Reminders:
Photo Galleries: The pictures you see embedded in the post are only a subset of the pictures in the galley for this posting. If you are reading this in email, you need to click into the website to see all the pictures. You can click on the first picture in the gallery and then arrow through reading the descriptions. This is also true for all the past postings in case you missed them.

Videos: We try to avoid doing videos but there are a few. Some people who get their posts by email have trouble viewing them from there. In that case, you may need to click into the website to see them.

Soundtrack: Neil created a playlist of instrumental music on Spotify to help us get in the proper mindset for writing about our recent adventures. You may enjoy listening to it while you read. Accounts on Spotify are free and you’ll need one to listen at this link: Bali Soundtrack.

Sunday, October 1, Day 5 continued

The boat anchored at Ko Hong island after our afternoon tea. The guides were all in the water with the canoes by the time we went down the steps for our next canoe exploration. As a couple would reach the bottom of the steps, their guide would paddle up to the fantail for them to load. We were happy to be near the end. Wonderful cooking aromas were also wafting through the boat. Mid-ship on the lower deck was a kitchen with two conventional gas stoves where 3 women were cooking in woks almost continually through the trip. As we watched them while standing on the fantail waiting to board our canoe for our exploration of Ko Hong island, one of the cooks tossed a handful of chilies into a wok and the pungent spicy steam hit the air. It was like someone kicked an anthill. Everyone started coughing, even the crew, as they rushed around seeking fresh air. The cook looked at us apologetically but we gave her the thumbs up that it smelled great even as our eyes watered and we coughed. We quickly jumped into our canoe to get away.

Nga National Park ranger station across from Ko Hong island has a radio tower and a small cabin barely visible on the beach. Tour captains report by radio their daily passenger counts and the tour companies are charged accordingly (our entrance fee was included with the price). Because of watery eyes and coughing, Neil barely had the camera ready as we paddled under a large limestone archway into the hong. The tide was still receding and mud was appearing at the edges of the lagoon. We stopped to look for mudskippers and fiddler crabs. Centered at the opposite open entrance to the lagoon is a large pillar of limestone. Bau named this as “James Bond 2”. The James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun made this limestone island bay famous with the villain’s lair located inside one of these limestone islands. (The lair was really on a studio stage but the external shots are real.) The island was nicknamed “James Bond Island” and it receives over 1000 visitors a day. We gave it a miss. But I didn’t know there was another “pillar” used in the filming, or maybe this one is just a look-alike that was nicknamed. Now I have to watch the movie again. We cruised around the outside of the island under the “elephant rock” and headed back to the boat as we watched the Sea Eagles circling and fishing in the wake of a departing boat.

Before dinner, our guides educated us about the Loy Kratong Thai traditional festival held to pay homage to the goddess of rivers and waterways. It is traditionally held on the night of the 12th full moon of the year. Bau explained that the Kratong are launched down rivers and into the sea. Bau helped us build a Kratong out of flowers and banana leaves attached to a buoyant segment of banana stalk. I love that John Gray Sea Canoe is an eco-friendly company and they avoid the use of disposable plastic and work to protect the ocean from trash. For instance, they provided us drinking water in glass reusable bottles instead of plastic bottles. Since we were using metal nails in our Kratong to expedite the construction we would therefore collect ours back from the ocean after the candles burned so we would not contaminate the ocean with the nails. Bau pulled out the shiny stainless steel nails for re-use.

After we viewed the sunset colors, it was time for our final feast. It was a fun production to watch a human chain of crew members handing all the dishes up the stairs from below deck. Let’s see if I can name all the dishes we were served for dinner: Tom Yum Soup, Masaman Curry and rice, Satay and peanut sauce, Fried Rice, Pad Thai, Cashew Chicken, Minced Beef,  Whole Fried Fish, plus Bananas in Coconut Milk for dessert. In addition, there were four vegetarian dishes on a different table to accommodate the vegetarian passengers. As we stuffed ourselves, we were warmed by the laughter from the crew’s lounge downstairs as they relaxed and enjoyed their dinner. We never figured out which dish was the one that made everyone cough.

