Yacht Haven Marina, Phuket 08.10N 98.20E

Surprise surprise we are still in Phuket because we are shouting Musketelle a delayed xmas present by way of some tlc to her teak work. With Thailand being the land of teak we could not avoid rejuvinating some of our dear lady's teak timber work, both below and above decks. Wear and tear is one of those things that goes hand in hand with cruising and given the price of labour and access to teak this is the place to do it.

In saying that like anything anywhere it still requires undertaking market research into who you entrust your business and getting a fair deal.

We had heard that Thailand was "the place" to do boatwork but in reality global market forces have reached everywhere and it is nowhere near as good value as we had been lead to believe. For one thing marina berthage charges are no different to Tijuana or Tutukaka (actually Tutukaka is probably cheaper) and, if
it were not for the labour charges, Auckland would be better particularly as you have to stand over these guys to ensure they get it right.

We have had an average of 6 boys busying themselves on a mixture of small jobs for the whole week when one guy with all the tools would crunch the work in 2 days in NZ.

Had to do a double take at an economic comment in the Bangkok Post today that stated the government is anticipating an increase in unemployment but this would not surface whilst the cost of labour remains less than tool costs!!

We are also immersing ourselves in the culinary delights of Thai cooking most evenings as its cheaper to dine ashore rather than aboard (in truth the oven is sitting on the saloon seat whilst the edge of its wooden surround is redone and the galley floor is being ripped up and replaced in part so cooking facilities are a bit difficult). When we say dine, do not think formal restaurant with local body hygiene certification.... no, imagine a shed on the beach adjacent to the marina serving fine local cuisine for an average nz$5/8 per main course and cold beer for $2. Last night B had a superb chicken green curry and P had fresh calamari in garlic with black pepper and a salad.

There are a handful of eateries in the environs and one quickly picks up on the pecking order from other yachties, and most often its not the flashest physically that gets the vote but the cook with skill and personality.

Food is very much top of mind aboard at the moment because when the Navigator checked in to the Bangkok Phuket Hospital for her 'dental root canal' last week they expressed concern about her BMI being low. B weighs in at least 5kg lower than she was in NZ and that is after putting on quite a bit of weight (3 kg) in the last few months. For years P has been insisting on wholesome breakfasts and regular lunches without avail so now when a 3rd party climbs in we have got traction and she takes notice. (B says: I am working on increasing my chocolate intake - that should help).

Temperatures here have been surprisingly cooler than normal at around 28c, cooler at night and windier than normal. They are predicting the rice harvest will be delayed 2 weeks as a result. (heres a tip...as Thailand is the worlds biggest rice producer expect prices to rise in the short term).

On the subject of wind - we have had 30 plus knots for days and the Yacht Haven marina which does not have a breakwater, is experiencing white capped waves in the fairways. Another marina down the coast, the new Ao Po, has a wave attenuator but also no breakwater. Apparently one of it's pontoon broke loose in the same blow causing some major problems.   A local boating publication says that the regional government will not permit breakwaters to be built for environmental reasons - bit strange when they seem to exercise no control over how the land is developed, with "condominium" mayhem becoming a blot on the landscape.

Thai driving habits continue to leave us bemused. In fact P is showing signs of developing an unhealthy road rage mental state due to bikes going the wrong way, bikes and cars pulling out in front with no warning and no checking, cars travelling down the centre line in a two lane carriageway, and cars making new lanes altogether!  The other thing that is amusing is that at busy times the roundabouts are closed and everyone has to drive past to the next U turn area in order to get where they want to go. This is because no one gives way to anything or anyone so the vehicles coming onto the roundabout see no need to give way to those already on it and vice versa - and so the roundabouts simply clog up. Solution close them !!

One of the less nice things we have noticed is the abundance of mangy dogs and cats. Quite sad really and some horrible examples of injured dogs in particular. Mange is a common problem and all the cats have fleas, at the least. There are 2 animal welfare societies but they are fighting an uphill battle.

 

New Years Day In Phuket Thailand

Hello Everyone,

We wish you all the very best for the New Year.

We are at anchor in Ao Chalong (Chalong Bay) at the south east end of Phuket Island. Following a busy day touring the island in our Suzuki jeep we had sundowners aboard dining on cheese and chicken and a very good french bagette from the Tesco supermarket. Consequently we turned in at (about 9.30pm) but woke up conveniently at about 10 minutes to midnight.

There was no formal fireworks display but lots of resorts and restaurants around this very large bay let off fireworks so we had a 360 degee display which was exceptional. In fact the fireworks had started off as soon as it got dark.

Another nice feature were the hundreds of Chinese style paper balloons that light up the sky, powered by little burners beneath them (oil we assume) and so float up into the air gaining amazing height and drifting away in the breeze.

Of course some boat types had to let off surplus red emergency rocket flares which created a bright pink light before drifted down to the water and going out.

This morning we turned on the SSB radio at exactly 7.00 am just in time to hear the BBC broadcasting Big Ben doing the midnight chimes in London.

Phuket is a bit of an eyeopener - this is a mega holiday island but English is not widely spoken. it is quite difficult to find things/ask for information etc. Probably ok for the "average"tourist who does not want to ask things such as "where can we get our washing machine repaired" and "do you know where we can buy plastic diesel jerry cans". Fortunately there is a fairly large contingent of "westerners" who provide/run boat services.

Prices however are pretty high - both for boat work and shopping for food at the supermarkets (as opposed to the local markets).

We have rented a little Suzuki jeep and Peter is doing sterling work driving amongst the large traffic volumes which seem to be mainly huge utes and thousands of motor scooters. No one gives way, its every bike/ute for himself, scooters come at you on the far left of the road going the wrong way (great when we are trying to keep out of the line of fire by staying as far left as possible).

There are a huge number of mega developments of condominiums and apartments all apparently targeted at the expat buyer and now potentially unfinishable/unsaleable in the current global meltdown. Everything is higgeldy-piggeldy with no obvious town planning and shops, factories, houses etc all built anywhere - so your new condo development might be next to the all night street market or the local metal worker.

We are about to return the jeep and go off cruising for a few days around the nearby islands of the Andaman Sea then return to Phuket 05 January when all businesses reopen. We have a number of jobs to do on Musketelle including...repair washing machine, minor teak timberwork, insect screens, stern gland, deflating dink, change engine oil and all fuel filters, source new wind speed/direction transducer, refill LPG tanks, stock up on supplies etc etc plus, another 99 minor things. The most important challenge is getting our Indian Visas which is proving a major....may have to fly up to BKK on Air Asia.

2009, bring it on, lets go sailing !!!!

P&B