Diwali celebration

As per Saini's explanation Diwali is in celebration of homecoming of Ram after his exile. Those who want to know more may click this link

Anyway, I decided we'll celebrate the Diwali at Chao Mai beach doing some BBQ and relaxing in Trang province. We set off with me, Jira, Saini and Kalpu with Vivek and Rajaram to join us later.

17th we are busy chasing BBQ items for the Diwali celebration, we already got rockets in advance. Jira's brother N. Thuen ascertains we can fire rockets and do BBQ at Chao Wai Beach so we decide that there is where our celebration will take place. Rest of afternoon is spent guiding Vivek to Trang and he finally arrives shortly after dusk.

The beach itself is huge and very shallow. I waded out several hundred meters and was only ankle deep in the sea. It was low tide at the time so it was not surprising.

After dark we built up a fire from the drift wood on the beach so one could see what one was eating. The menu was squid, shrimp, fish and chicken with spicy Thai dipping sauce and beer of course. This time we had no Kingfisher as we had depleted our stock in the Lumut drydock.

Saini was busy guiding Vivek as he tended to get lost on the Thai highway, eventually he found the way and arrived after dark with Rajaram. They also brought the ghetto blaster so after that it was Indie pop time.

Everybody was enjoying until Saini fired off a volley of rockets. It did not take many minutes for the park wardens to come around and tell us to put out the fire and stop shooting rockets off. Oh well, we put on the car lights and slowly winded down the BBQ and headed for home.

Sunset at Chao Mai Beach On our way back to Khuan Kun we get permission from Jira's father to shoot off all rockets in front of his house the spirit returns to Saini, Raja Ram and Vivek. We arrive there shortly and park & start to offload rockets. Saini & Co start to shoot off a most incredible amount of incendiaries. At times it seems Vivek got an infinite supply in his car trunk but it also showed signs of coming to an end when he whipped out the "badawala" rocket battery. Finally after abt 30min of incessant firing of rockets and the neighborhood awakened we had finished all our stuff. I said I'm going to sleep but Raja Ram said he had not had enough to eat so he needed something to eat, same as Saini and Vivek. I sent N. Thuen to get the guys fed and headed myself for some shuteye...

Back to work again...

So, once we arrived Phuket 6th Aug I was off the ship again on to spend my remaining vacation days, after that it would be continuous work until next May again...

I went home to Jira and just relaxed until 14th when we made a sojourn to Chumphon province to visit relatives, this time Jira's brothers mother-in-law. She has farms near Lang Suan. It was a grueling drive up north half way to Bangkok with a lunch stop in Surat Thani at a highway Co-op eatery. All and all it took us 5 1/2 hrs to get from A to B. The mother-in-law had her house high up in the hills and it was pleasantly cool in the evening, even the mozzies did not bother us too much.

After arrival though we still drove down to Lang Suan Pak Nam (Lang Suan by the Beach) and saw a huge aircraft carrier built from concrete erected on the beach. It was a memorial for King Mongkut (Rama 5th). At the market we bought seafood for dinner and also visited an aunt there. Well up in the mountains again cooking began. As it was nearing voting time some guys appeared with rice whiskey bottles and tried to get the local menfolk drunk. I guess they ended more inebriated than the guys of the house (I had no part in it).

The Kings memorial

Then saturday morning 15th we got up early and started to pick Long Kong fruit from the mother-in-law's orchard. Long Kong fruits are as sweet as Lychee's but hairless and they grow funnily straight out from the tree trunk. The fruit is very well liked by ants and the are testy too and like to bite. This discovered too when climbing up a tree and harvesting it. I was picking ants off myself for an hour afterwards.

Mother-in-law also gave concentrated Durian candy to take down South. The candy is manufactured that several Durian fruits are peeled into a wok and then put on low heat while the wok is stirred all the time. Some people also add sugar but in this case none had been added. The stirring goes on for up to 12 hrs until all liquid has been heated out and only a thick brown paste remains, this then is collected into containers and kept in a fridge. The candy can be eaten just like that and is very filling, same as the fruit in it's natural consistency.

Once we had 7 crates (abt 120kg) of Long Kong in our pick-up truck we loaded ourselves in it and headed down south again. This time we did a late lunch stop near SUrat Thani at the Phrap Pla restaurant by the sea. It had a long walkway to get to the building itself but the view was very stunning and the oysters cheap (25 THB compared to Phuket 45 THB or >). Once fed we loaded us up again and headed for the last stretch home to Trang.

Then on 19th morning it was time to travel to Phuket and sign on Kalizma. I had an handover with Avnish and he arranged a farewell party in his restaurant Kargo Curry near Laguna. The food was excellent.

Next day, 22nd Aug, it was time to cast off Phuket an head down to Lumut for our drydocking. The weather forecast looked fairly ok and what happened then, I will update you after we've completed our works in Malaysia...

Related pics here

Visiting kids

On the 22nd it was time to take the bus up to Bangkok and visit my kids. The bus was a VIP bus and it was frigid, luckily I had a sarong with me that I could try and warm myself. I arrived semi-deep frozen to Mor Chit the next morning.

Kids both were in good health exempting some sniffling and cough. We had a weekend of playtime as they were too busy weekdays studying. Their uncle had started a chicken and duck farm that they had fun feeding.

Pheung and Finn off to school

On the 29th evening I headed back south as I needed to get on Kalizma to take her to Langkawi. This time I took a night train. It was far more comfortable than the bus and I was prepared as I wore jeans instead of shorts.

The evening went chatting with teachers returning from a seminar in Pattaya (I wonder how those two go together). Around 9pm the train attendant came and folded all beds down and made our beds, then it was just to climb up and get some shuteye until next morning...

