Friday
So today I’m going on another day, a tour of Phuket sites.
I’m being picked up between 9 – 9.15 so I’m up ready & waiting by 9.
The Mini us arrives at 9.05, as before I’m the first pick up the tour is due to start at 10.30, so a few stops to,go.
I don’t mind being the first pick up, I get to have an enjoyable drive through the various places, Surin Beach, Kamala, through the mountains, it’s lovely.
We get to Patong and our first pick up at 9.40. It’s a very fancy Resort, our guide, Yew, jumps out to collect the new people. I sit and wait, and wait and wait! After 15 mins Yew comes back and apologises profusely unfortunately the people aren’t ready, I get out and go and wait in the lobby. Another 10 mins go by and they finally appear (their pick up time was 9.30 – 9.45) I am really miffed! I hate people being late it’s disrespectful and rude. They don’t even bother to apologise.
We head to our next pick, now running late, once again we wait 15 mins for these people to rock up! The next pick up is another 20 minute wait! WTAF is wrong with people!! I’ve now been sat on this bus waiting for people for over an hour!! It just makes me pissed off.
Poor Yew, keeps apologising to me, I think because I told her after waiting 20 mins the first time that we should just leave without them!
Eventually everyone is on board and we head to our first stop Kata view point, this is high up in the hills overlooking the beaches and bays around Kata.
It is a stunning view, made more beautiful by the clouds. We have a good walk around. The only blight is the person there who has a gorgeous, huge Fish Eagle and a Fish Hawk which you can have photos with. I just hate seeing this, those birds should be free to fly.
After this we are going to see ‘The Big Buddha’ again high up on a hilltop, it’s a massive 45meter high white marble Buddha, that they started to build in 2004.
In order to get to the Buddha we climb up the mountain on quite a bumpy twisty road, which is great until the small child sitting next to me starts to be sick!! Joy. Late, kids and puke!! Yeah, fun days out…not!
I’m still irritated by the lateness! The family are very apologetic and are also being very chatty to me, so I forgive them. 😃
The Big Buddha is very impressive as are the views, it’s not too busy which is great. You have stunning views in all directions. It is gorgeous.
I stop on the way down to grab a banana and a Liptons Lemon iced Tea, I feel so much better after this, possibly I was a little Hangry earlier! 😬😬
I get back on the bus feeling much more benevolent towards my fellow tardy passengers. 😇and we head down the mountain. The next stop is apparently to have a photo taken with a baby elephant. Again I find this horrible and cruel, I saw a few Elephant Trekking places on the way up the mountain, and an Elephant chained on a precarious sloping piece of hill! I am glad to say that nobody wanted a picture, we all said it was cruel. I hope that this sort of practice becomes illegal soon. The poor baby elephant looked distressed.
Our next stop is Chalong Temple, or Wat Chai Thararam. This is the largest and most revered Buddhist Temple in Phuket.
It is so lovely to see a Temple again! I haven’t seen many since Chiang Mai!
The grounds are stunning, lots of flowers and trees. The whole place is a beautiful calm oasis. I really loved walking around. It would have been nice to stay a little longer, but we had our obligatory 30mins then on to the next stop.
Next we are going to visit a cashew nut place!
So, apparently all Cashew Nuts are shelled by hand, as the nuts are all different shapes and sizes so machines can’t do it! It looks like a long process, the nut grows on the bottom of a fruit, which is then picked the nut taken out, the outer shell pierced then cracked and the nut removed, at this stage it is inedible until it is roasted. No wonder they are so expensive. There is so much work involved. 😳
We get to try some different flavours, the seaweed one was nice! We then have time to look around the shop and buy stuff. I don’t, as I’m not a huge fan of cashews.
Next stop a Honey Farm. The place we go to has a few hives, but their main production is on a farm in the mountains. We get to see some bees, taste some honey, the flavours are markedly different depending on the flowers etc near the hives. Again we get to shop, again I buy nothing!
Back in the bus and now we stop at a Gem Shop! I look around, try on a couple of blue topaz rings(Gorgeous) but buy nothing! I’m clearly not their ideal client! 😂
Then we have a stop in Phuket Old Town, I use the opportunity to grab a coffee and some yummy coconut pancakes, have a wee then it’s time to go.
The lovely family next to me ask if they can have a picture with me! Not sure why, but Hey Ho. They call me Miss Claire, cute. They also take my telephone number, they are coming to live in London for a few years in September, while the husband does his MA, so perhaps they just want to have a few connections.
After this it’s home, I am last drop off, obviously 🙄
All in all an OK day, some highs and lows but great to see more of the area.
I grab some dinner then off to pack! I’m moving hotels tomorrow.
😘❤️😘❤️
Hereandthereclaire.com 