Phuket Thailand, once again...

If you recall,  I spent some vacation time earlier this year on the beaches in Phuket. So rather than give you the same old tired beach scenes (although the beach is marvelous, it does tend to be a bit wet at this time of the year and we did spend quite a few hours in the lounge or in our room, seeking refuge from the rain), I thought I might try something fresher.

The economic downturn of the last year has resulted in a number of people leaving cushy Shanghai expat  postings to return to their country of origins. This means I have lost a few friends. What I have lost in friends, I have gained in books. One in particular, was the book about the birds of Thailand. I have a latent interest in bird identification; what I lack in ability , I make up in enthusiasm.  Thinking that this might come in useful while living here and increasingly looking at Asia as potential sources for future travel, I thought that I could use this book. While seemingly not very useful because of its abbreviated form, it had pretty photos, so I took it anyways.  So here is where I prove to you that it was a useful acquisition.

While we were in Phuket, and aided by by my handy book, I noted the following birds for you (because deep down, I know that you are interested in birds). One of the the most common sightings was the common mynah. This fellow was on our balcony as soon as we were there for more than a minute, and was a constant companion on the balcony of the lounge. They have the greatest of calls, with a wide variety of songs.

We also saw a number of swallows everyday. They swooped around the towers of the hotel resort and are said to be a prevalent type of bird all over the country.  Unfortunately, I was unable to determine which specific swallow, but if I follow the what the book said, it is likely the common one that ranges from north to south of the entire country making very large nests all over public buildings.

I also saw flying in the distance both a bird of prey ( a raptor) which was too far to identify and an egret of sorts. According to the book (which is sounding like the "bible" at this point), it could have been iether the large or the small egret.  Although they are drastically different in size , but not color since they are both pure white, it was impossible to tell form a distance which one they were- the bird looked small form a where I was standing.

The rest of the trip is all sand, and beach and pool and good drinks....