Once again, the crew launched the canoes and we carried our Kratong down the steps to load in the canoe with Bau. Neil didn’t bring the camera for this trip because it was pitch black, and he didn’t want to disrupt the occasion with flash photography. All the canoes headed to a dark overhang cave under the island and Bau lit the candles and incense for us. Neil and I launched the Kratong after thinking of a wish and sat to enjoy the peace. Later, as we pulled the Kratong back in the canoe in the dark, our eyes had dark adapted enough to see the bioluminescent plankton sparkling as the water was disturbed by our hands and the paddle. 

We had a clear starlit sky overhead for our return trip allowing us to enjoy the unusually bright Milky Way from the bow. It was a beautiful end to the day.

Sunday, October 1, Day 5 

Exploration day to Phang Nga Bay! We booked a day excursion with John Gray’s Sea Canoe to explore sea caves and inner lagoons among the marine limestone rock islands in the Phang Nga Bay in the northern reaches of the Andaman Sea off the northeast coast of Phuket. The Hong by Starlight tour starts midday and ends after dark thereby missing the most crowded times. We loved the all-inclusive tour that included transport to and from our hotel. 

After an hour drive in the frigid minivan (do they think the only setting is MAX?), we arrived at the office at Ao Po Harbor and loaded on another bus that drove us down the pier to the boat ready for our noon departure. The upper boat deck was for the passengers (26 of us) and the lower deck was for the crew, the kitchen staff, and the canoes. They passed out bright orange life jackets that we had to place over our heads (but we didn’t have to don properly) because the harbor departures were monitored by closed circuit video and if any passenger didn’t have on a bright orange life jacket, the boat would receive a fine! As soon as we were past the cameras, we could take them off and never needed to use them for the rest of the trip.

It was a perfect day to be on the water–sunny and no wind. In the one-hour boat cruise to Phanak Island, we were served a delicious Thai lunch and given a briefing. Each couple would have a personal guide who would paddle us through the Tidal Nape Sea Caves. We drew names out of a hat and I drew Bau as our guide for the day. Entrance to the caves are tide dependent; some are inaccessible during high tide and others are too shallow to access at low tide. While waiting for the tide to go down enough, Neil and I (and all the passengers) were given free time to paddle our own canoe and swim in a protected bay. Paddling under the overhangs, we had to be vigilant to avoid hitting the stalactites with our heads. Amazing! The ocean temperature was a balmy 86 degrees and was lovely for a swim. According to our guide the green ocean color was because of the limestone “dust” that creates a muddy bottom. 

Bau took over the paddle in the rear of the canoe and Neil headed to the front as our photographer. As we approached Oyster Cave, Bau had us lay back flat to traverse the cave. There were times when I felt my nose would touch the ceiling. And then we exited into this awesome internal lagoon in the middle of the limestone island! Such places are called hong in the Thai language, and the word is also used to mean room or chamber. It was so peaceful and tranquil (until a few other canoers needed to yell to each other, ha).The following video is us traveling through Oyster Cave:

We exited out the way we came in and continued paddling under the overhangs on our way to Bat Cave. This cave passage is longer, about 150 meters or about 500 feet, and has much higher ceilings. The guides used lights to show us the features including yellow insect bats that hang overhead in the dark interior of the ceilings. The inner lagoon seemed even larger and included some mangrove trees. The depth at places was only 3 feet and we could see where it would be inaccessible at low tide. The following video is us entering into Bat Cave:

Back to the boat, the crew quickly helped us offload and they stacked all 14 canoes high on the deck for transition to the next stop of Ko Hong island. We were offered afternoon tea and coffee plus fruit and little sandwiches. The views from the front of the boat were so impressive, we spent the time watching new islands come into view. We couldn’t understand the people next to us who put their nose in their phones for the transition!

Friday, September 29, Day 3

After two days of clouds and rain, we woke to sunshine.

