Thailand is a crossroads for cruisers: Some choose to stay in the Southeast Asia area, heading East to either Indonesia again or to the Philippines or even Japan. Then back west back through Malaysia and Thailand. Some even go back to Australia. Or others continue west towards the Indian Ocean.
And why not stay in this beautiful area?! There are hundreds if not thousands of islands to explore, mostly all the provisioning you need, experienced labor, cheap food, and once you get to know where the right places are…the shopkeepers know you and you become fast friends. We have met many cruisers out here who have been cruising this area for years….we now know many who will stay in the area…and for that reason…Trevor and I contemplated…for about a 24 hour period…to stay and find work and put off crossing the Indian ocean for 1 year.
The decision is much like changing jobs…what contacts do we have for employment, how much money would we save or not…timeline with income streams, how far away from our families, boat maintenance and work that could be achieved, and over all…is staying what the hearts want. It was a tough 24 hours…but in the end, we decided to keep going…which means at a very fast pace back to the States.
Even with the budget blown from the repair work, there were a few fun things we still wanted to do as we didn’t really get a chance to sightsee. First up..the Big Buddha.
Remember this photo? The big Buddha can be seen from miles away on top of
Nakkerd Hills . It’s a 45 meter tall and 25 meters wide. It’s made of concrete covered in Burmese white marble tiles. It’s not yet completed and is funded by donations. To date, per wikipedia, the cost right now is up to $950,000 usd.
We rented a car…it was still cheaper than the taking a taxi. I must say at this point, there must be a Phuket Taxi Mafia…or something like that. We heard in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, a cab ride of the approximate same distant is a third of the price here in Phuket. When we arrived at the “taxi” place to take a cab to the car rental place, we were haggled to hire them for the day at an alarming rate of 500 Baht = $15 usd per hour! No thanks. I had to have Trevor take over the negotiations as I can’t control my poker face as well. Here in Thailand, people “shut down” if confrontation starts to get heated…it has happened to me here before so I defer to Trevor to deal with the taxi drivers.
On our way up to the Big Buddha, we witnessed the “working” elephants. I don’t need to lecture or judge anyone on this…you can form your own opinion.
The discoloration on the ears and trunk is basically sun-bleached. Generally elephants splash themselves with mud as a type of sunscreen….so we are told. This elephant does not get that chance.
Heart a bit heavy…we proceeded to the Big Buddha. It just happened to be a holiday: Makha Bucha Day. Read more about Makha Bucha Day at the below link.
This buddha is a seated Maravija Buddha statue.
Per Wikipedia: Maravijaya Attitude, or Mara Vichai is an attitude of Buddha in Thai art of which the seated Buddha is putting his hand in the relax posture towards to the ground, loosely holding his knee. The other hand is on his lap. His eyes look down to the ground, sometimes are closed. The gesture of the hand reaching the ground is called Bhumisparshamudra, which also refers to the attitude as well. The gesture refers to the episode which the Buddha calling the earth to witness. The attitude refers to the episode that he was reaching the enlightenment and being disturbed by maras. Learning that the maras asked him to give up, he touched the ground and called the Phra Mae Thorani to help him fight with the maras. Thoranee called tonnes of water and flooded away the maras. The episode results in the name Mara Vichai which means the “Victory (vichai) over the Mara”. Other Thai names are Chana Mara (ชน มาร; victory over the Mara) and Sadoung Mara (สะดุ้งมาร; making the Mara feared) The Maravijaya seated Buddha is considered the most-built attitude for principle Buddha in ubosots of Burmese, Lao and Thai Wats.
For a donation you can write your name on a Bodhi Tree leaf. The Bodhi tree is the tree that Buddha attained enlightenment. 
Of course Trevor wanted to decorate a tile…no idea what happens to these tiles…they obviously don’t go on the Buddha.
There were also the Buddha images for the seven days of the week which basically depict certain events in the Life of the Buddha and are thought to have occurred on certain days. People who are born on a certain day of the week, may be most interested in a Buddha Image corresponding to that day. I have no idea what day I was born on but can you guess which day was my favorite?!
Buddha Image for Sunday :
In Pensive Thought
The enlightened Buddha stands with hands crossed over his abdomen (right hand over the left).
The Buddha contemplates his achievement of complete knowledge under the Bodhi tree.
After enlightenment, the Buddha stood still for seven days under the Bodhi Tree to contemplate the suffering of all living things. He was tempted to enter Nirvana at once (By Mara), but he wants others to know the true doctrine, and resolves to communicate his doctrine to others.
