Sea Kayaking In Thailand
I was crammed in an extra cab ute with two of us in the front and two sitting behind the
seats on a small bench. We arrived through a narrow road surrounded by mangrove onto
a landing with a couple of food stalls on one side and a concrete wharf on the other.
Around the wharf was an array of 10 to 12 longboats in varying sizes. The huge motors
balanced at the end of a 6 mt long shaft tipped with an evil looking propeller seemed to
intertwine with each other and the boats, making separation a difficult and dangerous
operation. Across the green narrow river the mangrove encroached on the water trying
to choke the river out.
There were people all over the landing who seemed to know exactly where to go and
what to do. I looked around trying to identify the ferry from the rest of the boats in the
clump. Moo was untying the kayak I had hired off her, so I helped her instead. While I
was gathering my gear the kayak was slid onto the back of a 12 mt long longboat. Moo
pulled a sheet of paper off her note pad so I could write down the Thai names of the
village I would be staying at. I thanked her as I grabbed my gear and climbed aboard.
My sea kayaking trip in Thailand was now starting.
The front of the boat had rows of wooden bench seats with a canopy over the top. Behind
that was the large diesel truck motor under a wooden cowling almost as high as the seat
canopy. The last 3 to 4 mts had a wooden deck at gunwale height with a high chair
behind a vertical steering wheel mounted on a rusty pipe. This boat was different from
the rest as it had an inboard motor rather than the typical long tail. The kayak was just
sitting on the deck with the last 1mt of the bow sticking out from the stern. I had some
cord in my bag so I scrambled back to tie the kayak onto the chair so I wouldn’t lose it.
As I crouched down next to the captain’s chair I noticed that it was not tied or bolted on
either. Hmm, I wonder how he gets on in rough water. I immediately had a picture of the
captain perched on his chair flying overboard. With that thought in mind I packed the
kayak completely, ready for a seal launch over the back if necessary. That way if I lost
the boat I could jump off after it, do a re-entry roll and start my paddling trip a bit earlier
than planned.
On the 20 km crossing to Ko Yao Noi I was standing next to the captain with my chart
trying to orient myself. The captain didn’t speak English but with a bit of mime and hand
signals he asked where I was going. I pulled out my notes and in my best Thai I told him
the village I was staying at while pointing to the chart. He nodded smiling and said
something in Thai I did not understand.
As we got close to Ko Yao Noi we headed into a bay and not between the islands as I
expected. At the end of the bay was a small river mouth and about 200mt up that the river
stopped at a small concrete wharf with a landing and some buildings behind it. As the
boat approached the captain shouted something in Thai to the people there and then
indicated to me that this is where I get off. As we were negotiating the kayak off the boat
a local taxi or Took Took started backing up to the wharf. A Took Took is a little Suzuki
ute with a canopy and seats in the back. The driver jumped out and grabbed the front of
the kayak while talking to the captain. With alarm I stepped in waiving saying No No .
the driver looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. The captain took my chart
pointed at where the village was and said Took Took , Took Took. I shook my head
saying no Took Took, traced my finger around the island and did my best impression of
kayaking by flaying my arms around in the air. The captain responded by tracing his
finger around the island while shaking his head then pointing to the village saying Took
Took at which I shook my head saying NO NO. The captain was getting frustrated while
the driver and the rest of the people stood back with big smiles on their faces enjoying the
spectacle. The captain spied a woman coming over and let fly with a barrage of Thai. She
could speak good English and said that the Took Took would take the kayak and me to
the village, “no problem”. I explained to her that I did not want the Took Took that I was
going to paddle around the island. She smiled and said no the captain says it is too far
for my little boat. I then proceeded to show where I planned to paddle my “little boat”
over the next few days. She translated for the captain who just looked at me smiling and
shaking his head. He obviously though I was crazy but shrugged his shoulders, waved
goodbye and hopped back on his boat.
This left me with an entourage of about 15 people. I bobbed down to check my boat and
was surrounded by15 pairs of legs. This wasn’t going to work so I grabbed my spray
deck and PFD out of the cockpit. The bloke behind me leaned over to see what I was
doing and I nearly knocked him over as I stood up. The crowd was getting into it now as
the boat was lifted off the ground by willing hands. We all swayed back and forth as the
kayak was pulled and pushed with nobody sure how it was going to be lunched. I noticed
the driver leaning on his Took Took pissing himself laughing. In desperation I forced
myself to the bow and removed the willing hands. I then led the boat to the edge of the
wharf and using the bow rope lowered the bow into the water. I then indicated with an
exaggerated throwing motion the stern was to be dropped into the water. Phew, this was
hard work and I hadn’t even started yet.