Car crashing in Thailand

20th I drove to Phuket to pick up my laptop. Luckily the techies had managed to save most of my data from the protected hard drive so I could be a happy camper again. The official diagnose was a faulty RAM chip. On the way back I had a misfortune to collide with a motorbike.

Not this bad though...

I was cruising on a straight double carriage road abt 80km/h and at one point I met a motorbike that just turned in front of me. As soon as I realized that they are turning to right over the road I slammed my brakes and veered to left. By this I managed to avoid a frontal crash but the motorbike did not stop or try to avoid us so they hit my right rear tire. I could see people flying like ragdolls in my rear mirror. Because of the impact I swerved 90 degrees to starboard and stopped in the middle of the road. The engine died at the same time, I just pressed the clutch to roll back a bit in order not to be in the way of other oncoming traffic.

Once off the road I got out of the car to survey what had happened I discovered 3 youths lying on the road with minor scratches and torn clothes. I had actually stopped in front of a road rescue station so I asked Jira to ask them to call for the police and her to call for the Insurance Company. The rescue people loaded the 3 boys in a car and sped them away to hospital to be checked.

After awhile a constable arrived on a motorbike to take the initial reports and photos of the scene. I checked the motorbike myself, it was a total loss. The rear drive gear had split against the road surface and my rear tyre. I had bits of metal in my flat rear tyre too as well as dents on the whole right aft portion. After a couple of hours the Insurance Company guy arrived to the location and took his photos of the scene. I drew up a picture of what happened and Jira wrote it in Thai. Once we had our tyre changed we headed for the local police station to sign their reports.

It turned out that the 3 boys and the whole kin was there too. They requested Jira if we could handle our repairs so they would handle their repairs. We said it was ok on our behalf. We learned that the boys were only 15yrs old and had borrowed the motorbike that was only 2 days old. The father of the boy that had driven was ashen probably due to the extra expense of having to buy a new motorbike. The boys came and apologized to us in person for their reckless driving. I told them they were lucky today. After awhile we were called in by the head sergeant of the station and he read th law for the boys and their parents as they were still minors under Thai law. The boy got a 400THB fine for driving without a license.

After everybody had signed the police report we were given permission to leave. We arrived home late in the evening.

This was my first real crash in my life and it was in a sense scary as I could not control the events in any way as the boys on the motorbike had other things to do than look at the oncoming traffic so they almost acted like a person jumping in front of a train. Luckily the result was not the same and no fatalities occurred. I just hope they learned a valuable lesson.

The Thai traffic statistics are terrible reading, the fatalities in a year goes to thousands and the accidents to tens of thousands, all mostly due to drunk driving, underage driving and speeding. It seems at times that Thais start driving a motorbike when they can reach the handlebars and the parents allow them(!). No wonder accidents happen.
One never knows how your day will turn out when you wake up in the morning.

Trip to Ko Samui

On the 13th the entourage packs itself in the pickup again and we head for Ko Samui to visit Jira’s younger sister. I’m still on the road to recovery but feeling ok for the trip. We drive the whole day and take the ferry at Surat Thani to Ko Samui, only 420THB for the vehicle. The ferry seems to be (judging by the old signs) a Japanese 2nd hand find. It has Airconditioned lounges, a cafeteria and foot massage to offer.

The trip only lasts for 1,5hrs and we head down to the car deck to get off. We drive around half the Island towards the airport at Chaweng beach where Plen lives with her husband. Her kids are with us as they are being looked after by her mother, they are all ecstatic of seeing mommy and daddy again. The evening is spent cooking and catching up.

14th we laze the whole day and in the afternoon go shopping for seafood, it is not that much more expensive than on the mainland. Everything else is though as the Island seems to be mostly geared up for tourists which abound compared to Phuket. I have also never seen so many English signs posted, actually more than Thai signs, all advertising for services, restaurants etc. In the evening we head down to Plen and Muk’s restaurant at the beach. All the seafood is BBQ’d there and we all have a delicious and enormous dinner.

15th is spent driving around the Island and visiting tourist spots. The 1st stop is at the Grandfather and Grandmother rock. I have no idea why they are called so but Jira’s sister is leading me onto the rocky outcrops pointing at another rock jutting up saying “that’s the grandfather rock” and we walk a bit further down towards th waters edge and she points at a cleft and asks me “Does it look the same?”. A light goes on in my head and I laugh. They also sell here locally made coconut candy that is an Island speciality. No wonder at all as coconut groves abound everywhere you drive.

2nd stop is at Namuang waterfall that is but a trickle down the mountain side into a pool of muddy water. Kids are seen splashing around there. We don’t linger long and leave after we have fed the elephants with bananas.

Next stop is at Hin Lat waterfall that is at the edge of the nature reserve that is in the middle of the Island. The water is not running much more here either but the waterfall is in several stages and has “cauldrons” of water where one can take a cooling dip. I venture up the rocks that just gets bigger and bigger the further I get. Eventually I discover the waterfall has a fork on it’s way down but as the rains have not started yet it is dry. I go up further and climb huge boulders the size of brick houses. I don’t reach th end after 1 hour so I decide to take one last dip and head back. I discover that the cauldron has many small fish that comes and pokes at me when I sit in the water listening to the birds and the trickle of water down it’s path. When I come back all are ready and waiting for me, Muk is buying Durian fruit several of them and we gorge ourselves on the King of Fruits while driving back home. Dinner was made at home this time, spicy Moo Phad Phet that burns the living daylights out of an ordinary man.

