Back in Yacht Haven Marina, Phuket, 8’10.20N
98’20.49E 31st December
2007
Well, actually just into 2008. What a month! Teddy and I came back at the
beginning of December with Scouser John, who was on his first boat trip. Then
Rahni joined from Israel and we were all off to the Marriot for Teddy’s birthday
in style, in arguably the finest outlook hotel in Phuket, dining on a terrace
overlooking Mai Khao beach and then nothing but the Andaman Sea – all the way to
India. We got great bragging points by having My Way sung and played by two
Pilipinos in an Italian restaurant in Thailand
Scouser John had been to the Himalaya a couple of times with me, and also
with Ted into the deepest forests of Russia, so he knows the crazy
Latchfords quite well. These days he spends much time in Belarus with
Vadim studying wolves (and drinking moonshine, of course!)
Rahni we literally bumped into in Agathonissi when he berthed his cat
against ours, followed by the obligatory swapping of hard liquor. Rahni was a
Chief Engineer in the Israeli Navy, used to skipper a missile boat, then went
commercial fishing in Alaska and now seems to own most of Tel Aviv. But, John
and I secretly believe that he’s an undercover Mossad agent sent to find out the
secrets of Liverpool FC’s success……. However, he is a truly superb cook so we
over-ate every night.
So, all assembled, and the boat loaded with essentials (booze, food, more
booze, diesel, yet more…. well, you get the picture) we set off for Langkawi;
that is until we realised that with Rahni’s military background – and security
rating, no doubt - checking into a fairly fundamental Muslim country perhaps not
the best idea we had had. So we stopped at Butang; whence we could at least see Malaysia, a few
miles away.
And what a nice journey – Hong hunting in Phang Nga
Bay, overnighting at Ko Pak Bia, Krabi,
Ko Lanta, Phi Phi Le (Maya
Beach), Ko Mok with the wonderful
Emerald
Cave, Ko Rok and Ko Lipe in
the Butang. Then gently back up north island by island. Great snorkelling and
great food.
Highlight must have been midnight in the Emerald Cave – actually it’s a
fully enclosed Hong that can only be reached by going through a very dark 80
metre tunnel in the dinghy, banging heads all the way – with a few beers, full
moon overhead shining straight down into the hong through the narrow opening
into the sky, the tiny but beautiful beach inside the hong glistening in the
moonlight, skinny dipping with phosphorescent plankton all over our bodies in
the seawater pool in the hong, doesn’t get much better than this! Straight out
of Alex Garland, but without the Doors soundtrack. Where’d I leave my 1000 yard
stare……..?
Back home and the geese scatter again. Rahni back to Israel
on Christmas Day, John back to the Kop a little while later. New Year’s Eve was
with a table of 40 or so mates and fellow yachties on the beach at Nai Yang,
fireworks, bagpipes, the lot. In shorts and bare feet, sorry, you guys back in
UK.
Seems like a lot has happened this year. Might be difficult to top that
in 2008; but we’ll give it the good old college try! HAPPY NEW
YEAR!!!
View from a hong, Ko Roi
Insde the Emerald Cave hong
La luna, la bella luna
