Langkawi Life

As we will be living in Langkawi for the next few months (unless our plans change) I have decided to blog about the work we do on Anima, the things I see here that are different or interesting and the thoughts I have about life and everything. My writing may not always be in chronological order but will instead highlight the most noteworthy aspects of our lives over here. I guess this is kind of a record of what we're doing and also a way for me to reflect on things. It's just as much for me as it is for anyone who reads it.

Arriving back in Malaysia meant a chance to refill our diesel tank at the incredibly cheap price of 60centsAUD per litre (when I was in Primary school I remember petrol costing that much in Australia. Last time we refilled in Oz it was close to $2AUD per litre!!). It's the cheapest price we've encountered, anywhere. It's only this cheap if you take your jerry cans to the petrol station manually as the marina-style pumps are more expensive. We hired a cheap car and Rene did the fuel run out to one of the petrol stations in Kuah. Last time we had no problems but this time he had to fill each jerry can at a different pump and pay for each one at a time. One of the attendants asked him if he was going to Thailand with all of his cheap fuel (everyone fills up in Malaysia first) but Rene shocked him by saying no, we're staying here and he loves Langkawi (all said in Malaysian). It's always amazing how much the locals appreciate it when you speak their tongue. We've been practicing more with a CD that came with our phrase book. Rene is by far the better Malay speaker than I!

Before we fly home in August we need to send a lot of our belongings there by post. You can do it 20 kilograms at a time for 82.50RM a pop (just under $30AUD) and it takes 3 months to arrive by sea. The post office here requires that boxes be covered in paper and tied up with string! Finding suitable boxes has proved a sometimes difficult endeavour. Some places have asked for payment for the boxes they have sitting in their rubbish waiting to be burnt! Some good boxes we collected were ruined in a tropical downpour while walking back to the boat. Weighing the boxes is also tricky. Bass harbour has been quite unsettled with the frequent south westerly winds blowing up, resulting in boats dragging, waves crashing over our bows and a very rocky boat at times! Our digital scales don't like the movement and give varying weight measurements depending upon which way we're rocking! It worked out fine three times out of four. Rene had to cut open one box to remove an extra 5 kilos!

Navigating incomplete paths with boxes in tow.

Rene has installed LED lights on the stern that were broken. He has also replaced an energy-sucking light in the engine room with a strip of LED's. Most recently, he has been cleaning up the engine, making it shine and maintaining it too.

Initially we started out anchored at Telaga harbour. It's nice over there under the tall cliffs with a view to the ocean. Said ocean brings quite a ground swell into the man-made harbour at this time of year however. We enjoyed catching up with Dale from Freeform here and walking the beach at dusk. 

En-route to Kuah, we stopped at the "Fjord" anchorage which was picturesque as usual. By chance we shared the anchorage with our Indonesia rally friends Freycinet and Our Odyssey. As we are all Australians, we did what Aussies do best and had a BBQ. 

Anima dwarfed by the mountains at the 'Fjord' anchorage, Langkawi.

Rene and I left Anima anchored in the fjord and took the dinghy across to the Dayang Bunting lake. On the way, we beached the dinghy at a point where the rock wall looked quite low. We climbed up amongst what looked to be a run-down viewing platform (only the cement stumps remained) and found ourselves looking down at the lake! It turns out that this point we climbed over is called the 'Miracle Spot' as it is such a small piece of earth stopping the sea from entering the fresh-water lake. Next we went to the rundown jetty which protrudes out from Pulau Dayang Bunting. Ren did a tricky manouvre to tie up the dinghy so it wouldn't get damaged by the prolific oysters and we walked in through the forest to the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden.

'According to a local legend, it began when a male elf named Mat Teja fell in love, at the first sight, with Dayang, a female elf. Mat Tega won her heart, by rubbing a mermaid's tear drop on his face. Their romantic and intimate relationship became complete with Dayang's pregnancy. Dayang then decided to retire at Tasik Dayang Beranak (Maiden Giving Birth Lake). Nine months later, Dayang gave birth to a child but unfortunately, the child died after seven days. Saddened by the event, Dayang decided to bury her baby in the lake. After the incident, the lake was known as Tasik Dayang Bunting (Pregnant Maiden Lake), as a way for the locals to pay their condolences to the couple.'
 
Apparently women wishing to conceive visit this lake to bathe and take a sip of the water. Monkeys were everywhere and a health sign said to be extra careful of the water so I definitely didn't drink any. Rene dove right in and swam about like a seal in the dark water. I gathered my courage and swam too, after the monkeys had all climbed nearby trees. It was lovely. We were the only ones there because we'd timed our arrival to be in the late afternoon, after all the tourists had gone. 

Rene swims at the lake of the Pregnant Maiden.

Eventually we made the trip up to Kuah and anchored next to our friends Tasha D.M in Bass Harbour. As usual we had fun times with them :)

Rene used his Mum's recipe to bake Anzac biscuits on Anzac Day. They were perfect and he is now chief Anzac biscuit maker as my last two attempts were dismal. The most recent batch was fed to the fish - they were that bad!

