Thailand

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Sailing towards Thailand we had a nice breeze of 10 knots and in no time we were picking up a mooring at Ko Lipe. The water is crystal clear but the bay is busy with longtails and speed boats full of tourists, we went ashore to check in at Immigration then found a small  restaurant for our first Thai meal and it was delicious. After a walk around we went back to the boat and motored around to the west side of the island to anchor with the other yachts.

Ko Lipe is a small island with a laid back relaxed atmosphere, the Main Street is sand and you have to take your shoes off at the door to go inside the shops and restruarants there are no 5 star hotels only small bungalows made from local materials...bamboo. Most of the holiday makers are under 30 backpacker types. There is a small village of Muslim fisherman who also call the island home.

There were about a dozen yachts in the anchorage and we recognized Fearless with Norma and her husband Jan on board from Townsville, we were having sundowners at the local beach bar with them and Norma and I discovered that our family came out from England on the same ship and that our Mothers are cousins and our grandfathers were brothers...we couldn't believe it, as we got to know each other we found we had a lot in common, unfortunately we may not see each other for a while as Fearless is going south towards Borneo and we are heading north, it's a small world indeed.

We spent the next few days walking around the island, did some snorkeling and had afternoon drinks at the beach bar mixing with other yachties and travellers from all over the world. 

Waiting for sunset on Ko Lipe out side the Boom Boom Bar

 With recommendations from Norma and Jan we sailed to Ko Muk it was a very pleasant sail with a light wind and we arrived about 5ish, there were about a dozen boats in the bay. Next morning we went ashore and met a friendly bunch of cruisers who were walking to the other side of the island and asked if we would like to join them so off we went, it was pretty hot not much breeze...we came to the village where we saw a man making banana pancakes at his mobile kitchen on a motorbike, they were delicious and only 80 cents each, as we made the other side of the island we found a nice resort and had ice coffee and a break before the walk back.

A lovely evening with a fun group of cruisers on the beach at Ko Muk and another beautiful sunset.

Ko Muk is the home of the emerald cave which Ken went to explore with some of the other cruisers, he had to swim in through a dark tunnel to enter then once inside it is open to the sky with a small beach and jungle....amazing

Ko Lanta was the next stop and we sailed there in about 4 hours. The island has lots of tourists and family's, there are plenty of resorts as well as local villages, the beaches are wide and sandy on one side and mangroves on the other. We hired a scooter one day for a ride around the island to have a good look around, we had lunch on the other side at a restruarant over the water where some boats were anchored. I bought a new hammock here... a string woven one made in North thailand and it's the best, very cool, I spend many hours relaxing in it.

A beach on Ko Lanta

Ko Lanta sunset with Watusi in the back ground

Ken had visited Phi Phi before, about 17 years ago so he wanted to go back to see all the changes because we had heard from others that it was very busy with boat traffic and tourists. We had a short sail over from Lanta and we entered the bay where the anchorage was, Ken was shocked how many boats were there, we circled around for a while trying to pick a spot between the moorings and anchored vessels at about three in the afternoon, then by 5 all the hire boats came in all trying to anchor as close to the beach as possible and also close to us then some re anchoring it was quite amusing to watch the afternoons events.

Our anchorage  Phi Phi  the cliff face is along one side of the bay, very dramatic

The view from the beach

All the longtails waiting for customers in Phi Phi

Phi Phi is a very pretty island but sadly is over run with development which has spoiled it's charm, although still popular with young people who like to party.

The morning we left there was no wind so we motored west towards Ao Chalong bay on Phuket island where most of the yachts anchor, it's a very busy bay with boats leaving here to go to the many islands. We anchored near Southern Wing and they came over for sundowners later that afternoon it was good to catch up with them and swap stories as we hadn't seen them for a while. 

Ao Chalong has everything you need supermarkets, laundry service and the Phuket Cruising Yacht Club ....Brent is very knowledgable about the area and boat bits, they also make a good margarita!  

We ended up staying nearly two weeks sorting out alternator troubles but Ken got it all working again.

