One of the things we were really looking forward to was seeing all the hawngs around Phuket. Several cruisers who have been to Thailand in the past on yachts just raved about how great they are. Someone gave us the coordinates of about 30 or so in Phang Nga bay at the north end of Phuket Island. And there are tons more than just the 30 up there. The consensus was Continue reading
Eric got up at 0700 to take Mike to shore. He was going to the airport to try to catch a morning flight into Bangkok to try to get his visa situation fixed. Eric returned to Kosmos and immediately went back to bed. For some reason, both Eric and Christi were very tired and had a hard time getting up. We finally reluctantly dragged ourselves out of bed only because we were so hungry that we could no longer sleep.
We had a big, long list of chores and errands that needed to be accomplished today. But, as we ate a late breakfast, the beach beckoned to us, calling our names and telling us we needed to come and play in the surf. We spent hours boogie boarding, body surfing and swimming. Playing in the surf is so much fun. We haven’t done it since we left home since most of the beaches we were at had too much coral or too strong of a rip tide.
Mike, meanwhile, arrived in Bangkok and got to the embassy at 1300 (1:00 pm). They told him Continue reading
Last night when we were visiting with Mike, we asked him about his visa for the Andaman Islands. The Andaman Islands is part of India, and you can’t go there if your Indian visa doesn’t have a special stamp saying you are allowed to visit the Andamans. Mike did not have such a stamp. So, the first priority of the day was to get the visa situation rectified.
We got a taxi and went to Phuket Town, several miles north of Ao Chalong. While in transit, we gave the taxi driver the address of the agency we were going to and he said he didn’t know where it was. He instantly flagged down Continue reading
We needed to take Ron to shore at 0900 so he could make it to the airport on time. The past two days, the dock has been more or less deserted, but we also weren’t there at 0900. Apparently, every single boat tour and ferry in Phuket leaves from the exact spot we unload from right at 0900. The staircase was completely loaded with tourists waiting to board boats. There were several boats hovering at the landing, vying for who would be next to pull in when the boat currently loading up pulled away. We watched two boats load up before we got aggressive and pushed our way in. We quickly unloaded and pushed our way up the stairs. At the top of the staircase we saw the entire pier was crowded with people all waiting to get onto boats. It was a zoo.
After saying goodbye to Ron, we moved the boat to the Nai Harn Beach anchorage we had been eyeing yesterday. Moving was a good call. This anchorage is better in every single way. There is much more space between the boats, and we are no longer worrying about hitting a neighbor. Yes, it is still rolly, but not as much. The waves don’t get as big, so we stay dry on the dinghy ride. It is a short ride to a floating dinghy dock, where we don’t have to worry about tides flipping the dinghy over or ferries crushing the little boat. The water is cleaner and deeper, which means less dirt for the water maker to have to filter out. And it is a prettier spot. While there are a few small buildings around, they are low and hidden behind trees, so, with the exception of The Royal Phuket Yacht Club hotel, our view is of undeveloped hills with a picturesque beach nestled in between. The beach is covered with lounge chairs with covered umbrellas. The first shot is looking north at the hotel, the second is looking south to the lighthouse, but you can’t see the lighthouse in this picture.
Once Kosmos was situated, we went to shore to explore. There were lots of Continue reading
Continued from yesterday”¦ At the halfway point, the trainer offered to take some pictures. He got off and took a couple photos of us. Then he encouraged Eric to sit on the elephant’s neck. Eric slid off the bench and onto her neck. The elephant walked only about 10 feet, and Eric commented that staying on was a little bit tricky. The trainer instructed Eric to go back to the bench and Christi to move to the neck. After a few more photos, Christi expected to slide back on the bench. Instead, the trainer instructed the elephant to continue on. The path narrowed and began to descend.
Christi thought Eric’s comment about Continue reading