Yummy Anzacs Rene! How very Australian.

I sewed a wind catcher in an attempt to combat the humidity and heat of the tropics by enticing some breeze into our home. Tasha leant me their one for ideas on technique and then I used an old Spinnaker to make my own version.

My hand-made wind scoop made from recycling part of an old Spinnaker.

We hired a car for a day and drove to Rebak, taking the ferry across to the island which houses a resort and marina. Rene looked quite unusual (as usual!) walking around the island - laptop in one hand, wireless internet dongle in the other - looking for good signal. We're contemplating staying here for a bit but need there to be decent internet reception.

Rene searching for wifi hotspots.

I wonder if some people wonder about what it's like to live in a Muslim country as a non-Muslim? To be honest, I often forget that where I am is majority Muslim because we spend so much of our time in our boat. Five times a day we hear the call to prayer floating out over the town. Some people find this annoying. I like it! The sounds are often quite musical and (now that my iPod is broken) I enjoy having some music to listen to, if only for a few minutes at a time. When on land, the call to prayer is louder but contrary to my assumptions, it doesn't change people's behavior in an obvious way. No one suddenly drops to the ground to postulate themselves. People don't close shop to pray. Life continues as per usual. Maybe the locals do what I do when they hear the prayer and use it as a reminder to be mindful. Rather than pray to Allah though, I reflect on being in the moment. I remind myself to live in the present, be grateful for what I have now and concentrate on breathing. It's nice to have such a connection to spirituality in our daily lives. Apart from the prayers, the only other major differences are food and dress. Meat from pigs is not widely available as it's not Halal. Most of the women dress very conservatively, they don't show any skin but for their face (their hair is covered with a veil as is their neck). I try my best to not dress disrespectfully but my gosh it's hard when the temperature is always 30degrees+++ and humidity is near 100. 

Tsunami Watch, Songkran and leaving Thailand

The anchorage outside Yacht Haven marina proved very calm and comfortable so we stayed a few days. I finished my TESOL course and Rene finished reading Calculus I by Paul Dawkins (he’s now well into Calculus II).  The wind picked up a little late one afternoon, prompting us to make use of its power and sail out (a quick look on the GRIBS showed this was the only decent wind for days to come). The conditions were lovely as we slowly sailed out, and rather than anchor we decided to make use of the full moon and sail into the night for a few hours in order to make more use of this wind.  With lightning flashing we pulled into Ko Nakha Yai and anchored off the north eastern beach next to two other yachts (08’03.36N 98’28.23E).

Boat improvements.

We sailed out early using a little more wind until it died off by lunchtime allowing us to anchor at Ko Rang Yai (07’57.46N 98’27.18E). After a couple of hours the wind had come up again, from a different direction, as always up here in this season. The wind does a 360’ spin almost every day. So we sailed further south making it just under 10 miles off Chalong before we were forced to use the engine to make it into Panwa Bali beach before sundown. U.S. Warship 102 was anchored off the Phuket port and Rene reminded me of his father, as he gleefully sailed straight towards it, claiming he wanted to see her up close. I knew (from previous experience with warships) that he wouldn’t get too close before they got nervous. Pretty soon a large, smelly army green barge was heading us off, forcing us to change course. It was then (with the binoculars) that I was able to read a sign on the bows of the ship claiming it a prohibited area. Standing above the sign was an armed guard!

Captain Rene

It was a long weekend so we decided to stay at Panwa Bali for a few days before nipping across to the main (much busier) Chalong harbour. We started work on a website (still in progress) to sell Anima and had lunches ashore each day at one of the beachside restaurants. So relaxing! For Easter I baked hot cross buns. Rene had eaten our chocolate supplies days earlier but we did manage to find one small square each stashed at the bottom of the fridge.  I started drawing again and am loving it!

Happy Easter!

Panwa Bali beach, Phuket

 We decided to check out of Thailand a couple of days prior to their 4-day Songkran (Thailand New Years) holiday. Before doing so we hired a hot pink scooter and used it to do shopping trips to Phuket town for groceries and sarongs. We also had some fun touring around looking for Spirit Houses for me to photograph. The Thai’s believe that helpful spirits will be attracted to the small spirit house which they almost all have in their yard/property. 

 

Large trees are adorned with multi-coloured fabric. So beautiful.

I had a fantastic Ashtanga yoga practice at Ganesha Yoga. It has been nearly 9 months since my last class and I soaked it up, having a really deep and amazing time. The teacher, Julie, helped me do my first headstand and I did all of the back bends without pain or tightness for once. I pretty much floated out of the class. I can’t wait to be able to attend a regular class again. I LOVE IT!

Check out the oar - how ingenious!

