Phang Nga Bay
What a way to end 2019! Kayaking in Phang Nga Bay was spectacular! Turquoise waters, tiny mud skippers, cheeky monkeys, tropical birdsong and creating a special offering to the ocean.
An hour long journey by boat took us to Phang Nga Bay. We spent the day on and off the boat with our wonderful guides (Soon, M and Mein) from John Gray’s Sea Canoe tour. Don’t miss this day if you come to Phuket.
One of the many long tail boats on the Bay. Cool looking crafts but they spew a lot of diesel...
Evan in our first hong (“room” in Thai) which is a sea cave. These are part of the collapsed sea caves, open to the sky. They are full of plants and wildlife.
Alex and Robyn with the absolutely wonderful Mein. Best guide ever!
Adam and Soon navigating around a Mangrove tree.
The water in the bay and in the hongs is murky and quite shallow in parts. The bottom is clay.
Relaxing in the hong.
Rafting up.
Better lie down for this tight fit!
Bats in the caverns leading to the hongs.
Exiting back out to the bay.
Long-tailed (or Crab-eating) Macaques live in the trees and scamper along the cave walls.
Making our own Krathong with our kayak guides. Such creativity.
Krathongs complete and put aside for later.
Evan and my Krathong. The base is a section of banana tree trunk decorated with folded banana leaves and flowers.
Getting ready to float our krathongs as a forgiveness offering to the goddess of water, floating away our bad luck. Our wonderful guides teamed up and paddled our family kayaks into a triangle for a personal ceremony.
To me, our three krathongs represent our three kids who are all embarking on their next life journeys in 2020.
The Big Buddha
The first day of the year filled with adventure and surprises! Sailing, hiking and thievery, oh my!
It’s been about 25 years since Adam donned his sailor’s cap but apparently it’s like riding a bike! Taught us our way around a Hobie Cat.
...and for some, lounging on the bow deck was just the speed (and splashes) they were after.
We drove all the way down island to hike up to Ming Mongkol Buddha (aka The Big Buddha) on the top of Nakkerd Hill. I can telll you we were knackered by the time we got to the top. Think pitch of the Grouse Grind in 32C heat with humidity.
A bit of jungle trekking.
Made it!
And what better way to rehydrate! Best coconut water I’ve ever had. And we peeled off the meat for most of our time at the top...more on that later...
The big Buddha is covered in marble tile...mostly. Construction began in 2002 and its still not done. Not quite Sagrada de Familia but it sure is taking a long time. Like the gold leaf for purchase at Wat Arun, here you can buy marble tiles, write a message on the back of it in sharpie and it will be used to tile the floor of the interior.
At 45m tall, this Buddha certainly dominates the site.
Twin photo bomb.
The Naga is the king of snakes and symbolizes protection in Buddhism. You’ll often find it incorporated into the decoration of structures. Here it is a beautiful handrail leading up to the Buddha.
So, back to the story of why the coconut meat didn’t last our whole time at the top of Nakkerd Hill. Robyn had been diligently peeling off the meat inside the coconut and took a break, handing it to Adam, while she admired the view over Chalong Bay. Suddenly a monkey appeared out of nowhere and tried to snatch the coconut out of his hands. A tug of war ensued. He was quickly stared down by the fierce, snarling little monkey and was forced to relinquish the coconut. Cute and innocent? Hardly! This is the face of a guilty thief proudly displaying the spoils of his pillaging.
Family selfie. Alex is not amused. At least there was no selfie stick involved.