27^th February 2006

We’re about to leave Phuket to renew our visa – we’ve been here 3 months? Incredible.  Only just finished getting the kitchen fitted into both houses, just had a few friends round for a ‘kitchen warming’ and off we go

Nine adults and 3 children round our kitchen table

I still haven’t had my 6 front teeth permanently fixed, here’s hoping the temporary one’s don’t fall out and I swallow them accidentally!

Nayang beach is our local swimming spot just 6 minutes drive away

If we get low tide early morning, the snorkeling is perfect, like being inside an aquarium.   The coral reef which protects the small long tail fishing boats offers us splendid spectacle of so many schools of fish and good varieties of coral to enhance our senses for the day, plus a good bit of swimming on our way out and back again.

The water being about 28C feels warm compared to the cool wet beach

Where the tide has gone out.

Scorpion Fish in shallow water,

Sometimes eight at a time round one small piece of coral

Soft red corals in deeper water

Long tail fishing boats waiting for the tide

Kata and Karon Beaches, SW coast Phuket

We managed to get away on a couple of occasions, once to have lunch with our French friends in Phuket on their boat Guerelec, who showed us how to clamber down to Banana Beach, whilst most other lunch guests took the longtail boat to bring and fetch them.

       D & V relaxing a Banana Beach, situated at the base of a cliff

Krabi Bay, where the famous James Bond Island draws so many tourists

Inland looks very similar, these limestone ‘islands’ are dotted  amongst the forest surrounding the large Bay.

A drive to Krabi town from Phuket and back is an easy day out for lunch

School Bus, Thailand style

Phuket Festival -  schoolchildren demonstrating their musical skills on the traditional instrument, similar to a xylophone called ‘ranaat ek’

The elephants used to roam wild in Phuket, now they are all tamed and cared for by their owners.

Don’t be jealous of their mating programme!