16th July was time to do temple hopping. We visited so many temples that I lost count. I “hired” a Luang Pho Daeng amulet at one temple by the beach while Jira & Co made merit with the monk. One temple that stciks in mind is one with a huge Chinese laughing Buddha surrounded by Hindu deities like Ganesh and Krishna, beside these was a giant Buddha statue with more arms than an octopus. I reckon they depicted all the postures Buddha has (Well, excepting the lying down pose). Once at home we went and visited the temple built on the hill on top of the airport, there was a magnificent view of the Island.

The Buddha and all his hand postures

17th It was tme to pack our gear together and get back to the mainland. We started early morning and arrived safe and sound to Trang same evening.

Related pics posted here...

Getting sick from local mosquitoes

Thai mosquitoes in the act

10th July I get sick. I wake up in the middle of the night to that my every joint is aching and I run a high fever, so I quaff some paracetamol and go back to bed.

Next morning I still feel bad and I can see that I am starting a rash like measles (which I suffered when I was a kid). Jira concludes it is a local sickness that is obtained from mosquito bites. I endure the whole day thinking I will get better but the fever seems to gain momentum in the evening so we head for a local doctor and her private practice.

At the Clinic the Doc seems to draw same conclusions and I get a shot and many different colored pills to take. Doc advises me that I should not drink excessively and live a regular life the following 6 months as the fever may and rash may come back. The fever lets go but the rash remains. It is bloody itchy too.

After some days the rash also fades away. Only thing remaining is a constant neck pain, like after sleeping on a bad pillow. I hope it will also disappear soon.

After doing some reserach I found out that I might have gotten "Chikungunya", roughly translated "grandmothers illness" by the Thais although the original name stems from Mozambique as it is associated with aching joints.

Below is a description from the US CDC website:

Chikungunya fever is a viral disease transmitted to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Chikungunya virus is a member of the genus Alphavirus, in the family Togaviridae. Chikungunya fever is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., joint swelling), laboratory testing, and the possibility of exposure to infected mosquitoes. There is no specific treatment for chikungunya fever; care is based on symptoms. Chikungunya infection is not usually fatal. Steps to prevent infection with chikungunya virus include use of insect repellent, protective clothing, and staying in areas with screens. Chikungunya virus was first isolated from the blood of a febrile patient in Tanzania in 1953, and has since been cited as the cause of numerous human epidemics in many areas of Africa and Asia and most recently in limited areas of Europe.

See original post and more info here

Trip to Hat Yai and Songkhla

3rd of July we loaded our entourage into our pick-up truck and headed for Hat Yai and Songkhla. Eventually the goal was to have me and Jira take a traditional tattoo by a Holy man (like a Brahmin). We reached Songkhla at noon and we enjoyed Samila beach and the Mermaid and Cat statues there. The beach peddlers were not as active and not as frequent as in Pattaya or Phuket beaches which I found pleasant. I bought the kids a set of spades and buckets and showed them how to build sand castles. The grown up Thais sitting in the shade probably thought I was another crazy farang playing in the sunshine, the kids were not of same opinion.

Later on we stopped and went up to Tangkuan Hill to enjoy the view and pay respect for the Temple up there. At thebottom of the hill there was a lot of monkeys and they had been made a playground over there. Monkeys alleviated the heat of the sun by jumping into a pool specially for them only.

In the afternoon we headed for Hat Yai to do some shopping and to find lodging. Eventually we booked into Siam Center hotel close to all mall’s and shopping streets. After a short shopping spree we headed for dinner to Thalee Thai seafood restaurant that served a delicious meal.

Next morning 4th July we packed into the pickup truck and heade for the outskirts of Songkhla to Singhaburi where the Holy Man resided. We met our guide and he drove ahead to the “Ajarn’s” compound following narrow streets into the Amphoe passing temples and whatnot. We learned that he only does men, even no women was allowed into the parlour so they had to wait outside. I ventured inside the parlour and saw a handful of youngsters puffing on cigarettes trying to look tough. At the end of the parlour sat the Ajarn in a white dress and beside him was 2 other guys busy tattooing 2 other clients. I suppose they were his disciples. I wai’ed the Ajarn and the shrine beside him. Then I was invited to choose a picture, it was easy for me as me and Jira had decided on a “Ha theuw” (5 rows). Once chosen I was told to sit down and wait for my turn.

I was shown a home made video of young guys going into trance in the middle of the night around a huge bonfire. They were letting the spirit of the Tiger come into their body and while this was happening they let out very Tiger-ish sounds and grunts. After that they jumped into the bonfire kicking and throwing around burning sticks. Some guys got odd ways to spend their free time…

After awhile next in the program was to donate the price of tattoo (500THB) and read a poster asking for the good fortunes involved with this tattoo. Unfortunately I don’t read Thai so our guide he read for me and I repeated after him. Then I was asked to sit legs akimbo in front of the Ajarn, breath in deeply and slowly, close my eyes and clasp my hands in front of me. I suppose the idea was to get into a meditative state. Kind of difficult when the Ajarn started hacking into my back…

I sat like that for some time and after awhile I think my legs hurt more than my back as they were getting numb, very numb. That’s also one way to get your attention elsewhere. I can’t say how long it took but I just had to extend my legs in front of me, meditation or not the legs had to get some blood. The tattoo was not that bad, only when he got over some sensitive nerve endings at my spine I felt like crawling into the floor but I persisted stoically as the gaggle fo teenagers were gawking at me and for sure betting whether I would stand it or not. For awhile I was watching another boy being tattooed by one of the disciples, could not be more than 15yrs old. He sat in the same position as I and he was huffing and puffing from pain and leaning forward and forward until his forehead touched the floor. I think he had the same idea of crawling under the floor.