On the 11^th we zipped in to shore with the sole purpose of checking out early in order to have enough daylight to sail to Phi Phi Don. Fate had other plans. Rene had to wait for May, the woman who hired us the scooter. Because of this, I wandered down the street taking more photos when Dale from Freeform saw me and started chatting. We all ended up sitting in a café chatting for hours so by the time we went to check out, they had shut for lunch! Going with the flow, we used the hour to buy another 6 drums of drinking water (as usual, using much gesturing to communicate our request) which Rene zipped out to Anima while I took more photos and tried on dresses at a cute second-hand store. Eventually we were able to check out and sail out of Chalong (checking out cost 500Baht) in the afternoon. The wind was good so instead of anchoring at our usual Panwa Beach, we headed out thinking we’d anchor off the nearby island of Ko Mai Thon.

The long dinghy trip to the jetty in Chalong.

Tying up the dinghy at Chalong.

We never made it there however as a Tsunami warning was issued at around 16:15 due to an 8.7 earthquake off Banda Aceh, near Sumatra.

My worst fear. Coming true.

My recurring nightmare. Becoming reality.  

Luckily we were already sailing in deep water but we changed course and sailed to an even deeper area of 40+ metres to be safer. With images and stories from the 2004 tsunami playing in our minds, we quickly readied ourselves and our boat for the impending disaster. Everything was lashed on deck, all hatches and windows shut tight. Life jackets and safety lines on. Everything secured below. Extra life jackets out to throw to drowning people after the wave. Grab bag (containing passports, a hard drive of photos, a torch, hats and medical gear) packed in a waterproof bag.

Sailbirds ready for the tsunami that wasn't.

My heart was beating in my ears, making it difficult to think beyond getting ready. My hands were shaking and I couldn’t hold a conversation or thought beyond the fear of a massive tidal wave wreaking destruction. The radio reports were few a far between, and mostly from yachties calling one another with information from text messages they were receiving from abroad. Our phone remained silent but my panic-stricken FaceBook update received good luck messages from friends/family around the globe. Looking behind us I could see dozens of local fishing and cargo boats all doing what we were – getting the hell out of shallow Chalong! The repeated message was to get out of shallow water into somewhere at least 12 metres deep. There was only one SAY-CURE-E-TAY message from the Thai authorities – though much radio content was in Thai which we can’t understand beyond a few simple phrases. I found the International Tsunami watch website and used it for my information, finding that the impact time for Phuket was forecast to be 18:12.

Looking out for the tsunami.

Nothing happened.

We sat together in the cockpit staring out to sea but nothing came. I concentrated on breathing to quell my fears. News came of an aftershock so we stayed hove to in deep water waiting and hoping that nothing would happen.

It didn’t.

I could relax again.

By now it was dark and the wind was still up so we sailed in to anchor off Ko Racha Yai (07’36.34N 98’22.69E) in 20 metres, just in case. Soon after anchoring the tsunami alarm echoed out over the small island, followed by a message repeated in many different languages, the gist of which was – it’s now safe to return to lower ground.

That night was a stormy one, resulting in us getting up frequently to check on the anchor and make adjustments. Due to lack of sleep and the build up to the non-tsunami we were both pretty exhausted. We ended up setting out PhiPhiLe much later in the day than we wanted to. It meant that we had to approach an unfamiliar anchorage at night, with only the frequent flashes of lightning and our feeble torch beams to show us in. Luckily we also had a track on OpenCpn to follow (thanks S.Y. Narid!) and we collected a mooring without any real trouble (07’40.78N 98’45.79E). 

Sunset views at sea near Phi Phi Le.

This island was made very famous in 2000 when Leonardo DiCaprio starred in The Beach which was filmed here. It is pretty nice but the film makers certainly worked their magic making this small bay look like a large lagoon. Due to its fame, this island is swamped with thousands of tourists daily so we woke early and ventured ashore with our cups of tea in the dinghy. By the time we left at 8am, there were over a dozen longtail boats along the once-isolated beach. Next stop was Tonsai on PhiPhi Don, just a few miles north. We anchored pretty far out because the bay is so full of tourist boats on moorings (07’43.73N 98’46.26E). Today was the first day of Songkran and we hoped to see some of the action. We saw a lot more than we’d even dreamed of! 

Anima anchored at 'The Beach' on Phi Phi Le

Phi Phi Le

The greeting cat on Phi Phi Don.

Songkran was traditionally celebrated by gently pouring water over Buddha statues and visiting elders to pay respects. These days it has become a day of water fights. Within minutes of arriving ashore, we were both completely drenched thanks to a large group of Thai guys with a hose, some buckets and water guns. Our walk through the small town resulted in more soakings and Rene started getting in on the action too. He used our two small water bottles to throw water at people wielding water guns or buckets and hoses. In addition to having water poured/shot at/thrown over us, some Thai’s took pleasure in wiping white paste (made from talcum powder mixed with water) over our cheeks and faces. After an hour of so of this, we walked back to where our dinghy was moored to recollect ourselves and get a bite to eat.

Songkran victims.

