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SEA CAVING
Natalie and I were supposed to participate in the area's most popular eco-adventure: sea kayaking inside marine limestone with lifelong environmental activist John "Caveman" Gray. Caveman is an eco-tourism pioneer who grew up in California and then moved to Hawaii where he pioneered an award-winning eco-tour operation. He now has a variety of tours in Fiji, Hawaii, Puerto Princesa (Philippines), Thailand and Vietnam. He has professional guides (who know how to swim) in each destination and groups are limited to just eight for safety, the environment and to give the best attention while teaching the natural history and exploring the caves. Since Natalie and I had been run ragged exploring Bangkok, we wanted to spend our one full day in Phuket doing nothing so we chose relaxing on Bon Island over John's Hong By Starlight specialty tour. But next time, you can bet I will be signing up with John or even taking one of his longer adventures … from three days to two weeks. FYI: Mention Johnny Jet and get a 10% discount! John Gray's Sea Canoe, 124 Soi 1 Yaowarat Rd, Talad Yai, Phuket, Tel: +66 76 25 4505.

TOUR OF BEACHES
Caveman was kind enough to pick us up in one his guide's low-rider cars (when they pick you up, it will be in a van) and tour us around the nearby beaches to learn about the Boxing Day Tsunami and the precautions that have been taken since then. First, we learned that in Phuket, there's a beach for everyone. Most are long and sandy with warm water and excellent snorkeling. Then Caveman told us about that fateful day and how he was one of the few people to feel the quake; he put a bowl of water on the floor to see the water tremble. He said because it lasted for so long (eight minutes), he knew there was going to be a tsunami. He did his best to save people by instructing all of his tour guides pick up their guests 15 minutes earlier than scheduled when the police department didn't believe him what was about to happen.

2004 BOXING DAY TSUNAMI
To refresh your memory: On December 26, 2004, a tsunami killed at least 223,000 people and left over two million homeless in the Indian Ocean region. Thailand was not the hardest hit (though more than 5,400 died) but it did receive the most publicity since it's one of the world's most famous vacation destinations and more than 2,000 of the victims were foreigners. The beaches that were hit the hardest were Kamala Beach, Kata Beach (filled mostly with Scandinavians) and Patong Beach. Patong is the center of the handicraft and souvenir-shopping district. Today, you'll see photos from that fateful day outside the underground market where many people lost their lives when they got trapped. Here are some videos I found on YouTube.



WHAT'S BEEN DONE
So many people lost their lives that day because there was no alert system in place. That's not the case these days. In addition to signs alerting people of tsunami hazard zones when entering low areas, there's now a two-tier, early warning system for the Indian Ocean in place. One is a high-tech network of ocean monitoring technology, which records information from pressure gauges, seismographs and wave sensors and the other is the low-tech community response drill. The likelihood of a tsunami like that happening again in the next 75 to 800 years is most unlikely but having the warning system in place makes people sleep better at night and encourages visitors to return. It took about six months for visitors to come back and many of Phuket's hotels have already been restored or rebuilt.

KAMALA BEACH MARKET
Driving around Phuket reminded me of Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia but with traffic. I knew we were relatively nearby but had no idea I would feel like I was actually there. The landscape, the people (lots of Muslims), the motorbikes (some carrying whole families), all of it was almost identical. Another reminder was the twice-weekly village market, held on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. It's about nine kilometers from Patong and is right across the street from Phuket FantaSea. It's billed as Thailand's most popular animal and leisure park, but I heard mixed reviews. But at the market, you can find all kinds of food stalls, clothing, knick-knacks, even edible bugs ... and all at a bargain price.

PHUKET TO BANGKOK
Obviously, this trip to the beach was way too short ... aren't they all? But it was better than not experiencing it at all. A word of caution: When flying out of the Phuket Airport, be sure to give yourself enough time, as the place was a complete madhouse. The line to get all bags x-rayed was out the door, though it moved quickly. But the line to check-in for Thai Airways was long and slow. We waited 50 minutes only to learn that it was a waste of time since we weren't checking bags. We could have used one of the two un-advertised self-service kiosks that we didn't spot until walking to the security line. So, if you aren't checking bags, there's no need to get to the airport too early; security doesn't take long and they don't require laptops to come out or shoes to come off.

VIDEO
Here's a three-minute Johnny Jet video of my trip to Phuket, Thailand. We also have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on YouTube.

NEXT WEEK
Next week, we head to mountains in northern Thailand and spend enough time to do almost everything! Stay tuned.

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Note: This trip was sponsored in part by Tourism Authority of Thailand.





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