We head away from Yacht Haven, just the two of us, with no deadlines or preferred direction. Bliss. We intend to revisit some island we stopped at briefly on the way up and look at some new territory as well. With temperatures now in the mid thirties, with high humidity, we are leaning towards water that we can swim in. One indicator that the season is nearing an end is the presence on stinging jellyfish in Phang Nga Bay and we had seen a few in the water on the way in. This made this area undesirable for swimming although some thought it’s Ok if you swim from the shore because the jellyfish stay clear of there. We decided to head south and be sure.
Anchored off James Bond Island..........................Relaxing on James Bond Island
75 million year old shells.......................................Jellyfish floating by
Crab art -Can you see the kookaburra and the nautilus shell?
Sunset at Monkey Bay.......................................... Fisherman's village at Phi Phi Don
So one day blended into the next as we meandered our way around. Daryl wrote a jobs list that started at 31 but went up more than down initially as he thought of more things that needed doing. He had insane delight in crossing off completed jobs. Gradually as the weeks passed the list dwindled and was replaced a parts list that needed filling before the final ones could be crossed off.
Limestone caves we discovered
Limestone cave entrance....................................Exploring a hong
Fisherman collecting jellyfish................................Emerald Cave
Bats at Koh Dam
On April 11th we were anchored off Koh Lanta beach. We had been on the internet looking for restaurant recommendations for the area and had decided to walk into town for dinner. We had just sat down with a drink to have our ritual game of cards when a man started frantically waving to us from the shore. Daryl hopped in the dinghy and went in to see what was up. In his broken English we gleaned that there had been a big earthquake off Indonesia and a tsunami warning had been issued. He urged us to up anchor and get ourselves into deeper water but that we had about 1 ½ hours before anything would hit. We then heard the information come over a loudspeaker from the beach, in several languages, informing everyone to leave the beach for higher ground. We did the necessaries to clean up, batten down and prepare for the worst. We got onto the internet found out as much detail as we could and placed a message on facebook to let family and friends know that we were well informed had taken action and felt we were in a relatively good position if anything eventuated.
Graph Daryl drew of tsunami path......................Leaving Koh Lanta for deep water
Watch for tsunami wave........................................Meeting other boats in deep water
We watched the horizon for changes and calculated when the wave would come. Time passed, we got too far out for internet access and the worst bit was still not knowing whether a tsunami had formed. We call for information on the VHF radio and got a reply and a promise of updates. The calculated time came and went and then came the radio call to say that there had been aftershocks and to continue the vigil. Finally about three hours after the original warning we had the all clear. Just to be sure we decided to anchor on the lee side of Phi Phi Don in deepish water. What we didn’t anticipate was a series of squalls that bounced us around until we could stand it no longer. At around midnight we lifted the anchor and joined the crowd in the main harbour, creeping our way in dodging unlit boats of all descriptions. Just for the record we felt that the systems in place for making people aware of a possible tsunami were very good. Next morning we found an email from the NZ Embassy in Bangkok giving us a warning. We however hadn’t checked our emails. We’ve also since been told that you can sign up for a tsunami text message alert. For the next few days we did day trips from the harbour but came back in at night wanting to be somewhere where we would be quickly alerted if more warnings were issued.
Playing with a blow hole
Streets on Koh Phi Phi Don
Longtails at Koh Phi Phi Don................................My 'arty' shot of Daryl
My birthday rolled around and we celebrated it in true cruiser style – take it as it comes with the resources available. Daryl bought gifts from Phi Phi Don at the local markets and I made some walnut fudge for a treat for on the day. I was waited on hand and foot all day, did no domestic duties and Daryl cooked a lovely dinner. Facebook messages were also appreciated to make the day festive.
My birthday............................................................Main beach Phi Phi Don as it cranks up
A downside to being in Thailand is the need to exit the country on a regular basis according to how you entered. Entering on a boat and getting a visa on arrival gave us 30 days before we must leave again. We decided to take an organised visa run van trip to Myanmar. At the end of the day we summerised by saying it was an experience that we are glad we did but never want to repeat!!! We were picked up last and got on to find a van full of sleeping, spaced out backpackers from Phuket who looked as if they had been partying nonstop since the day they’d arrived. The van driver was a maniac and a law unto himself. Neither driver nor his co-pilot spoke English so communication/information was nil. He drove erratically to speeds in excess of 140km per hour. He passed anywhere and expected oncoming traffic to move out of his path. We made unscheduled stops, seeming to rendezvous with a woman he was courting, who was also driving the same route in a little white car. He was also constantly on the cell phone to her, wooing his way into her heart (or so his tone would indicate as I couldn’t understand the language). Arriving in the border town of Ranong we waited in a queue for at least an hour for immigration to check us out of Thailand. The onto the wooden boat which was on about a 35 degree lean that chugged us over the choppy river to Myanmar. Check in there was quick and easy as they seemed keen to get us onto the streets were we were offered everything from cheap cigarettes and rum to viagra. Back to Ranong we went and then waited 1 ½ hrs for our turn to check back in. By then it was 3pm and we had no idea as we started the return trip whether we’d get our scheduled stop for lunch. We did, thank goodness, before the 4 hr drive back to Phuket. If we thought having the van following the girlfriend’s car was bad enough we then had the girlfriend in the van. He then had his eyes seldom on the road as he was too busy staring starry eyed at her in the passengers seat. She distracted him by fiddling with his phone, his stereo but thank goodness not him!! It seemed at no time did he consider us, the passengers and we’ve never been so glad to have a trip come to an end.
Little girl also waiting at Ranong border......Dad's helper on the longtail
Immigration criteria???............... My imagination or are we on a lean?
Welcome to Myanmar..............................................Our 10 minutes in Myanmar mug shot
One experience we did have was going shopping at ‘Super Cheap’. With no preconceived ideas we pulled up into the car park. Once we got inside I realised it was the largest shop I’d ever been in but it was such a rabbit warren I’m still not sure I saw it all. Daryl and I used our cell phones to reunite along the way. It had everything from car steering wheels to washing powder. There were suspicious smells in a couple of corners and birds flying in the rafters. I nearly tripped over a sleeping dog, saw several cats as well as several rats and to top it off we didn’t think it was particularly cheap anyway. The next day a fellow cruiser said she has read on two separate occasions about shoppers who have died from a cobra bite while in the vegetable area of Super Cheap. First and last shopping trip there for me, I’m thinking!!
Relaxing at Koh Hong Phang Nga
So we’ve now only a few precious days left to cruise before heading in to Krabi Boat Lagoon Marina to prepare the yacht to be left for at least six months. We’ll then be going back to NZ to enjoy being a part of the excitement, anticipation and eventually in August the arrival of our first grandchild.
Some dive photos from Phang Nga Bay
