in the corridor covered in photocopied details of adults and children who were still missing, and details of the people who were seeking information about them. We had lunch in the same sidewalk café as we had before and went back to the villa for a quiet afternoon. I assembled a plane from a kit, one of two, that Adam had bought in Italy, last year and which I had kept and brought with me from Bathurst. It was a bit fiddly to assemble, and had four rotors powered by a rubber band, that would lift it to over thirty metres according to the description on the box. For once the description of toys ability was not understated, and when launched from the pool it easily rose to above the height of the villa before falling back into the pool. Rosalind was keen to ‘have a go’ but had not mastered the technique of the launch, and when the rotors started to move around and bang her fingers it became a ‘challenger’ launch with it flopping around on the surface of the pool with a broken rotor. ) “One just can’t trust girls with any toys that have moving parts.” It did not take me too long overnight to do the necessary repairs, but the practice flight early next morning ended in the top of a frangipani tree.
As we were planning on a long day including the trip to Koh Phi Phi everyone was up at 0600 and breakfast finished by 0800. We drove to Boat Lagoon and the chap who fueled the boat told us that it was probably too windy to go to Kho Phi Phi and suggested to Adam that we might be better served by going to another more sheltered area. Adam is always respectful of local knowledge and decided that this was a better idea. We set off with confidence about two hours before high tide, I say with confidence as Kobetai has a shallow draught, especially when compared to sailing boats, and some of the huge cruisers that are parked at the marina. Our confidence was soon shaken, as a couple of hundred metres down the channel we started to churn through the muddy bottom of the channel that winds its way through mangrove swamps. As the heaviest on-board I was sat on the bow to try and lift the stern and minimize the grounding. Sadly I had lost a bit of weight and we became stuck.

Adam tried to use the ‘screw’ gently to push us through, but started to get some ‘alarm’ warning that the engine was overheating. Adam decided to just wait for half and hour to let the engine cool and also have a greater depth of water with the in-coming tide. A couple of tour boats went past us, with a couple of skippers asking if we needed help. Adam declined as he; I thought rightly, concluded that being towed across the mud flats might cause damage to the stern drive. It was quite pleasant just watching the tide come in and the comings and goings of various birds and tour boats. These boast are able to operate in the channel as they have outboard motors that they can lift clear of the muddy bottom and their broad flat hull also assists them. I was amused to see a couple of dogs on the mud flats, I think looking for crabs, their paws were sinking it the mud and in the end they looked like that had gum boots on their paws. I was a little concerned that they might get stuck, but whenever they looked like they might they just jumped free from the mud until they got to firmer ground. After half an hour Adam decided try and transit the channel and we made good progress for about a hundred and fifty metres where we became stuck again on another mud bar. Adam was concerned that we might block channel for other users so lowered the anchor to reduce our drift into the channel. Adam raised the cover over the engine compartment, and we could see how much the engine had overheated because the coolant was boiling, and spurting out the overflow hose into the bilge. It seemed a good idea to have some lunch while we waited for the engine to cool some more, and also for the tide to come in some more. While we ate some great sandwiches that Rosalind had prepared it was interesting to see a couple of yachts entering the channel from Phangnga Bay. The larger yacht had only just begun to transit the channel when it came to an abrupt stop, the much deeper keels on the yachts would be a considerable problem. A smaller yacht came in as far as we were moored and asked which of two forks was the correct channel. Adam pointed him in the correct direction but it was not long before she also was aground. As the tide was near its high mark we were riding at anchor ok, but the engine still needed to cool some more before it would be safe to start. Adam used a couple of bottles of drinking water to top up the coolant reservoir. The cover over the engine compartment was still up so that as much cooling air could get to the engine as possible, and as we munched lunch, Adam mentioned, in passing, that the engine would take a little longer to cool, than it might, because it was black. Sheila considered this comment for a couple of seconds, and then said, “but I thought it was black to start with.” Adam explained that Sheila was correct it had been black to start with. “That was the colour it had been painted, and no it has not gone black because it was burnt.” This caused much laughter for Adam and I, but Sheila and Rosalind did not see our reason for laughing as they thought Sheila’s observations were quite logical. This led onto discussion about the differences between male and female logic, though Adam and I think that ‘female logic’ is an oxymoron.