Rene gathered more artillery, finding a stash of used 1.5litre water bottles behind the beachside restaurant. I grabbed my waterproof camera and tried (in vain) to coax the water from my ears. We ventured back in and this time found a massive street party complete with pumping music and everyone spraying water over everyone else! A middle-aged Thai man took great pleasure in repeatedly pouring buckets of water over my head while I danced to the beats and tentatively threw in some of my own water over the crowds. Rene was loving it. I let him continue on and retreated to a nearby bar to sip a coconut and watch the action, dripping in my seat. I was a little concerned by the amount of alcohol being consumed and by the drunken state of a lot of the partying people. One man came up to me while I was standing under my sun umbrella, using it as a bit of a water shield, and spoke to me with such a drunken slur that I couldn’t make sense of him at all. Another man dropped his beer bottle so it smashed – pretty stupid when most of the crowd are dancing bare feet. Apart from a few minor incidences like these, the festival was amazing. Everyone was going off! We ended up on the beach where Rene continued to have impromptu water fights with passers by before playing a very civilised game of chess at a bar with some English lads. 

Rene loving Songkran.

Looking out at the Tonsai anchorage on Phi Phi Don.

We had such a good time on PhiPhi Don. So good that we ended up staying for a few more days. We walked around the little village enjoying the vibe. There are no cars or motorbikes – only bicycles and feet. We went out dancing and were amazed at the insane fire-twirling they do every night here. So much fun :) 

Rene dancing the night away

Amazing fire-twirling displays on Phi Phi Don.

Eventually we had to leave Phi Phi Don. We set sail (and motor) for Ko Rok Nok (07’12.87N 99’04.04E). It was an uneventful trip until we approached the moorings between Rok Nok and Rok Rai. All of the moorings in deep water were already taken so we went to investigate some that were over shallower water (obvious due to the colour of the water). They turned out to be too shallow however! We had to do the old fast-as-possible reverse seconds before hitting a shallow bommie. We anchored in 10 metres on sand instead. Rok Nok is very pretty and also sports an interesting shrine full of carved phallus'. One of the things I love about visiting remote islands is adding to the shrines, rock towers or object collections. This was no exception. On Phi Phi Don Rene had found a rock floating (yes - floating!) and had picked it up. I used this rock to carve a phallus which we added to the shrine. Ah, the crazy things we do!

Phallus shrine on Rok Nok.

We stayed here for a couple of days to enjoy the serenity and natural beauty. Unlike some travellers I know, I cannot help but to notice when things aren't right (environmentally). One afternoon we went exploring by dinghy - just a little farther than the main white-sandy beach. It looked like an untouched rocky shoreline until Rene noticed that the large black rocks weren't in fact rocks at all. (Please note, environmental rant follows):

Ah. What a lovely clean, untouched island....

The large rocks were in fact dozens of large black garbage bags. Each full of rubbish. How did they get all the way out here? This island is miles from any major civilisation. The explanation we settled upon was that a tour boat must have dumped them either directly on the shore or out at sea for them to wash up here. We'd seen a tour boat overflowing with bags exactly like this collected from Phi Phi Le. It lay on a mooring (stinking the area) on Phi Phi Don for days. We hoped it was going to be taken to a land burial site but now we think they probably just dump it at sea.

Until you look closer. Why do people throw their rubbish into the sea???

Thailand is fantastic. The people are lovely. The environment is stunning. But - if things continue this way, will it affect their tourism? They rely upon tourists for their economy. I hope they sort out something soon. It breaks my heart to see pollution on a daily basis. 

Burning rubbish - plastic included. sigh.

The other problem we've seen far too often is the burning of plastics. It happens everywhere (right through Indonesia, Malaysia and here in Thailand). Often the deadly smoke is so thick that it's inescapable. 

Fresh rain-water anyone? Maybe not!

 I'll finish off my environmental rant with a little story about water. The tap water in Thailand is undrinkable (even the locals don't drink it) so we decided to try catching some of the frequent tropical storm rain water. The water is caught on our cockpit roof and is fed down to either a bucket or the boat's water tanks with a food-grade hose. We filled a large white bucket one night and thought that the water looked a little odd by torch light. The next morning we could see that the water was black. Stained with diesel particulates and pollution. We left the bucket on deck for a week or two, hoping that the particulates would gradually settle and form a slick at the bottom of the bucket, allowing us to use the clear water for laundry. The water didn't clear. It actually stained the bucket! We now filter the rain water before drinking it and try to avoid the areas where the rain is black. I wonder what this is doing to the environment? How is it affecting the soil? The sea? The ecosystem?
 
Our final stop in Thailand was at Ko Phetra (07’02.27N 99’28.25E). We stopped here because Rene recalled someone telling him it was worth a visit. It was OK but not the most amazing anchorage, though a small pod of dolphins did greet us as we arrived (not a common sight around here). We did our laundry here using the rainwater we'd collected in the morning storms (it was clear of pollution!). By dinghy we explored the whole western coast of the island finding many interesting crooks and nooks and caves which were inaccessible. The swell was rolling in and bouncing off the rocks. We were most amazed by an electricity cable which was visible high along the cliff face, strung up with bits of rope from trees far above. Following the cable, we found a tiny house all alone made on the rocks. This island is the biggest Swallow nest collection point in the area and so this house must belong to the swallow nest people. What a life!

