Chalong Bay
On the way from Kata to Phuket town you pass the round-about in Challong named Ha Yaek Chalong (which means five ways corner Chalong). If you run straight on here you will come to Chalong Bay. From here many speed boats are heading for the islands outside Phuket. Before the tsunami you had to walk on a 250 meters long rickety landing-stage in order to leave the shallow water:
At the tsunami the old landing-stage was washed away. Now a new one in concrete with a length of 710 meters is built for the same purpose. 250 meters out there are stairs down to the water where you may take a refreshing dip:
But Chalong Bay is big. On many places along the bay there are nice restaurants. E.g. here together with my wife - Karin - with the long landing-stage in the background.
The most beautiful temple (wat) in Phuket is Wat Chalong:
Inside this temple Alex and Poo are praying to Buddha. They are shaking boxes containing numbered sticks. They are doing this until one stick falls out:
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Then they go and find a little paper corresponding to their numbers in a cupboard. On this paper they can read their fortune. It looks like they found good telling:
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See also http://www.sol-y-mar.com/indexfiles/sharedfiles/thailand/phuket/watchalong/watchalong.htm
In Chalong you may also find Phuket Muang School, which I visited the 22nd September when they had end-of-term ceremony. That was a show I will never forget. Along the long side of the school yard, which is as large as a football pitch, the classes had one square each where the children sat. They were rapping in the rhythm of a drummer - one for each class. In front of these there were dancing teams of very nice girls. Their dance was first class in Thai stile and sometimes with a western touch. Below the picture to the right shows a team with 4 girls and one boy:
Simultaneously with the musical performances there were sports meetings. Here I saw groups of 5 year old children running 80 meter with a tremendous energy - time about 14 sec. No prices.
In the Chalong roundabout there is a nice little shoe repair shop, where I had my sandals repaired and a refreshing drink from a nearby equal as nice cafeteria:
It resulted in a nice company by the ladies Piaba and Sunee. It struck me that Sunee had so beautiful teeth. Well, she told me that they were all artificial and costed her 6000 Bath (1200 kr).
From Chalong (from road 4022) 1100 m from the roundabout , Haa Yaek, there is a road up to a construction of an enormous Buddha looking out on the seas around Phuket. This statue will be 45 meters high and is situated on top of the mountain Khao Tut, 385 meters above sea level. A walk up is a challenge for a person with good condition. He should, however, be aware of the need for a good portion of fresh water. A simpler way is to take a taxi - costs about 600 Bath.
It worries me that this project maybe never will be finished. At present the money is finished and they hope more will come in by donations. In connection to this there is an exhibition hall with a lot of information in the Thai language. The only English word I found was DONATION over a number of boxes. An other thing I found inconvenient for the project is the very bad road up. About 3 km consists of a gravel road with large holes. To asphalt this road must be cheap compared with the transport costs on the present road.
An enormous number of distance bricks are needed for this project. Here Len makes them. In the background you see a big pile of this day's production. It is remarkable to see how Thai workers cover their bodies to protect themselves against the sun.
The following is a picture showing the lip of the big Buddha. This stone sculpture will be mounted next year:
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We made a new visit together with friends in November 2007. Now the project had progressed a lot, but still a race between reality and budget. The road up had been improved but still not enough. Now the manpower was sufficient on a dangerous scaffold (in our oppinion) and without security arrangements. The following pictures show 4 nice workers - Novae, Piao, Saa and Maa - on the way to the ladder up to the top. I am praying for them:
After taking this photo the girls blow kisses to me, which warmed my heart as good as the sun.
In April 2009 it seemed to be almost complete:
But after returning back in November last year the project seemed to have grown up a lot:
200 meter after the roundabout (Ha Yaek Chalong) in the direction of Phuket Town you will find Miao selling fried banana. She is here from Monday to Friday 9 am to 4 pm. During other times she is studying at the university. It is not easy but I help her a little by and by:
After buying for 10 Bath I use to sit down at the cafeteria behind - Pric Hom Dim-Sum - eating the banana together with icetea served by Lek and Noi:
Yes this is Lek. He speaks a good English and is very nice to talk to.
Some km nearer town you will find this fast-foot stand, where you can buy a skewer with good pork fillet for only 5 baht:
Similar stands and even more mobile are found frequently on this road all the way from Rawai Beach to Phuket Town. The hygiene is good but the quality varies. Best is the one in Rawai. Most of them also have chicken leg 10-15 baht and very good.