Adam had a quick look at the stern drive (with a dive mask on) and said that it was amazing how clean the screw and stern drive was, pushing the boat through the mud had scraped all the barnacles off. With the engine cool enough, not to set off the temperature alarms we started to haul in the anchor, but the winch was not cooperating, so Adam and I hauled it in by hand. I was pleased that we were able to haul it free of the mud, and that no-one had to dive down to free it up. Adam still went slowly down the remainder of the channel, but quickly enough to get a good flow of cooling water through the engine, and bring the engine temperature down to the safe operating range.
Rosalind and Sheila expressed the thought that perhaps we should head back into the marina and not run the risk of any more traumas. Adam however was more of the view that having escaped there was no way he was going back into that marina and any thought of moving his berth there was consigned to the deep.
It was about then that Sheila had the idea that we should rename the marina from Boat Lagoon to Boat Maroon. This was a suggestion with which we all agreed and I think it will be a long time if ever that Kobetai is seen I that channel. When we thought about the size, weight, and depth of keel of some yachts and cruisers on the ‘hard stands’ (parking lots) it was easy for us to conclude that some of them will never be able to leave or will have to wait months for a ‘king’ tide.
When we got clear of the channel and out into the bay the previous forecast we had been given about the wind proved to be accurate, and it became a bit choppy and bouncy. Although we could see some of the ‘limestone stacks’ in the bay the visibility was getting less and as the weather was coming from the east Adam decided that we would go around to Koh Hai again on the west coast where we would get protection from the winds.
With a very clean stern drive it did not take us long to get there, have some more food and a swim. However the water seemed grey rather than clear, so we did not stay long and went back to the Yacht Haven marina. We now understood the significance of the name as yachts with deep keels would definitely find it a haven compared to boat maroon. We got a taxi from Yacht Haven back to Boat Maroon to pick up Adam and Rosalind’s jeep, and then Adam drove us back to the villa for a shower, and then a walk down town for dinner. We had dinner on the large balcony of a hotel overlooking the town, but it was sad that we were the only customers. But we did our best to give the impression that there was at least twice as many of us as there were
Next morning the girls and I thought that a relaxing day at the villa might be a good idea. This would enable us to recover from our marooning etc; however Adam convinced us that it would be an ideal day to take the boat to Koh Po (island crab). Koh Po is located just off-shore from the villa, in which we were staying, and give us a great opportunity to see the villa from the ocean. (I think that the Thai language is more logical than English, as in any sentence they put the noun before the proper noun so it is clear what object one is speaking about before adding the specific proper noun. Much the same as French e.g. The pen of my aunt, la plume de ma tante, rather than the English equivalent which would be: My Aunties pen. When one starts with the proper noun i.e. ‘Aunties’, it could be followed by a whole host of things before it will make sense).
We picked up two hundred litres of petrol from the refueling jetty, after getting disentangled from a rope that had fouled the screw. The trip down the east coast was very quick as Adam had predicted, and it only took another forty five minutes to go from Koh Hai down to Koh Po. As Adam, Sheila and I went ashore onto the rocks we could see that it was aptly called crab island, but pleased that the ones we could see were only about three centimetres across. The weather and clarity of the water was excellent, and in fact it was the best days boating and diving that we had.
