John Gray's Sea Canoe Overnight Expedition - 2 Days & 1 Night Exploring Phang Nga Bay by Kayak - Day 2

Phang Nga Bay Expedition Express trip report: Day 1 | Day 2

The best sea view "room"

I woke up around 7:00 when the sun was already high enough to warm up my tent, and when I unzipped the tent I was welcomed by a beautiful scenery with some of the limestone islands of Phang Nga Bay at the horizon, it was the best sea view "room" in the world!

While my fellow travellers where still in their tents the staff quickly prepared an abundant picnic breakfast, there was food to suit all habits, from scrambled eggs to bakery stuff and fruit along with tea and coffee.

Campsite on Panak Island

Our unique breakfast

After breakfast and some relax time our support longtail boat arrived, it was time to move for some self paddling canoe, one couple had booked a different program so the group was split. Starting from our beach camp we circumnavigated about half of Panak Island and reached a cave, a different one from those we visited on the previous day. This time there was no water in the cave so we parked our canoes on a tiny sand stripe at the entrance and walked through a long tunnel which once again ended up in a hong.

Mud Skippers

Due to very low tide also the hong had no water at the time so we could walk around and see some huge mangrove trees and some funny Mud Skippers, a kind of fish with the ability of breathing air and hop around the muddy floor when the tide is low.

Back on the canoe we paddled further and got to a little beach hidden between two cliffs, at first glance it was nothing special but then the guide showed us an old wooden ladder that was leading to a hole a couple of meters above the ground, it was the entrance to another cave but once again it was different from the previous one, we never got bored of seeing caves because each one had its peculiarities. This particular one is called "Icecream Cave" because there are plenty of white and brown stalactites and stalagmites which were mixing together and really looked like huge ice creams. 

Some of the magic in Phang Nga Bay

Once back outside we loaded our canoes on the support boat and started cruising east towards a new island where we had some more self paddling around, this time no caves but beautiful environment and landscapes. Later with the boat we moved further east to the Krabi side of the bay and stopped at Pakbia Island which has a nice quiet beach and clear water with the opportunity to do fairly good snorkeling, here we had about 1 hour free time to enjoy the place at leisure.

Cruising towards Pakbia Island

Little corner of Parafise at Pakbia Island

When it was about 12:30 we cruised to the little Thalen Pier whiich is located not far from Ao Nang, there we had another great meal at a local restaurant, this time was a seafood set menu lunch. Time to part ways with my new friends Josh and Maggie, they got a car waiting for them to transfer them to Ao Nang and then a short boat ride to Railay Beach where they had booked their new hotel, while I returned strait to Phuket with the fast and comfortable long tail boat. The journey back took about 2 hours, just enjoyed the breeze and the navigation admiring the landscape, there are more than 50 small limestone islets all around. We finally reached Ao Por Pier around 17:00.

Great lunch at local restaurant

A big thanks to the very professional and friendly staff who took very good care of all the guests allowing us to have a truly unforgettable experience. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who wishes to have an original and safe adventure off the beaten track, just remember that accommodation is in a tent so it's very basic and definitely not as comfortable as a hotel. As long as you don't have back ache issues or similar health conditions the experience is definitely worth the effort, after all it's just for one night.

Phang Nga Bay Expedition Express trip report: Day 1 | Day 2

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John Gray's Sea Canoe Overnight Expedition - 2 Days & 1 Night exploring Phang Nga Bay by Kayak - Day 1

Phang Nga Bay Expedition Express trip report: Day 1 | Day 2

For this first day of the Overnight Expedition Express by John Gray's Sea Canoe we followed the same itinerary of the Hong By Starlight Tour, sharing the boat with the day trippers.

JGSC Escort Boat

According to the tide prediction of the day I was picked up on time at 12:00 and transferred to Ao Por marina where all participants were gathered at a restaurant for the count, then after the staff introduced themselves we got on the "escort boat". Once on board the tour leader did a safety briefing about the do's and don'ts on the boat while we started cruising towards Phang Nga Bay. There were about 25 guests on board plus many guides though there was plenty of space for everybody, fruits and soft drinks available all the time, the boat also has a toilet on the lower deck.

When we were about half way to destination a light buffet lunch was served, mostly vegetarian choices and plenty of food for everyone.

Safety birefing

After lunch we were given a very detailed briefing about the canoe session that we were about to enjoy, the guide in charge was using maps and other funny pictures which made the briefing interesting so people didn't miss the important parts. We then finally got to our first stop which was at Panak island, a canoe and an English speaking guide/paddler was provided each 2 people, all the guides are kind and knowledgeable about the local environment providing a lot of information and smiling all the time. In the meanwhile we were paddling from the moored boat towards a high and steep limestone cliff with a dark cave entrance at the bottom.

Cave entrance

Once we went deeper into the tunnel it was pitch black so the guides turned their flashlights on, the tunnel was large and very long and we could see hundreds of bats sleeping while hanging on the ceiling. After about 200m the cave started to get more and more narrow to the point that we had to lay down horizontally and deflate the canoe a bit in order to move forward, when we managed to pass through the little hole I realised that we entered another world. This was one of the so called "hongs" (Thai word for "room"), a large hidden lagoon completely surrounded by limestone cliffs covered in lush vegetation, only accessible through a cave.