Then all of a sudden the Ajarn told me he was finished. I had to prostrate in front of the Ajarn and he recited some prayer in Pali “validating” the tattoo’s power. After that I sat and made some chit-chat with the Ajarn and he gave me some instructions of what I could not eat or do, otherwise I would loose the power within. The Ajarn invited me to come back after one year to do another tattoo, who knows, maybe I will…

Processing rubber

I was given the opportunity to watch Jira’s sister’s husband processing rubber sap. In one night about 45 liters of sap is gathered by bleeding the rubber trees. This must take place daily otherwise the trees dry up like cow teats.

N. Rid cleaning up after rubber making

During rain no sap can be gathered so the Rubber farmer sleeps instead. Annually the rubber collecting stops for 3 months (approx. Jan-Apr) in order for the trees to recuperate, this is done when the tree drops all their leaves and grow new ones.

Once the sap is gathered the processing starts, 4 liters of sap is poured into a pail and mixed with 1 ltr water and 1-2dl of hardener, the mixture is stirred and then poured into a form.

This time there was a total of 12 forms filled, once the last was filled the 1st form had hardened. The Farmer then tipped the forms upside down starting from beginning and flattened the “cakes” out with a wooden bat and his feet, once this was done every flattened “cake” was fed into a roller that was operated by electric power.

The final stage was to feed them through another roller where a pattern was also made ontot the rubber “mat”. After this the mats were hanged to dry and after two days they could be sold to any rubber factory to be processed further to any plastic or rubber products that we need in our daily lives.

The whole operation took about 2hrs and will bring abt 1000 THB into the Farmer’s pocket. Some Farmer’s prefer to skip this whole process and sell the sap but there is a lot of cheating going on with middlemen, added water, measuring amounts and so-on…

To see the video I made abt it, click below:

Hot springs and Sa Morakot pools

This weekend I took Saini and Kalpana to Trang province and we visited the Klong Thom Hot Springs where one could sit in naturally formed cauldrons of ca 40°C hot water running down from a stream out of the jungle. According to a posted water analysis it did not contain much of any minerals at all and in fact the sulphurous smell that one usually gets was virtually not existing.

While sitting in the water I actually overheard a Bangkokian tourist asking another guy “Where do they boil all this hot water?”…

Enjoying all the boiled water...

A sign proclaimed “30minutes for good health”, there was also traditional massage stalls where one could further enhance the relaxation of a hot bath but we would have none of it as we continued onward to the ”Emerald pool” or Sa Morakot in Thai.

Up the stream

The “Emerald pool” or at some places it was written “Crystal Pool” brought up a vision of a pool full of crystals or something like that but when we arrived I saw I had my visions all wrong. It was a round pool filled with clear water that by the reflection of the greenery close by turned the water emerald color to the eye. A very picturesque scenery and there was quite a few tourists splashing around in the water.

On the way to the blue pool

The water ran from the jungle into the pool continuously, hence the water was not murky. Soon enough we wanted to go and find out where the water was coming from and we started walking along the stream that was filling the pool. We arrived to an arid area that was just like a wasteland bordering the jungle and water was running in small streams all over. The bare grey matter was just lime. Above the lime hill there was a small pool that was named “Ascetics pool” and a small “sala” had been erected beside the pool with 2 ascetic statues inside, if one wanted to do some meditation.

We continued forward on a wooden board walk deeper into the jungle and soon we were passing huge rainforest trees with enormous trunks. We took some nice snapshots of each other between the large roots and after awhile we came onto a trodden path and some signs pointing to the “Blue pool”. We ventured further until we arrived to the “Blue pool”.

The "Blue pool"

It was in the middle of the jungle, no sound around except of us and the birds. The pool was absolutely blue. Me and Saini plunged in and swam around the pool and found out it was almost 5 meters deep in the centre although it did not look like that. The water was so clear that the sense of depth could not be ascertained. The bottom was of powdery white sand so fine that if one took a handful it was washed out when you reached the surface. Small bubbles was constantly rising up to the surface and I suspect it was either methane from rotting jungle or sulphuric gases from volcanic activity. The smell was there alright. The blue color to the pool came from the depth of the water. I only missed any Elves that would come dancing out from the jungle riding unicorns, otherwise the whole scenery was very much from the imagination fo Tolkien. We were lucky we got the whole pool for ourselves the time we stayed there as on the way back we met scores of teenagers heading the way we were coming from.

Once back at the Emerald Pool it was time to walk back the 2 km to the car and head back to our lodgings. Not a bad way to spend a day, entrance cost for foreigners 200 THB/ head. The park had imposed a ban on bringing in foods too, hence all surroundings were quite clear of rubbish (same as at the Klong Thom Hot Springs).

Sunday morning Saini wanted to see the La Khaokob cave as Richard and Jyothi had bragged about it so said and done I took him and Kalpu there and they emerged exhilirated abt 40minutes later from the bowels of the Dragon. Then it was tme to head back for Phuket and to visit Kargo to see the F1 rally at Silverstone. Unfortunately Force India did not score any points on this rally either but it was the best performance from Fisichella during this season.

Tips for yachts visiting Phuket

Below are contractors and tips I find useful for any yacht visiting Phuket:



PROVISIONING:

Supercheap - a non airconditioned superstore with practically anything you can imagine to need. I did all provisioning from there and ended up with a weekly expense for 10 crew at around 6-7000THB. Go early in the morning (~0715hrs) and you will get fresh vegetables and fish before they run out.

They also have a huge department for medicines, so any yacht looking into replenishing their medical chest, that is the place to go to. They accept credit cards.

Location: Drive along the main road towards Phuket town, pass the Patong junction, over the hill towards Phuket town, keep an eye on the right side and u-turn after u seen the sign "Super cheap", there's a gas station just before.

