Exploring Ao Phrang Nga

The sky was overcast and grey, not very inspiring conditions for setting sail on a 120nm passage. As the weather dictates our daily life, ordinarily we would have chosen to stay put and wait for better conditions. However, our friends were planning to arrive in Phuket to visit us in one weeks time, and we had best be on our way to meet them. We had spent the last two weeks in Telaga harbor in Langkawi, painting our mast and varnishing the interior of our boat. The calm, flat water in Telaga harbor provides an excellent anchorage for doing boat projects. It is also quiet and peaceful and has a nice community of cruisers. The sail began with light variable winds punctuated by squalls. The squalls tended to come from the direction in which we were trying to go, so even the wind that they provided was not always very helpful. During a lull with no wind, we dropped sail. A slight current was pulling us backwards. We had seen various moorings in the middle of the sea in this area that were used by local fishing boats. We decided to turn on the motor and drive towards the closest one and wait either for wind or for the current to switch in our favor. We turned on the motor and put the engine in gear. We could hear a clicking sound and the boat was not moving forward. We opened the engine compartment and discovered that the transmission was not engaging into forward gear. After some experimenting, we discovered that the problem was not with the control cables, but was a problem with the transmission itself. Reverse worked fine. We would have to sail engineless to Phuket. We hoped that we would have enough wind to make it there before our friends arrived. The rest of the sail went something like this: No wind, current pulling us backwards, drop sail, drop lightweight anchor in 200 feet, and wait for wind. Wind would come after a few hours and we would raise sail and haul up the anchor. The wind would quickly turn into a squall from the direction we were trying to go. At times the wind and wind gusts would be too strong to make much forward progress. These strong winds would then be followed by good winds for sailing (the direction would usually switch to be more advantageous) but the rain would be hammering down. The rain was so intensely heavy, it was often difficult to see beyond Chandrika’s bow. In fact, it was difficult to see, period. During one such rain, Sue could barely keep her eyes open and probably should have donned a snorkeling mask. Afterwards, her eyes felt as if she had kept them open while swimming underwater.

another squall

We eventually arrived in Ao Chalong in Phuket, where we entered the harbor at night under sail. Not having an engine, we decided to drop two anchors (we put them in tandem on one chain) just to be on the safe side. It was a good thing we did. The next few days brought the heaviest weather seen in this part of the world in the last 20 years. The strong gale brought screaming winds and blinding rain. The rain was so heavy, we actually saw the crew of one dragging sailboat appear on deck wearing wet suits, masks and snorkels. Numerous boats drug anchor or severed their mooring lines, occasionally taking out the boats downwind of them. The boat of a friend of ours washed up on shore after two other boats piled on top of it, fortunately with no damage. Since we had anchored at night under sail, we were conveniently far away from many other boats. It would not have been easy to avoid an oncoming boat as our transmission was still not working. One morning while groggily trying to sleep in the bouncing Chandrika, Graham was awoken to a waterfall of ocean water pouring in through the forward hatch and straight onto his lap. Fortunately for Sue, the bouncing had made her need to pee, so she was conveniently not in the forward berth when Chandrika’s bow dipped under a wave, sending ocean water streaming down her decks, and through her forward hatch (which was closed but not latched!). Our friends, Claudine and Jeff, from the states were due to arrive in a couple days. We had been constantly water-logged for the past 2 weeks. All of our clothes and bed sheets were dirty and soaking wet, and our forward berth was now soaked with salt water. It didn’t look like we’d be able to get things to dry before they arrived to stay with us. More importantly, we did not have a working transmission, so through the gale, Graham and Sue (twice) took the transmission off the engine, put it in a dry bag, and rowed it over 1/2 a mile to shore to take it to a mechanics. The outboard engine was, of course, not working from the constant rain. Miraculously we managed to get the transmission working and the boat somewhat presentable by the time our friends arrived. We had an excellent visit with our friends. We explored ocean caves, relaxed on beaches and in lagoons, rock climbed and road motorcycles around the island of Koh Yao Noi. Hopefully they had fun and will come back to visit us again.

