Dec 29th, 2009
The second half of our time in Phuket was spent at the northern end of the island, which is much quieter and more isolated from the touristy beaches of the south where we started our vacation. The Marriott vacation resort was very nice, and offered many amenities that were not available to us at the Sugar Palm hotel at Kata beach: each apartment suite had a kitchen, washer and dryer, the resort also had a far nicer gym and access to tennis courts and sail boats. The latter was a special treat since Shuwen had hoped to take Marc sailing. 
The day we went, unfortunately, there was very little wind, especially near the shore where the tidal current would take over. After unsuccessfully trying to reach the beach, we had to get out of the boat and tow it to get back. But before that, we did have some nice moments of close haul sailing farther away in the bay (though tacking proved to be quite a challenge with the Hobie Catamaran boat under those wind conditions). We both got a bit of sun out there, especially Shuwen who has interesting tan lines.
We also rented a car one day to explore a bit of the island. We started by going to the largest waterfall on Phuket, which was a whopping 15 meters high and cost about $10 per person to see! That’s about $1 per meter! We were sad to find out that the Gibbon Rehabilitation Center near the waterfall – and much more interesting than it – received none of that entry fee to do its important work. It turns out that many gibbons are captured by poachers who want to sell them for tourist attractions around the island and throughout the region, and this center provides a place where rescued gibbons can be rehabilitated for reentry into the wild once they have been abandoned. Many have experienced severe beating or other forms of trauma while in captivity, and are missing limbs or have asocial tendencies. We found that center’s work to be pretty inspiring, and its staff seemed quite generous and honest about the challenges they faced.
After visiting the gibbons, we drove along much of the eastern and southern coast of the island, to a number of scenic viewpoints, and to the “Big Buddha”, a monument being built at the highest point in Phuket. It really is very big, and covered with precious stone imported from various parts of Asia. We next drove back to the Central Festival shopping center, where Mama wanted to buy a few things for preparing meals back in our suite. We had a small meal at a very reasonably-priced Japanese restaurant in the mall, and then hurried towards busy Patong Beach trying to see the sunset. We did not make it in time, but did experience the chaotic traffic of that part of the island, and continued our drive on the western side of the island. As night fell, Papa decided he should not drive any longer since he only had his prescription sunglasses with him (and he could no longer see very well). Marc took over, but found that driving on the left side was not really so easy with the dark roads and the motorcycles coming from all directions. Alas, before making it too far, he hit a curb on the left side of the road and the left front tire promptly went flat. Then followed numerous attempts at getting help changing the tire, since the rental car had no jack, was a sports car with no obvious jack anchor point (and no normal jack fit under the car very easily), and language barriers communicating with Thai mechanics. It was all a bit humorous actually, and we escaped with a $10 bill for changing the tire! (the rental car guy did not even ask us to pay for the tire, and we are not sure why). We made it back to the hotel around 9 pm and had a simple dinner of rice porridge along with a number of dishes Mama managed to whip up pretty quickly.
We arrived in Vitre yesterday and started off with a lunch with Marie-Francoise before going to the hospital to visit Mamie. She appears to be in good spirits and does not complain of pain despite being in the hospital, and has begun taking food again following her operation last week. Hopefully she will be able to return home next week. Marie-Francoise has been taking very good care of us, feeding us wonderful French meals (she is a great cook!) and going out of her way to make us comfortable.
Otherwise, we have found the running to be much easier now that we have returned to temperate climates. We ran together Monday evening in light rain, and then went on separate longish runs this morning. We also tried to visit the Chateau des Rochers Sevigné this afternoon but found that it was closed (it being Tuesday, the castle was not open for visits). Shuwen took a picture from outside the gate anyway.
We will soon be headed to Chartres for a very brief visit (just overnight) and then to CDG to head back to Atlanta for the AEA meetings.
The second half of our time in Phuket was spent at the northern end of the island, which is much quieter and more isolated from the touristy beaches of the south where we started our vacation. The Marriott vacation resort was very nice, and offered many amenities that were not available to us at the Sugar Palm hotel at Kata beach: each apartment suite had a kitchen, washer and dryer, the resort also had a far nicer gym and access to tennis courts and sail boats. The latter was a special treat since Shuwen had hoped to take Marc sailing. 
The day we went, unfortunately, there was very little wind, especially near the shore where the tidal current would take over. After unsuccessfully trying to reach the beach, we had to get out of the boat and tow it to get back. But before that, we did have some nice moments of close haul sailing farther away in the bay (though tacking proved to be quite a challenge with the Hobie Catamaran boat under those wind conditions). We both got a bit of sun out there, especially Shuwen who has interesting tan lines.We also rented a car one day to explore a bit of the island. We started by going to the largest waterfall on Phuket, which was a whopping 15 meters high and cost about $10 per person to see! That’s about $1 per meter! We were sad to find out that the Gibbon Rehabilitation Center near the waterfall – and much more interesting than it – received none of that entry fee to do its important work. It turns out that many gibbons are captured by poachers who want to sell them for tourist attractions around the island and throughout the region, and this center provides a place where rescued gibbons can be rehabilitated for reentry into the wild once they have been abandoned. Many have experienced severe beating or other forms of trauma while in captivity, and are missing limbs or have asocial tendencies. We found that center’s work to be pretty inspiring, and its staff seemed quite generous and honest about the challenges they faced.
After visiting the gibbons, we drove along much of the eastern and southern coast of the island, to a number of scenic viewpoints, and to the “Big Buddha”, a monument being built at the highest point in Phuket. It really is very big, and covered with precious stone imported from various parts of Asia. We next drove back to the Central Festival shopping center, where Mama wanted to buy a few things for preparing meals back in our suite. We had a small meal at a very reasonably-priced Japanese restaurant in the mall, and then hurried towards busy Patong Beach trying to see the sunset. We did not make it in time, but did experience the chaotic traffic of that part of the island, and continued our drive on the western side of the island. As night fell, Papa decided he should not drive any longer since he only had his prescription sunglasses with him (and he could no longer see very well). Marc took over, but found that driving on the left side was not really so easy with the dark roads and the motorcycles coming from all directions. Alas, before making it too far, he hit a curb on the left side of the road and the left front tire promptly went flat. Then followed numerous attempts at getting help changing the tire, since the rental car had no jack, was a sports car with no obvious jack anchor point (and no normal jack fit under the car very easily), and language barriers communicating with Thai mechanics. It was all a bit humorous actually, and we escaped with a $10 bill for changing the tire! (the rental car guy did not even ask us to pay for the tire, and we are not sure why). We made it back to the hotel around 9 pm and had a simple dinner of rice porridge along with a number of dishes Mama managed to whip up pretty quickly.We arrived in Vitre yesterday and started off with a lunch with Marie-Francoise before going to the hospital to visit Mamie. She appears to be in good spirits and does not complain of pain despite being in the hospital, and has begun taking food again following her operation last week. Hopefully she will be able to return home next week. Marie-Francoise has been taking very good care of us, feeding us wonderful French meals (she is a great cook!) and going out of her way to make us comfortable.
Otherwise, we have found the running to be much easier now that we have returned to temperate climates. We ran together Monday evening in light rain, and then went on separate longish runs this morning. We also tried to visit the Chateau des Rochers Sevigné this afternoon but found that it was closed (it being Tuesday, the castle was not open for visits). Shuwen took a picture from outside the gate anyway.
We will soon be headed to Chartres for a very brief visit (just overnight) and then to CDG to head back to Atlanta for the AEA meetings.
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