6 months on! Lots of Hongs & Islands

Well time for a new update!

We have been having a great time exploring Phang Nga bay, on the west coast of Thailand. A great cruising ground with stunning scenery - limestone Karst islands, jungle clad mountains and deserted islands, hongs and caves, monkeys, squirrels and hornbills. The "off-season" for tourisim has been great. It has been the wet season but I feel we had more rain in Noosa!

We often see the rain approaching Phuket but then it follows the bay around and often doesn't come out to the islands. We feel Phang Nga bay is a great place to spend the wet season and so much to do.

We have enjoyed the more remote islands like Butang island group, Ko Rok Nok, the 5 islands and Pileh bay on Ko Phi Phi Ley. These are secluded spots, clear water and no tourist accomodation or restaurants!

The karst islands and mainland rivers are dotted with hongs (thai word for room), caves and tunnels formed from the limestone dissolving, collapsing and forming hidden "rooms".

Our favourites:
We recomend the "20 hongs" just south of the Muslim village on Ko Thalu Nok. It is like swiss cheese. There are so many tunnels leading to hidden hongs and so many turnings it is easy to get lost! Fasinating to explore on the kayak but at high tide even the 2.4m Aquapro could access the majority of the caves, hongs & tunnels.

We also recommend "Bor Thor". This is an area in the far NE corner of Phang Nga Bay. It is on the edge of the chart, Cmap finishes here. No you don't fall off the end of the world! You have to pass through the "Pillars of Herecules" to get there! (Two large island senteniels either side of a deep channel!)

Bor Thor has 4 areas worth a visit. The best way to see this area is to go as far up the river as you can. At the end of the mangrove lined river , the water appears to come out from under the mountain! There is a 200m long tunnel going under the mountain. You need to turn off the engine as there are bats and you don't want to gas them. You have to walk your hands along the ceiling to get the dinghy through. At the end of the tunnel, the mountain opens to a hidden valley but time is short as the tide is ebbing! Back through the tunnel and down the river. Before you reach the village, there is another tunnel in the same mountian 25m long which opens into a wonderful hong with rainforest coated walls, giant palms that look like they come from prehistoric times! It is just as good as Ko Muk's emerald cave but alas without the sandy beach. Next stop is lunch at the village. Next is the limestone tunnel visited by the kayak tourist companies. A 100m long tunnel with cathedral ceilings. The last stop before returning to the boat is a giant cave which houses the oldest cave paintings in Thailand. The cave is very dramatic with a 100 paintiungs of people, animals, birds and fish. You can imagine the people who lived here. An exceptional cave.

We have had visits from my parents, John's mum and Amanda, our fantastic post lady! We've really enjoyed having visitors and had some memorable experiences! We are looking forward to our next visitor at the end of this month - Nathan Stanton.

Thailand has been a real highlight for us. The kids love the area, the food is delicious and the people very friendly. I would recommend anyone to visit here.

We are now in Penang, Malaysia getting another visa for thailand so we can stay until March 2009.

More news soon...........

Blue Moon - Parents in Phuket

Sorry this has been a long time in coming!

We have had a great time in Thailand. Since hitting the Burmese (Myanmar)border and snorkelling and diving the Surins and Similans we have spent the last 2 months in the Phuket area.

There is a lot to do here both man made and natural.

My parents flew from the UK to spend a month in Thailand with us. We spent the first two weeks on Blue Moon touring the islands of Phang Nga Bay. Phuket Island is a spur of land connected to the mainland by a bridge. It is 55km long and there is a huge bay to the east of this spur which is very sheltered and is completely stunning. Huge limestone pinacles jut out of the sea and hold hidden treasures within. These are the bird nest islands made famous by the James bond film "Man with the golden gun". They have even changed the name to the island and it is now known as James Bond Island! Some of the islands contain "hongs" (the thai word for room). This is collapsed cave whose top is now open. Some of these hongs are entered through long caves only accessible by dinghy or kayak and are spectacular.

We have not been 100% healthy in the last 2 months. We have all had at least one cold and Jamie has had another visit to hospital. He managed to cut a finger on his right hand open. He needed 8 stitches at Ko Phi Phi Don. We were lucky, they have a very flash hospital there since the Tsunami struck in 2004.

We have explored Phuket and have ridden and swum with elephants, seen gibbons in the wild and in a rehabilitation centre, waterfalls, scorpions, fireflies, been to a fantastic shell museum which leaves my collection for dead. It is one of the best collections i have ever seen. We have been to a butterfly and insectarium, an orchid farm, rockclimbed in Krabi, swum at the beach from the movie "the Beach". It is actually a well known tourist spot called Phi Phi Ley. Of course we watched the movie while we were there!! The scenery for the movie is truly what it is like here in Phang Nga Bay. The story line is not!!

The food in Thailand is superb! We have had fisherman come to the boat selling lobster, giant prawns, squid, green prawns that are still fresh and kicking. The most delicious prawns i have ever tasted. Whole fish is very good too. The thais certainly know how to cook their food! And the bonus is, it is so cheap. Our most expensive meal for 6 has been A$60 including beer!Generally meal for 4 is A$10-15 including drinks.

We leave Phuket on Tuesday as we have to clear out of Thailand and will be going to Langkawi for a month. We plan to come back to Thailand again in July in time for Natashas birthday.

We will be in this area between Langkawi and Phuket for the next year. We will head back to Singapore and on to Borneo, Philippines and Indonesia around March 2009. That's the plan anyway......!

Thank you everyone who were concerned about not hearing from us! We appreciated your emails, we have just been too busy entertaining guests and enjoying Thailand.