Exploring Phrang Nga Bay with Claudine and Jeff Jeff and Claudine trim the jib sail a beautiful lagoon at Koh Ko Du

Jeff kayaking at Koh Phanak

Claudine climbing at Koh Yao Noi

Riding around the island of Koh Yao Noi

March - April 2011

We took one more trip down to Langkawi. This time we painted our decks and while they were drying we enjoyed hiking and swimming in the river and its waterfall pools.

Slip and slide at the Seven Wells in Telaga Harbor

May - June 2011

For the southwest monsoon season, we decided to explore Phrang Nga Bay and climb at Koh Yao Noi and some of the surrounding islands. Phrang Nga Bay contains many tall rock islands and is inhabited predominantly by Muslim fishing communities. It is quiet and peaceful and the locals are friendly. There are many caves to explore and beautiful cliffs to climb.

the village of Baan Tha Khao on Koh Yao Noi

Fishermen from Koh Yao Noi

Finally we've discovered an easier way to open a drinking coconut!

Graham cooling down with a refreshing coconut at Ao Po Nui on Koh Yao Noi

the nearby island of Koh Roi

This natural archway leads from the sea into a large hong (or chamber)

inside the island on Koh Roi.

(The photo is looking out to sea from inside the hong.)

This tunnel leads through the rock to an opening 200 feet up a vertical cliff face,

where we rappeled down to the ground.

A cave along the edge of the water on the island of Koh Khlui.

A rubber tree plantation on Koh Yao Noi.

A shack where Burmese rubber tree collectors

press the rubber sap into matts,

which are used for making latex.

A Buddhist spirit house at the rubber tree plantation.

Tarzan swinging on the vines of a banyan tree.

hiking the trails on Koh Yao Noi

When we first arrived, Graham was leading a route at a climbing area called The Mitt. When he neared the top of the climb, the stalagtite he was holding broke. He took a 10-15 foot lead fall and swung into a nest of swarming bees. The nest was about 1 to 1-1/2 cubic feet in volume and was completely covered with bees lying on top of bees on top of bees. Graham was flailing around and screaming as a massive cloud of bees surrounded him. Unfortunately he was wearing nothing but a pair of small running shorts. Sue lowered him to the ground and began swatting the bees off of him. She managed to escape with only 20 stings. Graham, however, was not so fortunate. He was stung over 200 times, with 100 of those stings being just on his face and neck alone. Unfortunately, the climbing area was not right on the water but was deep in the jungle. Any attempt to escape and hike out only agitated the bees causing them to attack and sting again. We hovered and waited for about one hour for the bees to calm down before attempting our escape. We had anti-histamines with us in our pack (and an epi pen which we fortunately did not need). Leaving our gear up at the cliff, we hiked out and Graham visited the local clinic for an anti-histamine injection. That night, Graham had a low grade fever and was nauseated. It took about 10 days for the swelling to go down enough for Graham to be able to smile using both sides of his face and for the purple dots to fade away into scars. Other than our bee experience, the climbing has been excellent.

July - September 2011

Climbing on the Phrang Nga Peninsula

On our next Thailand trip, we chose to explore the southern tip of the Phrang Nga peninsula, near the city of Krabi. This area has over 800 climbing routes and is the world-class climbing area that attracts hundreds of climbers every year from all over the world. The climbing is generally quite steep. Most routes are single pitch, but there are many multi-pitch routes as well (usually around 4 or 5 pitches long). We discovered that once above the first pitch, the crowds would disappear and we would have the climbing to ourselves. Most of the climbs are near the beach (Ton Sai and Railey beaches) and a few of them are directly out of the water, making it an excellent place to climb via sailboat/ dinghy.

Our first multi-pitch in this area was to climb "Orange Chandeliers" on Ao Nang Tower.

Ao Nang Tower

We raised the dinghy to keep it from banging on the rocks while we climbed.

Sue at the belay at the start of the climb.

Graham on "Orange Chandeliers"

We also climbed three different multi-pitch routes on Cat Wall named "Heart of Darkness", "Mussong" and "The Ninth Life."

The view from Cat Wall of Railey Beach and the Southern tip of the Phrang Nga Peninsula

Graham leads through a STEEP overhang on "The Ninth Life".

Graham trying to fit his oversized body through the tunnel on "Mussong"

with about 250 feet of air below.

We also visited a nearby island and enjoyed some fabulous single pitch routes in a beautifully serene setting.

