Tet 2012
My trip started off with a little self imposed anxiety. You see, I booked two seperate flights, one going from Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok and the other going from Bangkok to Phuket. I did this after booking a week long sailing trip (adventure tour) and I never really looked at my itinerary again until the day before I was scheduled to leave... Oh dear! Seems I had only set aside an hour to claim my luggage, clear immigration and get into a taxi and make my way to the Yacht Haven Marina (situated approximately 20 minutes from the airport) Yikes! Maybe I can try and bring my luggage on board rather than check it??? "Not a chance" is what I was basically told at the counter... great! Ok well, I would just have to deal with it when I got there, no big deal right?
Well it wouldn't have been that big of a deal if my first flight from Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok had been on time but alas it was not. A fun fact that everyone but myself seemed to know about this thrifty little airline that shall remain nameless..."Ladies and gentleman, flight blah, blah, blah, to Bangkok will be delayed, we thank you for your patience." Delayed??? Are you serious? And then it started... every possible scenario started running through my head... if this flight leaves late I may not make my connecting flight to Phuket which means I won't make it to the Marina on time which in turn means that the boat will leave without me and I will be stuck in Phuket for a week not to mention that I have already paid for my sailing trip!!! OMG, this was a disaster of epic proportions (insert drama queen here)!!! I frantically tried to reach someone from the tour company to inform them not to leave without me but of course no WiFi...Breathe Tanya, breathe ..."Blah, Blah airlines, flight blah, blah, blah for Bangkok is now boarding." Thank god! And only 40 minutes late... Which means I will have 25 minutes to clear immigration, claim my luggage and re-check it (thrifty airlines don't seem to have the ability to send your luggage direct or to transfer it to another plane or perhaps even to issue two different plane tickets at the same time, another few fun facts I was informed of that very morning). 25 minutes??? I saw nothing of the Bangkok Airport due to the fact that I had to run through it like a crazy person (carrying an enormous backpack and wearing flip flops). I don't really know how I managed (part of it was that I cleared Thai citizens customs rather than the foreigner line) but I made the connecting flight. I had to face angry and impatient faces as i walked past first class as they they had already closed the economy boarding gate but I made it. Never had I been so happy to be sitting in a middle seat on a budget airline that doesn't even offer water ;)
(I would eventually grow to love the Bangkok airport, spending countless hours waiting for connecting flights, oh the irony...)
Ok, so I finally landed in Phuket and got to the Yacht Haven Marina with 2 minutes to spare. And this is what was waiting for me. Unbelievable!
If you are going to see Thailand, do yourself a favour and do it from a sailboat! There are so many amazing beaches to discover, so many caves to explore, so much fresh seafood to catch and devour. And wouldn't it be more pleasant without the mass of the loud, exhaust spewing long-tail tourist boats racing around?!? The popular islands are way too crowded and polluted with abrasive people and mind numbing noise. So head for the road less traveled and set sail to discover the lesser known islands of Thailand.
I stayed on this catamaran sailboat for 7 blissful nights. I loved it so much that I decided to board this same boat 5 months later to sail the eastern coast of Thailand. Both these experiences were spectacular! The sleeping quarters were pretty small and slept 2, there were 2 washrooms to accommodate 7 people but when your daily schedule looks like this, who really cares:
-get up to fresh fruit and coffee
+sail to your first snorkel sight as you slowly wake up and admire the beauty all around you
+jump into pristine blue waters to snorkel for a few hours or perhaps explore a cave or a deserted island or even a famously known island without all the tourist boats hovering around (aka the Beach)
+get back on your yacht for fresh Thai seafood caught by your Skip or better yet, help him catch lunch
+sail, sail and more sail
+snorkel to your hearts content
+eat copious amounts of fresh seafood
+watch the sun set on the ocean every single night
+take a night plunge and discover the wonders of bioluminescent phytoplankton (yes, it's real)
+get rocked to sleep by the soothing waves
+repeat for 7 incredible days
= PERFECTION
When I think about my sailing trips to Thailand, two nights stand out in my mind. The night I discovered the existence of bioluminescent plankton and the night I reached the Beach... I will start with the former.
