Getting plastered in Chalong

Chalong

We returned to Chalong so that Maria could get plastered – literally – three weeks after Dr Wipoo wrangled her wrist into a temporary splint. Because the weather here is as unpredictable as a day in politics, we thought it best to get into Chalong Bay sooner rather than later so that we could judge when to bounce across the anchorage in the dinghy.

A case in point was this deluge that ripped across the anchorage not long after we had arrived. Not only did this weather cell bring a biblical amount of rain – it also shredded the covers of numerous boats in the anchorage and caused a few boats to drag.

Songkran

On the subject of water, the Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand from April 13th to 15th, marking the start of the New Year. The festival transforms the entire country into a gigantic water fight. It sounded interesting, and we wanted to see it, but we didn’t really want to join in. It can be wet enough here without any assistance from people with water weapons.

One of Chalong’s most cherished landmarks is the majestic Big Buddha perched high atop Nakkerd Hill, presumably named because that’s how you feel when you get to the top.  With panoramic views of Chalong Bay and the surrounding islands, the Big Buddha is a draw for visitors year-round. Except you can’t get there at the moment because of renovations following a landslide, which is a pity because it’s allegedly the place to enjoy a more tranquil version of the Songkran festival. People ascend the hill to give blessings and pour water over the Buddha as a ritual gesture symbolising purification and renewal.

Instead, we got the street version.

After a spot of lunch, where even the waiters weren’t immune from getting water poured over their heads, we ventured out into town to see what was going on.

The first shop we passed sold Super Soaker water guns, and to draw our attention to that fact, the shopkeeper demonstrated their effectiveness with live fire (well, water). So our goal of getting back to Jamala dry was scuppered from the start. Fortunately, the wet patches on the road clearly indicated other places to avoid.

But there’s no avoiding the over-enthusiastic locals on the back of a pickup truck armed with super soakers.

Or the seasoned water-slinger armed with a bowl and a very large bucket.

But, as experienced as he was, he couldn’t quite reach us.

Plastering

Finally, it was time for Maria to get plastered at the hospital. We arrived early, complete with a stash of ice packs to ensure that the swelling went down enough for the doctor to say it was OK to wrap it up.

Fortunately, he did give the go-ahead, and shortly afterwards, Maria was sporting a new and menacing-looking blue club on her wrist.

And by way of celebration, we went to an electrical store to buy a new vacuum cleaner. I would have preferred a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. But, to be fair, the vacuum was the same price, and will last a lot longer.

Visitors and Sunsets

Prior to setting off on their grand adventure westward, John and Ada, who feel partially responsible for Maria’s broken arm despite reassurances to the contrary (it was their boat she was photographing when it happened), brought a bottle of wine and a get-well-soon card for Maria. That was a lovely touch.

Also lovely was the sunset over Chalong Bay, the day before we headed back to the pier to clear out.

Clearance

We heard mixed reports of getting clearance at Chalong, and many of the negative comments were related to anchoring. But we didn’t have any problem with that, presumably because we chose to park at a reasonable distance away from the masses.

Clearance was very easy. The yacht services building is like a round version of the clearance in Antigua, where all the authorities are grouped in a line of buildings on the waterfront. Except that Chalong has the addition of a reception area lined with a bank of computers and helpful staff. We paid 200 baht to the harbour master and 500 to one of the other agencies (I can’t remember which one), then we were off towards Malaysia.