Phuket, Thailand: 11/16/15

After going through the whole island transport process in reverse - tractor to long tail boat to ferry to car - we arrived back in Phuket and were taken to Phang Nga Bay, part of Ao Phang Nga National Park. We joined a group with John Gray's Sea Canoe, boarded another ferry, and set off for the "Hong by Starlight" full day sea kayak excursion. We had a guide take the two of us out on an inflatable canoe/kayak/boat throughout the bay area. First, we were shown the sea caves ("hongs") up close and went through the "oyster cave" which was covered wall to wall in oyster shells. The cave is very low, so you have to lie completely flat at some points to get through. The whole excursion depends on the tides since the water level will determine when you can even enter certain caves. After we got through each cave, we let out into a totally calm, cool, peaceful body of water with tons of wildlife. We saw a few monkeys up close and one even jumped onto our canoe! The next cave was the bat cave - literally. There were hundreds of little bats hanging from the ceiling of the cave, which completely freaked me out because I have a random yet serious fear of bats. Totally worth it once we got through because it was all so beautiful.

We got back on the boat to go to another area of the bay and see different amazing rock formations and more wildlife in the canoes.

After we got back on the boat, we were told about spiritual offerings that are part of the Thai culture. They have to make completely out of natural components since they are released into nature. We made a beautiful offering with the help of our guide out of banana leaves and flowers to be released later that evening. 

Then, we feasted on a delicious homemade Thai spread that was made by the staff on lower level of the boat. I have to commend these cooks, working within the confines of a small(ish) boat and creating such an abundance of quality eats. The massaman curry (one of my favorite dishes) was the best I have ever tasted.

After dinner and a beautiful sunset, we set back out on the canoes to release our offerings into the water. They were all lit up by candles and it looked so pretty. I appreciated the small part of the day being dedicated to Thai culture and participating in it. All in all, this was probably the best run excursion we had the whole trip. The day was very well organized, the group was not too big and the boat was a comfortable size for us, and most of all staff was excellent. Especially for a 7 hour trip, they were very informative and fun that whole time, and really gave us a unique sea experience exploring a stunning part of the islands. 

Then, that night we went to our hotel in downtown Phuket, Nap Patong, for about 9 hours.