Adam Sheila and John ashore on Koh Po


After lunch and some more diving Adam suggested that we head north, and explore some more small beaches. Just a few kilometers north we headed into a small cove with an exquisite beach, the gently sloping sandy bottom, obvious from the depth sounder enabled us to get within thirty metres of the shoreline and anchor. After anchoring and putting our dive gear on we noticed the only people on the beach, a Thai lady, with an older man and a child, walking along the beach. The lady shouted to us and asked, “are you looking for bodies?” Adam explained that we were not, and swum ashore to talk with them. Sheila and I followed. It turned out that the elderly man was the owner of a restaurant in a corner of the beach and it had been destroyed by the tsunami. The lady was his daughter and the boy his grandson. As we were talking the grandson was taking our pictures with his video-camera. The lady explained that the beach was called Freedom Beach, and had been recognized as one of the best beaches in the world. It was not possible to get to the beach from the land side as it was separated from any roads by private land. However the lack of access from the road did not stop many people visiting the beach after being dropped off by ‘long-tail’ boats. The gentleman told us that many Scandinavian people usually came early to the beach, and spend all day getting a sun tan and visiting his restaurant, the only building on the beach, and then just a pile of rubble. He added that on the day of the tsunami, there were about two hundred Swedish people on the beach, and when he saw the sea go out suddenly he remembered what he had been told by his grandfather and told his staff to warn the Swedes to evacuate the beach quickly and run to high ground. He indicated some steep steps up which they had directed the evacuees, and he was pleased to say that they had all survived. We said how sorry we were to see the damage to his restaurant, and asked him what he would do. He replied that it was not a problem they would just start again. When he mentioned that he was eighty three years of age we could not help, but be very impressed with his resilience.
He did say that his major concern was the state of the coral on the sides of the beaches as it was one of the major attractions for divers on the beach. Adam and I aid that we would have a look and let him know what we found. He shouted to us to be careful not to let the sea swell push us onto the coral or barnacled rocks. It was quickly apparent that the tsunami had devastated the coral; it was just all grey and broken with no sign of life in or around it. Without saying a word to each other both Adam and I indicated to the gentleman that the coral was fine and full of colour. I
guessed we both had decided independently that we did not want to be the bearer of bad tidings, especially as there was nothing anyone could do to fix it. Our hope is that it will recover quickly itself. Adam headed further out to sea, and I amused myself by dragging some debris ashore onto the rocks. This included a blue and white beach umbrella that had become buried under some sand and rocks, what remained of a metal chimney and a metal hoe with a wooden handle. I was enjoying collecting the garbage but the gentleman and his daughter were concerned I might cut myself and urged me to leave the ‘clean-up to their staff that would start in a few days time.
I headed out to follow Adam and his exploration of some canyons. Soon after I joined him he signaled for me to get closer and follow him. Adam and been following a Moray eel, it was fabulous! Its skin had the colours and pattern of a cheetah and in trying to avoid us was twisting through some nooks and crannies in the rocks. We were thrilled watching it getting into some impossible corners and then doing a ‘Houdini’ and reappearing a little further away. This pursuit continued until I glanced up and realised how far we were from the boat and decided that I should head back with Adam making sure that I could make it. It really was an idyllic day, as we headed back Adam conceded to the revolting crew and let Rosalind take over the helm as skipper.
It should be noted that after taking over the helm the skipper was quickly berating the new crew with some very nautical language, it was payback time, and with interest; much to everyone’s amusement. Adam stayed on the bow for about half an hour until the seas picked up a bit and his bum was getting a bit sore from the bouncing from one wave to the next. Adam and Rosalind did have some small debate about Rosalind’s navigational skills and objective, and whether of not we were heading for the Andaman Islands, but Rosalind Bligh was not to be trifled with and put the crew in their place; supported of course by the sisterhood and a widely grinning Sheila.

On the next pages are some pictures of the ‘fine body’ of the crew and especially the skipper.

Sheila on the bow on the last run into Yacht haven

4th January 2005.
