Au Chalong, Phuket 07:49.17N 98:21.43E
Yachtsongster
Brian Palmer
Fri 17 Dec 2010 14:14
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The plan to sail to Phi Phi Don was aborted and we
decided to make the long hop direct to Au Chalong. It was a
beautiful day with little wind which came from a westerly direction and we
motor sailed the whole way.
Now anchored in Au Chalong we have checked into
Thailand and given a 30 day visa so we have to remember that we must check out
by 14th January at the latest. We scoured the streets
yesterday to hire a car without success and only just managed to get one
today. A brand new Toyota - we were actually the very first
people to drive it. The driving here in Phuket is simply awful
and there are millions of vehicles including motor
cycles. Having waited 2 hours to pick up the
car today we finally got away to the sailmakers before heading to Boat Lagoon to
collect a parcel DHL had arranged to deliver to
us. On our way north we stopped at the huge
Central shopping mall where you drive through an enormous underground carpark
for what seems miles before you can find an empty spot and then you have to find
your way to an escalator to take you to wherever. The number
of people there was mind blowing - there are many thousands of European tourists
here, mainly from the Eastern side, who are shopping till they
drop. We walked miles to find the shop we needed and
then hastily retreated to the car to find our way out of the car
park. We eventually made it out and headed on our way
north.
The journey back to Au Chalong - possibly only
around 15 - 20 miles took almost 2 hours in the heavy
traffic. We arrived back just in time before our
dinghy floated away on the outgoing tide - someone had untied it whilst we were
away. It was an exhausting and stressful day, we
are just not used to the hussle and bustle of tourist lives.
Tomorrow Saturday we will head out to somewhere
quieter.
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