Graham finds a rest on the overhanging "Hang Whitey".

Leaving the cave

Sue on "Roy Raeng"

During this time period, we have made a few improvements. While we have been happily content to row for the last 3+ years, the combination of climbing and rowing was exhausting. We have purchased a used 3.5hp Nissan outboard engine. We now also have internet aboard Chandrika while in Thai waters as long as we are within range of cell phone towers. On our climbing rest days we also putter about the boat and work on boat projects. We have recently painted our boom and our aluminum hatches.

Cooking Thai food in the galley aboard Chandrika

photo by James Pullum

Carrying the dinghy up above the high tide line.

Photo by James Pullum

While at Ton Sai and Railey beaches, we had the good fortune of meeting Sam Lightner and Liz Wattenberg from Moab, Utah and James Pullum and Laurel Graefe from Atlanta, Georgia. We spent two weeks climbing with them and spending every evening sitting on Railey beach watching the sunset. We will always cherish the memories of “sunset” on the beach.

Eating lunch at the base of Thaiwand Wall,

where we met Sam and Liz.

photo by James Pullum

Sue belays Laurel on pitch 2 of "Circus Oz" on Thaiwand Wall.

photo by James Pullum

Sue on "Organ Grinder" on the Thaiwand Wall.

photo by Laurel Graefe

Drinking coconuts on Railey Beach before sunset From left to right: Sam, Liz, James, Laurel and Graham

Sunset

It is general practice all over the world to place fixed stainless steel bolts on climbs that can not be protected with natural, removable protection. However, in the 90s it was discovered that the stainless steel bolts that were being used in Thailand were corroding very quickly (sometimes becoming unsafe within 6 months of being placed). These bolts would occasionally rip out of the rock, when a climber would fall on them, sometimes leading in serious injury to the climber. The problem is the corrosive marine environment in conjuction with the high magnesium content of the karst limestone rock. After a bit of experimentation, it was discovered that Titanuim glue-in bolts were far superior in terms of longevity than stainless steel ones.

View from Thaiwand Wall

In the foreground is a stainless steel expansion bolt,

which has been replaced by Sam with a titanium bolt glued-in with a two-part epoxy.

photo by Liz Wattenberg

Our friend, Sam Lightner, has been climbing in Thailand for over 20 years and has established many of the rock climbs in the area. While we were in Railey, he was rebolting a number of routes with Titanium bolts to make them safer for climbers. Sam and a number of other climbers have spearheaded a rebolting project, called the Thaitanium Project, with the goal of rebolting the climbing routes on the Phrang Nga peninsula with Titanium bolts. The problem is that the Titanium bolts cost significantly more than regular stainless steel bolts. To learn more about this problem or if you would like to contribute to making climbing in Thailand safer (and thus making us safer by extension), you can make a donation to the Thaitanium Project by visiting http://thaitaniumproject.com/ January – February 2011

Langkawi, Malaysia

The time was up on our Thai visa, so we headed to the island of Langkawi, Malaysia. We anchored Chandrika up a river on the north east side of the island. Every morning, we would awake in flat water to a view of lush green river banks and to the sounds of sparrows. Squeak was in heaven. Rowing up the river we explored nearby beaches, a cave full of bats (that formed an archway over the river), and viewed the abundant wildlife. We saw Monitor Lizards (similar to the Komodo Dragon), Crab-eating Macaques, Spectacled Languars, and two different kinds of sea eagles (Brahmini Kites and White-Bellied Sea Eagles). Various tour boats would run wild-life viewing trips along the river. We would watch the eagles feed as the tour boat operators threw chicken skins in the water to entertain their clients. The considerate Malaysian boat drivers would slow down as they passed our dinghy, so as not to kick up wake.

Spectacled Languar

Crab-eating (Coke-drinking) Macaque

photo taken in Thailand by James Pullum

Eagle Feeding

Water Buffalo Crossing

After our river exploration, we brought Chandrika to the town of Kuah. It was nice to stretch our legs and to explore more of the island by bicycle. Kuah also served as a nice place to provision with food and to buy a few odds and ends for the boat.