Central: the department store here is excellent for finding western products (ham, salami, cheese etc.)

Location: Turn towards Patong and drive to the next crossing, you will see Tesco Lotus, continue past it and U turn once you see "Central".

Master Butcher Shop, providing 1st class meat products with associated pricing, a must when you are getting stuff for the Guests.

Location: 16/14-16 Moo 3 Chaofa Nai Road, Vichit, Muang Phuket 83000

Tel: +66 76 282 039, +66 76 264 043, Fax: +66 76 263 935

Mobile: +66 81 737 6931, +66 89 648 1256

http://phuketindex.com/phuket-travel/service/butcher-shop.htm

In Tesco Lotus there is an excellent wine shop with great selection. Wine shops can also be sighted on the way to Ao Chalong or towards Ao Surin.

Phuket map

METAL WORKS:

P-S.T.L. Mr. Chatchai or "Peak"

Location: 64/47 Moo 7 Rassada Distrcit, Muang, Phuket 83000

Mobile: 08 9592 5071

I have used this guy for several steel works, plain steel and stainless. He did e.g. a swimming ladder to my tender boat and renewed plenty of piping in the engine room. Very amiable chap and honestly says whether he can take on the job or not. English speakers probably needs an interpreter as K. Chatchai is not too proficient in english. Very competitive pricing of services compared to the guys in Boat Lagoon.

AGENTS:

Asia Pacific Superyacht Services - the evolvement of SEAL to APS, run by Gordon Fernandes. Expensive.
http://www.seal-superyachts-asia.com/ for contacting any of the APS agencies.

South East Asia Liveaboards Superyachts (SEAL) is the oldest agency in Phuket
http://www.seal-superyachts.com for contacts.

International Super Yacht Services (ISYS) represented by Gareth Twist in Phuket as "Yachtsolutions".
www.yachtsolutions.net

Din (known as Dodgy Din), sometimes employed to do ship clearances. Works very cheap but can end up being more expensive when doing "dodgy" deeds.
+66840531418

MARINAS:

Yacht Haven Marina, run by Nick Wyatt and Zara Tremlett, a lovely couple that goes the extra mile to secure a berth for you. Big marina in N part of Phuket, very quiet and safe with all the trimmings that goes with a marina. Downside is that if you have depp draught then you need to wait for high tide to get in and out from the marina.

http://www.yacht-haven-phuket.com/ for contacts.

Ao Por Grand Marina

Opened this year near Ao Por pier and not tried and tested for the NE monsoon. Built on a spot that is exposed to the monsoon and also has very strong currents. Could be a bad place to moor during extreme situation (wind combined with spring tides and perhaps rain squalls). No restrictions for coming and going depthwise. More expensive than Yacht Haven but I'm sure prices can be negotiated.

http://www.aopograndmarina.com/

Berama Bay:

Being built on the Island opposite Ao Por Grand Marina. Not opened yet but marina will be very sheltered and have no restrictions tidewise. Whole project gone bankrupt and waiting to see if it ever will be developed.

Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina

Two marinas at the end of a dredged ditch going through a mangrove forest. Very swanky places, good for low draught smaller yachts.

http://www.royalphuketmarina.com

Electronics and electrics:

Electrical Marine Co Ltd, run by Damian Barrett. Very good service and gets things fixed. Price accordingly.

http://www.electrical-marine.com/ for contacts.

Maretron, run by Arto Holappa, a rambling Finn that is more interested in the sale than after sales satisfaction.

http://www.navasia.net for contacts.


SHIPCHANDLERS:

OH service & Marine Hardware run by Sarit Dechakul a.k.a. "Oh"

Location: Ban Kho Aen village adjacent to Yacht Haven marina.

Small shop that provides all small things needed to maintain a yacht, same prices as in Boat Lagoon.

Opposite Boat Lagoon entrance is a big Surapol Shipchandler, has all stuff one can imagine, but as this is the area for yachts and supplies, pricing is accordingly.

In Phuket Town there are also Shipchandlers, a bit hard to find but the one who seeks shall find. Sorry, for the vague directions.

PERSONNEL:

Agencies mentioned above, some of them provide crew in case needed. Otherwise sometimes dayworkers can be inquired from marina offices or they might approach the yacht for any work available.

I could write volumes more about what to find in Phuket, I would recommend many of the guides available, e.g. http://www.andamanseapilot.com and Phuket Gazette as well as Phuket Calendar, they are full of advice and contacts.

Appendix problems

My Darling, Jira, has a history of intermittent heartburn and indigestion and last wednesday she started complaining about stomach pain and I thought "Ohhh, here we go again". Jira is particular that she can't drink any stomach tonics nor chew any medicines for stomach, so it's difficult to suggest treatments. It is also not easy to get stomach friendly foods here in Thailand as many dishes are stir fried and has loads of chillies....

Anyways, she was getting bad and thursday morning she was a bit better but after breakfast she got worse. She called a Doctor that recommended to take Ponstan painkillers. Ok, we got some of those and the pain was relieved a bit. For those who don't know, Ponstan is a painkiller that is somewhere in the middle of aspirin and morphine, lol. Ponstan's took her through thursday.

I consulted the Shipcaptain's Medical Guide and there was all the ailments that one could suspect. I was reading abt peritonitis, appendicitis, severe indigestion etc. There was even a chart showing where the pain is and a probable diagnosis, none of them fit Jira's pain description.

Friday morning she woke up feeling better but after breakfast Jira was saying her belly hurts more and I had a look. The whole belly looked a bit swollen, but she said the pain was on the left side only. At noon I said it is better to go and see a Doctor as she was not getting any better so she called a friend to pick her up. She left for the Phuket International Hospital and after a few hours she called back and said she had been diagnosed with appendicitis.

