Phuket, Thailand

March 8, 2023

I don’t know what I expected from our visit to Phuket (poo-ket), but it certainly wasn’t the bustling city we found! I have seen the pictures of the stunning beaches on the island, however, we only saw those from a distance.

We had joined a private tour of the island with a small group. We hadn’t met any of the people with us before. With our guide, Cat, we got into our 10 person van and headed out. It was very hard to see out of the windows because they were so low, and I wasn’t able to get as many pictures of the city as I would have liked. The ones I did get were taken with hope and a prayer that I would get something interesting.

The wiring around the city was pretty sketchy looking. It was generally a rat’s nest of cables, sometimes decorated with twining flowering vines. Here’s a photo of one of the safer situations.

Our first stop of the tour was a Thai Buddhist temple. It was very different than the temples we saw in Malaysia. As before, there were large grounds with a collection of buildings and beautiful plantings.

There were cats everywhere! They were obviously very well fed and healthy and contented.

After again removing our shoes, we explored a couple of the buildings. The first one was a shrine in which people were leaving flower offerings and praying. There was a fortune teller throwing sticks that each had a number on them. When you got your number, there was a corresponding fortune for it. No one in our group participated, but it was very interesting to watch.

We collected our shoes and headed across the courtyard to a three story temple. Once again barefoot, we spent time exploring, climbing stairs, and enjoying the beautiful view. The interior of this temple was so different than the ones in Malaysia.

In the distance, we could see the Giant Buddha. That’s where we were headed next.

The Giant Buddha is still under construction as money allows. To enter the grounds, you must follow a very specific dress code. Knees and shoulders must be covered for both men and women. All attire was to be respectful. We saw tourists turned away because they didn’t have the correct clothing. Yes, the Giant Buddha is giant.

You could climb the stairs is reach the Buddha where you would find monks chanting and more statues. I opted to remain below (thanks to the blister I was developing on my big toe due to all the barefoot climbing I’d been doing), however Brian forged ahead. This is him in the photo below in the middle of the picture.

He found some interesting sights when he reached the top.

We left the Giant Buddha and headed out for some sightseeing with a focus on the gorgeous beaches.

Now came the shopping portion of our tour. Our first stop was a cashew nut factory. Cashews are a very profitable crop for the Thai. It is an incredibly labor intensive harvesting process since each nut needs to be shelled by hand. Each fruit of the cashew tree has one nut hanging from the bottom. Each nut is a different size so mechanical shelling is not an option. The fruit pictured below has a nut on the bottom.

Inside the shop, there was a woman demonstrating the shelling process. Lots of samples were handed and and we took the opportunity to restock our room snacks. The cashews were very tasty! We also quenched our thirst with local beverages.

We headed off to what was called the “world’s biggest gem store” and it may well have been. The visitor center had its very own aquarium which was, certainly, nothing I’d ever encountered before.

We were loaded onto, for want of a better word, a “ride”. It was like a Disneyland ride through a history of jewel mining and jewelry design. We weren’t allowed to take pictures. There were animatronic dioramas for each era illustrating the growing sophistication of the mining process complete with laser lights, glittering jewels and video. The obligatory sales pitch was included reminding riders that the best way to show your sweetheart your love was to buy the perfect piece of jewelry. Once off the ride, we were funneled through the workshop to whet our appetites even further.

Next came the high pressure sales. As we walked into the gallery, each couple was assigned a salesperson who would not leave your side no matter how many times you said that you weren’t going to buy, but just wanted to look at the pretty jewelry. Brian and I ended up sitting in the waiting area with most of the rest of our group. One couple wanted to buy a loose gemstone. At this point, I have to admit, I was over this tour. The jewelry store left a really bad taste in my mouth, my blister hurt, and I was ready to head back to the ship. This was a bad decision. By doing this, I robbed Brian and I of the chance to explore more and I have huge regrets over that.

On this tour, I learned that I didn’t like being forced to stop at the tourist trap shopping areas (although I don’t regret the cashews!). Brian and I prefer to wander and look at our own speed and go wherever we want to go and try to get a sense of the places we visit. Touristic shopping areas have their own place, but I don’t like feeling trapped in them.

Lessons were learned and, hopefully, the same mistake won’t be made on the second half of our voyage!