March 29, 2009. The Andaman Sea. A calm, clear and hot day. Perfect conditions for a spot of fishing.
Never having been sea fishing with the proper gear, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I took up the invitation of three Swedish friends staying at Phuket Garden Home to join them for the day on the good ship Tail Walker owned by Englishman Kurt Lewis. They’d hired Kurt and his boat and crew on several previous occasions and they assured me that the fish would be virtually jumping into the boat.
We set off from Chalong pier around 10.30 a.m., heading at a steady 8 knots towards the two islands Racha Noi and Racha Yai south west of Phuket. Only a few minutes after setting off, Kurt and the crew were sorting out the five rods for general use, two of them linked to outriggers and baited for squid, the others aimed more towards tuna and other larger fish. A sixth rod was set up for Terry, one of the Swedes, who is disabled and has a special rig that enables him to use the rod when something bites…
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David Phuket
The previous post was about pampering through various forms of massage, a passive experience that you just lie back and enjoy! If you want to improve your physical well-being you may wish to take a more active role. For me, the perfect way to do this is through Pilates.
Pilates
Pilates currently enjoys world-wide popularity. As an exercise programme designed to achieve and maintain core strength and stability it is universally beneficial. Indeed, one of the best things about the Pilates method is that it works well for a wide range of people: athletes, dancers, seniors, women rebounding from pregnancy, and people at various stages of physical rehabilitation. What’s more, Pilates isn’t just for women!…
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Gail Phuket, Useful Stuff
Thai Massage – yoga for lazy people!
If, like me, you were born before the invention of “me time”, you may have a lot of catching up to do in the pampering department. Thailand is just the place to make up for those lost decades at prices that would have seemed very reasonable even thirty years ago!
Far from being one of those hot, “new” treatments, Thai massage (Nuat phaen boran) originated in India about 2500 years ago. It is more rigorous than other classic forms of massage with the therapist using her hands, elbows, knees, legs, and feet to move you into a series of yoga-like stretches. Muscle compression, joint mobilization, and acupressure are also used during treatment. Thai massage is both relaxing and energizing and has often been described as “yoga without the work”!…
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Gail Phuket, Useful Stuff
Before heading off to pastures new for two or three months, it’s useful to have a general idea of the cost of living in your chosen destination. Assuming you are not going to eat out every night – the local food may be delicious but sometimes there’s no substitute for home cooking – that general idea will include the cost of food, drink and other household goods.
Phuket is fairly cosmopolitan with many of the conveniences foreigners take for granted in their home countries, including supermarkets. It boasts a number of Tescos (called Tesco Lotus in Phuket), Waitrose in the form of Tops supermarket in Central Festival, Carrefour in JungCeylon in Patong and Villa Market, of which there is a new one about to open in Chalong.
Of course, you wouldn’t be getting a true feel for the place if you relied totally on supermarkets for your shopping, but they are convenient, and in Phuket the prices aren’t bad. If you really want to go local, there are loads of food markets around where you will find some, but not all, of the goods listed below, and often considerably cheaper. However, short of trawling the entire island for the best value, we thought that a general idea could at least be gained from a list of supermarket prices.
The table below is compiled from the prices in the Tops (Waitrose) supermarket in Central Festival. The only exceptions are the vegetable & salad items, which were from the hydroponic salad outlet described below (the supermarket prices are in fact comparable), and the rice, which was from Sakura, our local corner store…
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David Phuket, Useful Stuff
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| Maya Bay |
The Phi Phi islands – Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh – are two dramatic limestone islands forming part of a larger group of islands in the Andaman Sea some 25 miles southeast of Phuket Island. They both have sheer cliffs of weathered rock jutting straight out of the sea, with a large number of rocky overhangs resulting from the constant attrition of the sea on the lower parts of the rock walls. Interspersed along the shore are several beaches, some stunningly beautiful.
The islands gained popularity as a tourist attraction following the filming of the the movie ‘The Beach’ there in 2000. The result has sadly been a huge increase in the numbers of boats arriving daily throughout the high season to do the tourist rounds. The journey from Phuket takes over two hours on a regular boat and around one hour in a speedboat; one hour of constant, spine-jarring bumps when the tide is high. However, it’s worth the battering if your boat operator is smart enough to leave Phuket early and stay ahead of the crowds, although they can’t be totally avoided.
Phi Phi Leh
Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh is normally the first destination, a bay that apparently featured in the movie. A quick walk along the sand to soak up the views of the amazing cliff formations is then followed by a chug in your boat to the mouth of the bay where the snorkeling in the crystal-clear water is fabulous. The water is literally teeming with fish of all colours…
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David Phuket