Not surprising as I can recall the Teacher from my medical classes that appendicitis can have quite different symptoms than the "school book" example: "the pain starts at the bellybutton and moves down to the right of the abdomen". E.g. my ex-wife Tiina-Maria told me that when she got appendicitis she was having dinner at a restaurant and woke up a day later in hospital with a stitched hole in the side. She had just fainted and was taken by ambulance to hospital where they discovered her appendicitis, operated her and she woke up after anesthesia.

To get back to the story, Jira called me after an hour again and told that she has been admitted to the Phuket Mission Hospital and asked if I could come and see her. Unfortunately my work held me up late and arrived at the hospital when she was already under the knife. Her friend Ying was holding her personal belongings and we waited for abt an hour when Jira was wheeled out of ICU to the hospital room at abt 7 pm. She was totally "out" from the anesthesia and was gradually waking up and nodding off. At 9pm her mother and brother came from Trang to see her, it was not much interaction as she was still groggy from anesthesia. At abt 10pm the relatives left back for home and at shortly after she was waking up and complaining of pain and I called the nurse that shot her up with a painkiller with same strength as Morphine.

After abt six hours she was given another shot. My nights sleep was very sporadic as nurses came and went checking bloodpressure, temperature, trip and whatnot, then Jira had a call of nature, I got up and stumbled to the toilet for the bedpan and after all was done did cleanup with a moist cloth. At 5.30am saturday lights came on and a new day started, Jira was saying she is getting hunger pangs as she has nothing in her belly. Nurses warned that she can't drink anything, only nutrition was by trip, her abdomen was still swollen.

During the day Jira received several bottles of liquid penicillin. In the morning at 9.30 am the Doctor cam on his rounds and checked Jira, he said the appendix had already burst when he had operated and that she was very brave to have been able to suffer for 3 days before seeing a Doctor. I agree. However he was not letting her out yet as there was still a risk of inflammation in the abdominal cavity. In the afternoon her son Ki came from Surat Thani to see how his mother is faring and in the afternoon some of my Indian crew went to wish her well and brought a lovely flower basket. The day went and evening came and Doctor gave permission to drink water. What a relief after all those hours with an itching, dry throat and no way to cough as the abs were cut open.

At home with all the "get well" flowers

Come Sunday and Jira could already take shower by herself, the abdominal swelling had gone down and in the afternoon the Doctor let me take Jira home. The whole bill came to 41.000THB (~1000 USD). She got a whole bagful of meds to eat and a follow up check after a week. In the afternoon my Filipino stewardesses visited and brought more flowers for Jira. Today Jira is well on the road of recovery and I am so happy for that.

Captain's blog Oct - Nov

End of last month and this has gone cooped up in port. The rain season seems to give up late this year as it has been raining cats and dogs every other day it seems. As of writing this the weather is sunny but dark clouds are swirling on the horizon.

Anyways, since our return from Langkawi to Yacht Haven Phuket we started doing some serious maintenance (jobs never cease on a boat) and I hired Carpenter's, Day worker's and Welder's.

Carpentry is done on outer decks exchanging rotten wood on structures, we found a new Contractor in Boat Lagoon trying to do a name for themselves.

As I have only one Deckie I got one familiar Day worker to work with him - 2-part cleaning, sanding, teak oiling and varnishing is the order of the day for them.

Finally, our trusted welder K. Chatchai came onboard to install a new bucket strainer to our A/C plant.

All jobs are almost finished and paid off and now we're waiting for orders if we get to go and pick up guests in Andaman Islands or not. The weather being like this I don't look forward to it, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do (Clint Eastwood).

For social events we have been quite outgoing I think, on the Sun 2nd I took all crew out for visiting the Ton Sai waterfall (In Thalang going S, turn left at the crossing, continue until end of road). The waterfall had very little water cascading down which I considered odd thinking of the amounts of rain we had gotten here, I hate to think when it really cascades of how much rain that would require... The waterfall is said to have 9 floors so me and Rajaram, my Deckie, left other crew to enjoy the waterfall, clambered up the slopes and started following the stream. In the beginning the going was tough with fallen trees and dense brush covering up the trail but eventually we found a real trail and followed signs for abt 45mins and thought better to turn back. We followed another trail back and almost missed the end of the waterfall but we did some shortcuts and emerged at the parking lot. After this we all gathered in the pick-up truck and drove off to Nai Yang beach to have a late Sunday lunch at the beach. We were joined by Jessica who just landed and was back from her vacation in Philippines. The lunch was very delicious Thai seafood fare and once all had been satisfied we packed up and went back to the ship.

Lunch @ Naiyang beach

As we have been so long without guests I decided that I'll invite some friends onboard for an Indian dinner and let the girls do some serving and get some action. Eventually I managed to get together a team of 8 persons, our agent Gordon, Toby, Nong, Captain Alistair and Michael Bosch + wife Bo. On friday 7th we all, including me and C/E Vivek, gathered for sundowners around our bar, after that we went to the dining saloon.

As starters we were treated with a "soup-shot", very delicious. For main course we had paratas with 3 kind of curries and rice to those who wanted. As dessert was rice pudding Indian style. Sundowners, dinner and dessert was all watered with Company products, namely Kingfisher beer, Carano Ferrari wines and Whyte & Mackay whisky. Next monday I received "thank you" emails so apparently all went home happy and did not suffer from Delhi-belly. I must also mention that our Cook Richard was after the dinner called out from his lair and received a round of applause for the dinner he had prepared for us.

