Knitting at the beach on Phuket Island

First another picture from the floating market (Lloyd's camera)...

It seemed to be mainly women paddling boats to sell food.

Now for Phuket town, and the interesting Sino-Portuguese architecture...

Soi Rommanee, a former red-light district, now a prosperous residential street with shops.  I had a delicious cappucino in this establishment.

A beautiful museum, well-laid out, called Thai Hua Museum.  It used to be a Chinese language school.  It celebrates the history of the Chinese residents in Phuket, many of whom have become very rich in mining and coconut industries.

Lloyd buying a pommelo at the market--we are really enjoying the fresh fruit!

Pineapples waiting to be unloaded.

Unloading sacks of veggies from the back of a truck--reminded us of the flying fish at the Seattle Pike Place market.

This morning we took the songthaew to Nai Harn beach and found it to be cheek-by-jowl of chaise longues.  So we decided to walk up the headland, about 500 metres straight up, to the view point from where I took this picture.  This is also the marked "evacuation route" in case of another tsunami.  

And this is looking in the opposite direction at a much smaller beach, Ya Nui, so we decided to walk there for a dip.

And after a very welcome beer and lunch at a beach restaurant, we donned our bathing suits.  Lloyd kindly held my sarong for me--it's two metres of fabric sewn into a tube which was just large enough for me in which to undress.  Lloyd used the toilet--don't think he could have managed in the sarong!  We rented these two chairs, umbrella and table for 200 BHT (about $6), and then off to the ocean.  The water was wonderfully refreshing, probably about 30 degrees, and very salty.  The sand is fine and there's lots of coral.

And then as promised, I pulled out my knitting and happily knit away in the shade while Lloyd strolled the beach--he now looks like a lobster as a result while I'm still quite pale!

Showing off the butterfly lace motif that I've knit into one of the segments.

It was interesting to sit and listen to all the different languages being spoken around me...Russian, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, and more.  Hardly any English or Thai.  Every woman was in a bikini and there were some topless bathers as well.  Everyone looks too well fed however! Definitely a lot of flesh, and not very attractive. And the smoking!  We had a second dip just before leaving the beach and then happily walked along a hot road (but in the shade) to Rawai Beach to catch the Songthaew back to Phuket.  And here's Lloyd hanging off the back of the bus!

That open shirt is another reason for his lobster colour tonight