Sheila and I got up for a very leisurely breakfast at 0930, it was another great day looking out from the balcony to boats moored near Kho Po with a backdrop of cloudless blue skies and sparkling sea. Reluctantly we packed our cases, but felt better after having another swim in the pool. I could still see my model plane at the top of the tree but there was no way I could get it down so I hope that the next visitors are able to retrieve it in some way and can find the correct way of managing the launching. At 1230 the taxi arrived to take us to the airport, and I was very relieved that Kuhn Bee and the taxi driver carried our cases from the villa up the hill to the taxi. It was a smooth ride to Phuket Airport and I bid my farewells to the statue of the sisters at we passed. There were no problems getting our flight, but again sobering to see all of the posted notices seeking news of their missing family members. Again for me the most poignant was the picture of an eight month old baby. The picture was of the baby in its christening gown (I think). While waiting for our flight we decided that we would appreciate a change from Thai cuisine, and ordered ‘Whoppa Burgers, fries and onion rings.’ On reflection we did not really need our ‘fat fix’, but the smell was very seductive. The flight to Bangkok was very smooth, and as the plane was not full the service was very good. In the arrival hall there were many tables set up with staff providing information for people, from many nationalities, who were returning from the affected areas, and who were victims. The pillars around the hall were covered with a myriad of requests for information about people who had been ‘lost.’
Our information directed us to a particular carrousel, from which to get our luggage, but after half an hour we were directed to another carrousel and as soon as we arrived so did our luggage. A small wait for our bags, in the scheme of things, did not seem a big deal and raised no remarks from anyone.
Kuhn Boon Chuay was there to meet us and quickly stowed the luggage and had us back to Adam and Rosalind’s apartment in very quick time. I suspected that he was very keen to make amends for his ‘no-show’ when we left. I think he was very relieved when informed by Rosalind that he would be getting his annual bonus.
Kuhn Noy was preparing another banquet for us while we unpacked and had a very welcome cup of coffee. Dinner included a larger quantity of chili than usual; Noy told Rosalind next day, that she thought more chili was needed as we all looked a little tired. Apparently chili in Thailand is considered a panacea. We watched BBC world News, about the tsunami until 1030 and then went to bed. I think I should record the fact that Kuhn Noy is very sought after by both married and unmarried suitors; but it is attention that Noy does not welcome as she is planning to work until she retires to run a business in her village in the North east of Thailand. To discourage these suitors Noy let it be known that while we were in Phuket she had gone back to her village to marry a policeman. Noy hoped that this would deter the pests as police in Thailand are feared. Kuhn Noy also said that his nickname was ‘Got’, a shortened version of Godzilla. Kuhn Noy had in deed gone to visit her village while we were away; but not to marry, just sort out a bit of a dispute with her father over the house in the village that Kuhn Noy owns.
We were awake most of the night; I guess getting used to being back in the city of Bangkok after the idyllic experiences in Phuket. Sheila and I got up about 0845 and had a very slow breakfast.
Adam had already gone to work. During breakfast Rosalind, Sheila, and Kuhn Noy were having fun with their practice of Thai and English, much of which seemed to be about the use of disparaging comments about the males of the species. There appears to be no cultural boundaries to the sisterhood. Outnumbered I retreated to the sitting room to read my books, mumbling something about “quality not quantity.” After a light lunch Sheila and I got ready to go to the Banyan Tree Hotel where we were to have a massage, one of our Christmas presents, from Adam and Rosalind. Just before we left we met Rosalind’s Thai teacher, who comes to the apartment each week to tutor Rosalind in reading writing and speaking Thai. Kuhn Boon Chuay drove us to the hotel, where we arrive early as the traffic was very light (wow). The health studio is on the 21st floor of the same building in which Adam’s office is located. Because we had arrived early, a very beautiful lady in reception apologised that they were not ready for us, and provided us with tea of our choice from a large range. Sheila also quickly spotted that they had a shop full of elegant gifts, including fragrant oils, incense etc, so looking in the shop was no hardship for Sheila as we waited the few minutes for our massage.
Sheila waiting in the health studio.