Captains blog - voyage Phuket- Ko Rawi - Langkawi

We departed Phuket on 12th of Aug for Langkawi. Weather was again fine, only when we got out of cover Ko Yao Yai did we get swell in from the Indian Ocean. We steamed on for the whole day and anchored for the night S of Ko Rawi (Butang group). Next morning we awoke to marvelous surroundings of high Islands covered in lush green and specked with white sandy beaches.

M/y Kalizma in front of Ko Rawi

Ko Rawi

Morning 13th Aug was sunny and spent making a dive around Ko Palai and another on the bay at Western tip of Ko Rawi, we saw a great deal of sea life (puffers) as well as loads of giant clams. The coral here is very nice and unspoiled, also absence of tourists is notable, it might be otherwise during high season of course. At Ko Rawi the coastal cliffs goes straight down to several metres and divers are rocked by wave surge.

Beach had a lot of hermit crabs

Afternoon was partly overcast and spent setting up for a beach barbecue on Ko Rawi and some snorkeling. The coral heads S of Ko Rawi were numerous and colorful. The beach on Ko Rawi had many hermit crabs that were running about everywhere. I took to exploring the Island and found a natural fresh water stream that I followed up to its source, the jungle elsewhere looked impenetrable, consisting of thorny brush and ancient trees.

BBQ

BBQ

The fresh water itself out of the mountain was very cool and refreshing and I took several dips in the streams naturally carved out hollows. Once back at the BBQ it was getting dark and we fired up the grill and enjoyed the sunset accompanied with dinner. When darkness set in petrol lanterns were lit and we sat around joking and telling stories while enjoying some more grilled food. At abt 9pm we packed all gear in the tender and got back onboard for an early night as we needed to haul up anchor in time for us to arrive Langkawi HW.

Seagypsies

14th morning 6am anchor was heaved up and course set for Langkawi. On the way we passed a big congregation of sea gypsies. The weather was overcast and dead calm. We arrived Langkawi at 11am and made fast sb to floating pontoon at Wavemaster shipyard. We had arrived to the purpose of our voyage – 5year class renewal survey and routine maintenance.

Captain's blog - end July 2008

This month Kalizma did not move from her berth, we stayed put for ongoing maintenance works. We have upgraded the deck lighting, installed a diving ladder and UV covers onto the tenderboats. All decks got a fresh coat of varnish as well as rust was chipped off on exposed metal parts and repainted, teak oil was applied to all railings. In the Engine Room various piping works related to the aircon was renewed and modified for the better.

M/y Calisto in Yacht Haven (sistership of Cousteau's Calypso)

Crew events:
Jyothi rejoined the ship on the 23rd with renewed vigour. Richard has not yet returned from his prolonged vacation and the new deckhand is still pending. Vivek left for a short sojourn in India to escort his family home.

Last weekend in Phuket (little did we know)

Saturday undersigned was invited to a BBQ evening and watch rugby at the Agents, Gordon Fernandes’ pad. Kingfisher sponsored 2 cases of beers to the cause. The game turned out very exciting as New Zealand took the lead in the beginning after being on the loss but, finally in the end, lost to Australia.

BBQ @ Gordon's pad

On Sunday morning we set off with the volunteers (some crew selected to spend time on their own) for a picnic in Phangnga which consisted of Tom Yam Kung soup, Phad Krapaow Moo and Nam Phrik Num with Khai Tom washed down with Kingfisher beer for those who wanted. We also visited a local handicrafts and snacks stall where crew bought rattan souvenirs, handmade hammocks and a Thai flute for Raja Ram.

Bungy crane

After this we drove on to Phuket Jungle bungy jump venue where Captain and Saini proved their courageousness by jumping 50 m down tied to a rubber string. What an exhilarating experience!



Next we went to Phuket Go Kart circuit where those who did not dare to jump could race to get their adrenaline levels up. After 10 minutes of go-karting on hyped up mini racing cars it was time to return towards Yacht Haven.

Refreshments @ Surin beach

We took the scenic route via Patong - Kamala and Surin beaches enjoying the scenery of the west coast of Phuket Island. At Surin beach we stopped and strolled on the beach admiring the big breakers rolling in from the Indian Ocean and a few brave youngsters body surfing the waves. Refreshments was enjoyed at a beach bar after which we headed back for Kalizma, by this time it was dinner time for those who still had energy for it.

Jyoti's birthday

On 5th August was Jyothi’s birthday. We celebrated it with all crew at Mama’s & Papa’s seafood restaurant. The sumptuous dinner was topped off with a Minnie Mouse vanilla cake and a 24k handpainted teacup was presented to Jyothi as she is an avid tea drinker. Happy birthday Jyothi, we all hope you enjoyed it!

Nai Yang beach

On the 12th of August we will head out for Langkawi and do the long planned drydocking, until then, ta-ta.

Captain's blog - beginning July 2008

M/y Kalizma at Ko Phi Phi

The month of June came and went without any particular happenings, routine maintenance was carried out, weekends some of the crew went hashing (running). Hash house harriers are a tradition invented by English expats in Malaysia and has spread all over the world. I also discovered the world small as I met my old Electrician from Ukraine that worked together with me 5 years ago on another ship.

Me and Volodymyr

As far as crew changes concerned Sunil Sharma returned from vacation to charge his batteries, Jyothi Thomas left for her well earned vacation. Deckhand Jaynard Payumo resigned in order to pursuit his career marketing Crocs on a sailing boat. Good luck for him! Jaynard’s replacement is still open.

Phuket HHH circle

Finally, on 3rd July Kalizma left for Ko Phi Phi to run our equipment. We left at noon during overcast skies and generally miserable weather. We arrived PP at abt 6pm and anchored in the bay S of the Island.