Next we headed to the large city of Penang, about 60nm from Langkawi. Our stay in Penang was brief. We applied for Thai visas at the Thai embassy while we waited for our chain and anchor to be re-galvanized by a galvanization company. In the mean time, we enjoyed the culture of Penang and visited a number of both Chinese, Thai and Burmese Buddhist temples.

Our sail back to Langkawi from Penang was fast with 15 knots abeam the entire way and calm seas. We caught a 3 foot Spanish Mackeral (which looked just like a Wahoo). When we arrived in Tulaga Harbor on the west side of Langkawi, we cut up the fish and offered pieces to a couple of cruisers nearby. The sailors we met were shocked that we had caught a fish. The waters in Thailand and Malaysia are so overfished that these sailors had never heard of a sailboat catching a fish before in this area. I guess we were lucky, because we have yet to catch another fish.

Tulaga is beautiful. Again Squeak was in heaven. Every morning, he would salivate while watching the fluttering sparrows gather on the nearby abandoned sailboats in the anchorage. We would awake at dawn listening to his little paws scampering around the deck with excited glee. Tulaga (which means “Well” in Malay) has a number of beautiful steep jungle hikes, cascading waterfalls, and 7 wells along the river. One of our hikes took us up a concrete stairwell through the jungle, to the top of Mount Chinchang (the second highest peak in Langkawi). One can also ride a cable car to the top, but we found that the hike made the view more rewarding. At the top, we bought ice creams and then rode the cable car back down to save the knees. Another hike brought us to a gorgeous crystal clear swimming hole right in the middle of a waterfall. On our hikes, we again saw abundant wildlife, such as monkeys, lizards, hornbills, and a few leeches that were clinging to our ankles.

Graham having too much fun

View of our previous day's hike to the cable car summit

Crystal clear fresh water swimming hole

Nothing beats a cool swim in the tropics

During our time in Tulaga harbor, we discovered a much simpler and safer method for climbing coconut trees. We now will gather about 20 green coconuts at a time. The green coconut water makes for a refreshing electrolyte drink after a sweaty day of hiking or climbing.

Tropical Aid Climbing

We look forward to seeing more of Langkawi on our next visit and to exploring its neighboring islands. November – December 2010

Climbing Again At Last

It feels good to be pursuing our passion for rock climbing again. Thailand is home to some of the world’s best rock climbing. The steep karst limestone formations jutting up off the beach make for a beautiful playground right in our own backyard. Upon our arrival to Thailand in late September, we traveled to Koh Phi Phi Don. Our initial impression was one of disgust at the over-crowded tourist scene. Motor boats driven by testosterone-filled unlicensed teenage boys zipped around the anchorage kicking up massive wakes that sent any un-stowed items aboard Chandrika flying about. The boats did not even slow down as they wove around the heads of snorkeling sun-burnt tourists. Fortunately for us, the tourists did not venture as far as the crags, and we had the climbing almost to ourselves. Occasionally, the friendly Thai guides would bring a few clients out for a half day of climbing, but otherwise there was no one else on the rock. One day while climbing at Drinking Wall, we foolishly rappelled off an overhanging route straight into the jungle. We landed in prickly thorn bushes. While clambering back to the trail with thorns up to our necks, we were viciously attacked by hoards of red ants. Once one bites, they all bite together in unison. The pain is intense. Even when you squash them, severing their heads from their bodies, their heads continue biting. After jungle swimming back to the trail and cleaning the ants off our bodies, we went to pull down the rope and saw a highway of ants streaming up and down it. We pulled the rope down using Graham’s T-shirt to clean the ants off the rope. The rope was now clean, but Graham’s shirt was swarming with the evil biting creatures. To rid ourselves of the ants for good, we lit the shirt on fire. We learned a valuable lesson and will never rappel straight into the bushes again. The other evil jungle creatures we encountered were the crab-eating macaque monkeys. Their horrible behavior directly correlates with the number of tourists in the area, as the tourists seem to think it fun to feed the little devils. This teaches the macaques that it is okay to steal food from people, rummage through their backpacks, toss stray items into the jungle, and create general havoc. It also teaches them to bite and to throw rocks at people when they do not get what they want. The macaques have been a problem throughout both Thailand and Malaysia. After Ko Phi Phi we stopped at the twin islands of Koh Lao Liang. The north island has about 50 established rock climbs. There is no development on the island aside from one small resort. Due to its remote location, few come here. It is quiet and peaceful with no boat traffic and the climbing is spectacular. October – November 2010