I climbed down the steps and pulled the boat back stern first. The stern hit the wall with
the cockpit just out of reach. Bugger. I had to climb up to the third step to access the
cockpit and this left me with a height problem. I looked at the water which was a solid
green with a nice diesel sheen to it. The last foot was topped with a variety of flotsam
from plastic to bits of old twig and leaf. This was going to be a very smooth operation or
I was going to end upside down in that filth. I looked up to a wall of smiling faces.
Double bugger. Holding all my weight with my arms I lowered my feet into the cockpit.
Balancing the boat with my feet I slowly transferred some weight. Now was the moment
of truth. I squatted down while sliding my legs into the boat. As my backside hit the seat I
lost all grip on the step. The boat wobbled but I was able to keep my balance and stayed
upright. Phew, I was sweating profusely with all the exertion. As I looked up, my
audience approved the maneuver with some light chatter and approving nods. I then put
my spray deck on to a chorus of owws and concerned chatter. They obviously didn’t think
a spray deck was a good idea at all. I didn’t want to go through the laborious process of
explaining the need for a spray deck so I just pushed off, paddled a few strokes and
turned back to wave. I was sent off by a smiling, waving gaggle of people. Off to my solo,
island hopping adventure.
As I paddled out of the river mouth a magnificent sight opened up before me. The
background was mist covered, gray mountains with dramatic islands jutting straight out
of the water in the middle of the bay. The islands had cliffs hundreds of feet high that
were topped with a layer of thick green jungle. This was a scene straight out of Jurassic
Park and I half expected to see a Pterodactyl come swooping past, but got a sea eagle
instead. Then that “I’m all alone” feeling crept in. I mean there I was in a strange
country and I didn’t speak the language. I was heading off into strange waters and going
to a Muslim Thai fishing village I knew nothing about. All the Thai people I had met so
far were very friendly and kind but I knew nothing about Muslims except what I had seen
on TV and those images were not reassuring. I brought things back into perspective by
looking at the next hurdle first, as experience has taught me that the biggest fear of all is
the fear of the unknown.
I was cruising down the channel between Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai quite quickly as I
had the ebbing tide with me. The chart showed a current of 1.7 knots running north south
along the outside of the islands and I was heading east to intersect it. 1.7 knots is not a
big current but past experience has taught me not to trust charts when currents come
through channels and islands. To my right was a curved sandy beach culminating in a
sandy spit and on my left the end of the island had a rocky point jutting out. In the
channel between I could see pressure waves near the rocky point I had to round. As I got
closer I could see 30 cm high evenly spaced waves with a distinct eddy line. It looked
quite mild so I powered in. The boat rocked back and forth quite gently through the
pressure waves as I set up to cross the eddy line. I punched through at about a 45 ° angle
without a problem. Another perceived fear just disappeared. As it was now spring tides
this was the worst it was going to get.
Heading north along Ko Yao Noi I stayed close to the shore so I picked up the eddy as
the current was against me. The shoreline was rocky with the jungle-covered rocks
heading up at about a 45° angle. The jungle was so thick that looking into it was
impossible. It emitted strange noises and I had fleeting glimpses of exotic birds. Around a
bend in a fold in the hills was a small flat area that had a white sandy beach with a
coconut grove behind it. This was one of those idyllic scenes I though only existed in post
cards. In the coconut grove I could see an old lean to with a thatched roof adding that
rustic look. There were some nice shady trees to stop under so I pointed the bow at a
good spot and as the bow slid up the sand I climbed out humming to myself some stupid
tune that I could not get out of my head. Sitting in the shade of a huge tree I sipped some
water and looked out at a new set of dramatic islands that would be my destination
tomorrow. Everything from the view, the sound, and the humid jungle smell was so un
Australian. This was fantastic!
It was 2.oo pm and the tide was just about out as I rounded the bend looking into a bay
that I thought was where the village should be. The beach was at least 200mt from the
water’s edge and in the left hand corner of the bay I could just see the corner of what
looked like a building in the jungle. In the center of the bay was a little island, well an
island when the tide was in, as now it was the green knob on a spit. To my right I could
see a small wharf with some stranded longboats in front of some old buildings. I side
surfed some 20 cm high waves in next to the future island and got out of my boat to
further survey the bay. My eyes picked up movement in the jungle then out popped a
bright yellow scooter with a small man working to keep control in the sand. He stopped
about half way and came running up shouting, “Are you the Australian kayaker?”
“Yes” I said and “Are you “Mr Bow?”
