PHUKET, THAILAND

Tuesday, March 4,2025, 6 AM, Temperature 81 Degrees, Humidity 73%, W – ENE 7.5 mph

Phuket Province is the biggest island in Thailand and sits on the Andaman Sea. It is the capital of Thailand. Phuket was situated on a major trading route between India and China. Surprisingly, it was never colonized by a European nation. Initially Phuket’s economy was based on tin and rubber production, now tourism is the primary industry. There is also a strong expat community of more than 100,000. There are many pristine beaches. Phuket is said to have some of the most beautiful sunsets in Thailand. John would agree - a photo of a special sunset he took as we left Phuket is included. Phuket is famous for its nightlife, but the last Tender was at 4:30 PM so no one from Zuiderdam had a chance to experience it (it would probably be after our bedtime anyway).

Phuket is a tender port, not our favorite thing, and originally it was estimated to be a 30 – 45-minute ride to shore. But the Captain was able to “negotiate” a closer place to moor so it was only a 15-minute commute. We decided to venture to shore! We boarded the tender with no problem (John would never have a problem but he worries about me). The crew is always very professional in assisting guests from Zuiderdam to the tender. – a guest accident would not be a good thing!! We were seated about ten minutes in the tender as they waited for more “customers”. It was surprisingly rough tied up to the ship. The water had looked fairly smooth when we looked at it before deciding to go ashore. We banged repeatedly against the ship as the tender rose and fell in the water. I wondered if we had made a “tactical error” by deciding to go ashore (John knew I wanted to be able to say I’d been to Thailand) but as soon as we pulled away from the Zuiderdam, the ride smoothed out.

There is one spot on the pier where we could have tied up, but it was taken by a Thailand Navy ship who didn’t want to move. When we did venture into the port, we saw the end of a ceremony between the Navy ship and one from the Indian Coast Guard. There were sailors on both “ships manning the rail” in their white dress uniforms. There was a band playing on the pier so, I guess they had a good reason not to give up their spot. Shortly after, we saw both ships leave the harbor.

It was a small but very nice port. There was a Money Exchange where we exchanged money to do a little shopping and have Thai money for our nephew. There was a souvenir shop with a good assortment of offerings (but no postcards)! There were several small fish tanks on the pier that appeared to be a part of a restaurant. They reminded us of the Floating Garden Restaurants in Hong Kong (Aberdeen). They had tanks there where you could select the fish you wanted for your meal. John said these fish in Phuket were giving us the “evil eye” as if to say, don’t you dare pick me for your lunch! There was a beautiful shrine where offerings had been left. Finally, there was a snack area serving beverages, ice cream, chips and baked goods. We sat on high stools at a bar facing out to the harbor. John had a beer made in Thailand named “Leo”, with a picture of a leopard on the label (can’t explain that one, maybe they don’t know about Leo the Lion, maybe it was Leo the Leopard). I had a mango-coconut smoothie (wanted banana mango but they were out of bananas). The sun was shining, the water was turquoise, the breeze was blowing – a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so ashore. We watched as many crew members came ashore. Although they have limited time off (maybe 2 - 3 hours during the day) many of them try to go ashore whenever they get a chance. They deserve a break and a good time – they work very hard to make our life aboard ship so easy.

Back to the ship and up to the Crow’s Nest! We’re more than halfway through the cruise – how is that possible? It’s going too quickly!