Inside a hong

The atmosphere inside the hong is surreal, you can find absolute silence only broken by the animal sounds. The effects by the light filtering through the trees was amazing and could see plenty of sea eagles flying above us. Looking carefully into the trees we also spotted some large hornbills and monkeys (long tailed macaques) laying on the rocks. After about an hour exploring this hong we went out again trough the cave and then to a smaller lagoon before returning to the boat. 

The very narrow hong access point

We immediately started cruising towards the other side of the island and during navigation we were followed by a flock of sea eagles "hunting" some pieces of chicken skin that where tossed from the kitchen, quite impressive! When we reached our destination we had some free time to self paddle, swim and relax on the beach, this was also the place where we would later spend the night camping. There were few other boats from other tour operators moored here and many people wandering around though they left very soon as they were at the end of their day while we still had plenty of time to go. 

Diamond-like Calcium carbonate

Once back on board the guides provided us banana leaves, flowers and needles to teach us how to build a traditional krathong, this part was interesting and a particular experience of Thai culture. Before sunset we moved to the nearby Hong Island and went for another canoe session through caves and hongs, pretty similar to the first though in this cave there were some formations of calcium carbonate that was shining like diamond when hit by the light from the torches, therefore it was called "Diamond Cave". 

Krathong construction...well done!

Back again on the boat a great Thai buffet dinner was waiting for us, this time there was more choice with both seafood and chicken curry dishes plus some vegetarian option. By the time we had our dinner it got dark, so the tour leader gave us a detailed explanation about Thai culture and history related to the Loy Krathong festival, all this in preparation for what we were about to experience. Once ready we finally went for our last canoe session into a hong, this time in the total darkness. When we all got into the hong we lit the candles and launched our self-made krathongs, all the candles floating in the dark together with their reflection in the water made it a truly magical moment. In respect of the environment before heading back to the boat we recovered all our krathongs, though they are mostly made with natural components there were also too many steel nails in them to be left there, it's good to be Eco-friendly.

Panak Island's beach - overnight campsite

While most guests returned to Phuket, the 5 of us who chose to stay overnight were left on the tiny secluded beach at Panak island together with few of the guides. They already prepared the camp site with tents, fire, oil lamps and all the supplies we could ever need. Everything was perfectly organised and it was nice to be just a handful of people from different countries chatting around a fire on a remote beach, all under a starry sky. Unfortunately as it often happens in tropics the weather quickly changed and in a couple of hours a short thunderstorm came, time to go to sleep. The tents were set under a limestone cliff and a large tree so we were well sheltered from the heavy rain, it actually cooled down the temperature enough to allow us a nice sleep and be fresh for the second day of our adventure.

Sunset in Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Bay Expedition Express trip report: Day 1 | Day 2

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Full Day Krabi Kayaking Trip

Mangrove Kayaking

This kayaking tour will take you off the beaten track to the unspoilt part of Thambok Koranee National Park - Krabi Province. Here you will enjoy 3 hours Kayaking through the fascinating mangrove channels and  limestone caves, where you also have the opportunity to spot some of the interesting local wildlife. You will also spend some time at the beautiful waterfall in the National Park where you can have a cooling swim, while later you will pay a visit to one of the most interesting and unique temples in the province, "Wat Bang Rieng".

Hidden Limestone Bay

Cave Kayaking

Itinerary:

Thambok Koranee Waterfall

• 7:00-7:45 Pick up at your Phuket Hotel and drive north towards Krabi Province.
• 9:30-9:45 Coffee break at the restaurant
• 10:00 Approximately 3 hours Kayaking through the mangroves and lagoon, then the caves of "Tham Lod" and "Tham Pi Hua To". You can choose to paddle yourself or let the friendly trained paddlers provided do it for you.
• 13:00 Back to start point and enjoy a tasty Set Menu Lunch at the scenic raft restaurant.
• 14:00 Move to the beautiful waterfalls, just 10 minutes away in Thambok Koranee National Park.
  Spend one hour playing and relaxing at the waterfalls.
• 15:00 Move to the spectacular Temple "Wat Bang Rieng" (a.k.a. Patronage Temple) where you can take great pictures and with a bit of luck can also spot the local "giant black squirrel".
• 16:30 Head back to Phuket.
• 18:00-18:30 Arrive back at your hotel.

Wat Bang Rieng

Price: Adult 3,000 THB per person - Child (4-11 yrs) 2,000 THB per person

Included: round trip Phuket hotel transfer (hotels in remote areas may require surcharge), Thai Set Menu Lunch (vegetarian on request), refreshments, National Park and Temple admission fees, English speaking guide, Kayaking gear and waterproof bags, tax and insurance.

What to bring: swim wear, sunglasses, sun screen, camera, spare dry clothes.

Wat Bang Rieng

NOTES: the order of the stops may vary depending on daily tidal situation in order to provide the nicest experience to the guests. This program is not recommended to children below 3 years of age.
Transfers from Krabi/Ao Nang hotels are possible, must check case by case.

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Wat Bang Rieng

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