Phuket Arrival

We arrive at Phuket in the afternoon, having sailed in past the hotel we stayed in on our last visit to Thailand. We’d stayed at Cape Panwa 20 years ago and celebrated Daniel’s 18th birthday there  - a delightful hotel away from the tourist honeypots on the west side of the island.  

We’ve opted to go for a meal and performance of Thai dancing, so in late afternoon we leave the ship. To be honest, I’ve been having doubts about this excursion over the last few days, and my heart sinks as we draw up to an industrial size ‘cultural’ undertaking. I think I’d forgotten about the mass tourism that is a such a feature of the island.  The meal, served buffet style in a vast hanger of a room, involves queuing at a range of counters serving different types of Thai food. In fairness, the food itself is OK, but the sheer number of people there makes the whole experience really unpleasant. G adopts the sensible approach of going to the food stations with the smallest queues and actually ends up with some decent offerings. 

We escape the hanger, bypassing the pre-show going on in the outside arena, and head for the ‘village’ featuring sets designed to show different styles of living and costume in various parts of Thailand. Having travelled widely in the country previously, we felt everything seems very contrived and geared up for people to have their selfies with these Thai characters - who inevitably place themselves in equally contrived postures. 

The show itself is, in fairness, very impressive - though it focuses on narrative and spectacle rather than authentic Thai dancing.  It is impossible not to feel impressed by the spectacular scenes created, and the performers are in general excellent - but the overall experience of the evening remains questionable and we are both glad to get back onto the ship!