I've been meaning to write this post for... hmm... a year now! Oh my gosh - life with a baby means things get crazy. But enough about me.
A Russian couple bought Anima and they have so far sailed her up the Red Sea into the Meditteranean and are currently in Spain. Here is a link to their blog if you want to see what our boat is up to these days. Everything they write is in Russian - so fire up google translate or just look at the pictures. http://www.alexdem.ru
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Monday, September 24, 2012
Land Ahoy - How we're readjusting to life off Anima
In the weeks leading up to our departure Rene
discovered problems with the cockpit roof he built 5 years ago (when we
first moved aboard). He worked insanely hard to replace it, making it
stronger and better this time around. Because I flew home first, there are no photos of the new cockpit to share but I'm assured it looks even better than the first one.
We bid farewell to Anima, leaving her in 5 star comfort at Rebak Island Marina. Moving off involved sending twelve 20Kg boxes to our family and friends in Australia and taking 40Kg excess luggage each for our flights. My fellow plane travellers found it quite bizarre that I had a sewing machine with me!
Upon arriving home, I noticed how clean the air is here compared to SE Asia, how little rubbish there is and how many thousands more solar panels there are now!!! In the two years we were away from Brisbane, everyone must have gone solar mad. Almost every second house now has between 8 and 20 solar panels. We also noticed that everyone drives nice cars and has smart phones too. We are a bit behind in this regard as I have been using my old cheap Nokia phone and driving my old trusty (though a little more rusty) car - Boxy. My sister had her for the first year we were away and my brother had her for the second! I love driving and have enjoyed the fast freedom of having 4 wheels again.
We moved in with my best friend in Brisbane, renting her tiny spare room. Jacqui is astounded that we can fit most of our stuff into this small room - for us, it's huge!
I enjoyed eating lots of fresh dairy though was initially a little confused about the whole 'Permeate Free' campaign that is playing out with various milk brands. Fresh fruit and vegetables also tasted better - especially salad ingredients like Avocados, rocket lettuce and tomatoes. When we arrived it was the middle of winter - a novelty again after having spent the last 24 months in the tropics. I dusted off my warm clothes and had to do some serious self-control to be able to turn off the water in the shower. After not having lived with a shower for SO long, this was probably the most luxurious thing I relished in back on land. Luckily there were no water restrictions or I would have been causing a miniature drought!!
Pretty quickly the differences became normal and we started working, working, working. Rene jumped right back into his job as a Software Developer, proudly wearing his $100 Thailand suit into the city each day. I have been working as a supply and relief teacher in schools around South Brisbane. Each school is very different and I've (mostly) enjoyed seeing how they run, meeting different colleagues, teaching a variety of subjects and meeting hundreds of students. So far I've taught: English, Maths, Sport, Science, Art, Film & TV, Media, Learning Support, Study of Society, Ancient History, SOSE and Dance.
Working has been better than we'd both been dreading. It's stimulating to feel useful in the world, to be involved with a wider range of people and to be making money rather than spending it for a change! But when things are difficult or stressful, it's easy to reminisce about our cruising days and only remember the good times, not the difficult or stressful ones!
Readjusting to land life hasn't been too difficult, especially once we accustomed to the high price of petrol and food (no more eating out every day). There was one instance though which I deem story-worthy. I call it 'The Washing Machine Disaster'. This incident reminded me of when we first moved aboard Anima (then Anhinga). Rene was enjoying the view from the top of the mast (unbeknownst to me) while I was doing the washing up inside. The sink hole in our boat is much smaller than in a normal house and it wasn't draining. I used the manual pump to force the grey water (complete with tuna-tin oil and beetroot juice) offboard. Not realising my own strength (or the age of the rubber pump), it burst, flooding the bilge area with both the gross sink water and the brown river water. Yes, the river water was gushing in, quickly filling up the small area. I was calling out to Rene while trying to mop up the water with towels. The water didn't recede, in fact it only increased! I was so green at living onboard that I didn't yet know about seacocks. Rene eventually came down from the mast to a flooding galley and panicked Cerae. He quickly solved the problem by closing the seacock and then we had a long afternoon of cleaning up the smelly, oily, purple-brown mess. If Rene hadn't been onboard, Anima could have sunk! In the recent washing machine version, Rene pulled out the lint cleaning pipes of the front-loading washing machine that we're currently living with. I then put on a load of washing after he'd said it was right to go and went back upstairs only to be shocked when the landlord came knocking on the door saying the whole downstairs area was flooded! The clean-up was easier in this scenario and there was no danger of the house sinking as a result - but the feeling of making a stupid mistake was the same.