“Yes yes. Welcome! The bungalow is over there.” He pointed to where I saw the partial
building in the jungle. I tied the boat up to a rock, pulled out my change of clothes and
followed Mr Bow. At the edge of the jungle I hopped on the back of his bike as we “put
putted” to the bungalow.
Mr Bow was a top bloke. Friendly and smiling he showed me around and explained
everything to me. The bungalow was on stilts with a veranda out the front. The room was
made of woven bamboo with a thatched roof and the double bed had mosquito net hung
in place. There was a table and an open cupboard. The bathroom was a tiled room with a
non-flushing western toilet in the corner, a trough of water in the middle and a flexible
shower nozzle on the wall to the right. In the corner was a hand basin and mirror. The
place was clean and had everything you needed including a wall-mounted fan pointing at
the bed. Another fear dissolved, the bungalow and restaurant were great and the people
friendly. “What a life” I though as I sat back in the open air restaurant with a cold beer
in my hand, a spectacular view and good conversation with Mr Bow.
As I reached the end of the island the tide was again in peak ebb and the now familiar
pressure waves and eddy line were at the point. I powered around ignoring the waves
only to be hit with another stunning view. It would take a long time to get sick of this.
There were caves to explore, islands everywhere covered in jungle that was dark and
foreboding. Cliffs that jutted straight up from the water with magnificent colours and the
occasional sca mpering monkey, spectacular bays with cool shaded sandy beaches,
unusual sounds and some of the biggest insects I have ever seen. I ignored the current
and headed straight for Ko Ku Du Yui. My plan was to round the island and pick up the
tide for a ten kilometer crossing to another group of islands. As I rounded the island I
found eddies and tiny whirlpools everywhere. They were not strong enough to affect my
paddling and it was fun to paddle through them.
As I headed out into smooth water I needed to head at about a 30° angle to the following
tide. A light wind sprung up at about a 45° angle off my bow giving me a small wind
wave. Still calm conditions but with a rudderless boat the combination of the two effects
kept turning my boat. By leaning and using a correction at the end of every right hand
stroke I could keep the course but it was starting to piss me off. I made a mental note
that when I bring people over on the next trip to make sure I have boats with rudders.
The crossing gave me time to reflect on my experience so far.
The village and its people were fantastic. They are not rich people but have a caring,
sharing, happy way of life that is infectious. In our busy, rich, life styles it’s easy to forget
the basics and spending time with these people highlights that. I am sure that the village
will impress people when I bring them over as it has been a highlight of my trip so far.
But it is not immune from the effects of big business.
If I got the story right it’s only about six years ago that the village was self sufficient as
they did not have to buy food in to survive. Now, fishing alone won’t support the people.
They have to have another means of earning money to sustain the village. Big business
from Bangkok and overseas has bought up all the land with beach access driving the
price up so it is out of reach of the local people. They of course will employ the villagers
but on a low subsistence wage that keeps them on the poverty line. Their only hope is to
cash in on the tourist business themselves. The problem is to maintain the village life as it
is and have tourism. In Phuket there is decadence that will destroy the village way of life.
One of the resorts built a bar with loud music, excessive alcohol and of course the next
thing would have been bar girls. The locals burned it down and good on them. This is a
challenge that is facing a lot of villages in the world today and I hope they find the right
formula because what they have now is very special.
They have changed my thinking on moderate Muslims. These people don’t drink but
didn’t mind me having a beer. At no time did I feel threatened or did they try to modify
my behavior. Mind you if you want to be treated the way I was it pays to be humble and
try to respect their way of life. If you give a little, they will give a lot and it is a good
feeling. One example of village life that stays with you is the trust. Bow wanted me to
leave my boat in the village instead of struggling to get it up to the bungalow at low tide.
I explained that it was too far to carry all my gear. He looked puzzled and said “Leave it
with the boat.”
I said “But what if it gets stolen?” He just laughed and said that the village would look
after it for me. It was then that it struck me that the bungalow had no lo cks, nor did the
restaurant, all the motorbikes had keys in the ignition, and the shop did not have enough
walls to lock up properly. Silly Australian.
With the aid of the current the 10 kilometers was a quick trip and then I was immersed in
dramatic islands again. As I nudged into yet another cave I felt sad to be leaving this
strange and wonderful world the next day. I will be back though, with a group of the right
tourists for the village. People who want to experience a different world without
destroying it. People who don’t want an air-conditioned, sterile world of organized tour
groups being shown a stereotyped, sanitized attraction. My little adventure turned out far
better than I could ever have expected.
Les Allen