Morning of 4th July brought forth a promise of a wonderful day and we loaded our divegear in the tender and left around 9am for Ko Bida Noi, a beautiful setting for a dive. We arrived at the E of the Island and made fast to a mooring buoy and started to gear up while 6 other boats from PP came along and dumped their divers in as well. By the time undersigned and Saini went down the cacophony of the boats around us was deafening. The reef itself was not that spectacular, many dead clam shells were seen. A lot of fish was present and we had 0.5-1kt current to swim against. Once our air was exhausted it was the turn for Vivek and Jessica to get some instructions from Saini followed by a shallow dive. Once all done we set out for Hin Bida, an underwater reef between Ko Bida Noi and Ko Ma. During the transfer we enjoyed a refreshing watermelon to wash out the taste of salt. Once at Hin Bida, we found yet again an anchor buoy where we made fast and geared up. We started at 30m and swam against the current circling S of the reef and eventually came up the shallowest point that was abt 4m, the reef is actually limestone formation covered by corals, quite nice dive. We managed to see a huge lobster, a moray eel and a leopard shark in addition to the normal reef fish. By this time it was time to head back to Kalizma for lunch.

Ko Bida Nai

At the time we arrived we saw many speedboats at shore hanging around a few trees, after having a closer look we discovered the trees were full of monkeys that were being fed by tourists. Afternoon went putting gear back into condition and for the evening all crew (except standby engineer) went ashore for dinner at Phi Phi Banyan Villa restaurant where the food was good but service was slow considering the amount of customer’s. We had a delicious seafood dinner with grilled fish, grilled squid, deep fried prawns, Chinese fried vegetables, fried rice and mixed seafood Tom Yam soup, once we had finished all we rolled onboard.

Dinner @ Ko Phi Phi

Morning on 5th was equally sunny if not more than the 3rd and we set forth only Saini and undersigned this time for the Kingcruiser wreck that grounded on the Anemone reef and sank in 1997. The wreck was marked with two buoys and we went down by the anchor line. The current was abt 1kn, but at places it was less where you could get lee from the superstructure. Wreck was well preserved and covered with barnacles and a multitude of fish at a depth ranging from 19-30m. We saw a huge lionfish, must’ve been abt 40cm long, came swimming with all plumes wide open, apart from that the fishes were ordinary. After returning to the surface we headed for Shark point (Hin Mu Sang), just S of Anemone reef. Here we also had a current to swim against but once we reached the reef there was some spectacular fan corals and a multitude of sea anemones, we also caught two leopard sharks sleeping on the seabed. Once up on the surface it was time to head back to Kalizma.

In front of Ko Phi Phi

On the way we explored the W side cliffs of Ko PP where there are small coves carved by the sea during ages of erosion. We entered the biggest cove that goes a long way inside and at the end has a small bay with a beach and a hut built (for overnight visits?). Very picturesque scenery but unfortunately a lot of floating garbage in the water. Once back on Kalizma it was time to put back the gear and lunch time. In the afternoon the girls went ashore Ko PP for shopping and swimming and Saini and Rajaram took out the jetskis for a spin. Evening went for the boys in Ko PP enjoying the Saturday night beach party.

Ko Phi Phi

On the 6th Kalizma awoke to a sunny, dead calm sea with gently incoming swell, at 0900hrs we hoisted anchor and headed back for Yacht Haven Marina. The transit was uneventful and at 1400hrs we tied up to our usual berth. Rest of July will now go preparing for the drydocking as well as ticking off jobs from our list that can be done before that.

Captain's blog - Handover

I arrived in the evening on 31st April by train and minivan from Bangkok to sign on m/y Kalizma, the van left me at the Yacht Haven Marina junction and a final motorbike ride took me to the Marina.

M/y Kalizma in Yacht Haven

Once at the Marina I was met by the Chef Richard and we trollied my luggage onboard. Onboard Richard treated me to a small evening snack and a few absolutely delicious cans of ice cold Kingfisher beer.

The next day I woke up to a sunny day and met Captain Avnish and the crew. After that we started the handover which went on for quite a few days. Accounting, budgeting, maintenance, bridge equipment, class/ certificate status and the whole shebang, the list went on and on.

Finally towards the end of handing over we received onboard the Company representative, Cmde Mongia, to endorse the handover and review of accounts. We did a short 3 day cruise in order to see all equipment in operation. First night was spent at anchor in Ao Tha Lua and we took our tender to Boat Lagoon for dinner. Boat Lagoon was almost bone dry due to extreme low tide and we barely managed to navigate the channel, but eventually we made it slowly, very slowly.

Next day we cruised towards Phang Nga Bay where we went exploring with the tenderboat and jetski. For the night we stayed overnight at Berama Bay where a new marina is being built, in fact the whole Island is being restructured on a massive scale. At sundown we had the Island developers onboard for snacks and drinks but we were interrupted by very heavy rain showers and had to retreat into the saloon.

Next morning was again sunny and closer to noon we hoisted anchor and started towards the Yacht Haven Marina, the approach was uneventful and then we came to the exciting part where I had to maneuver Kalizma alongside. I had slight wind from the port bow and the current from astern. I made port side alongside and without any mishaps. It was not that easy but by time I’m sure I will get to know her tricks and treats.

Having crossed off all items in the handover list we did the final item which was to sign the boat officially to me. This was done in the morning of 8th May on the aft deck in the presence of Cmde Mongia. After all signing was done I could see that Capt Avnish looked very relieved after the burden of responsibility had been lifted from his shoulders. Kalizma is now under my command and I hope it will be a long and happy relationship with the Owner’s, distinguished guests and crew.