We were each going in for major work today so we had a typical (local style) breakfast at our new favorite backstreet SAW Thai restaurant by the hotel. Pad Thai for me (my new favorite comfort food) and Seafood Stir-fry with lemongrass, holy basil, and morning glory vines for Neil. Suddenly Neil started chuckling and said to replay our conversation in my head and imagine we’re in Ohio. He’s right, what seems like normal breakfast conversation to us would seem mighty strange to the folks back home. I had said “The chicken is a little tough.” He said “The squid is nice and tender.” Both dishes were delicious. By the way, the seafood porridge Neil had in Cambodia is apparently a common thing. We’ve seen it on menus here.

The dental work seemed fast and easy to me, except for the last hour. I was in the chair for just under 4 hours total. They worked in 3 quadrants of my mouth and did 5 different procedures! My next appointment is Tuesday for the crowns.

Neil had the deep cleaning done in all 4 quadrants of his mouth and it took almost an hour and a half. He sat in the lobby for 2 more hours waiting for me to finish, then he went out for take-out Indian dal for us to eat this afternoon and evening since it won’t require chewing (it was delicious). Now we’re laying around like wounded puppies. 

Saturday, September 30, Day 4

No appointments, no schedule. Still we woke about 6:30 am to another sunny HOT HUMID morning. We had our usual morning matcha green tea latte. (Yes, we packed a plastic container of our matcha tea and even a container of our signature chai blend.)  We decided to find a path to the beach today. Patong town is one of the beach communities along the west coast of Phuket island. We thought we were beating the heat going early and walking in the sand but when Neil went to take my photo, we found my shirt was showing a big wet sweat ring at the neck, oh well. On the way home from the beach we walked through the Banzaan local market that Neil had discovered the day he explored. It is like a supermarket where each department is owned by a different shopkeeper. I like that the profits go to the industrious shopkeepers rather than to a distant mega-corporation paying minimum wage. We got refreshing coconuts to drink while we walked.

For my first meal of the day, I tried something different than Pad Thai, ha. The flavor of everything is so good at our little backstreet SAW Thai restaurant. It’s a popular place with the locals and they do a brisk business for the meal delivery services too. Afterwards, we retreated inside from the afternoon heat and spent time writing and working on photos.

We went back to the beach for sunset, along with a few thousand other people. So much activity going on. The parasailers were particularly eye-catching. The sunset was gorgeous.

We headed to Phuket, Thailand, for dental work and perhaps a little touring. Phuket (the h is silent) Island is known for its beaches and its access to smaller resort islands with clear water snorkeling and diving.  As we researched what we wanted to see, there wasn’t that much on the island itself. We did have a one-day canoe boat adventure but spent the rest of our time in Patong town where we were staying. Although we spent most of our time in an urban setting, Neil found a plethora of color settings to photograph.

Tuesday,  September 26. Arrival Day  Phuket Arrival

We went through customs twice on our way to Phuket. On our layover in Bangkok, all our carryons were thoroughly screened again. My backpack, for example, they ran through the scanner 3 times, adjusting it to a different position each time. They pulled out and closely examined things no other screening has ever bothered with–like a little plastic bottle of coconut palm sugar we put in our tea.

Passport control was kind of like the criminal booking process you see on TV, including taking our photos and fingerprints. “Plee put you righ finga hea [on the scanner for my 4 fingerprints], plee put you lef finga hea, plee put bot you tums hea…”

It was a 1 hour taxi ride from the airport to the hotel. From 8 to 9 at night the roads were mostly clear and traffic moved fast. The driver spoke no English and never said a word to us. He would just smile and gesture to the door or nod his head. The evening was cooling off and humidity was very high, close to the dew point. The driver kept his AC so cold (62 F) that condensation kept forming on the outside of the windows making the view in every direction blurry. About every 5 minutes he had to run the windshield wipers to clear away the fog so he could see the road. Luckily I had sarongs in my backpack and we used them as blankets over our legs and jackets to stay warm in the back seat. 

We were happy to arrive at the Amata Patong hotel and collapsed into bed without much unpacking as we were exhausted (pronounced ama-ta).

