June 14, Phuket: Canoeing Day-Trip

We woke up early this morning, around 7:15, and grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel. A small van, already packed with about 4 people, picked us up around 8:10, then drove into Patong. It picked up two more people before the tour guide, who introduced himself as “T,” told us to sit back for the 1.5 hour drive north to the bay from which the canoes would be dispatched.
What followed was one of the most beautiful days involving nature that I’ve ever been involved in. We boarded a rickety ship about 6-8 feet longer than a pontune boat, packed with bottled water and a few more tour employees (mostly locals) and headed out.
There’s really no excuse for this next statement – we didn’t bring a single camera. We should have, but were worried about water. One of the other groups of people touring with us – a German couple – are e-mailing pictures soon, and I will post ASAP.
Basically, however, this day-long excursion worked in the following manner:
- Large boat drives near small island
- In groups of one’s and two’s, board air-filled rubber canoe along with “paddler” (one of the locals)
- Canoe takes you near small island, past vegetation, near cave
- Double-take as you realize that your canoe is, in fact, going in that cave, the entrance to which is no more than one head’s length above your canoe high.
- Paddler says “duck” and hands you a flashlight.
- You duck, and hold your breath.

Entering the caves was not for the clostrophobic. But what often happened was that after a narrow passage, the cave would give way to what the locals called a “hong,” or a large, open lake fed only by the cave’s entrance. Sometimes the stone and vegetation would extend up to 1,000 feet or more into the air, leaving one with the impression that they were on a lake.
The guides timed the trip carefully; if the tide came in, we would have been trapped. But the local animal population was incredible; we saw iguanas, odd lizards, bats, small crabs that scaled vertical walls, strange birds, and more. (It was everything our friend Gian would have loved)
We stopped at several places, including the aptly-named “James Bond Island,” where a scene from The Man With The Golden Gun was filmed. Along the way, we were fed lunch, given wet towels, and swam in the water. All this for 1,800 bhat – about 50 bucks.
We roasted. I fell asleep on top of the ship between destinations, and despite heavy sunscreen, my stomach is white and my back could stop traffic – just not in Thailand!
I’m writing this post while it’s still fresh in our minds – we’re going to grab a dinner here at the hotel and head back to Patong for the night – hope all is well to our worldwide group of readers. Thanks for reading!

Mike, Alex, and Chris