Living on land is definitely easier than on the water but we still miss the freedom of cruising. To cope with water-nostalgia, I bought a small kayak when it was on a half-price sale. My dream of owning a kayak, finally came true!
The best part about being home is seeing our family and friends who we'd missed so dearly while away. Our friends who'd had babies just as we were leaving are now chasing around little toddlers! Time passed quickly while we were away.
We bid farewell to Anima, leaving her in 5 star comfort at Rebak Island Marina. Moving off involved sending twelve 20Kg boxes to our family and friends in Australia and taking 40Kg excess luggage each for our flights. My fellow plane travellers found it quite bizarre that I had a sewing machine with me!
Upon arriving home, I noticed how clean the air is here compared to SE Asia, how little rubbish there is and how many thousands more solar panels there are now!!! In the two years we were away from Brisbane, everyone must have gone solar mad. Almost every second house now has between 8 and 20 solar panels. We also noticed that everyone drives nice cars and has smart phones too. We are a bit behind in this regard as I have been using my old cheap Nokia phone and driving my old trusty (though a little more rusty) car - Boxy. My sister had her for the first year we were away and my brother had her for the second! I love driving and have enjoyed the fast freedom of having 4 wheels again.
We moved in with my best friend in Brisbane, renting her tiny spare room. Jacqui is astounded that we can fit most of our stuff into this small room - for us, it's huge!
I enjoyed eating lots of fresh dairy though was initially a little confused about the whole 'Permeate Free' campaign that is playing out with various milk brands. Fresh fruit and vegetables also tasted better - especially salad ingredients like Avocados, rocket lettuce and tomatoes. When we arrived it was the middle of winter - a novelty again after having spent the last 24 months in the tropics. I dusted off my warm clothes and had to do some serious self-control to be able to turn off the water in the shower. After not having lived with a shower for SO long, this was probably the most luxurious thing I relished in back on land. Luckily there were no water restrictions or I would have been causing a miniature drought!!
Pretty quickly the differences became normal and we started working, working, working. Rene jumped right back into his job as a Software Developer, proudly wearing his $100 Thailand suit into the city each day. I have been working as a supply and relief teacher in schools around South Brisbane. Each school is very different and I've (mostly) enjoyed seeing how they run, meeting different colleagues, teaching a variety of subjects and meeting hundreds of students. So far I've taught: English, Maths, Sport, Science, Art, Film & TV, Media, Learning Support, Study of Society, Ancient History, SOSE and Dance.
Working has been better than we'd both been dreading. It's stimulating to feel useful in the world, to be involved with a wider range of people and to be making money rather than spending it for a change! But when things are difficult or stressful, it's easy to reminisce about our cruising days and only remember the good times, not the difficult or stressful ones!
Fishing in Northern NSW |
Living on land is definitely easier than on the water but we still miss the freedom of cruising. To cope with water-nostalgia, I bought a small kayak when it was on a half-price sale. My dream of owning a kayak, finally came true!
Our adventures on the water are definately not over yet. |
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
A Detailed Website About Anima
For a detailed explanation (with lots of photos) of Anima, go to www.anima.limorph.com
Rene and I made to showcase her in detail so check it out!
Please note - I have fixed the above link. Thanks to the kind crew from Marianne (currently in Sri Lanka) for alerting me to it!!
Please note - I have fixed the above link. Thanks to the kind crew from Marianne (currently in Sri Lanka) for alerting me to it!!
More posts to come regarding settling into life on land after 5 years on a boat. Stay tuned!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Anima For SALE
It's finally official. Anima is on the market and up for sale. She has been a fantastic home and adventure for us both over the past 5 years.