Wednesday, September 27, Day 1 

We had been given a deluxe room on the 3rd floor (out of 6 floors) and it overlooked the lobby arrival driveway. The hotel is three buildings in a U shape and everything echoes up between the buildings at the base of the U where we were. First we had loud music till after 2 am and the rest of the night was shouting voices of the jovial taxi drivers conversing in the wee hours till morning. Taxis and motor coaches waiting for passengers would idle below us, within spitting distance, and by 4 am Neil was tempted. After our morning tea, we took our bloodshot eyes down to request a new room on a higher floor. We settled on a 5th floor room that faced the hills behind town, on the opposite side from the pool and lobby arrival area and hopefully away from the noise.

It rained all night and it was still raining in the morning. We put on our (cheap Cambodian) plastic raincoats and used the small umbrellas provided by the hotel before setting out to find the SeaSmile Dental Clinic for our morning appointments. They had emailed us a basic map but it didn’t have our hotel on it (even though the hotel is recommended on their website) and the front lobby gave us incorrect directions so we went in the wrong direction down the street. At 7 am 95% of everything was still closed except for a few places preparing to open at 8. We found our way back and had time to stop for a breakfast of Pad Thai before our appointments. 

The appointments were to setup our dental plans for the week. The staff and dentists at the Phuket SeaSmile Clinic are all really friendly and competent. The short version is Neil came to get implants of his four lower front teeth, however, the specialist doesn’t think he has enough bone density for the implants at this time. Neil’s major work was to have a deep plaque cleaning. My major work to be done was two root canals and crowns, three fillings, and a few upper molars extracted. (It took time to internalize the need for extractions and a second meeting with the specialist to explain the need for them. I am resolved to it now because the teeth are in the spot where I have been having pain and I can see the infection on the x-rays.) I can get implants later when the infection has healed and the bones build back up. 

With our plans decided, we had a nice Indian lunch and then settled into our new room.

Thursday, September 28, Day 2

We like our new room so much better. Sitting on the bed writing this, I have a pretty view of the verdant green hill backing the town. It was blessedly quiet and we slept well. Neil noted that on the 5th floor rather than selecting a certain temperature for your shower, you select a temperature range. He said he set it for the range stimulatingly hot to breathtakingly cold. He estimates someone on a lower floor flushes their toilet about every 10 to 15 seconds. 

While I went in for my dental procedures (2 root canals on opposite sides of the mouth) Neil decided to see if he could walk to the temple monastery we see on the hill. Not an easy goal. It cannot be seen from street level but Neil reckoned he could show people the photo he took from our balcony and gesture for directions. Turns out none of the half dozen locals he showed the picture to knew how to get there. Some of them seemed to have no idea what or where it was. Neil has excellent bushwhacking skills and eventually he set off straight up the hill following a little footpath. It might well have gone to the temple but he turned around when it appeared to go into a secluded homestead hidden up in the forest. He might have made friends with a reclusive hermit, or been shot at. He decided not to find out.

On the bright side, he walked several kilometers through back streets where the locals lived, shopped, and ate. He found some busy little hole-in-the-wall restaurants where hotel and shop workers go. It’s always a good sign to find a busy place where we’re the only Caucasians in the area. It means the place earns its customers by providing good food at a fair price. And one place near our hotel has the best tasting Thai food we’ve found since we’ve been here.

I started reading about what to do and see in Phuket as I rested in the afternoon.  Number 4 on the list was “Party On Bangla Road” which turns out is in Patong town three blocks from our hotel. We walked past the street with the sign across it the morning when we went the wrong way looking for the clinic. We decided to check it out on our way to dinner. And once was enough. Soi Bangla is the Patong nightlife street that comes alive after dark with restaurants, bars, GoGo bars, and dancing girls who probably look young and pretty when you have your beer goggles on. It is full of hawkers getting in your face trying to get you to go in their bar, loud blaring music spilling into the street and huge overhead video screens with visually jarring ads playing all along the street. Lots of young drunk loud college kids (mostly Australian), and plenty of seedy barfly expats. Not our scene.

Neil’s note: We were walking down the street in a fairly congested tourist area when we heard someone behind us call out “Hey young man!” I turned around to respond but the guy was intent on someone else. An Aussie woman nearby said “Why did you look?” Sheepishly, I turned to answer her but she was elbowing her husband, who also looked sheepish. Thing is… he was younger than me!!! Hahaha!! I guess world travelers are just young at heart!