The Quiet Side of Phuket

This is a side of Phuket that we knew nothing of.  It's beautiful, peaceful and well worth a visit.  This is Phang Nga Bay, the bay dotted with dozens of islands on the northeast side of Phuket.  And this is how many of the islands appear.  

When we visited Halong Bay in Vietnam, we thought that was the only place with such karsts; huge limestone formations shaped like gigantic stalagmites created by the dissolution of  layers of soluble bedrock.  How wrong could we be.  This area is full of many really impressive examples and, this time, we get to anchor right next to them and enjoy the scenery without a thousand other tourist boats hanging around.

To be fair, there are quite a few boats coming around a couple of times a day as they take kayaks of tourists into the tunnels which lead into the hongs; internal open ceiling lagoons within the massive rock structures.  They can only enter the tunnels in certain tide conditions so they rush in, rush out and rush off to another site somewhere else.  The rest of the time we have the place to ourselves in peace.

The entrance into the long tunnel

A trip in our dinghy around the islands proved to be spectacular.  The edges of the cliff are lined with hanging stalactites making for some incredible formations and scenery.  We couldn't get the dinghy into the tunnel so we waited 'til low tide and walked in.  Not such a great idea as the bottom was very uneven with sharp rocks, slippery banks and mud a bit like quick sand but it was quite an experience.  The first tunnel was over 50 metres in length, home to thousands of bats and pitch black inside; simply amazing.  Our pathetic excuse for a torch barely assisted and it was extremely heavy going but we finally saw the light at the other end.  However, as the tide was out, it was just a lagoon full of slimy mud.  Now to get back again!

The other side of Phuket is a different story altogether.  There are some beautiful beaches but they are lined with thousands of deck chairs and rows upon rows of umbrellas; one can barely see the sand in between.  In amongst all those are hundreds of oil slicked, overweight tourists (mainly Russian) and none of that, is our cup of tea.  

We had sailed around to Na Harn Bay just on the southwest tip of Phuket to meet up with our friends aboard Lop To but it didn't take long to realise that we wouldn't bother going further up the coast for more or the same.   Its all very pretty but....  Phuket is famous for its resorts, beaches, bars & restaurants and girlie shows.  Not for us (and I do not lie, not for Paul either).    Instead, we reversed gear and sailed up the east coast where we sit enjoying the ambiance right now.

While in Na Harn, Kerstin and I stopped off at a local temple where novice monks were in training.  Again I say, they're so young!

PHOTO GALLERY:

The exit into the hong

 

Monks robes drying in the sun

Na Harn Bay

The case of the disappearing diesel

When we left New Caledonia on our way to Australia some 15 months ago, we did the usual and filled up with diesel.

We managed to sail the first day and a half but then there was a cyclone heading towards Fiji which sucked all the winds out of the area leaving us on a glass pond.  And so we switched on the iron genny only to discover that we'd shipped most of our newly acquired diesel overboard.  It had somehow leaked into the bilge and our automatic bilge pump did what it's designed to do, pumped any excess fluids out.  Not good for us and certainly not good for the environment.

Initial investigations didn't determine exactly what the problem was but here we were, miles away from anywhere with absolutely no wind and very little diesel to compensate.  No wonder it took us twelve days to get to Brisbane instead of the anticipated five days: the no wind situation continued the entire trip.

Once we were settled at anchor in Brisbane, Paul set about trying to find the problem.  Nothing obvious.  He tested this that and the other thing and thought that it may be a leaking pipe so adjusted, renewed, tightened etc everything he could find.  Well, time marched on and there was no longer any sign of a leak but Calypso stayed put up the river the entire time so it really wasn't much of a test.

Time to leave.  We filled up with diesel again, all looked OK and set off down the river.  This time, however, we got smart and switched off the automatic bilge pump and, thank goodness, as several hours later, the bilge was full of diesel.  Fortunately, Paul had rigged up a neat system for polishing the fuel (an ideal way of overcoming dirty diesel so often found in the islands) and was able to recover it all, but now to find the leak.  

