Category Archives: Thailand

More About Part 2 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation

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Part 2 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People covering Australia to Oman is now on sale! Read the first few pages on Lulu’s “preview” feature and read an excerpt from Chapter 1 here (starts on page 18)!

Jeff Merrill wrote an extensive book review for the Nordhavn.com site.

Many people have asked us why they should buy our book if they can read our blog for free. Just like Part 1, the book is very different from the blog. Here are a few of the differences between the two:

  • Prologue: Picks up where the Prologue of Part 1 left off. It focuses primarily on the research we did as we planned for our journey and addresses the majority of the questions we were most frequently asked.
  • Several new stories from the journey – And there are some really good ones!
  • Many details have been added that were best left undisclosed while we were still on the journey (sometimes we didn’t want our parents worrying about us; sometimes we didn’t want to incriminate ourselves!)
  • In Retrospect sections with great insights — so you can see the situation through the eyes of a newbie as we learn, while simultaneously seeing the same situation through the eyes of experience.
  • Streamlined stories – some complained our posts were too long and detailed, the book is a condensed version they will enjoy more.
  • Formatting is first person, through Christi’s eyes – Some complained they didn’t like the third person format, so they will enjoy the book more.
  • Actual dates on each post. On the blog, the dates are not real time, which is a significant piece of information for anyone hoping to follow in our footsteps.
  • All profits will go to our cruising fund. The more books we sell, the sooner you can start reading about our next journey! So, buy one and get all your friends to buy one, too!

People have also asked us why we broke the series up into four books instead of only three. We had very different experiences in each of the four world regions, so it was best for each region to have its own volume.

  • In the South Pacific, Part 1, we spent most of our time in sparsely populated areas communing with nature. And we did a lot of rough sea time, learning about boating the hard way.
  •  In Asia, Part 2, we were mostly in densely populated areas building cultural bridges. Our sea experiences were also different from the Pacific, with both our best and worst passages occurring in this region.

Travel Summary January 2008 to June 2008

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Indonesia to Egypt

  • West Timor Island, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
    10° 9S by 123° 34E
    Dec 27 – 31, 2007 & Jan 2 – 9, 2008
    Traditional village tour
  • Flores Island, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
    08° 50S by 121° 30.8E
    Jan 10 – 15, 2008
    Crater Lakes
  • Rinca Island, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
    8°39.15S by 119° 42.9E
    Jan 16 -24, 2008
    Komodo Dragons & other native wildlife
  • Labuan Bajo, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
    08° 29.5S by 119° 52.5E
    Jan 21 -24, 2008
    SCUBA Diving
  • Bali, Indonesia
    08° 44.5S by 115° 12.7E
    Jan 25 – Feb 8, 2008
    UN conference, island tour, whitewater rafting, SCUBA Diving, Monkey Forest, traditional show
  • Karimata, Indonesia
    01°40.7S by 108° 54.2E
    Feb 12 – 14, 2008
    Medical assistance to islander
  • Sentosa Island, Singapore
    01°14N by 103° 50E
    Feb 12 – Mar 08, 2008
    Side trip to Hong Kong, Museums, Rides
  • Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
    02° 31N by 101° 48E
    Mar 8- 18, 2008
    Side trip to Malacca
  • Langkawi Island, Kedah, Malaysia
    06° 21N by 099° 40E
    Mar 20 – Mar 28, 2008
    Sky ride, Geoforest Park, waterfall hike, extravagent gift museum
  • Ko Muk Island, Trang Province, Thailand
    07°23N by 099°17E
    Mar 28 – Apr 2, 2008
    Emerald Hawng
  • Phi Phi Islands, Krabi Province, Thailand
    Don: 07°43N by 098°46E
    Li: 07°40N by 098°46E
    Apr 2 – 4, 2008
  • Phuket Island, Phuket Province, Thailand
    Ao Chalong: 07° 49N by 098° 21E
    Nai Harn: 07° 46N by 098° 17E
    Apr 4 – 17, 2008
    Traditional dancing, Elephant ride, Hawng tour, Fantasea show
  • Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India
    11° 40N by 092° 42E
    Apr 17 – 23 & 29, 2008
    Visit to Ross Island
  • Havelock Island, Andaman Islands, India
    11° 59N by 092° 56E
    Apr 23 – 29, 2008
    SCUBA diving, Elephant training camp
  • Male, Maldives
    04° 13.0N by 073° 32.0E
    May 02 – 18, 2008
    SCUBA diving
  • Port Salalah, Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman
    16° 56.2N by 054° 0.2E
    May 21 – Jun 02, 2008
    SCUBA diving, Guided Tour Dhofar
  • Port Ghalib, Marsa Alam, Egypt
    25°31N by 34°38E
    Jun 13 – 17 & Jun 23 – Jul 05, 2008
    SCUBA diving, Trip to Luxor to see Temples & Burial Tombs