Buddha Image for Monday :
Preventing Calamities (This Image is Similar as the Image for ‘Stopping the relatives from fighting’)
The city of Vesali was tormented by three evils : poverty, cholera and devils. Devils were roaming the city feasting on dead bodies and even people. The King of Vesali was advised to seek the help of the Buddha.
Accepting the invitation, the Buddha with company, arrived at Vesali. With his transcendental powers, he caused heavy rain to pour down, so heavy that it cleaned the city of all dead bodies and uncleanliness.
Later on, Ananda, his disciple went around the city, reciting portions of the Tipitika, and sprinkling lustral water around the city. Suffering humans were healed, while all devils were frightened and fled the city.
Buddha Image for Tuesday :
Reclining Buddha
Left arm along the body, right arm serves as a pillow with the hand supporting the head.
Story : The giant Asurindarahu wanted to see the Buddha, but was reluctant to bow before him. The Buddha, while lying down, presented himself as much larger than the giant. He then showed him the realm of heaven with heavenly figures all larger than the giant. After all this, Asurindarahu, the giant, was humbled, and made his obeisance to the Buddha before leaving.
Image at Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakhon Pathom province.
Buddha Image for Wednesday Morning :
Holding an alms bowl
The Buddha is standing with both hands around an alms bowl
This symbolizes the first morning after visiting his father at Kapilavastu. In the morning the Buddha went out to receive alms in the city.
Buddha Image for Wednesday Evening :
Retreat in the Forest
Buddha spent the rain retreat on his own in the Palilayaka (Palelai) forest because he was tired of the monks of Kosambi who had split into two groups and were not in harmony. While in the forest, the elephant Palilayaka attended to him, and monkey offered him a beehive.
Buddha Image for Thursday :
Meditating
Sitting in the yoga posture. Note the right leg on top of the left, the right hand on top of the left hand.
The Bodhisattva makes a vow and is determined not the leave the spot (where he is sitting on the grass) until he achieves enlightenment. The Boddhisattva determines to find the cause of suffering and its cessation.
Buddha Image for Friday :
In Reflection (Deeply Thinking)
Hands are crossed across the chest, right hand in front of the left.
The Buddha (at the Banyan tree), wonders how he can explain the cause of all suffering to others.
Buddha Image for Saturday :
Sitting in meditation, protected by Mucalinda’s cobra hood.
If you guessed Tuesday…you win…..I am super lazy!!!!
We went with Carlos and Linda on SV Mirniy Okean….. 
Remember to bring a sarong or to cover your knees and shoulders…
There is a video made by Linda Terri on SV Mirniy Okean of an offering I did here at the Big Buddha…Will updated the post when I receive the video : )..See below…
The next adventure we had was to visit Patong Beach where there is a well know “walking street” called Bangla. We are a bit afraid this may offend some so I will keep it short and PG.
Bangla Road really comes to life once the sun sets. The road is closed to vehicle traffic and becomes a 400 metre festival of neon lights, loud music and cheap beer. Jammed most nights of the year, it is quite a friendly and lively place to walk around as bars and clubs compete with each other for customers. If you’re looking for a fun night out in Phuket, Bangla Road should be your first (and, often, only) stop. Almost all of the bars are outdoors or open-fronted, so the music from each one blends into a mess of mixed beats. Beer bars occupy most of the street’s length, with several go-go bars and a few pubs, restaurants, discos and shops rounding out the attractions, both on Soi Bangla and down its side streets. Street performances are also common most nights, which can make dodging around the tailor shop salesmen, leaflet distributors, street vendors and ping pong show touts more difficult, but it is all part of the fun.
Read more at: http://www.phuket.com/nightlife/bangla.htm?cid=ch:OTH:001
Sean from SV Cintana came with us…the perfect partner in crime…. we went to dinner…. 
and a show! You can ask me about the “Tree” story in person!
We had a few more errands to run so off we went in a rental car…..
We tried 7 different pharmacies: small one, large ones, medium ones….no go….we were getting desperate!
So we went to the Phuket International Hospital to get Trevor’s inhaler prescription filled.
No wonder, they don’t sell the type of medication in all of Thailand. So he got something very similar and something he has used before. We got 8 inhalers after we explained we are traveling on a boat and need as many inhalers as we can get. They only had 2 on hand and we had to go pick up the rest later. All in all, the consultation and medication cost about $250 usd.
Chandelier near Boat Lagoon Marina… We also went to East marine…a very “posh” chandelier with “posh”pricing…. 
