Shamballa Cruising Yacht Club: Phuket Thailand

After going through the Thai Immigration at Ranong we caught a tuk tuk and went straight to the bus station to catch a bus to Phuket, another six hours away. We almost got caught out by the time change acrosss the border. Thailand is 30 minutes ahead of Myanmar. We were all set to have some breakfast but realised the bus was just about ready to leave. So with tummies rumbling we settled into the comfortable bus and napped until our arrival mid-afternoon, catching up on our lost sleep from the grueling overnight minibus ride through southern Myanmar.

Traveling through Thailand we were convinced that Thailand must have bought out the world supply of black and white fabric. King Bhumibol Adulyadej had died in October and every public building was draped in black and white fabric rosettes in respect of their beloved King. The mourning will last for a year. At least half of the Thais we saw were wearing black and the shops were full of black shirts for sale with ‘we love our King’ embroidered in Thai.

Drapes hung in mourning at the bus station

In our previous trips to Thailand we had avoided going to very popular Phuket as it is known for being quite a party tourist destination. But we found a nice quiet beach not far from the airport, Nai Yang beach. Like much of the Phuket coast, Nai Yang had been badly affected by the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. The wave had flooded the entire area 300 metres inland. The Thai have rebuilt but there remain some buildings that have not been rebuilt – too many ghosts.

Hotel abandoned after the 2004 tsunami

We spent the next five days relaxing, walking the beach, taking an occasional dip in the water and exploring a bit of the island by foot and on a scooter. It was idyllic.

The beach at Nai Yang

Fishing boats

The boys going out for a spot of fishing

Our hotel

So restful here

We checked out the Rolly Tasker’s sail loft. We had bought some sails from Rolly Tasker for Solar Mist and were very happy with the quality. Rolly Tasker was an Australian sailor who won Australia’s first Olympic sailing medal at the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne. He started a sailmaking business initially in Western Australia. His sail loft in Thailand is the largest sailloft in the world so we had to have a look. We went on a day which happened to be a public holiday (Kings birthday – still being celebrated eventhough he died). Fortunately the Kings Cup Regatta was on and the loft was still open for emergency repairs. We had a wonderful time chatting with the manager, nosing around the chandlery and browsing the memorabilia on display.

Rolly Tasker sail loft

Another day we drove to some marinas for future reference and explored the countryside. After passing endless rubber plantations in Burma and Thailand we stopped at one along the road in Phuket to inspect the sap coming from the tree. It is quite white and milky.