Phuket ( no not that pronunciation!) Thailand. Make that U a Long vowel sound!

 

Looks just like the travel brochures! We are visiting our last city in South East Asia today.  We’ve heard lots about this paradise and finally are getting to visit! Today’s port is a tendered port and again we needed to use the local boats to get ashore.  It was an easy ride and we looked forward to getting to our tour. Once again, we ended up with a big bus and ten, yes 10, passengers!! Our luck has been amazing!  There doesn’t seem to be a secret to how we end up with fewer passengers in our bus, we often have chosen the last included tour (we are slow moving in the early am) ,or people change their minds about doing the tour and don’t show up, or it could be because our traveling companions are tall and we ask for the least filled bus so they can have leg room…whatever the reason, we are delighted that we had one of the buses with few on board. The down size ,of course, is that for the guide/driver there won’t be the number of tips for them.

Today will include a lot of driving as the tour takes us over many hills to see both sides of the island.

Look closely…the amount of wires and cables running up and down the street always amaze me! How does that possibly work? It makes me happy for my underground wires at home.

The national flower are the yellow hanging blooms

Our first stop was at the four headed Buddha temple atop a beautiful mountain with a great view. 

View from the temple

Isn’t that a million dollar view?

This was a type of temple/museum, a type of lighthouse. Inside there was a good display of lighthouse memorabilia 

The temple of the four faced Buddha. Surrounded by hundreds of elephants.

Inside the alter was the Buddha. Each side had a direct to face.

Some of the surrounding elephants 

Various sizes

Another view

A closer view of the Buddha 

Afterwards we traveled to another Buddhist temple

Entrance gate to the temple Wat Chalong

The abbot’s temple. Inside were three statues that were incredibly ice like of the first three abbots of the temple

The bell tower off to the side

The temple that house a bone of Buddha

Inside the temple

The garden behind the temple. The hedge was in the hope of a snake

Inside the cone shaped fireplace people can buy fire crackers to light off to help send prayers off.

Along the fences are small urns with the ashes of deceased believers. Because there is no longer enough room and because of the younger generations movement away from the area, many people choose to be cremated and their ashes spread in the water now instead of being put near the temple. 

Another temple in the distance. After this, we headed to the cashew factory.

A cashew tree with the fruit

A cashew fountain

Raw cashews

Each cashew is opened by hand

The women work on piecework..by the kilogram. The machine is like a hand press.

Another temple. Phuket has over 40 temples

The last view as I boarded the tender to return back to the ship after an afternoon of sightseeing.what a marvelous place.