Swallow house on Ko Phetra.

After a terrible night's sleep on a lee shore, we set out for Langkawi at dawn. The wind was (of course) almost always on our nose so we motored for most of the 44 miles in an uncomfortable sea. The past two months have been truly amazing for us. We're so grateful for being able to have experienced this. To have been able to live. More adventures await!

Sailing towards the rainbow!

Watching rain fall as we leave Thailand.

Great Sailing in Thailand

We've had some fantastic sails lately. Rene has been loving it and I've enjoyed much of it too. The clear, salty air cools off and sometimes even manages to dry the sheen of ever-present sweat. Did I mention that it is really hot here?

Anima sailing with everything up.

 We've been trying to make the most of our last month here in Thailand. But, as always on a boat, we've been doing our share of chores too. It's not all coconuts and suntans! 

Pauline, Peter and Rene sailing on Anima, Chalong bay.

At Panwa Bali near Chalong, we met two Aussies at lunch in the beachside restaurant. This little establishment has the sand as its floor and served me the most delicious coconut I've ever ever had. I've decided coconuts are my new wine. Anyway, Rene was chatting to Peter throughout lunch and discovered it was his birthday. He decided (spur of the moment) to offer Peter and Pauline a sail around the bay onboard Anima. They jumped at the chance and seemed to love it because in return, they shouted us lunch at their hotel the next day. 

Lunchtime view at Cloud 19, Panwa Bali, Phuket.

Some places we've been lately.... 

Aquarium - 7'48.35N 98'23.88E

This looked better from afar. In close, all of the boats (mostly charterers) were on moorings leaving very limited space to anchor. We ended up anchoring on the far outer edge, away from the fish farm and the moorings and spent a rolly evening. A huge storm blew in with such thick, frequent sparks of lightning - it was really quite exhilerating. As usual, the accompanying rain allowed us to 'shower' on deck. Ah, fun and free times out on the water!

So much lightning!!

Ko Siray - 7'52.54N 98'26.50E 

Rene wanted us to stop here for 3 reasons. Namely, it looked like a close spot to access Phuket town (this turned out not to be the case). Secondly, he said that he like the name (how sweet). Thirdly, he wanted to get off the beaten track and try out an anchorage not recommended in the cruising guidebook,'Sail Thailand', we've been relying on. Ren went ashore here, negotiated with a local guy to borrow a motorbike and did a shopping trip at Supercheap to stock up on veggies and fruit. I stayed on Anima and completed yet another TESOL unit (only a couple left now). There were so many boats speeding by that I felt seasick from the motion. I retreated to the cockpit and sat in the sweltering heat watching an endless stream of muck and rubbish float by with the tide. Not an amazing anchorage, we don't recommend it.

Ko Siray turned out to be a beach-side refuelling area for the super fast speed boats (some people call them the 'James Bond' boats). We awoke to the terrible stench of petrol and got out of there quickly! Motoring (for once) the 5 miles to Ko Rang Yai - the place I chose out of the guidebook! 

Ko Rang Yai - 7'57.13N 98'26.80E 

This island was a very pleasant surprise. It's quite a tight anchorage (we had to wait for a catamaran to leave) off a white sandy beach. Despite its location close to Phuket town, it was really low key. Ashore, most of the beach was under-developed. The developed area consisted of a few beach chairs (for hire), some open air restaurants (closed) and some very cute beach bungalows (rented out by a large group of young Thai's). We like it so much that we planned on staying, that is until we received this text message from Nick and Jan on Yawarra 2. "Test driving mango yoghurt ice cream 4 lunch. Mmmm! Wish u were here!"
The lure of ice-cream was too strong. We hadn't planned on sailing any further north. We should have waited for the wind to pick up, but in our eagerness, we set out early (pretty much within 30 minutes of that text message) and then spent hours in the doldrums. Eventually we sailed at a decent speed and anchored off another sandy island for the night. 

Rene and Anima at Ko Rang Yai

Ko Nakha Yai - 08'02.63N 98'28.44E

Here, we walked the long sandy beach trying to admire the natural beauty rather than focus upon the piles of rubbish along the shore. Tourist boats frequent this spot, so we had to listen to the not-so-dulcet tones of jet ski's until they all roared off in motorboats back to their hotels. Due to tourism, there is a small development here - a few shanty-style shacks, some poultry and some locals selling the usual fare (massages, cocktails/beer, jet-ski rides or beach chairs). 

Hermit crabs on Ko Nakha Yai.

