We had a nice sail with our friends on Meikyo on our last day from Ko Rok into Ao Chalong. The wind was just right and we had a chance to photograph each other under sail.
We checked in at Ao Chalong harbor on the SE Coast of Phuket, just in time for Christmas. We had rushed up from Pangkor because we had, a month previously, committed to attending a Christmas Day lunch in Chalong with friends from the 2022 Sail to Indonesia Rally. The check-in at Chalong is easy, because all offices are located right on the pier, and there are some English-speaking helpers to assist yachties through the process.
We had stopped in Penang, Malaysia to get a Thai visa from the Thai Embassy there, which would have given us 60 days on arrival. But, finding that the process would take 2-3 days, we felt we didn't have the time to stay and do that and still make the Christmas Day lunch. So we arrived in Thailand with no Visa. Thailand has a thing about "crew". If you arrive with no visa, as "crew", you only get 30 days, if you are listed as a passenger, you are given 60 days. If you arrive as a tourist, flying in, you are given 60 days. So the trick is to either get a visa from an embassy or consulate, or come in as a "passenger". But someone has to be listed on the crew list as "Captain". And to confuse the issue, it's sometimes possible to pay a fee at Immigration to be stamped in as a "passenger" not a "crew". (But sometimes it is not possible, depends on which officer you get). Anyway, when we were stamped in to Thailand, we were only given 30 days, and ended up having to get a visa extension at the end of January for another 30 days (not difficult, just paperwork, a half a day at an Immigration office, and some money).
Chalong Harbor is a big harbor, and in December/January (high high season in Phuket) it is stuffed full of boats. We wandered around the anchorage, trying to tuck in someplace a little out of the weather (NE wind) and closer to the pier, but ended up pretty far out, and kind of in the middle of the approach path for tourist boats coming and going from the pier. Eventually we diecided to spend the nights about 2nm east of Chalong Pier at Ao Yon. Better shelter and not so much boat traffic.
As soon as we could, we skedaddled out of Chalong and went around to Nai Harn on the SW corner of Phuket Island. There, we were stunned by the number of boats in the harbor and the number of sunbathing tourists on the beach. It's High HIGH season in Phuket in December/January.
Cruisers tend NOT to anchor in too close to the beach at Nai Harn. There are tales of drunk naked swimmers from the beach climbing onto boats in the middle of the night!
We stayed in Nai Harn until New Years Day. Then, we picked up Dave's son, Chris, and his wife, Sandy, off the beach, and set off for a whirlwind tour of Phang Na Bay. Chris and Sandy had done their homework and had listed all the tourist hotspots as their "must do" things in their short week in Phuket.
It seems every country in SE Asia has a unique design for it's small boats. In Thailand, it is the "Longtail". Unmuffled gasoline engines, with a long shaft that can be raised out of the water so the boat can be beached. Practical, but deafening.
In 4 days, we visited Ko Racha Yai, the Phi Phi Islands (The Beach), 4-5 "Hongs" (caves), and James Bond Island.
This beach is so overwhelmed by tourists and noisy longtails that the government declared landing at the beach illegal. Tourists have to land on the other side of the island, be dropped off, hike across the island, and are permitted only 1 hour on the beach. Naturally we didn't bother going ashore.
We spent the night in Phi Phi Don. This harbor is just packed with tour boats, and during a stroll along the waterfront, we saw many touts selling tours for the next day.
We couldn't find enough space to anchor in the harbor, within reasonable dinghy distance of the town, so we grabbed an empty mooring. But right about dark, the boat that belonged on the mooring came back. We ended up anchoring on short scope too close to other boats on moorings. Fortunately the weather was benign--but I didn't get a very good night's sleep!
"Hong" is the Thai word for Cave. The entire Phang Na Bay area is made of karst islands that are often found to be hollow inside. We spent 2 days exploring every hong that we had a location for.
On the 4th day, we dropped Chris and Sandy off ashore when we pulled into Phuket Yacht Haven--they took a taxi to their upscale (air conditioned) hotel on the beach for their last night in Thailand. They were sure happy to be off the hot muggy confines of our boat! It was a short visit, but we had fun together. Afterward they flew to Singapore and enjoyed a few days there. Then back to work and the cool dry weather in San Diego.
We hung out for a week on a mooring next to Yacht Haven Marina, doing a little work on the boat and exploring this part of Phuket by taxi. (Using Grab and Bolt, Uber-like apps in Phuket). We were also waiting for our friend, Linda, to fly in for a visit (Linda cruised with us thru late May).
After we left Yacht Haven, we went all the way back around to Nai Harn, as we had several friends we wanted to see before they blasted off for the Red Sea.
The Last Night Before Leaving for The Red Sea
Then we left Nai Harn to head north up the west coast of Phuket. We day-hopped, actually sailing for a few hours at a time, all the way up to Koh Phyam, an island off the coast of the north end of Thailand, close to the Myanmar border. It took us several days. We stopped overnight at Bang Tao, Ban Thap Lamu, Koh Phra Thong, and finally anchoring in the big bay at the NW corner of Koh Phyam.
Bang Tao Bay is only half a day's sail from Nai Harn, same sunset but way fewer people and boats, at this little anchorage at the north end of the bay.
We enjoyed a few days fooling around on Koh Phyam, renting motorbikes for 2 days to run around the island.
"Wat Ko Phayam is the main temple on Ko Phayam, a small island in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Thailand. It's a serene Buddhist temple offering beautiful views and a tranquil atmosphere, making it a popular spot for meditation and reflection. The temple is known for its unique architecture, including a wihaan (prayer hall) with distinctive designs."
It was time to head south, and this time we chose the offshore route. There are two island groups offshore on the way back south--the Surin Islands and the Similan Islands. They are both parks. We stopped in the Surins and skipped the Similans, because you have to pre-book your visit to the Similans ahead of time (and pay money). These islands are closest to the population centers of Phuket and are major tourist attractions, so are highly regulated. But the Surins are less so.
(with all those lights, probably fishing for squid at night)
(it helps to put the lines out--thanks, Linda!)
We were shocked to find a major tourist tent village, a bathroom and shower building, and a cafeteria ashore.
We did get asked to pay a park fee when we checked in with the rangers ashore, but were not hassled otherwise.
We found a great snorkel spot that was good enough that we eventually went back for a dive. (09°24.99'N / 097°50.76'E).
After a week in the Surin Islands, we reluctantly headed on south. By the time we got back down to Nai Harn, it was time to carry on south to Langkawi, and then on to Indonesia, in time for the West Indonesia Rally which starts at the end of February in Sabang, Indonesia.
We took a taxi from Nai Harn to check out of Chalong, but neglected to bring Linda along. We found out once we got to Immigration that all crew have to be present to check in and out of Thailand. So Linda had to bum a ride ashore with a friend and get a Grab to the harbor.
We left Nai Harn headed south on Feb 14. We had hoped to overnight at Ko Rok, but we found wind too close to sail, and it became obvious that we wouldn't reach Ko Rok before dark. So we changed plans and tacked east, anchoring in the dark at the south end of Ko Lanta. The next day--another long day, motorsailing to keep our speed up--we anchored at dusk at Ko Tarutao.
It was an easy day into Rebak Marina, Langkawi, Malaysia after that--we actually sailed halfway!
For cruising information for Malaysia and Thailand, check out our Cruising Compendiums on the Files page of our website (free pdf files chock full of details about cruising the area). https://svsoggypaws.com/files/index.htm#se-asia
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