Langkawi to Phuket
01 January 2008
Jean
31st December 2007 Koh Phanak 8deg 10 N 98deg 29E Thailand
Langkawi to Phuket, Part 1.
Happy New Year. I have just realized it s nearly a month since I wrote about our wanderings. A lot has happened since the 2nd Dec, we have entered Thailand, Christmas and Andrew and Gemma have come and gone, now suddenly it is New Years Eve.
We spent the first 2 weeks of December anchored out side of Telaga Marina in a lovely bay and for a small fee we were able to use the marina facilities as well as receiving their wireless internet on the boat. Telaga is a bit away from shops and as there is no bus sevice on the island so we hired cars to get around.
The hire cars are cheap although it is a bit of a lottery as to what type of car turns up on the day, one day a sedate saloon car the next time a boy racer and once a rust bucket. No paper work to do, keys and money exchanged time for return agreed and the car is yours for the day. We did some trips around Langkawi visiting lovely beaches, restaurants, supermarkets and hardware shops.
There are always bits to buy for boats so hardware shops are not to be bypassed, there may be that screw or pipe that is needed sitting on the shelf. Most hardware shops we have been in are very haphazardly arranged, although the owner knows where everything is. The best (or worst) was in Singapore, a small shop jam packed, but the old guy knew exactly where everything was. When some one says, remember .. or did you go to that hardware in Singapore, we all know where they are talking about! In Langkawi we went to a hardware that was completely the opposite, every size screw, washer, bolt etc had its own container neatly stacked , easy to get at. Everything had its place, dusted, tidy and easy to see. So now when someone says did you go to that hardware shop in Langkawi we all know where they are talking about.
LIMA, the military show, dominated the first week or so we were at Langkawi. Jets screaming overhead, helicopters landing near the marina, men dangling on ropes underneath, formation flying jets painting the sky with coloured smoke were all hard to ignore. We shifted anchorage for a couple of days to get closer to the action, near the marine part of the show. Just half a mile away were about 25 war ships from Asian countries as well as an America ship. The American navy had an exclusion zone around their ship, a small gun boat strutted around the perimeter. At night all the ships were ablaze with lights giving a very festive atmosphere. Alan was keen to go to the show, I was happy to watch the fly overs from the boat. An ex Australian navy friend had contacts so trade passes for the show were available. Alan and several other yachties put on long trousers and good shirts and headed off to mix it with the suits and uniforms. They still looked like yachties to me but they were let in none the less. A good day was had inspecting and watching military hardware, a very Big Boys Toys day out.
Andrew and Gemma arrived a few days later , we filled in the days between LIMA and the kids with boat work, more sightseeing and tidying the boat in readiness for their arrival. They arrived on the ferry from Penang , an hour late. School holidays had meant more ferries and it was their bad luck to arrive on the last ferry which had taken an hour longer than usual. Alan and I filled in our time people watching the ferry passengers from the other 2 ferries disembark. Muslim families and young couples, the wife fully covered in black mixed with western backpackers as they streamed off the ferries eventually we spotted our own backpackers.
The anchorage at Telaga is at the base of a tall mountain which has a cable car up its steep sides and across between two peaks. We had decided to wait until Andrew and Gemma came to experience the ride together. Most days the weather was beautiful with clear sunny skies. When we came to do it the clouds rolled in and the rain spoiled the morning. We sat on the boat looking out hopefully at the clouds as they rolled across the mountain obscuring the cable car from view. We decided to go no matter what as next day was departure day. The clouds covered up some of the view which in a way was a good thing as it was along way to the ground. At the top of the mountain a suspension bridge has been built between two peaks, just to add to the whole nerve wracking experience. The bridge was over a steep ravine, 710 metres above the sea. The bridge moved a little in the wind and for those brave enough to look down, trees and clouds could be seen between the metal slats. Couples and groups walked gingerly across the cloudy bridge, some clinging for support others laughing as they waited for the clouds to clear for photos. A fellow sightseer stopped Andrew and Alan requesting a photo with them taken by his wife, the only thing visible were her beautiful black eyes and blue jeans peeking out from under her black gown. Why he wanted a photo with two pale faced westerners was puzzling. One could imagine all sorts of things but hopefully it was just an innocent request for a holiday snap. It was a bridge to nowhere so once across there was no option but to turn around and for some the return walk looked to be more frightening than the first crossing. I was able to look around a bit more on the return, even peering very briefly over the hand rail at the vertical terrain below. I was pleased to get back down on the ground again.
We left Langkawi for Thailand, the first group of islands just 25 miles away, we planned to stop at one of those islands, Koh Lipe. The chosen anchorage was too windy, luckily there was an alternative. We stayed 2 nights, each night the wind rose, whipping down the steep hillsides, screaming through the rigging, causing Talitha to constantly tug at the anchor, we were pleased to leave. The Butang islands had not lived up to their reputation as a beautiful destination. The next island stop was to be at Rok Nok , two large rocks, but a lovely anchorage, so people say!! We scooted along at 8 knots, Andrew on the helm loving the sailing. At Rok Nok the wind was howling through the anchorage , two yachts anchored there were rolling from side to side, a quick look at the guide book, Koh Lanta another 15 miles away looked much better for the night. 65 miles in one day is on our limit even though we had left just on day break. The wind stayed with us and we made Koh Lanta by 4pm, plenty of daylight left. Andrew had been on the helm all day, didn't need an autopilot with him on board. Once again the anchorage was calm to start then the wind rose in the night and howled through the rigging for half the night. Thailand was not starting out to be a very welcoming place, weather wise. The kids had had rain some part of every day since arriving in Singapore. We were all looking for sunny Thailand.
Our fourth day in Thailand the weather improved, the sun came out the wind died and we motored sailed to the Phi Phi islands. The Thai authorities give cruising boats a leeway of 5 to 7 days from clearing out of Malaysia until we have to clear in at a Thai port .Our Thailand experience truly started at the Phi Phis, we had 3 days to enjoy the warm water and lovely scenery before heading to Phuket to report to the authorities.