We visited Phuket, Thailand on March 16th. This time we decided to take a tour ourselves by renting a small van with another couple. The 2nd section of this cruise ended in Singapore and there were passengers leaving the cruise and new ones joining. We met a couple from Madison, WI. We joined them and told our driver of the areas we wanted to visit. We saw one Buddhist temple, did a little shopping, saw elephants that were available for hire to ride, but our companions were not interested, so we just took pictures. After this we visited some of the area that was affected by the Tsunami a few years ago. Most everything has been restored to its previous state. We also did the “obligatory” visit to the sapphire and ruby jewelry factory and showroom. This was mandatory for all tour guides even if you toured on your own. Prices were not that good, hence we passed on this. We did find some silk products that impressed us, however. Our guide also took us to a beach area, but it was not the most famous one, hence not that beautiful.
The highlight of the day actually was when we returned to the ship and experienced the evening entertainment. Today’s program was a Chinese musician, Ping Xin Xu, playing the hammer dulcimer. This is a very difficult instrument to play and he had a very diverse repertoire of music. He received an overwhelming standing ovation.
For the next 3 days we will be at sea. Time to catch up on doing the laundry, knitting, sudoku, and reading. We are looking forward to India as this is another country we have never visited and will first visit Cochin, India.
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