Phuket, Thailand

Arriving in busy, industrialized Phuket, Thailand filled us with nostalgia for the quiet and friendly South Pacific. We were overwhelmed by the availability of virtually any commercially-produced product we could imagine. For a week, we stayed busy finding our way through the city and buying various odds and ends for the boat. We were anchored in Ao Chalong Bay with over 50 other sailboats, more boats than we had seen for the entire half year we were in the Solomon Islands and PNG combined. We didn’t know most of the cruisers here, but we did meet up with a couple of our single-hander guy friends we’d hung out with in French Polynesia. About half the boats in Ao Chalong are captained by male single-handers. We were soon to discover why.

The Anchorage at Ao Chalong

Our friends, who we’ve decided to name Bob and Fred to protect their privacy, invited us out drinking one night. Staying up past our bedtime (of 9pm) and sitting in loud smoky bars is not something we enjoy doing. However, Bob is not into hiking, and he was good sport enough to join us on a couple of steep strenuous hikes in the tropical heat of French Polynesia. We decided to adopt his positive attitude and join him on an outing that he enjoys. Our night on the town proved to be an enlightening experience into the Thai sex market. We had noticed the Thai hookers sitting at the bars up and down the road near the pier catering to Western men, but we did not realize that hookers are everywhere around here. You can even pick up a hooker at the corner mini-mart! Bob, our guide for the evening, informed us that the going rate for a hooker is 1000 Baht ($33 US) a night. If you take a girl home from the bar before closing time, then you must also pay the bar a 300 Baht fee ($10 US). Bob is trying to complete a circumnavigation but has spent all of his savings and is now living on credit cards. Since the whores do not negotiate a price before having sex, Bob discovered he could get away with only paying them 600 Baht ($20 US). They give him a disappointed face, but don’t say anything. He also waits until they are off work to avoid the bar fee. The Thai hookers in this area cater exclusively to Western men, or farang. Most dream that a farang will decide to marry them and their future will be blessed with financial stability. This does occasionally happen; although for the average sex worker, it is only a slight possibility. Most of the hookers speak limited English, but are very eager to learn to improve their chances. From other sailors, we’ve heard that the women are so eager to please that when you take them to your boat, after sleeping with you, they will clean and even polish the stainless steel! Needless to say, many of the single-handed sailors in Ao Chalong Bay have multiple Thai “girlfriends”. Our night began outside the local mini-mart, where our friends Bob and Fred got drunk on cheap beer before heading to the bars (where beer is more expensive). Then we went to a bar, where we played pool. The bar was full of Thai hookers and single farang men. Sue noticed she was the only non-Thai non-hooker female in the entire bar. After this bar, Bob and Fred decided to venture down the street to a bar we have decided to name, The Crazy Bar. Again Sue was the only non-Thai non-hooker female in this bar too. Fred and Bob went off to dance with the young Thai hookers, while Graham and Sue sat on bar stools and talked with one of the Thai hookers, named Lek. Lek told us she was from Northern Thailand and had moved to Phuket about a month ago. (According to Bob, all the hookers say they have only been working for a month, so we are not sure if she was telling the truth.) Lek then taught Sue a few words of Thai. When we turned around to see what Bob and Fred were up to, we saw Fred with a long pool que between his legs and three young Thai hookers straddling the other end. The girls were gyrating their hips and laughing and giggling. Very good actresses. Then we looked to the other side of the bar and saw an older Thai hooker sitting in the lap of disgustingly over-weight man in his 50s. He was groping her, and she was just sitting there staring off into space with a mixed expression of boredom and disgust on her face. Sue must have looked disturbed, because Lek immediately asked her if she was okay and put her arm around her reassuringly. Lek is very sweet. Bob later explained to us that the hookers decide who they want to go home with. If they do not want to go with someone, they don’t have too, although the bar does expect them not to be too choosy. Most likely this means that the younger ones have a little more choice in the matter, but the older ones get stuck with the gross men, since they do need to make money after all. At this point we decided we’d had enough for the night, so we headed home after our first and last night in the Phuket red light district.

A Peaceful Sanctuary in Busy Phuket

October 2010