Phuket Travelogue

Again, I am posting these pictures long after I have visited the Thai island of Phuket. I mainly started this blog for my parents, as they are not on social media and they said they wanted to see pictures of my travels.  But, after a couple of months they told me there was something wrong with my blog because they could no longer access it.  Well, I checked and had someone else check too and there's nothing wrong with my blog.  And I have found it is impossible to assist an octogenarian and a nonagenarian with technology issues from 14 time zones and 15,000 kilometers away, so the people for whom this blog was created aren't able to see it for some completely unknown reason.  Given the statistics I occasionally review, the number of people who visit my blog postings can generally be counted on two fingers, so I am not entirely sure why I post anything.  

Actually, I guess I post for myself.  I recently opened the blog I kept for a few years in Kyrgyzstan and it was fun to go over places and times I'd forgotten.  So, I guess this post is for me in a few years to help me remember the cool places I visited in Phuket.

Phuket Old Town


Phuket is Thailand's largest island and Phuket city dates back to at least 1800. The old town of Phuket city is an amazing neighborhood built in a quaint and distinctive Sino-Portuguese architectural style, constructed from around the end of the 1800s to the beginning of the 20th Century.  Most of the old buildings now house delightful shops and businesses.










Chalong Temple


The main Buddhist temple on Phuket Island.







The Phuket Big Buddha


The Big Buddha is near the south tip of Phuket island.  It is 45 meters tall and sits on the top of a hill with a stunning view of the south shore of the island. It is very contemporary, having only been completed less than two decades ago.  






The Phang Nga Islands

These islands are situated to the northeast of Phuket.  I took a large, fast speedboat that could hold 25 on a tour through the islands, especially to see "James Bond" Island. (I have an entire post on James Bond Island you can check out on this blog that gives the story of that strange little island.)  I was perhaps most fascinated by Ko Panyi, the 250-year-old village on stilts, housing a community of Muslim mariners.  





We also went ocean canoeing through caves on our tour.









James Bond island.  It's not Bond, but the Tourist with the Golden Gun. 





Khai Gai Island.  It's where our group hung out for a couple hours to go swimming and snorkeling.




The mosque at the old Muslim floating community at Ka Panyi.  



The view of the Andaman Sea from my room at the Hilton Arcadia Resort





The Green Elephant Sanctuary


There's a great deal of unethical treatment of elephants in South East Asia.  The most common culprits are the small businesses that offer elephant rides to tourists.  In order to train and control riding elephants their owners use physical violence against them and keep them in chains.  I happened to pass by one of these dreadful places on Phuket.  Notice the elephant below, its legs in chains, as it waited for customers to ride it.  This poor elephant was clearly in distress, moaning and tugging at its chains, and you can even see the anguish in her face.  



The Green Elephant Sanctuary (GES) was the elephant attraction I visited.  They buy elephants from sketchy tourist traps who want to get rid of their elephants.  They also rescue elephants from other kinds of businesses.  The elephant you see below worked in a logging camp for 30 years.  Any time she didn't comply with her work orders, she was beaten by her owners with hammers.  The GES rescued her from this horror and is now taking care of her.  She still fears humans, and the only person she lets near her is the handler you see in the picture who feeds her and tends to her needs. But now she is safe away from her torture.





GES also provides vet care to elephants in the community whose owners cannot afford treatment for their animals.  Visitors to GES do not get rides; instead, the animals are free and unchained, and receive ethical and humane treatment.  During our visit we got to feed the elephants a snack, give them a mud spa treatment that soothes and cools their skin, wash them off in the bathing pool, and finally scrub them in the gigantic elephant shower.

You can see that the elephants are happy and well-treated.  And it's a joy for tourists like me to have a positive, ethical encounter with these noble creatures.  I think the pictures will speak for themselves.





























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