Phuket, Thailand
March 18, 2024 - Ann Marie opted to say onboard and have some extra sleep (as nighttime sleep for both of us is inconsistent) and some quiet time without group tours. This port was a tender operation, but like Koh Samui we used local tenders, in fact they attached a floating platform to our ship and then docked their boat on to the other side. It was the easiest and fastest boarding of a tender that we experienced. The only down side to this port was that there was a very long walk from the pier to our tour buses, which some of the guests were having a hard time with, especially on returning after their tours.
Cathy went on the “Thai Life in Bang Rong” tour. After about a 45 minute ride over the mountains to the north side of the Island of Phuket, we arrived at a sight where we transferred to our local bus, which was a small open air bus with two long wooden benches on each side. We had 17 people on our tour and we all just fit in. We then set off to our first stop which was a local farm. The farm or community garden had banana trees and also beds of eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and many herbs, which our guide, Jennifer, explained are used instead commercial drugs. We were all treated to a sample of pineapple tea, a spiced cracker and fried banana. Our guide showed us how they use banana tree leaves to wrap up food and or to cook food in over open fire; nothing is wasted. Our hosts made us feel so welcome, including the woman who lives there inviting us to see her simple home.
Back on the bus and our next stop was a Pineapple plantations, here we learned about the Phuket pineapple, a small, sweet fruit that is only available in Phuket. We went through the rows of pineapple plants and then watched how they are cut then off the plant by hand. We were then treated to pineapple juice and slices of pineapple as they showed us the different was of cutting up a pineapple. The pineapples were delicious, so soft and sweet, you can even eat the core of the pineapple.
Our next stop, after a short 10 minute ride took us to see how rubber is harvested. We learned how much work it is to harvest and it is mostly done at night since it is so hot during the day. Using miners head lights and large knives, they score the tree and hang a small pint size cup on the tree to catch the white liquid that becomes rubber, mostly used to make rubber gloves, boots, condemns and medical gloves.
Again we climbed back on the bus and went to see how they harvest coconuts. For many years they had trained monkeys on how to harvest the coconuts as they could climb the trees and they would would know through training, when a coconut was ready to be picked, because you can hear the liquid moving in it. Visitors complained about having the monkeys do this work, even though they were well cared for and treated well and not caged, so they now have people harvesting them with long polls with sharp hooks on the end, cutting them down and hoping they do not get hit on the head with one. They cannot always tell from the ground whether or not the coconut is ripe as the color is the same so they have to take their chances; as where the monkeys always picked them correctly. We then learned how to open the coconut casing and then the coconut itself and how to make coconut shavings. Nothing is put to waste, once the outside shell is broken open the inside, straw like material is used to make their mattresses, and the rest of the shells are used for compost for their gardens. We were then shown how to create a coconut dessert and enjoyed it, along with coconut water and or coconut milk.
We then took another 15 minute ride to a open air restaurant in the Bang Rong community to enjoy a traditional Pad Thai lunch. There we meet our big bus that took us back to the ship after lunch. One of the best tours, learning so much about the simple life style of the people of Bang Rong and how they support each other and live mostly off the foods and spices they find locally- fish fruits, vegetables and plants. We were very grateful for the opportunity to share their history and lifestyle and our guide belongs to the community of Bang Rong and was excellent. At each stop we saw many young people, both male and female learning how to carry on these traditions.