Don't worry, as our blog has always said We are travellers on a life adventure. Currently sailing on our yacht, Anima, to follow our dreams and make new ones...
We are simply taking a break from cruising to do the 'normal' land-based life for a few years before heading back out on the water again in future.
Please spread the word and help us sell our beloved Anima. Thank you for all of your support!
Follow these links to read her stats and see her inside and out:
Yacht Broker Charters - website / blog
YachtWorld.com
YachtHub.com
Anima berthed at Rebak Marina, Langkawi |
Videos of Anima
I finally got around to editing and uploading some of the videos I've taken of Anima throughout our 2 years cruising. Enjoy!!
Anima sailing with Dolphins.
Anima under full sail. A lazy, lovely day.
A montage of Anima sailing/motoring.
Anima sailing/motoring in moderate weather.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Life at Rebak Island Marina, Langkawi
I've
been so busy with life lately that I haven't had the time to update
sailbirds. I know it's very hard to believe – it's not
like I'm working full time or racing around after kids... just busy
with the boat and life. I'll tell some of the stories here... oh
dear, there's so much to catch up on... where to even begin?
Anima
is now safe and snug in Rebak Island Marina. It's by far the best
marina we've ever stayed in - the best part being, yachties have
almost free reign of the 5 star resort facilities. The marina is
based on a tiny island just off the south of Langkawi island. A
small ferry zips back and forth 10 times daily to Langkawi with resort
guests, staff and yachties onboard. The only other thing on the
island is the aforementioned Taj resort. Consequentially, it's very
peaceful over here. We're surrounded by forested hills bursting with
local birds, monkeys, monitor lizards and mosquitoes. The latter is
controlled by bi-weekly 'fogging' with some kind of
petrochemical-based spray which is pumped through the resort, marina
and hard-stand. This fog is thick and nasty. Our strategy is
lock-down inside the boat – all dorades, hatches and portholes shut
tight to minimise exposure to this unknown chemical. It does work to reduce the mosquito population though - perhaps it's a necessary evil.
Mosquito fogging. Pretty scary huh? |
It's
the south-west monsoon season now, so frequent strong squalls pass
by. Being tied up in a protected marina is so nice when the wind
howls past, making our rigging sing. It's also nice to be connected
to shore power. Laptops, stereo, vacuum cleaner, lights, fridge and
the stereo can all stay on for extended periods. Best of all, the
hired air-conditioner (only 50RM/month) can cool us down as can the
240V fan. Relief from the extreme humidity is very sweet.
The pool. |
There's
so much to love about being here. The pool, fringed with flowering
frangipani trees and reclining chairs waited on by a happy guy who
gives you fresh towels, fruit skewers (sometimes) and magazines! The beach bar
where yachties and resort guests meet for happy hour half-price
drinks. The games area inside the resort where one can play anything
from Scrabble to Carrom (Rene is undefeated so far with the latter).
The twisting paths to walk and explore (more on this to come). Best of all, the
SY69 building to escape the sun and do yoga every morning. What a
place to practice yoga in! Surrounded by water features home to
colourful Carp and vibrant tropical plants, I've been able to immerse
myself deeper than ever into my Ashtanga yoga Mysore practice.
All
of this is still over half the price of marina's in Australia!
Yoga bliss. |
After being here for a month, I decided to explore more of the island by foot. The lovely Jane (from South Africa) was our guide as she had taken one of the more adventurous walks last year. It took her a while to recall where the track started as the jungle seemed inpenetrable and we had to brave a large tribe of monkeys and killer ants! Just as we were about to give up, there it was - marked with arrows. We scaled a slippery track through the jungle, up a hill and down the other side to the beach. Previously Jane had been able to walk along said beach back to the resort. We had judged the tide wrong however and had to tackle the forest once more. It was really fun to walk along, covered in sweat (thanks to the extreme humidity) pushing through, under and around lush jungle. We got lost a few more times, probably due to concentrating on our chats more than the path. Annoyingly I skidded down the bank at the end and twisted my knee but it only took 2 days to heal.