Ken hired a scooter for a day to pick up bits and pieces so cheap at five dollars a day, we rode up to see big Buddha built on top of the hill behind Ao Chalong, it's huge and made from white

Marble the view from the top was fantastic, you could see both coast lines of the island.

The array of food available at the night markets was amazing and so cheap 

Even insects to try, no I wasn't brave or hungry enough...

The weather becomes hotter in April then the storms and rain start in May so there isn't much wind either so we motored north to Phrang Nga Bay to have a look at the amazing limestone islands. Some of the islands have caves and others have hongs which mean room in Thai so we did plenty of exploring.

This is a floating fishing village at the northern end of the bay, the kids even have a football field... floating of course.

We had the company of Southern Wing and Adagio for 5 days then we all went our separate ways.

There are plenty of Kites and Sea Eagles storing the sky, and ashore we have seen bats, monkeys, and hornbills.

Thailands natural landscape and clear waters (except for rubbish in some places) is beautiful and we have seen some great spots either early in the morning or late afternoon before all the tourists come...and this is low season, these places are just not the same with boats and people everywhere.

We have a few more weeks here then we make our way back to Langkawi for a few months.

Penang

 We sailed north from the marina and anchored overnight at a small island, we watched the many fishing boats going to work for the night...as the sun went down, it was good to get out to sea again after many weeks ashore. Next day we left early and motored all the way because there wasn't any wind, to arrive in Penang at six pm and anchored next to Velella who had been there a few days. 

Penang is the melting pot of Malaysia, the Chinese make up the majority then the Malay and Indians. Each of these nationalitys have their own celebrations and different cultures and food which makes it very interesting and they all seem to get on together.

Penang is a city of contrasts, it's my favorite city so far there is so much to see walking the streets and you must walk so you can see the many different trades people operating in their shops, in one street alone I saw men making cane furniture, wantons, Chinese lantern and decorations, picture frames, an old printing press working and bakery and other small businesses, walking also makes you hungry so you can try the many different delicious dishes on offer. There are a lot of restored Chinese shop houses and some haven't changed in a hundred years.

If you come here for a holiday you can stay in five star resorts or small heritage listed shop houses operating as boutique hotels, there are many air conditioned malls to escape the heat. Some of the shops in Georgetown still operate the same as fifty years ago, like the old Chinese man selling chemicals, only one person at a time can enter his shop the isle down the middle of his shop is a foot wide, he sells liquids and powders that you can't buy in Australia anymore.

One afternoon Helane and I explored little India.... plenty to see like the Indians making roti, butchers chopping the meats on old wood chopping blocks, we came across the milk man delivering fresh milk to the restaurants from a stainless steel container on the back of his motorbike, the loud Bollywood music playing and the smell of inscence. We stopped to buy a few curry puffs cooked on the side of the street they were yummy and only 30 cents each.

Georgetown hardware shop....only one person can enter and you need a torch to try and find what you need.

One of the many Chinese temples very ornate and spiritual 

Rows of renovated Chinese shop houses

We found a small bar selling cheap beer, a good spot to watch the goings on in Georgetown, the surrounding buildings show the changes taking place in the heritage town.

While we were anchored in Penang Ken spent 4days trying to fix the auto pilot with out success unfortunately, he didn't really enjoy the place as much as I did and he wanted to keep heading north, so after 8 days in Penang we sailed to pulau Bidan to anchor for the night then next day we reached the group of islands just south of Langkawi.

The colour of the water is green blue from the limestone cliffs, the small beaches in between the cliffs are mostly white sand 

There is plenty of activity around the islands from the soaring sea eagles, the small fishing boats catching small fish and squid and a few tourist boats who come to see the fresh water lake. We spent a few days here anchoring at different spots with the cliffs as spectacular backdrops, one afternoon we enjoyed sundowners on the beach with Velella and Jepeda. 

This is Telaga Harbour on Langkawi where we stayed for two very busy days we hired a car for 1 day and started filling the boat with food, fuel and water. As Langkawi is a duty free island Ken bought plenty of beer and I found my favorite chocolate, we were both very happy. Customs Immigration and Harbour Master are all here at the marina so we completed the paper work to clear out of Malaysia and sailed to Thailand early the next day.