2nd June

Phuket Thailand Partly cloudy, Temp 31c.

Early start today as we did the ships tour “Around the Island plus Cultural Show and lunch” Our 8.15am start was put off until 8.45am as 2 Singapore Navy boats were in our berth which delayed our arrival. 6 buses were on our tour so 3 went one way and 3 went the other to avoid crowds at each attraction. We went first to the bottom of the island called Phromthep Cape which is famous as a viewing spot for sunsets. There is also a navy monument and a number of elephant statues covered in gold leaf. The views were very good even without the sunset. Our next stop was at the Wat Chalong, a Wat is of course a Buddhist temple. As usual it was a combination of numerous buildings most of which were very ornate with lots of gold. There is even a Buddhist crematorium. To accommodate the Chinese patrons they have a sort of tee pee like building into which they throw cracker (fireworks) to scare away the evil spirits. If you are walking past when they light them they sure scare you. Next on our tour was the cultural show which was performed in a dedicated theatre in Phuket town. We saw many dances performed by colourfully dress dancers accompanied by suitable Thai music performed by live musicians. During the show we experience a tropical thunder storm, it was a good thing we were inside at the time. After the show we went to the Royal Phuket Marina for our Thai lunch which was very good. The Royal Phuket Marina is home to some very expensive boats with one for sale at 9 million barts which is about 3 milllion aussie dollars. I made an offer but they just laughed at my $3000. The Marina also has accommodation not unlike Runaway Bay in the Gold Coast. On the way back to the ship we called at a Jewellery store which is a common trick for bus companies as we believe they get a donation for doing so. Needless to say we did not purchase anything.

By the time we returned to the ship my lady was quite tired so she had a nana nap. She slept so soundly I decided not to wake her so I went to the early production show entitled “Shimmy” using music from the 60s and 70s another high energy show which we have seen on cruises before but it did not matter. When I returned to the cabin Betty was awake so we headed to the Horizon Court for a light meal. Still not feeling the best as she has picked up a cough Betty decided to return to bed while I went to the Vista Lounge to listen to the band play the music of Glen Miller. There was a White Deck Party tonight on deck 12- 14 supposedly you should wear white. I did not attend. Tonight we put our clocks back another hour. I will add photos tomorrow when we have a sea day.