I was convinced it was in the piping somewhere but Paul was convinced it was in the main tank itself.  When we got to the Whitsundays, he started to investigate how to remove the tank to have it tested.  Well, someone many years ago, took a stainless steel tank and built a boat around it!  There appeared to be no way to remove it without dismantling the boat or, at least, doing a fair amount of damage to the woodwork.  We had to give up on the idea and isolate it until we had more time to tackle it.

As I was so convinced it wasn't the tank, we decided to do some tests.  We filled it with sea water and left it for 24 hours - no leak.  We blew air into it as much as we could manage and left it 24 hours - there was still pressure when we opened it up again.  Haha, says me, it's got to be the piping!   So Paul redid the whole lot again but it still didn't stop the leak.  Damn!  We again had to just leave it isolated from the rest of the system.

Well, here we are in Thailand so many months later and we couldn't put the job off any longer, it had to be the tank and it had to be fixed before we cross the Indian Ocean.  Paul spent two days at it, did two little unobtrusive cuts into the woodwork and, lo and behold, got it out!   And thankfully, Calypso doesn't look any worse for it.  We took it to an engineering shop in Phuket Town who pressure tested it properly and, yes, they found a tiny split in one of the seams.  Oops, I guess Paul was right!  That's now been welded and Paul's busy trying to put everything back together.  He filled it with diesel last night and is happy, no make that thrilled to report, no leak!

Now I ask, how is it possible to leak neither a single drop of seawater nor a molecule of air but the moment it was filled with diesel, it poured out?  It just didn't seem possible but I'm told it's something to do with the viscosity of the fuel.  And so, long may it last as that's a job we don't need to repeat.

Photo Gallery: Central Angkor Thom group of temples

Angkor Thom is one of the largest Khmer cities lying just north of Angkor Wat.  It is accessed by impressive gates across a moat with avenues leading up to the entrances lined with asuras (Hindu power-seeking deities).  Within the city walls lie numerous temples and terraces.  Bayon Temple is one of the largest Mahayana Buddhist temples in the complex and features a multitude of massive stone faces gracing its many towers.

Bayon Temple in the late afternoon haze

The asuras aross the moat

The South Gate leading into Angkor Thom

Bayon Temple originally had some forty-nine towers, most with four faces facing the cardinal points.  Today only thirty-seven remain. 

With Di and Wattie with Bayon in the background

Tourists on an elephant ride

This guy got a tad close to our tuk tuk

TERRACE OF THE ELEPHANTS:

TERRACE OF THE LEPER KING:

This impressive wall lies at the end of the Terrace of the Elephants and is a maze with a hidden wall inside and behind the outer carved one.

The outer wall

The hidden one

PHIMEANAKAS:

Asuras at the East Gate

With Di & Wattie outside Angkor Thom

TA KAO:

This temple is the only one we saw where there was massive reconstruction work actively on the go.  It was built in the late 10th Century and is being reconstructed by the Chinese government.  Climbing the extremely steep and sloping stairs to the top was a bit of a heart stopper.

This is a drawing of how they think it had originally looked & hope to achieve again

Photo Gallery: Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Preah Khan

Angkor Wat at sunrise

View looking east from inside

And along the second level

 Carvings of an apsara as per the following photos were literally everywhere.  An Apsara is a beautiful supernatural female spirit in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.  They are often depicted dancing.

 

Bas reliefs covering the walls of the third enclosure.

The ends of the external balustrades were all decorated with multi-headed snakes

The windows commonly featured lathe-turned balusters

 

There were lots of these little chaps running around

What a memorable visit

TA PROHM: 

Ta Prohm Temple is a very picturesque complex with amazing silk-cotton trees and roots growing all around and through the structure.  It was built in the late 12th Century by King Jayavarman VII and dedicated to his mother and, fortunately, no attempt has been made to remove the trees.

PREAH KHAN:

Preah Khan was also built in the late 12th Century during the reign of Jayavarman VII and was possibly a Buddhist university as well as quite a sizable city.  From the outside, we thought it was relatively small.  Not so, it was enormous with passages leading off into all directions, really quite spectacular.

Vishnu reclining

 

A rubbing, the only souvenir I purchased the entire trip.