Thailand …… a little further

I caught the ferry from Koh Phi Phi Don to Phuket

The most important member of this journey well secured

Phuket is an island as well as a city.  The island is lovely, beautiful beaches, fairly mountainous with green jungle.  There is an impressive statue  of a  large golden dragon emerging from the sea in the centre of the Old Town, Hai Leng Ong, as it is known, protects the island.

Hi Leng Ong – Sea Golden Dragon

The Old Town where I stayed has been quite well preserved.  The buildings are constructed in the Sino-Portuguese style, many of which, especially the mansions, were built by Hokkein Chinese who came to mine tin on the island. At one time, there were 2 navigable rivers leading right to the centre of the Old Town making it a very useful port for local and international trade.

Some of the art is as good as Georgetown

The pavements have these crazy tiles that make you think you’re walking on an uneven surface – very weird – makes you not want to look where you’re going.

Crazy Tiles – never walk here if you have had a few!

Then of course there’s Patong Beach – the real  attraction.  The beach is beautiful and the nightlife is decadent – perfect combination for tourists.  It reminds me of Hamburg’s Reeperbahn in the 70’s. I learned some lessons there which stood me in good stead  in Bangla Walk.

Here’s a conversation between me and a lady when I stopped in at a bar for a beer.

She: “Hello, I sit with you”

Me: “Why?”

She: “You very handsome man – look like Colonel Sanders”

Me: “That’s hardly a compliment!”

She: “You buy me drink – I like Vodka”

Me: “Why?

She: “Because I sit with you”

Me: “You’re welcome to sit elsewhere”

She: “You no buy drink?”

Me: “No”

She: “Goodbye”

…and here endeth the lesson!

Just lately – as the monsoon season approaches – it rains in the afternoon.  I’ve learned to start early to finish my ride before mid-day or watch the sky like a hawk because when the first drops come you know you’re in for a downpour.  Ranong Province, where I am now, has the highest rainfall in Thailand – 17 metres per year – so it rains very hard for short periods, very frequently

Then I rode to Khao Lak. Cycling out of Phuket you cross the bridge which spans the very narrow stretch of sea that officially denotes Phuket as an Island

Sarasin Bridge – linking Phuket to the mainland

Khao Lak is a town but the name applies to a series of villages stretching all along the coast.  Such magnificent beaches – kilometres of white sand and many, many resorts all claiming exclusive rights to the beach in front of them. I stayed in a somewhat basic hostel and was joined by 2 backpackers who really made the afternoon and evening delightful.  Both French but they had not met before and were not travelling together.  Sabrina and Corentin.  We got on well from the first moment and had a great afternoon and evening swimming and surfing at the beach then sheltering from the rain in a nearby cafe (which fortunately sold beer) and enjoying a great Thai meal together.  Sabrina had a Polaroid camera and she took a selfie of the 3 of us.

We watched a beautiful sunset and a monitor lizard

From Khao Lak I cycled to Khura Buri where I met 3 Thai cyclists making their way from Ranong to Phuket.  They were taking a break and having lunch before continuing very brave as it was incredibly hot.  I was done for the day and it was good to relax and chat. The one cyclist had a Thorne bike – the same  brand as mine – of course we compared notes!