Palm oil fruit

We saw many of these huge trucks transporting a large 45cm long fruit to depots on the freeway. We had no idea what there where. Then when leaving Chumphon we took a back road through the plantations of Palm trees and were close enough to see the fruit. I then saw the fruit on the Oil Palm. It grows at the base of the palm frond and becomes a huge bunch of berries. These are crushed to make Palm oil which is the fastest growing oil industry of all the oils. Its cheap and can be found in many foodstuffs and chocolates as its solid at room temperature. Its very controversial as many forests in Indonesia are being burnt down to make space for Palm oil plantations.

This is a Coconut Palm on the left and an Oil palm on the right.

Seen on the road

The road trip proved to be very interesting. The site of what back home would be overloaded trucks, became the norm. The cargo was light, normally empty bottles. The vehicles were just lengthened with a long plank off the back.

The other interesting site was the trucks with 8 to 15 gas bottles behind the cab. It seems they are driving on a kind of LPG (gas). Reading on the Volvo web site they have trucks set up for gas and when the gas runs out the Diesel tank is used. Thailand has a good network already set up for these trucks.

There is so much fruit available in Thailand. We stopped at a road stall for a snack. Bought a large pineapple and the lady cut it up for us with a very sharp knife. 40 Baht. It was very juicy, delicious.

These folk live in this stalls, note the picture of the King on the wall.

South to Phuket

On the way back we spent the night in Starlight Beach resort, Pak Nam, just south of Chumphon. Very quiet spot with the sad site of polluted beaches. We went for a walk but were too nervous to swim as there were many bits of glass on the beach. Clean large cottages, very comfy.
We drove to some beach stall restaurants and ordered our food, while looking out onto the pretty bay.  We were the only people there. As dusk arrived so did the mosquitoes, they were everywhere! I look my food and ate it in the car! Rob and Harold were moved to another table and they put coils around them. These are burnt to chase the mosquitoes away. Not the best dinner experience.

Bangkok sites

Our last stop in Bangkok was Soi Cowboy, or red light area. It was only 5 pm so nothing was happening yet, the street signs are self explanatory. Interesting that the police 'Safety Zone' was in the middle.

Back at our Ferry Station no 15, we watched other smaller taxi boats arriving. This one has the flat back section which makes boarding easier.

Next to the dock one can buy bread to feed the fish. There are hundreds of fish in the river here and no one eats them because that would bring bad luck from the Buhdist temple next to the river!

Walking back to our guesthouse we passed the Tuk Tuks waiting for a fare. Our street is very busy in the morning as the Tuk Tuks and motorbike taxi's, taking people, who arrive by ferry, into the city. Its amazing watching the ladies in their smart attire sitting side saddle on the bike taxi's. They are back again in a few minutes for the next client.

Breakfast at the Guesthouse started with Mangosteens and Red pear. Mangosteens are my favourite, sweet and juicy. They also have amazing health benefits.

After breakfast we heading out to start our journey south to Phuket. 

Bangkok city

9 million people make up Bangkok city. It has clogged roads and we were warned not to try and drive or take a taxi in the city. The 'Sky Train' public transport is fantastic and took us where we needed to go. Below the sky train is a pedestrian walkway and below that is the street. The pavements are line with food vendors so its alive with noise and activity.

The traffic is very colourfull due to the brightly coloured taxi's and tuk tuk's.  Shopping here is easy and there are lots of centers to choose from. We only spent 2 days here so just touched on a few sites.

Sky Trail overhead, with the walkway just below it.

Here we are walking on the elevated walkway. Looking down we found the Erawan Shrine. It was originally built to ward off bad luck during the construction of the Erawan Hotel. Now its very popular with the city community as a place where wishes are granted. All the yellow are flowers laid by the worshipers and each person lights a few yellow candles on the shrine.

Pink, lime green, blue, yellow...the colourful taxi's

canal trip in Bangkok

Back at the Ferry station we booked a trip on a large 'long tail' boat that would take us on a trip through the canals for an hour. We were the only people on the boat. Basically the chaps line up on the side waiting for clients. There are many canals and they used to act as a transport network before the roads were built. Now we only saw a few locals paddling around.

Harold was with us, the canal is lined with wooden and brick houses. It was interesting to see how many people live. The river is fresh water but is still tidal. The Gulf of Thailand is where this river ends, that is 25km away. The land is all very flat with the max elevation of 1.5m.