Spurred by thoughts of ice-cold ice-cream, we sailed on. Helped dramatically by a brisk breeze which had us clipping along at a nice 7.5 knots. I yelped a couple of times when Anima heeled over sharply while I was at the helm. Mostly though, it was fun! We sailed all the way up to Yacht Haven marina where we were happy to find our rellies, Nick and Jan. They shared a most delicious, freshly made peaches and cream batch of wow! It was amazing. Such a novelty to have real ice-cream on-board a boat!

ICE CREAM!!!!! Thanks for sharing Y2!!

Happy Days in the Similans

Initially we were in two minds as to whether we should make the trip further north-west to see this small group of islands. The forecast strong easterly winds which we'd hoped to sail there with, eased off and became light northerlies. Rene was hoping to sail everywhere in an effort to conserve diesel but we bit the bullet and motored the whole 47 miles from the airport anchorage on Phuket across to the Similan island group. The trip was easy. Anima is motoring really well and having no problems. Rene stayed on deck, adjusting our course occasionally and keeping a lookout for fishing vessels/traps/etc. I remained inside (hiding from the sun) and managed to complete (almost) two units for my TESOL course.

Beautiful Similans - Anima is anchored far right.

Upon arriving I took the helm and Rene went to the bow to hook the mooring line. He collected the thick line and pulled up a massive yellow buoy. As we swung around to lie with the current, I decided that we were too far out and we let go to move to another free mooring. This buoy was red and the line more suitable to our size, but minutes after turning off the engine, a large dive boat came and collected the mooring just metres from ours. The two boats swung close together and after a strange discussion with one of their crew, we decided to move again, it would have been dangerous to stay so close, let alone the complete lack of privacy (tourists were taking photos of us from the top deck).

Our third attempt at mooring was the best by far. It's away from all of the others which are frequented by large dive boats and is in about 5 metres. We swam around the boat in amazingly clear water. The national park guys saw us pretty quickly. Charging 900 baht for our 2 day visit, which turned out to be 5 days after purchasing the ticket. Below us sat strange sculptures secured to the seabed. We think they are to ward of bad spirits – this spot certainly has a positive vibe! We found out later, from a British diver who helpfully interjected while we fruitlessly quizzed some friendly local Eco-tourism students, that the seabed sculptures are a memento for the '04 tsunami whilst also providing something interesting to look at.

Tsunami mementos secured to the sea under our boat.

Wow. I am so so glad that we decided to come here - It's gorgeous!! Ironically, it's the first place we've come to (since Indonesia and our favourite islands such as Lady Musgrave, Lizard and Great Keppel along the QLD coast) that is perhaps comparable! Of course everywhere is different and has its own positives/negatives. The Similans main positive is its incredibly clear water. So clear that it is akin to looking through blue/aqua tinted glass. So clear that swimming here is pretty sensational.

Clear water! Yeah!!!

Happy Days

Rock-hopping view.

It began with an attempt at doing yoga on the boat (a lost cause when there's any motion. Which there always seems to be). Rene couldn't wait to get in the water and jumped off within minutes of eating breakfast. He towed the dinghy (with me sitting in it) toward the large boulder-covered coastline of the small island we are next to. Rock hopping was fun as always! The water is just so clear that I could watch fish swimming around the rocks when 10 metres above the water. After some rock-hopping Rene was eager to be towed along (with me driving the dinghy and him holding a rope in the water). I took photos of the beautiful rocks while he frolicked about in the water. We stopped by a beach and swam with schools of unafraid fish. Boat-loads of tourists soon pushed us on and we continued to explore by dinghy around the whole island. 

Towing Rene around with the dinghy. Can you see him?

Large swells rolled in from the Indian ocean and created strange overfalls which sometimes seemed about to suck us down into the rocks. Watching boulders pass by below in the clear water is a new experience. We kept exploring and discovered a small beach after navigating a particularly interesting area of overfalls. Rene checked it out and then waded in with the dinghy and me to the beach, positioning it carefully through the rocks and avoiding the swell surge by seconds! What a lovely, secluded spot! The jungle sprawls down the mountainside and nestles in over clusters of large granite boulders, providing shade and intimacy with nature. The usual empty water bottles, old buoys, rope and Styrofoam were washed up above the waterline and someone had helpfully left a cache of new drinking water bottles tucked into one of the thick tree branches, presumably for stranded fishermen.

A beautiful little secluded bay - just for us!

These are often more common than shells on beaches here.

On the way back to Anima I towed Rene again and he saw brilliant blue fish darting about near the drop-off. Later that afternoon we swam again, this time just off Anima. The only other boats were a long way away so we shrugged off our togs for a skinny dip. Within a minute of floating free, I spied a dive boat making fast towards us. We both giggled so much (I kept taking water in my snorkel) and I only just clipped my bikini top on as the boat came past, so close that the people on board could take photos of us, wave and shout encouragement! Ah, fun times.