Because we decided to anchor in Nai Harn bay and not in Ao Chalong bay where there is a fuel dock (though used mostly for the tour boats we didn’t want to hassle with trying to get in as we hear cruisers are not their priority) so we took our jerry cans to a local gas station and filled up…two trips later we were full enough to make the passage to Sri Lanka. We also filled our gas tank (petrol) and used the Green E 20 type as it has less ethanol and more gasoline. 
Rolly Tasker is a huge sail maker in Phuket Thailand. We went there to find a few blocks, small lines, and 
Thai Watdsu is like our Home Depot. 
Waynes World is a second hand chandelier….although they had used blocks and such, we didn’t really need anything from here. We found them to be a bit pricey for second hand items…but whatever. 
Keehin is mix between an appliance, lighting, AC store with a medium sized marine department. We purchased new lines and a few odds and ends. We did find our torque wrench there we needed to to tighten down the engine head bolts…surprisingly they didn’t have it at Thai Watdsu.
Trevor clothes shopping?! His shorts were becoming too loose and faded. We found an outlet mall and got some nice board shorts for him. I got nothing!!!! 
OMG….and he bought a pair of Crocs…..
Driving around we saw some interesting things…here a just a few : )
If a power outage occurred, I would hate to have to trace the wire….. 
Yes we went to McDonalds running errands…. 
Got pork?!
Well, it was time to say goodbye to some of our good friends who have decided to stay in the area for another year. We are sad to not have more time with everyone….but the wind calls : )
These 2 crazy pups aboard SV Il Sogno (Craig and Karene) have been such fun and we will miss Craig’s announcement “there goes the neighborhood” on the VHF radio when Slow Flight comes into an anchorage. We are going to miss you both! 
They treated us to a spectacular breakfast complete with bloody mary’s and I got a whole bottle of champagne and orange juice! Just for the record…they paid the bill behind my back..I would of never ordered mimosas if I knew they were going to pay ; )
Ahhhh…our new friends (right to left): SV Steal Sapphire – DIxie the cat, Peter and Jen, and newly met SV Sonrisa – Andrew and Leslie Godfrey.
Cute story: Originally when we met Peter and Jen on Steal Sapphire back at Port DIckson marina in Malaysia, their plans were to cross the Indian Ocean this year. We got on quite well and looked forward to spending LOADS of time with them. However, as it goes, boat work kept them in Thailand (they are doing a major refit) and so the Indian Ocean must wait for them. When we were meeting them to say goodbye in Phuket, we met Andrew and Leslie, an American flagged boat and also staying in the SE Asia area, they kindly mentioned they were Steal Sapphires “Backup Americans” LOL!!!! Let’s keep in touch ya’ll ; )
The Kids Table is splitting up! If you remember back in Australia we met SV Starry Horizons (David and Amy) and SV Mirniy Okean (Carlos and Linda). The 3 boats were part of the Sail 2 Indonesia rally and were clearly the youngest of the fleet members (not judging). We have traveled roughly together for over 7 months, some skipping over each other but when we are at the same place at the same time, we ALWAYS get together…usually surrounded by FOOD! Carlos and Linda are staying in the SE Asia instead of going to the Mediterranean to Carlos’s home country, Spain. They are needed back in Australia and New Caledonia for work in July 2019. David and Amy are headed to cross the Indian Ocean so we will see them soon!
Carlos promised us a “proper” Spanish Paella.
So this was our last chance! and my oh my…it was Tasty! Carlos, can’t wait to visit you in Spain and share another bowl of this goodness : )
Carlos, David and I LOVE Pizza…so there was an Italian restaurant right by the dinghy dock at Nai Harn bay. We ate there many times! 
One of our favorite is Linda’s Breakfast crepes complete with chocolate, nutella, chutney/jam….always a wonderful treat….especially because it gives Trevor and I a chance to dig into our Baileys! Carlos and Linda….we will miss you dearly but know there is always a seat for you at the Kids Table!
Time to check out…..we debated to leave a week earlier when SV Starry Horizons left but we wanted to see people and sightsee a bit more. They left with a great weather window (wind) and we didn’t know when the next decent weather window was…but we decided to leave anyways on February 25th.
TO check out it cost us 500 Baht during regular business hours. Remember to check holidays as the price is possibly double or triple. 
We had to wait for the Harbor Master to change our next port destination. He originally put Port Galle, Sri Lanka but we were headed to Port Trincomalee. Port Trincomalee is a relatively new port cruisers are visiting in Sri Lanka…glad we waited for the change as Sri Lanka is quite strict. More on that later…
Last look at land for 7-9 days…. 
Here we come Sri Lanka!!!!
Next up…our passage from Thailand to Sri Lanka….
Lovely post, Kimi! Informative and great photos. Sorry to miss you …but one day I’ll catch up. Michael