God's Handiwork: Phang Nga Bay

The day after our scuba diving trip, we had scheduled a boat trip around Phang Nga Bay with John Gray's Sea Canoe tours. We were to be picked up by van at 10:40 am. We were awake, breakfasted, slathered with sunscreen, dressed, and ready downstairs with four children, two car seats, two travel vest restraints, and packed bags by 10:35. The van arrived right on time; the driver couldn't make it down the street crowded with food stalls, parked mopeds, and pedestrians, so we carried all our supplies to the van. The driver and the one other passenger were kind and patient while we buckled everyone in. Every seat had a working seat belt, and the driver was courteous and calm. We traveled to the northeast portion of the island, down a narrow road lined with rickety wooden houses on stilts, and arrived at the Phang Nga Bay marina.

Two boat loads of people gathered at benches by a small tourist shop. We were told that water and tea would be provided on the boat but that now was the time to buy soda or alcohol if we desired. We divided into our respective groups then walked down to the long pier. A few song-thaew drove us to the end of the pier where we walked down the gangplank to board the boat. About 40 of us settled down along the seat on the second deck to enjoy the views and breeze. We were treated to many scenic vistas as our boat made its way to our first stop.

 Any boat trip around Phang Nga Bay reveals many striking tower karst, magnificent pillars of rock, dominating the seascape of gentle waves. Any geographical feature of limestone which experiences attrition over time is known as karst. The particular attributes of the wind and water of the area determine shape of the karst. The tropical climate of Thailand and the monsoon seasons have developed the towers as well as many curious islands with "hong" which is Thai for room. Caves form on the outside of a small island, working their way under the main rock to finally create an area open to the sky but completely enclosed by rock.

We divided into pairs with each assigned a guide. The guides paddled us around on inflatable sea kayaks, exploring caves and hong. As we had forgotten to bring Simeon's life jacket and none of the ones available were even close to fitting, we took turns staying on the big boat with him. Grandpa partnered with Hollis, Eris went with Grandma, and Meriel road with Daddy. They went through a cave path that was just the beginnings of water wearing at the limestone. The guides had headlamps and everyone had to lay down to safely sail through the cave. Simeon and I got to watch the trail of kayaks from the boat as we trolled along from one inlet of the island to another.

It was fun to have some time with just Simeon. We explored the boat, climbed on the roof deck, peeked in the galley, and charmed the small crew (Simeon did this, not me). We had the best views of sea eagles soaring in the brilliant blue sky and egrets picking around the cliff edges of the island. When the girls returned, they told us that they had seen a monkey, lots of crabs, colorful soft coral, and mudskippers - fish that live on land. The next island we visited, I got to go out on a kayak with Hollis and guide Tiger. The three guides paddled to keep our family together. Light filtered down through mahogany leaves of the trees clinging to the sides of the hong. The air was cool, the waves calm, so separate from the glare and swell of the open bay.

I had the chance to see all the creatures the girls had seen on the other trip except for a monkey. Fiddler crabs waved their huge claws as they scurried all over the mudflats. Smaller crabs with intricate designs on their shells in bright greens, reds, and blues poked out from the craggy sides of the island, blending in with the similarly colored soft coral. We returned to the boat to drop Tiger off, and Hollis and I got to paddle around on our own. After exploring a bit, we drifted back toward the boat where Simeon peered out over the upper deck with Grandma holding on to him. We were spotted, so I had to wind up our carefree splashing and return to him.

After supper, the guides helped each pair make a kratong. Loi Kratong is a Thai holiday that takes place in November, celebrating light. Traditionally, Thais make a kratong out of a slice of banana tree trunk decorated with banana leaves and flowers. Candles and incense are lit before floating the kratong in a body of water. We made a kratong out of bread and banana leaves and flowers from our yard for the holiday. However, since most tourists aren't here for the actual holiday, the tour shows group how to make a kratong no matter what the month. These guys make a kratong every evening, so they are very good at it. We saw many elaborate floats; they even showed us how to make little birds out of orchid buds. One of the guides made four little birds perched on a flower stem swing.

After we finished the kratong, a few passenger spotted some dolphins passing by off the stern. We all rushed back; the adults managed to catch some glimpses of the gracefully quick swimming creatures, but they were not frolicking around, so the girls couldn't tell them from the crests of the waves. We then relaxed in the bow to watch the sun set in all its brilliant orange glory behind the island of Phuket. We finished the evening with sailing our kratong in the the caves along an island; however, we did not set them free. Since this is done every evening, too many kratong would be left floating in the Sea. We splashed in the water around the edge of the kayaks to get a glimpse of reverse photosynthesis from the phytoplankton before heading back to the boat for the ride back to the marina.

Unfortunately, clouds rolled in so we didn't get to see many stars. It was a peaceful ride, though, without other boat traffic, just the sounds of the waves lapping against the hull. Hollis hopped around trying to keep herself awake, but finally even she calmed down and just enjoyed the sky and sea as we approached the harbor. We had all enjoyed God's beautiful creation!