The Perfect morning and the Box Jellyfish

We awoke at dawn today with the plan of going ashore to do yoga/kung fu. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get any yoga done on the boat. It's always so rolly! The wind was up a little bit from the north west and Anima was having a hard time trying to decide whether to face the wind or the current. We took our dinghy to the leeward side of the island and were the first footprints on the sand. To escape the sun, I suggested we walk across the island to the western side where it would be shady. Along the forest track we came upon a sign for the lookout, only a 330m walk. 'Let's go!'. The track led us steeply up through dense jungle. The path was moist but firm mud and knotted ropes helped our progress up the more challenging inclines. Slow-moving, hungry, gigantic mosquitoes began their attack and my skin became tattooed with shadows of their deaths. A jovial Thai family was already near the top. We overtook them for the last part of the path which goes inside some rocks and up a particularly steep bank to arrive on top of a large boulder. Views of the sea and surrounding islands greeted our sweaty selves. The older members of the family had to be cajoled by a happy young man to continue to the top. They laughed a lot and it was a big accomplishment for two of them (slightly older) to make it.

Sailbirds atop the lookout on Ko Miang. Anima is down there, above and to the right of Rene's head.

 We eventually made it to the western beach. I did the standing poses for Ashtanga (getting covered in sand) and Rene did Kung Fu stretches but couldn't calm his mind. We are both a bit out of practice.

A walk through the shaded area was relaxing and we filled out a questionnaire for tourist development on the island before having a swim and snorkel and then heading back to the boat. Coffee and banana pancakes never tasted so good! But beyond the taste, I realised that I miss the ritual of this special breakfast. To us, pancakes are a breakfast to be shared with family and friends. A long, drawn out ritual of sharing, enjoying rich foods and talking about everything/anything. Our flights are booked for returning home. We leave Malaysia in August this year. Before then we have some more cruising to do but also more boat work as we prepare Anima to go on the market. Owning and living on Anima has been an amazing, life-changing experience. Through this I've finally figured out what I want in my life. It's not just travel, it's family that makes me happy. The time for another chapter to begin approaches. 

Enjoying the clear waters here.

We snorkelled around the boulders that afternoon. With clear water and blue skies, I began to relax. I started to feel safe in the water and thought to myself, 'you can just enjoy it Cerae, there are no dangers here!'. My new found water relaxation lasted all of 30 seconds. I looked up (my version of snorkelling is to constantly scan the water around me for jellyfish) and there. Right where I was about to swim, was a box jellyfish. Yep. The most deadly of them all! I quickly swam backwards and Rene, not understanding my shouts and gestures swam directly toward the stinger! Luckily he managed to avoid getting stung and saw it too – confirming my prognosis that it was a box jelly of about 40cm long. I didn't swim again after that. Preferring to chill out on some boulders. To watch the sunset with red wine and freshly baked bread. 

Orange sunset sundowners.

 Sail Rock

A storm greeted us this morning bringing wind and a hint of rain. We are both absorbed in the book 'Four Corners' by Kira Salik . It's a true story about the author's solo journeys into dangerous places in search of herself. When a large dive boat took up the tiny dinghy mooring just metres from us, I decided it was time to move on and check out the other anchorage here, on the north of Ko Similan. My jellyfish scare yesterday has unfortunately damaged my confidence in the water again. I really should have bought a full-body stinger suit while we were in QLD, I might then enjoy myself in the water!

The coral here is all very dead-looking. I'm not sure why, has it been bleached by the sun? Damaged by fishing? Smashed in the 2004 tsunami? Crushed by boats' anchors?

There are plenty of colourful fish to see but I realised that the joy for me when snorkelling, is to see the coral gardens, not the fish. Rene is loving it though. He is almost becoming part-fish for the amount of time he spends beneath the surface. The clear water is what he loves, amazing that it's so rare. When you imagine cruising, you picture yachts at anchor off idyllic atolls in perfectly clear water. We've only had that a few times. Perhaps it's more like this vision in the Pacific?

Rene snorkels over some semi-living reef.

We went ashore in the afternoon and climbed up through picturesque large boulders and tropical forest to reach 'Sail Rock', a lookout of sorts. Throughout the day, we'd seen hundreds of tourists taking turns to get photographed with their arms in the air standing on the edge of this rock. We timed our arrival to be there with minimal other foreigners and instead found some locals sitting up on the rock. They were a group of university students who were all studying tourism (or Eco tourism, environmental management and sustainable tourism – areas I find incredibly interesting and important – why didn't I study this at uni?). We'd completed a questionnaire the day before with one of the girls but this afternoon on Sail Rock we mainly chatted to A (not sure how to spell his name but it sounded like the letter 'A'), Billy and their lecturer. Not having travelled here with a tour-guide, we overwhelmed these students with questions about tourism in Thailand. How do they regulate the protection zones for fishing? What has happened to the coral? Are there any turtles here? What's it like living in a country that has so much tourism? Is tourism having a negative effect on the environment? Etc. They answered as much as they could with limited English and I tried (failed) to learn some Thai words for things like sunset. After the overwhelming capitalism of Patong Beach and a number of other high-tourism areas we'd been to, it was extremely refreshing to engage in natural conversation with locals, without having a commercial relationship. It is something we'd been missing from our previous trip to northern Thailand in 2003. 