Passage from Phuket, Thailand to Port Blair, Andaman Islands

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On Sunday, the moment of truth came where we realized we could no longer put off chores. Eric changed the generator oil and filter and the air filter in the main engine and on engine fuel filter while Christi cleaned and did laundry. We also both did some major re-organizing. No matter how much stuff we move around, we never can seem to put it all away. We always have something sitting out on the living room floor that has no home. And when we find a spot for it, whatever was in that spot goes to the living room floor instead. Someday we will get it all put away… Maybe… Mike went to the hospital to have his bandages changed. We are pleased to report he came back with slightly smaller bandages, which is a very good sign, indeed. In the evening we went out to dinner with a family we had met on the kayak trip.

Monday morning we took a taxi back to Ao Chalong bay to check out. We were supposed to Continue reading →

FantaSea

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Today was errand day. We went to an internet café, the grocery store, and to several gas stations in search of diesel engine oil. The grocery store we went to is called Tesco and it is like a Super Target, and very clean and nice inside and outside. There was also a section where you could buy foods in bulk. We are delighted to report that there was a big selection of heat and serve foods with English labels, however, most of the canned foods were labeled in Thai, so we didn’t get many canned goods. BTW, prices for alcohol and cigarettes are much lower here with tax than in Langkawi duty free, so we should have stocked up here.

A friend of ours from home that had recently visited Thailand told us we needed to get a pancake from a street vendor. We were pretty disappointed with the pancakes we had gotten in the restaurants, but we saw a street vendor selling dessert pancakes and each got one only because we trust our friend’s judgment on food. They turned out to be paratha bread filled with the sweet(s) of your choice. They were to die for good. We all got a second one.

In the evening we went to a show called FantaSea, which is billed as a Vegas style show. A van picked us up at 1830 (6:30 pm) and took us to up the coastal road, the same road we had taken with Jennifer and Koy to Patong. Beyond Patong there are a lot of big, fancy resorts lining the road. We were let out at the entrance to the park at 1930. Park? We thought we were going to a show! The area where you buy your tickets has elephant head columns and the ceiling is painted in a way that looks like it is from a Thai Disney cartoon. There is a pond with a waterfall and with statues in it that look like Thai Disney characters, including the Thai Little Mermaid.

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We entered into the park. There are Continue reading →

The Hawngs of Phang Nga Bay Part 2

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Continued from yesterday”¦ We piled back into the trawler and in a couple minutes were at another cave on the same island called Diamond Cave. Golf made it clear this is a completely different hawng with no connection what so ever to the first cave. This cave is much narrower and lower. It was only a couple minutes before we needed to lie down again. Not only did the ceiling get ultra low, the cave also got ultra narrow, and the kayak barely squeezed through the opening. Once we got through the low, narrow stretch, we could sit up again. There is a portion of the cave covered in calcium carbonate that sparkles as if someone threw glitter all over it. It is pretty.

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This hawng looks much the same inside as the bat cave hawng, which is spectacular, with clear blue water, 600 foot walls and foliage all the way to the top.

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And, like the Bat Cave, it also has a bay within the bay. Here is Continue reading →