While we enjoyed our tea we were also given a description of the six different types of massage that were available, with a brief description of each; we were then asked to choose. I asked for the Swedish that was described as gentle, while Sheila opted for the ‘Sweet Jade’ which was described as soft. (Before you think about it, no there are no ‘special massage’ available there, though Sheila and Rosalind suggested that I was disappointed). At 1500 we were asked if we were ready for our massage, and when we replied that we were two very beautiful Thai girls in exquisite Thai costume showed us the way down an amazing spiral staircase to a marvelous suite of rooms in which the individual massage are provided. Sheila’s room and mine were next to each other. Afterwards Sheila claimed that she could hear me moaning in ecstasy, I said that could not be true as the walls were too thick. The rooms are lit with very subdued concealed lighting and the walls painted with very tranquil colours. The floor was dark marble with loose white pebbles making a six centimetre border around the edge of the room. There is a small sofa upholstered in silk; the long narrow massage table with a hole in the ‘head’ so that one can lay face down and breathe with no problems. I was shown a wardrobe with a silk dressing gown inside and the young lady asked me to get changed into the dressing gown, and to open the door to the room letting her know when I had finished changing. As I got down to the undies I was wondering if I should take them off as well as I was not sure of the correct ‘form’ in that place; but as there was a little cotton bag on the coat hook I took this to mean: undies as well. There were no complaints so I guess that I was correct. The lady did not speak more than a couple of words of English, and my Thai is also about half a dozen words, but she managed me very well. First of all she indicated that I was to sit on the sofa, after which she brought over a large wide mouthed copper bowel, in which was warm water; and to which she added ginger tea and numerous rose petals. She proceeded to wash my feet very gently flexing each toe, and massaging each foot very, very gently. Oops nearly forgot, there was also background music that contributed to the whole peaceful ambiance of the place and experience. After drying each foot and placing them on the floor she took hold of my hands and led me to the massage table. Then she took a sheet from the table and held it in front of her eyes while asking me to take off my robe and lie face down on the table. She then used the modesty sheet to cover me from my neck to my feet. She then would fold back a quarter of the sheet each time while she massaged the different quarters of my body; being careful to re-cover each quarter as she finished the massage of that part. The ‘agent’ that she used for the massage was an essential oil mixed with sweet almond oil. It was very, very, very, relaxing, not sexual; but I must admit that when she ran her hands down the backs of my arms and softly held my hands, it was sensual and erotic, but not sexual, if that makes any sense. When she asked me to turn over onto my back she asked if the thoracic scars on my chest were from Phuket and the tsunami, and would it still be ok to massage my chest. I explained the best that I could that the scars on my chest were nothing to do with the tsunami and it was fine to massage my chest muscles. In fact I did have a scar on my right leg from our time in Phuket, it was as a result of my crewing for Adam on the boat and after pushing off from the jetty I dived over the rail stopping with my knees gripping the anti skid pads on the deck; two days in a row! On the way back I bashed it again with one of our cases at the airport, and not long after getting home it became ulcerated and need some doctoring and professional dressings for a while.
The body massage was followed by a soft head massage and each part of my body being discretely washed with warm water, and dried with a soft warm, scented towel. The completion was announced by the young lady ringing a tiny bell and her leaving for me to get dressed. It took me quite a wile to get dressed as I was in no hurry to do anything, I just felt so much at peace and fully relaxed. When I climbed the spiral staircase to the reception area, Sheila was reading a magazine, while she waited. Sheila expressed some thoughts indicating that she had been a little worried that I might have expired; I said that I thought I had and that I had been in heaven. While we came back to earth we were served lemon grass tea and pieces of fresh pineapple and mango.
Kuhn Boon Chuay was waiting for us in the car park, and drove us back to the apartment where we both just flopped and allow the whole experience to continue to weave its relaxing magic over us. In the evening yet another masterful Thai dinner from Kuhn Noy followed by a couple of hours television watching, strong G&Ts, and a comparatively early night.
5th January 2005
Adam went to Singapore for a day and a half on some matter, while I accompanied the girls on a shopping expedition. The infinite search for the ultimate bargain, this time to feature handbags. Lunch was in a very Japanese restaurant, I selected a huge bowl of noodle soup, and Sheila a large portion of sushi and sashimi, which she doubled as it did not look very big on the menu. Wrong! It was huge and two lots of it, even I could not help clean the plates as my noodles were very filling. Sheila has done some research and found a basement market that was renown for its handbags etc. The research was a good investment as Sheila come away with a red ‘Tods’ bag and a cream ‘Bally’ bag. Sheila and I had not heard of ‘Tods’, but Rosalind assured Sheila that it was a very ‘big’ brand in Europe. When we got back to the apartment there was much promenading with the new, fully leather bags and posing by the mirrors. Still as they were all obtained for less than Australian $60, and were fully leather lined and provided with the ‘branded’ cotton bags to protect them they were very much a bargain.
