After a very straight forward and an uneventful trip on Royal Brunei we
arrived at Bangkok with what seemed like thousands of others at 8pm on a
Saturday night. The temperature of 31 degrees was a huge shock although
somewhat relieved by a tropical downpour of significant proportions.
The hotels air conditioner was still a necessary evil to not only reduce
the temperature but block out the sounds of the wedding taking place
next door where music managed to be played for the entire night.
We met the Gardes our travelling companions looking equally bleary eyed
and who had arrived significantly later in the corridor and made it into
our awaiting minibus with the music still blaring. Neon lights in the
minibus decorating the roof were very amusing as we watched the sun
coming up passing through the outskirts of Bangkok.
After much
needed coffee, and what we were expecting to be our final western meal
for a while, we boarded our pink and purple twin propellor plane with a
yellow beak (Nok Air) as a logo, to Ranong (Thailand). On arrival an
enthusiastic young driver picked us up in his van and transported us at
top speed to the Ranong port. We knew we had really arrived in Asia on
getting out of the car when the heat and smell of rotting fish and
rubbish hit us. The port was a hive of activity, and we successfully met
out guide Jo Jo who was to escort us to our boat the Sea Gypsy. We
passed through a tiny hole in the wall immigration office whilst our
bags were put on to long boats. We waved goodbye to the boys as our
longboat headed 20 minutes up river to Kawthaung, passing through
another immigration office on stilts in the river. The boys seemed very
happy when they arrived in Kawthaung having delivered the bags to the
Sea Gypsy, a Burmese junk that was to be home for the next week.
We
were sent off for lunch whilst our paperwork and immigration was sorted
out without us. We managed to order a very tasty lunch, despite their
lack of English and our lack of Burmese, partly assisted through Skyping
with the owners son in Koh Samui, where he works in the tourist
industry. After a quick walk around the town and the acquisition of a
few items such as sugar cane we headed out to the sea gypsy,
transferring by dinghy. Kids went first and the adults arrived to very
excited kids who had started exploring the boat and decided they needed
more than a week on it.
Sleeping quarters consisted of 5 open
raised berths with mattresses, 2 on the top and 3 on the bottom. Kelly's
ended up on top deck and Gardes on the bottom. A bathroom also for each
family on the bottom deck. Eating was on the top deck with a large
table seating 10 undercover, with the rest of the deck open with lounge
chairs. We had a cook, assistant cook, engineer, a general helper and of
course the captain and our guide Jo Jo with us. All local and very
friendly, but with limited English. They had berths in the engine room,
but not surprisingly slept on one of the other decks if they could.
We headed out to sea, doing a 45 mile cruise to our first destination
Poni Island, passing both large and small islands on route. The kids
were desperate to swim and of course jump off the boat, so after a
couple of hours we pulled in to a small island and bay with crystal
clear water, pure white sand and jungle coming to the beach. An example
of what was to come over the next 6 days. Everyone swam, kids jumped off
the boat and all very satisfied with where we were at. A number of
people slept as we continued our cruise. The temperature was perfect.
Our first cooked meal was served which was a huge success with the kids
being fried chicken, stir fry vegetables and a prawn dish, with soup and
fruit.
It was dark when we moored, but we could se shapes of the
island and the glow of the White sand in the distance. Lights from the
local fishing boats could also be seen far off. It was not long before
everyone was on bed after a long day. Sleeping was very easy with a cool
breeze blowing through and the rocking of the boat. We all agreed the
Sea Gypsy had well lived up to our expectations.
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