Though it kinda sounds like a axle/CV-joint problem (and might be), the noise could be anything loose/worn in the front end. The whump of putting the car into drive might be moving the engine around enough to make a bad engine mount clunk. When the car is turned left, the mount might bind or allow the engine to shift around in that one direction - clunk.
Then again, it could be suspension. There are an infuriatingly great number of things in the front end that can clang, pop, and clunk.
I fought an annoying noise for a long time. Over light bumps while turning and speed bumps the front would pop and clunk. Several hundred dollars later, I found out that a rotten pair of "Strut Thrust Bearings" was the problem. They're the wimpy little rotating washers that fit into the top part of the front strut assembly and allow the strut to rotate while turning the car.