The other side of the island. |
What an amazing birthday cake! Thanks Rebak! |
Friday night BBQ just getting started. |
Rene
has not been in the best of health. He experienced pains in his
stomach for 4 days before having it checked out at a Doctor in Kuah.
Initially we thought it was a kidney infection but the blood test
results (which we only received 2 weeks after the initial test thanks
to a dodgy receptionist) showed Rene had Pancreatitis! He rushed to a
medical centre on mainland Malaysia for a CT scan which thankfully
showed no damage. Being young and fit probably saved his life. What
will continue to do so is a complete change of diet. No more fatty
foods or alcohol for Rene! We discovered that Doctors here in
Malaysia only issue half-dose, half-strength antibiotics. Supposedly
because the people are smaller (not really the case when obesity is a
rising issue as is Diabetes).
Anima
has sucked most of our spare time (sadly, we barely ever swim in the
pool). I've spent days cleaning and scrubbing the decks and topsides.
A stubborn oily black substance sticks to our beautiful new paintwork
and makes Anima look old and dirty! If a Scientist could invent some
kind of preventative measure for this black stuff, they would be rich
as currently the only way to prevent it is to cover the boat in
canvas, something we can't afford to do right now.
Anima has also been very thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed inside. All of her walls inside are sparkling clean. All her wooden trim is polished and shining. Everything is clean. More boxes have been packed and sent home and more stuff we don't need has been given away or sold. Rene has cleaned and polished the engine and bilges. He's treated a rust patch that was under the floorboards of the head and some tiny spots that appeared on deck. I prepared and then he painted the remaining mint-green non-skid areas on the foredeck. I cut to size the wood lino and Rene glued them all on for the galley and companionway floorboards. Phew!
We're gearing up to officially put Anima on the market. This week involves meeting with the Langkawi-based brokers and I've been working on our own sale website too.
Anima has also been very thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed inside. All of her walls inside are sparkling clean. All her wooden trim is polished and shining. Everything is clean. More boxes have been packed and sent home and more stuff we don't need has been given away or sold. Rene has cleaned and polished the engine and bilges. He's treated a rust patch that was under the floorboards of the head and some tiny spots that appeared on deck. I prepared and then he painted the remaining mint-green non-skid areas on the foredeck. I cut to size the wood lino and Rene glued them all on for the galley and companionway floorboards. Phew!
We're gearing up to officially put Anima on the market. This week involves meeting with the Langkawi-based brokers and I've been working on our own sale website too.
The last rusty spot!! Mid-treatment. |
Measuring and cutting the new "wood" flooring. |
Each
week we hire a car, drive across the island to Kuah and try to get
all the things on our list. As we get to know the area more, it opens
up to us and we find where to get things. The hire cars are complete
bombs for 40RM, yesterday however we had to take a 50RM car and what
a difference 10 Ringgit makes! We flew along in a shiny, tiny new car
with working air-conditioning and gearbox. Each week I take the ferry
across to Langasuka where a local Chinese man holds a veggie stall
for the yachties. It's a little more expensive than the local
markets, but the food is of a far better quality. I've been enjoying
Australian Avocados (paying the same price I would back home for
them) and big, sweet mangoes among other things.
Rene pushing 60Kg's of our stuff along to send home. |
I know there is so much more that has happened and I could write this for many more hours. I'll finish with this cute photo.
Newlyweds from Indonesia with us. |
Friday, May 4, 2012
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.
'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. |
My hand-made wind scoop made from recycling part of an old Spinnaker. |
Rene searching for wifi hotspots. |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
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).
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 |
Happy Easter! |
Panwa Bali beach, Phuket |
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!
On the 11th
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.
Tying up the dinghy at Chalong. |
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.
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.
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).
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!
Sunset views at sea near Phi Phi Le. |
Anima anchored at 'The Beach' on Phi Phi Le |
Phi Phi Le |
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.
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. |
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.... |
Until you look closer. Why do people throw their rubbish into the sea??? |
Burning rubbish - plastic included. sigh. |
Fresh rain-water anyone? Maybe not! |
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. |
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