April 2012 in Phuket

Advance warning, there may not be any updates on this blog for about 10 days, since I have a little holiday. Will have laptop with me, so will most likely post now and then on Twitter (follow me @JamieMonk) PLUS you can always check the latest weather by looking at the webcams on this blog ...

• Patong Beach Webcam - NEW! Just added this today!
• Karon Beach Webcam
• Surin Beach Webcam

End of the season is coming, we've had some rain this week, mostly at night including a big storm on Sunday night which dropped about 100mm of rain on my house, maybe more.. my rain gauge chose that night to run out of batteries. I didn't even notice, I was fast asleep! April in Phuket is a month of heat, and sudden bursts of rain, which can be refreshing and certainly help to ease the heat. Certainly don't be expecting 24 hour sun at this time of year, but like I say the rain normally falls in quick heavy showers.

Well, back on Friday 13th it was Songkran. For the first time ever, I decided not to go out throwing water. I stayed home all day, did some housework, drank a few beers.... My house is in a quiet area, it was a very peaceful day.



Sunday 15th, my first chance to get out and try my new camera! I took a walk around Phuket Town, though I tell you it was a HOT morning and I should have started earlier than 9:30. Already hot. An hour of wandering was enough. Here's a few pictures from Sunday ...







And then on the 16th ... OK, so the week before we felt the large earthquake off Sumatra and everyone fled for the hills. Nothing happened, but memories of December 26th 2004 came back. And then on the 16th, mid afternoon, another one, but very odd, felt quite strong but lasted just a couple of seconds. The USGS website reported a 5.3 quake in Sumatra. Seemed not right, we wouldn't feel that here. Then reports arrived that a (small) quake about 3.9 magnitude had been centered in Phuket, or just offshore near Koh Yao Noi. Well, there's a first! Just a tiny jolt, but again, people did head for the hills until what happened was clear. We shut our dive shop early, I did not want to be stuck in traffic again!

Here's a photo of the sky, just after midday on the 16th (picture taken from Sunrise Divers, Karon Beach) ...



On the 17th my wife and I took a little wander in town in the evening after a hot day. I do enjoy a walk in the old town!



And here's a sky photo from yesterday (18th April)...



Today was hot, but mostly cloudy with a touch of rain. Have a feeling tomorrow will be HOT (not just hot, I mean HOT). Nights hot too. My dear wife insisted last night on no aircon. But she changed her mind after a while. I do love aircon!

Tomorrow planning another evening in Phuket Town, want to try the highly-recommended Raya restaurant and also check out a little market that sets up on Friday evenings near the restaurant. But first, a lie-in tomorrow. No work, no hassles, holidays starting tomorrow!