After another Kuhn Noy feast, I decided that I would try and get a haircut, or more accurately a shaved head. Rosalind told me that Adam had found only one barber nearby who was prepared to shave heads, so off I went in search of this particular barber. About fifteen minutes walk away from their apartment almost opposite the Immigration Office in Soi Suan Plu, I noticed a shop with a red and white ‘barber’s’ pole outside. I thought that this was a good start, especially since I could see two young ladies in white coats and surgical masks cutting the hair of some Thai men. I was invited to sit and one of the barber chairs and I asked if she would shave my head. “Number one or number two” she asked, believing that I wanted either a short haircut using the number one guard, or a slightly longer haircut using a number two guard.
“No, no I want it shaved take it all off using a razor”, I replied.
The young lady took off her mask and indicated that she did not understand what I was asking for. Luckily another man in the shop understood what I was asking for and translated my wishes. There followed an extensive dialogue between my translator, the young lady and myself. The gist of the conversation was that the girl had never shaved anyone’s head before, and was reluctant to have a go at my head.
Rosalind also told me later that the only people, who normally have their head shaved in Thailand, are monks, as an expression of atonement, so the Thai are not all that happy with other people having their heads shaved. I smiled a lot and said that I was happy for the young lady to have her first try at shaving, using my head as an experiment. She wrinkled her nose a lot, as they do not think shaved heads look good on anyone, and can’t understand why anyone would have it done willingly for aesthetic reasons. However she used the electric razor first to cut the majority off, and then fit a new blade to what looked a bit like a cut-throat razor. She kept asking me if I was sure that I want her to shave my head, and this caused much hilarity among the other customers. As she was shaving my head she would stretch about and inch of skin using her left forefinger and thumb, and then use her right with the razor to scrape about a quarter of an inch. It was soon apparent that the shave would take about five hours at that rate, but I was quite relaxed about it and enjoying myself. However, all of this was being watched by an older staff member/owner who directed the younger girl to stand to one side and watch as the mama-san showed how it should be done. It was quickly apparent that she knew what she was doing, and had done it many times before as with long quick strokes I was soon completely shaven. The younger girl had a few more goes for practice, while still wrinkling her nose in concern. I had enjoyed myself a lot, and when I came to pay the 30 Baht, (about an Australian$1.50) I gave her twice the fee and this seemed to relieve some of her discomfort.
When I returned to the apartment, Sheila said that she had thought I was just going for a haircut not a shave head. Sheila does not like my shaven head either as she says that I look like a mean biker. I was keen to give my new haircut a bit of an airing and persuaded the ladies to go for a walk along Soi Suan Plu, so that Sheila could see at close quarters how the roadside food stall functioned at night. However much of it was closed by the time we got there, but sufficient to allow us to enjoy some of the local colour and smells.
6th January 2005.
Sheila and I were up early as we had a very full day planned. Kuhn Boon Chuay drove us to the river at Taksin Bridge where we took a river boat to the pier that is closest to the temple (Wat Pho) It is only three minutes walk from the pier, and I think one of the ‘must see’ places in Bangkok.
Officially known as Wat Phra Chetuphon, Wat Pho is not only Bangkok’s oldest and largest temple, but also Thailand’s foremost centre for public education. In the 1780’s King Rama I rebuilt the original 16th century temple on this site and enlarged the complex. In 1832 King Rama III built the Chapel (wihan) of the Reclining Buddha, housing the stunning 46 metre long image, and turned the temple into a place of learning, that still has a number of functioning classrooms. I have included a number of photographs of this very scenic site.
WAT PHO with Sheila in most of them


With ‘three’ guardians.

Sheila by the gate with the Farang (foreigner) guards. The stone statuesi