Our day started off beautifully, we ate a delicious breakfast and, yes, did more snorkeling. We brought bread with us and were immediately surrounded by hundreds of colourful and exotic fish, curious to see if our food rations would ever run out. When they did, the fish momentarily attempted to nibble on us but soon realized we were a poor substitute. We got back on the boat and it was time to set sail, onto our next destination. But before our anchor was raised, a man approached on his dinghy telling us that the battery on his boat was drained and that he desperately needed a boost (yes this occurs even on sailboats). Our skip explained to the man that he was running a tour for a company and that he had passengers on board that had paid to snorkel and to sail and that this would inevitably change our path due to time constraints and changing tides...and change our journey, it did. But more about that later.
The man kindly thanked us anyways and wished us safe travels, he said he would ask the next boat that came around and that he understood the nature of our skip's situation, He was about to take his leave when our skip, Michael, turned to us feeling horrible and asked how we felt about doing a good deed and helping out a fellow yachty, to which we quickly and happily agreed...It's not like we were really on a schedule, unless you consider eat, snorkel, eat, snorkel, eat, sleep, repeat, a schedule ;)
So while the battery recharged, we did much of the same alternating between, eating, swimming, reading, and sun bathing. Tough go! The process took a bit longer than usual, due to some unforseen complications, but we were on our way within the next few hours. No damage done, the only thing that changed was the location of the bay where would anchor our boat that night. Plus, we were happy to have been good samaritans. Turns out that on board that yacht was 2 International teachers and 4 high school girls completing their sailing course. The girls had drained the battery using their flat irons and blowdryers, go figure!
All this to say that Karma is a beautiful and wonderful thing. That very night we ended up lowering our anchor in the very same bay as our "rescue" yacht and guess who came over baring gifts... The teachers wanted to thank us so they brought us a box of wine (or goon as I learned in Australia on my very first sailing trip a few years back). Since they were both also music teachers they also brought with them their guitars and a few tambourines. A jamming session quickly followed. Pretty soon all you could hear in that isolated bay was the sound of guitars, tambourines, singing and a ton of laughter. There was also the accompanying sound of a piano via a pretty cool iphone app. As I looked up at the star filled sky I thought to myself could this night get any better??? Turns out it could.
"So have you guys seen it yet? asked one of the teachers...
Seen what? What on earth was she talking about? I asked myself, puzzled.
"Just jump in, you 'll see" she said, as a smile swept across her lips. I looked over to her fellow teacher, he was enthusiastically nodding this head. I was curious...why not, I figured. It's not like they would try to feed us to the sharks, not after we saved them??? They then told us to turn off all the lights on the boat and to watch. So I ran into my cabin to change and was the first to take the plunge...
That was the first night I realized I had super powers... OK, maybe not but I swear that swimming in the complete darkness with bioluminescent plankton is like having the power to shoot lightning out of your fingertips and toes. Every time I would move my hands or my feet, a trail of underwater lights would follow my every move, the faster I kicked the more light they emitted. When I took my hands out of the water, little dots of glowing blue light would slide down my arms until they once again reached the sea. No need for convincing, my shipmates jumped in and the bay lit up like the sky...there were stars above and there were stars below. It was and still remains a magical night. Although I have seen the plankton many times since that day, every time I see it still feels like that very first snowfall, the one that brings you to back to the magic and the wonder of your childhood. You can youtube bioluminescent plankton and see for yourself but... I recommend the real thing, if you had a doubt ;)
As for the second most memorable night, let me first backtrack a little... For this sailing trip you could choose to do 3 nights or 4 nights or stay on for the full 7 nights (which my friend Nick and myself chose to do). We started off our trip with as a group of 7 with a crew of 2 (3 Canadians, 3 Brits and 1 American, 1 Auzzie skip and 1 Thai first mate) and after the first 3 nights, 4 people left and 3 newbies were set to take over there bunks. We didn't really know what to expect when we picked them up on Koh Phi Phi island...
It immediately started off badly, they were loud and had seemingly already had one too many of the famous and often messy Thailand buckets (one mickey of Thai whisky, 1 can of redbull, coke, ice and half a dozen straws in a kid’s sand bucket, oh and one painful hangover). As soon as they got on the boat, they started to act like spoiled, rich, over grown children. The type you only see on trashy reality shows. They started talking about themselves, how great they were and how much money they had and never really stopped, I was annoyed. They took over the boat like they owned it. One of the guys even decided that he would not submit himself to keeping tally of his drinks so he told our skip he was buying all the alcohol on the boat. This is when I knew they wouldn't last... I had seen a group of Irish boys drink themselves sick in the Whitsundays a few years back, they spent the whole next day leaned over the side of the boat, green and ghostly. I don't care how much you think you can drink, drinking on a boat is very different. I will get back to these full grown boys in a bit.
