"Our Second Home - Phuket" a Phuket Travel Page by Tina-Perth

We spend around 6 months per year in Phuket from short trips of 3 weeks up to 4.5 months, our longest stays are over Christmas, when we usually get here in October and leave in February.

We are very fortunate to be able to spend so much time here, as we love it so much, although it is good to get back to Perth to catch up with friends and life back there, but basically, we just head back only to get things prepared for our next trip back to Phuket.

We first started visiting Phuket in July 2004, since then we have made countless trips here. It really does feel like our second home, especially as we don't stay in hotels, but rather, rent apartments, homes or now, live on our boat.

The boat has been a long, arduous journey, with 3 years on the hard stand and a further year in the water, undergoing a refit that should have taken around 1 year. Things progress very slowly in Thailand, with practically every job having to be done at least twice, as there is very little training, so there is not a high skill level. Things tend to be done the long way 'round and work is completed very, very slowly. A good example of how work is done in Thailand is, when a friend of ours asked for a flower bed to be built out the front of his newly finished home, the contractor concreted all the way up to the walls, instead of allowing for a bed. When our friend said to him, where's the flower bed I asked for? The reply came back, that they would just jackhammer the concrete out for that. That's how it's done here. Crazy, wasteful, time consuming ways. But nevertheless, you can't not love the Thais and their reasoning, as frustrating, time and money consuming as it is.

Some good things have come out of us not having the boat finished as planned, or even twice as long as planned, because we were given opportunities we never would have received if we'd finished the boat as planned and taken it back to Perth, so all is well in our world.

As soon as we arrive in Phuket, it feels like coming home. There is such an aura of peace, relaxation and belonging here.

Phuket is a land of peaceful, gentle people who welcome everyone with a smile and "Sawatdee". These people are so open, gentle, thoughtful and kind. They are tolerant, welcoming and accommodating. They will give you anything they can if you need it. They are not materialistic and love to help others. They are the most beautiful people I have ever met, their warmth, kindness and humility is neverending. I love to watch the community spirit at work amongst the Thai people, if anyone is in need, there is always someone there to help. Some people I know have even formed little community "banks" between neighbours, accounting for only maybe 12 families, each depositing 1,000 baht each month to be put into a kitty where one new family is selected each month to receive the 12,000 baht. This enables people with little money to be able to make large purchases that they couldn't ordinarily afford, unless they were to wait for 1 year. This enterprising, community spirit is what its all about for me. I love it.

This picture is a classic 'capture' of the Thai spirit. Joyful, energetic children who show respect and never seem to be a problem like you see western children being. No screaming, yelling, fighting, tugging at their parents clothing, wanting constant attention. These kids amuse themselves - and us. Thai kids always bring a smile to my face.

Phuket sunsets are something else. This picture was taken at Laem Promthep (Promthep Cape) - the southernmost point of Phuket, famous for its sunset views. It has not been manipulated, this is the real colour of the sunset. Funnily enough, it began as quite an ordinary sunset and once the sun went down, everybody left, the coachloads and buses of tourists.

And then the sky started to change and get more and more deeply coloured. It was amazing, the red light reflected off everything. Cars were stopped along the roads to watch it. Luckily we'd stayed on at the Cape and could continue to marvel at the view for about 30 minutes after the sun went down.