Experiences in Thailand
By Leslie Welshimer

Two months had passed since I’d been in Phuket when I arrived in Thailand. I’d heard of John Gray’s Sea Canoe the last time I was in Phuket, but thought it may be too pricy. Instead, I signed up for a less-expensive tour from another provider that left me feeling unsatisfied.

Kayaks allow guests to see islands up close, paddling along the stunning edges

When talking with co-workers about possible tours on the water in the Phuket area, they said, “If you’re going to do something like a kayak/boat trip, John Gray is the one to go through.”

John Gray has a reputation for being one of the original pioneers of sea kayaking tours with an environmental conscience. He started sea kayaking tours in Hawaii in 1983, and moved to Phuket six years later. There have been many who’ve tried to imitate, but there is only one John Gray Sea Canoe.

I was won over by reading, review after review, on sites like Trip Advisor that said, “If you do one thing in Thailand, do this.”

The John Gray Web site convinced me in stating, “What's important is Value. Your vacation time is precious, and you want to pack it with top-notch experiences. The value of a mediocre trip is a lost vacation day. So we provide unsurpassed value at the best possible price.”

Tours inside caves offer a unique viewpoint of awe-inspiring formations.

To celebrate crossing the two-month mark in Thailand, I signed up for the Hongs by Starlight tour on April 4. The tour began at noon, which I immediately liked. Finally, a tour for non-morning people! I was picked up in a comfortable, air-conditioned van. About 45 minutes later, I was dropped off at Ao Por Pier.

Fourteen other guests and I boarded a twin-engine boat. As we made the journey toward Phanak Island, we were served a tasty lunch of fresh fruit, spring rolls, noodles and salad.

The guides were exceptional. While eating, they gave us a friendly welcome and a brief presentation about what to anticipate for the day.

Pink (guide extraordinaire), Brendan (guest from Australia) and Leslie explore a lagoon in Phanak Island.

The scenery along the way was breathtaking. Large islands loomed around us. Phuket seemed a distant memory.

There was one other solo traveler on the trip. Brendan, from Australia, and I were paired for the day. Our guide, Pink, had a calm, warm personality. His English was perfection, but more importantly he was an expert with a kayak.

I thought I’d be disappointed that the guides do the paddling, but I enjoyed being able to relax and take in all the scenery. We were led through caves that seemed to magically appear along the face of the islands. The caves were completely dark. We were given flashlights to see bats and impressive formations.

The caves led to secluded lagoons bursting with light, reminding me of the movie, “The beach.” Inside the first lagoon was a family of monkeys. We paddled just a few feet by these monkeys, who seemed uninterested in us, as they continued going about what they were doing before we appeared.

Our guide Pink, pointed out unique natural wonders, like this island that resembles a bowling pin.

After exploring the caves and lagoons of Phanak, we returned to the boat for fresh fruit, banana muffins, coffee and tea.

On our second journey out, we passed an island that looked like a giant, bowling pin. When we popped out from a cave into a lagoon, there was a rock that one might think was carved into an elephant shape. Nature astounds me.

We paddled along the outer edge of the island beneath rock ledges.

Releasing a few “ooh’s and ah’s” is a natural response when entering an impressive cave.

Once back on the boat after two stunning tours of caves and lagoons, we had about an hour of free time. Guests dove from the boat in the water. Others swam about. Some took the kayaks and tried their hands at paddling.

As I floated on my back in the warm water, gazing up at the amazing cliffs of the island, I felt completely content. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so completely at peace as I did at that moment.

There was no one around except our group. The scene seemed so undisturbed, as if we were the first ones there.

We re-boarded the main boat again where we feasted on a delicious, seafood-buffet dinner. There was soup, curries, cashew chicken, stir-fried veggies, fish, fried shrimp and pineapple.

Guests return to the twin-engine boat for a delicious dinner.

As sunset arrived, our guides taught us how to make Krathongs. These are made from a section of banana tree trunk. We decorated ours with flowers, folded banana leaves and candles. They explained the traditional ceremony of making an offering.

Once night had fallen, we returned to the sea in our kayaks. We lit the candles on our Krathongs and watched as they floated away. The only sound was the gentle waves.

The boat ride back to the pier was relaxing and social. My boat partner, Brendan, and I chatted the whole way back. He is a fascinating person. Brendan is an Australian living in Mumbai, India, who owns a home in Phuket. He talked of training for triathlons and his goal to climb Mt. Everest at 35.

A couple from Texas is residing in China while doing work for Boeing. They talked about their upcoming 30th wedding anniversary trip to Australia.

Kratongs are released as an offering into the sea on an evening paddle.

Another couple, from Georgia, was thrilled to be on their first trip out of the United States.

Everyone had their own story. I enjoyed hearing them all.

I was dropped back at my guesthouse after 9 p.m. My concern about the price of the tour had disappeared somewhere in the first lagoon.

Several hours of being led through caves and lagoons, swimming in the peace of Phang Nga Bay, two meals and a delicious snack, about two hours of roundtrip transport from my guesthouse, extraordinary professional guides and making new friends from all over the world added up to make me feel like I got a deal.

There isn’t a price on an experience you’ll treasure forever.

Labels: Phuket, weekend trips

Experiences in Thailand
By Leslie Welshimer

There are many fabulous places for weekend excursions within a few hours of Kuraburi, like Phuket, Khao Lak, Koh Surin National Park (seasonal) and Khao Sok National Park. I ventured out for two days of solo travel in March to explore a town about two hours away from Kuraburi called Ranong. It is a small, border town that has remained mostly untouched by tourist influences.

Ranong is celebrated for its surrounding natural wonders, like hot springs, Ngao National Park, Bald Hill and Ko Phayam and Kam Islands. It’s also frequented by travelers in need of a speedy visa run.