Chatting to locals atop Sail Rock on Ko Similan

I'm not sure how informed these students are but they told us that the coral used to be flourishing, alive and well only 2 years ago, even more so 10 years ago. Now it's dead. They blamed global warming. I wonder if this is true?

The students were critical of the hundreds of sticks which have been wedged up under the rocks by tourists. They explained that tour guides make up stories about it having a spiritual significance or simply encourage their customers to add to the sticks so that they feel involved, more than simply an observer. It isn't natural. It isn't traditional. It has been artificially created for foreigners who find it humorous that the sticks are 'holding up' the rocks (as one American we spoke to explained). 

Tourist sticks.

 Island #9

We are relaxing into a slow kind of existence. I slip between feeling at peace and feeling guilty for not doing enough.

We visit Willow for morning tea and I like their perspective on our plans of selling Anima. They said we have learnt so much about yachts, cruising, weather etc. etc. that we will come back to it much more informed than when we began.

In an effort to escape the swell (which constantly rocks us side to side) we move half a mile to island #9 where there are half a dozen moorings set within a small boulder-fringed bay. We snorkel here and the coral is a little less dead, though nothing like the gardens we saw through Indonesia and Queensland. From his free-diving, Rene sees that the coral is covered in algae – the plot thickens.

Coral not doing so well but still plenty of fish.

As the sun starts to 'go to bed' (as Thai students put it) we take the dinghy toward the boulders, looking for the perfect jetty-esque one to safely climb onto – none of them can beat our 'jetty-rock' that we found at the previous anchorage, but some of them seem OK. Our first attempt is pretty funny. The strategy is to motor towards the boulder, throwing the anchor out at just the right moment, then quickly climb up the rock and bring a stern line. Push the dinghy out so it doesn't hit the rock and tie the stern line to anything available. We successfully pull this off without a scratch on the dinghy, and Rene cracks open our shared beer can as we wander towards the edge of the boulder, expecting to be able to continue our adventure. Instead we greet a sheer drop-off to water. The next boulder is 3 metres away! The dinghy process is reversed and then repeated on a different rock. Some great exploring to do here. Wedged in amongst the large rocks are the ubiquitous plastic water bottles. Hundreds of them. There is sadly a lot of rubbish out here in the ocean. Too much. Willow had told us how they witnessed (three times) the large dive boats (which rely upon the natural beauty of this place) throwing plastic bag-fulls of rubbish off their boats into the sea as they approached the harbour. I have trouble understanding these boat operators' lack of concern. Recently I read an article about how some university students in America have discovered a fungus (from the Amazon jungle) which eats plastic. I hope someone can successfully turn this into a weapon in the war against trash! 

Rock-hopping in the Similans at dusk.

Willow had also told us of how, in the Surins (a similar group of islands north of the Similans) their mooring had broken at 3am and they had only narrowly avoided being stuck on the coral. All night I imagine our mooring breaking, misinterpreting Rene's assessment. He had dived down and inspected it : “It's good enough for at least one night” meant to me “it will barely hold one night”. The moorings here are constructed thus: a thick rope is tied through a hole in a large piece of coral, insulated with a plastic sheath so as to stop coral chafing. This is not always very successfully achieved however, as the plastic tube isn't always long enough and slips down the rope, allowing it to chafe. We've seen a few old moorings that must have broken as we snorkel, as well as a few red and yellow buoys washed onto the beach or rocks, identical to the ones we tie to! So Rene always inspects the line now before we settle in.

Anima secured to our favourite mooring here.

Last day here

Rene snorkelled for hours taking photos and videos of the colourful fish. He even spied a turtle! The first sighting (from memory) since Australia. I'm so relieved that there is at least one turtle still alive up here. I hope it eats that Box jellyfish for me.

We sailed slowly back down to Ko Miang in the afternoon of our last day here in the Similans. I was impatient to get there as the wind and a small swell was coming in from the north west, meaning that there would only be one area protected. The last 20 minutes felt like a race, with dive boats and us competing for a mooring. We made it – just – and collected our mooring from a few days earlier. Strangely, it felt like coming 'home' to 'our mooring'. Jumping in for one last swim, Rene scraped the growth off our depth sounder and wind vane paddle. A large swarm of tropical fish – parrots, angels, triggers, coralfish and others - gathered behind, eating all of the scraps of coral and weed as soon as it was cut free.

Our last night here was a fitful sleep as we rolled about with the swell. We left at first light, motoring out of this peaceful pocket of beautiful islands as the sun crept above the clouds.

Almost week has passed since we left for the Similans. It is the furthest north and west that we will sail, this time. We're both glad that we decided to visit these beautiful islands. Such a magic spot. I hope that the tourism students do have some input into sustainably managing tourism here. There are already problems with the coral dying and with too many people zooming in and out each day, leaving rubbish in their wake. I hope that the Similans will only improve so that the next time we visit, we will be even more amazed. 

Similan Islands 2012