This lady, represented the advertised, 'small floating market'. She came up to us to sell her goods.

 We did not buy anything. 

We passed these kids playing in the water in an old bath tub.

Ground subsidence is a problem here and it is happening at a rate of 10 to 30 mm per year.

Kings Grand Palace

Wat Phra Kaew. This compound is also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and was the residence of the King. Now days some of the buildings are used for certain ceremonial occasions.
It has a fairytale feeling, like Alice in Wonderland. The buildings are all close together and have high columns. Many are covered with mosaic pieces, many are glass which makes it shimmer in the sun. Quite a sensory overload.

The Emerald Buddha temple is protected by 2 huge mythical giant figures.
According to reliable chronicles, lightning struck a Chedi in Chiangrai province of Northern Thailand in 1434 A.D.and a Buddha statue made of stucco was found inside. The abbot of the temple noticed that the stucco on the nose had flaked off and the image inside was a green color. He then removed the stucco covering and found the Emerald Buddha which is in reality made of green jade.

When King Rama I was still a general during the Thonburi period in 1778 he captured the town of Vientiane and brought the Emerald Buddha back to Thailand. With the establishment of Bangkok as the capital, beginning the Rattanakosin period and the Chakri Dynasty, the Emerald Buddha became the palladium of Thailand and has been here ever since. On the 22nd of March 1784 the image was moved from Thonburi to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Three times a year his clothing is changed to something appropriate to the climate. We saw him in his winter robe. No photos are allowed so I found this photo on the net. It shows his 3 outfits.

Showing the detail on these smaller figures.

Between all the colour and detail of the buildings was this calm green lawn with trimmed shrubs. We have seen many trimmed bushes, mostly into animal shapes. 

Arriving in Bangkok

We arrived after traveling about 915km from Phuket. Coming in on the 5 lane, each way, freeway was a little stressfull but we coped fine. The first thing we noticed was the smog over the city.

We crossed the big Chao Phraya River on the King Rama 8th suspension bridge. Quite impressive.

 Booked into the little guest house 'Wanmanusarn', had a huge room with little balcony. The owner Ann was very helpful and showed us to the Ferry. It arrives every 20 min and goes up and down the river. One ticket for 15 baht takes you anywhere. There are other boats coming so we were advised to take the one flying the Orange flag.

Trip to Bangkok Jan 2013

Having never been to Bangkok we decided to do a road trip and see some of the country side.
The familiar site when leaving Phuket island are the food stalls. They sell mostly, dried fish, freshly cooked red crabs and pineapples.

We drove North on the West coast up past Ranong and then across to Chumphon and North again.
The first stretch of road was quiet and very pretty going through lots of forested areas. (Rubber trees and bush) This road is often busy with foreigners doing their 'visa run' (renewals) at the Myanmar boarded.

Navigation was done with our ipad. The GPS on Goggle maps was perfect and the blue dot showed us our progress on the roads.

Our first night stop over was in the sleepy town of Phrachuap Khiri Khan, we stayed in an old hotel right on the beach 'Hadthong Hotel'. A room with breakfast (a good buffet) was Baht 1100 (R320.00).
Good clean rooms with aircon!
This is a beautiful bay with calm seas, a quiet town with a few restaurants along the beach front.
On the hill was a Wat (Buddhist temple), that I'm sure only attracts the fittest of followers.

Phang-Nga bay

We always visit these islands with our friends and I am always amazed by their beauty.

The next day we drove under the Sarasin  bridge which connects Phuket island to the Thai mainland.

We spent the next 6 days anchoring in a different  beach each night.

Rob decided to take Glen skiing with our dingy. Not having ski's on board they used the blow up lilo. He did very well on it.

This interesting Trimaran was anchored in one bay. 'Adastra' it was built in China and launched in 2012. Info on the web says its very hi tech and everything can be operated from an ipad even at a distance. She is very impressive to look at.

Back in Phuket December 2012

We arrived back in Phuket and after a good nights sleep went to see what how 'SeaWolff' had survived the low season. The engine batteries were flat and she was alittle mouldy inside. Its seems the air-conditioner, that we left on to dehumidify the boat, leaked its gas. After 3 days of cleaning, sanding and painting a fresh anti-foul paint coat, she was ready for the water again.

Friends Cathy and Glen joined us and we took a trip into Phan- Nga bay.
Here they are heading for a group of island just off Ko Yai. You go through a hole in the wall and arrive into a stunning cove.