I was greeted by a torrential downpour the moment I got off the bus in Ranong. Turning down offers from motorbike taxis, I walked about 10 minutes into town, determined to get a feel for the area and find lodging before setting out for the day.

Finally I couldn’t take the rain anymore. I was drenched. A tourist office / restaurant appeared and I joined others taking shelter.

Once the rain sort of cleared, I departed the restaurant. There she appeared, a woman with a giant backpack who was speed walking with authority. She didn’t have the clear confusion and lack of bearings that I did. She knew exactly where she was going. I paused for a moment and then doubled my speed to keep up. She was about 20 feet ahead.

After about 10 minutes I began to consider stopping my stalking attempt. She had turned on to a back road and was walking on a residential street that appeared to be leading out of town. Then she rounded a corner and my breath was taken away. There was Khao Kives View Point, with steps leading up a hillside, and Throne Hall, with immaculate landscaping and ornate temples on the grounds. Across the street from the viewpoint, I saw where she was headed, a guesthouse called Palmy Home.

This guesthouse had just opened three months prior, was in remarkable condition, had new furnishings and a welcoming staff. I never would have found this place with my normal strategies of wandering, asking locals, Google search, reading travel reviews and Lonely Planet. Perhaps stalking is the new Lonely Planet.

I felt like I’d won the travel lottery. My amazing fan room at the Palmy Home was 250 baht / less than $10 for a place significantly nicer than a dozen or so others I’d passed while wandering on my own.

Once lodging was taken care of, I went outside to flag a songtaew (a marriage of a taxi and metro bus). My goal was to reach Bald Hill, which is approximately 13 kilometers away. I got dropped off about 20 minutes later alongside a main highway.

Due to the moody weather earlier in the day, I found myself hiking around this wide-open Bald Hill area with no one around for a good mile or so, except for a man with an axe in hand.

I paused for a moment, thinking what close friends would think of me walking alone in a foreign country into a mountain area where the only person I could see was a man with an axe. As I approached this man with an axe, I listened to my gut. I felt only peace, so I continued past him and up to the top of Bald Hill. Bald Hill is famous for being naturally treeless, and in non-dry season, is covered in a blanket of grass.

Ngao National Park is within walking distance of Bald Hill. With my hiking shoes of flip flops on, I trekked through the national park to viewpoints, a breathtaking waterfall and checked out their awesome accommodations of a pod-like version of a tree house that tempted me to stay the night, foregoing my earlier find of the Palmy Home.

The natural beauty of Ngao National Park was overwhelming. The waterfall poured down into a lush forest with bright flowers.

I stopped in the park visitor center to look around. A warm, park staff member said hello and started a conversation. I asked her what the best way to get back to town was, admitting that I had gotten so absorbed in the beauty of nature at the park that I lost track of time. She said I could still flag down a songtaew along the highway. Then she said, “I noticed you came alone. Where are you staying tonight?” I told her and she began speaking Thai to a co-worker.

The woman showed amazing kindness. She said that I could catch a ride with the other staff member who lived in Ranong. I ended up sitting in the back of a pickup, while a husband, wife and their daughter sat in front. It made my day that someone would be as kind as to give a perfect stranger, a foreigner in their country, a ride. I can only imagine how my experience would have different had I tried to flag a songtaew as the sun went down.

As I arrived back at Palmy Home, I saw a rainbow that seemed to be bursting directly out of Throne Hall. There was energetic music playing that sounded like a concert. At a closer look, I found a Thai dance-aerobics performance on the grounds of Throne Hall. These are the moments I travel for, the surprise finds and glimpses into another culture. I joined the audience as people cheered on performers.

The night at Palmy Home was bliss. My feet were nearly raw from walking endless miles around Ranong, Ngao National Park and Bald Hill. Relaxing in the queen-size bed, watching television, felt like paradise. There were even two English channels.

Checking out of Palmy Home the next morning felt like saying farewell to a friend. It was one of the most comfortable places I’d rested my head in Thailand.

I trekked a sizable distance to the hot springs. The area around the hot springs was stunning. Vibrant green trees and flowing water are all around. People sat splashing water on their legs and soaked their feet. There were no other farangs around. I felt like I was seeing authentic Thai life. Families splashed in the river while others picnicked.

I attempted to soak my feet after observing how it was done. The pain was so intense on my sore feet I grimaced, which drew odd faces from the Thai people.

A captivating gold Buddha was discovered at the top of a steep staircase. As I climbed this staircase, a second dose of torrential rain came.

It was time to walk the three-plus kilometers to the bus station. Gaining more strange stares I walked and walked in the rain. A motorbike taxi stopped, looking concerned. I asked him how far to the bus station. He said, “far.” I said I would walk. What can I say, I love to explore on foot, even when my feet hurt so bad that it causes me to limp.

He came by a few minutes later and pointed at his bike. I asked, “tou rai/how much?” He shook his head. I decided to accept the offer and my interest was peaked about the possibility for my first motorbike taxi ride.

A few minutes later I was dropped off at the bus station, and I asked again, “tou rai/how much?” He shook his head, motioning that it was okay, that he just wanted to help. He walked me into the bus station office. I wanted to pay him, but before I could ask again, he was gone. This second act of Thai kindness touched my heart, making my last impression of Ranong positive.

The weekend was a mix of people, places and emotions. Ranong surprised me in many ways. It was the epitome of a border town in some areas, while in other areas, it seemed to match the theme of a hot spring, spa town. The mixture made for a smorgasbord of a travel experience.

The kind staff and tree house pods at Ngao National Park may inspire me to make a return trip.

Labels: Kuraburi, Ranong, Thailand, weekend trips