So our day kept getting worse, we were set to lower our anchor in Maya bay, the bay that sits in front of Maya beach (yes the one from the Beach, I had been looking forward to seeing this amazing place since the very first time I saw that movie ) but the current was too strong. We would have to go around to the other side of the island and wait for morning to reach the Beach. We lowered our anchor on the far side of the island and started setting up for our BBQ dinner. I was starting to think that this second part of the trip was cursed until Michael saw my disappointed face and said...
"Unless you guys want to take a chance and try to swim out to the rope ladder by the rocks?"
"Yes, yes, yes" I could hear myself shouting.
"Ok but the current is very strong, I can take you out in the dinghy now and drop you off as close to the rope as I can but you will have to do the same thing to come back tonight and it will be dark by that time. Are you sure you want to do this? he asked.
Without a doubt, it was unanimous, well almost. Five of us decided to get into the dinghy and held on as he drove over the waves, we had to circle a few times because the current was so strong it was sending our boat towards the sharp gagged rocks. Those same rocks were where that tiny little rope ladder was attached, that same ladder that would finally get me to the Beach... (but without a camera with good reason) So I jumped in and swam with all I had to grab a hold of that rope, at the same time I had push myself away from that wall of skin piercing jagged rocks. The waves definitely pushed us around and we were all wondering how we find our way back in the dark, let alone manage to climb back in our dinghy afterwards.
We had no idea where we were heading, we were told that there was a short path that would lead us directly to the beach. We walked through this beautiful jungle and saw a tiki hut to the left of us with a bar and a few people gathered around it in the distance but I was too focused to stop. I was going to see this beach and I wanted to see it before the sun set. Finally I saw the opening and as I walked through it all I could do was stare in complete amazement. My own eyes where seeing this! I was finally here!
All the long tail boats had left for the day and the beach was deserted. We were the only 5 people there and we were there just in time for my favourite time of day...sunset. We looked at each other (put our differences aside) and chuckled and then we all ran into the water so happy and thankful for our stroke of luck. We were at Maya beach and not one single long boat was there. it was all ours. And we were free to enjoy it the way it should be, not behind a phone or in front of a camera but by just BEING there. None of us showed up on the island with anything but a cold beverage, oddly enough ;) And as the sun finally set, we looked down into the water and there it was again...stars everywhere... bioluminescent greatness.
This is what Maya bay beach often looks like I am told...
This is what our Maya beach looked like the next morning, before all the boats and all the tourists arrived... We snorkeled in this bay early that morning, that is our sailboat in the distance... It was one of my dreams come true and I am so thankful to have experienced it.
Oh and about those boys, turns out drinking on a boat IS very different. That very night they all drank themselves silly and were begging to be dropped off on the next island. In their words they needed to be "dropped off at 5 star". So the next morning, we promptly shed about 500 pounds of "dead" weight (one stayed on board with us, he turned out to be an alright guy) and voilà then we were 4 with our crew and we had 3 more glorious nights aboard the magic Amadeus. Plus, the last three days were "all-inclusive". Thank you, manchildren for buying all of our drinks, happy Chang-over to you! My friend Nick and I still have a good chuckle when we talk about "Nuneaton".
Thailand is a great place to visit just don't flock to where all the tourists go. Like any country do your research first, look for options on how you can do it off the beaten path and be prepared to go off course and to step outside of your comfort zone. If you are looking to stay in your comfort zone, you probably should have stayed home. The best adventures are the ones you don't plan for and the best stories are the ones you that can take you back.
On both my trips we had incredible encounters with wild dolphins, we even tried to jump in and swim with them but they quickly vanished. But that's ok they gave us a great show before they did. Check out the video our first mate, Em, took. Superb!
Here is a collection of things I love about Thailand.
These intricate and colourful shrines are everywhere in Thailand and they are absolutely beautiful.
Watching a Muay Thai boxing event is a must. We watched ours on Koh Samui but the best and largest Muay Thai stadiums and arenas are in Bangkok (Lumpinee, Rajadamnern and Channel 7 Stadiums).
Fire dancing and fire spinning shows...one word...Incredible! These men are truly amazing and very talented. Another big must.
The rice paper lanterns, not only are they beautiful but they are considered to bring good luck. Many believe that worries and negative feelings can be set free and simply float away.
It's called letting go...
And finally this view, unbelievable!
Thank you Thailand, Northern Thailand you are still on my list
xo
