Mischief Newsletter No 8
Hello dear friends
We left Malaysia and headed for Thailand early in December, calling in at a number of islands along the way. The scenery is majestic, the water on the outer islands, crystal clear, the reefs stunning and the weather very warm but at least not so humid – and it even cools down at night for a good night’s sleep!
Rok Nok was our first Thai anchorage, with brilliant beaches and really good snorkelling. We then visited Ko Muk and swam through a cavern (emerald cave) to reach the ‘hong’ – a lagoon within the island. Very beautiful! We went from there to Ko Lanta and visited a number of anchorages there, and caught up with our friends on Eloise.
The approach to the Phi Phi islands was quite stunning – dramatic sheer cliff rising out of the water, or with dazzling white sand at their feet…. The bay on Phi Phi Le (maya beach) is quite stunning and the location where the movie, The Beach, was filmed. We anchored overnight at Ko Phi Phi Don – you can see that this place was once quite stunning, but quite frankly, adhoc and unfettered tourist expansion has totally ruined it. We did have quite a good time though, and really enjoyed hiring a long tail boat to explore the islands – good fun!
We called into Ao Chalong, Phuket for our formal entry to Thailand. We have taken the opportunity to do some final engine and boat maintenance work that was planned for next year in Turkey whilst we are here such as some fibreglass fixes, polishing the hull and topsides, as labour here is very reasonable and the tradesmen very professional and with good attention to detail. I’m also getting new boat cushions for the cockpit done. Believe me, we are quickly becoming experts in all sorts of repairs and maintenance, and examining all work meticulously.
We’re in Boat Lagoon for another 8-10 days having a break from the boat and staying in an apartment at the marina. We hired a car for two days and drove around the island – including visiting the big Buddha: good fun. We have now rented a scooter for a week or so whilst we are here – whilst we expect the boat to be back in the water around Xmas, things do tend to drag on and we may as well enjoy the island, the food and the sun!!
We should be all set to go, hopefully early in the new year. The plan is to spend a w
eek cruising Phangnga Bay to test everything out (and see what we have been told is even more stunning scenery), then depart for the Maldives.
We have uploaded the Malaysia and Thai photos to date which you can view at: http://picasaweb.google.com/SV.Mischief
Briefly, we hope to now be in the Maldives in mid to late January 2009, then on to Salaleh in Oman, coast hop through the pirate area to Aden in Yemen, in convoy with other yachts, then up the Red Sea in March – April, with a stay in Egypt to visit the Pyramids etc, and then through the Suez on to Cyprus and the Med around May when it hopefully has warmed up a bit. The first year will probably be spent in Turkey – our plans in a nutshell.
Here’s wishing you a very happy Xmas, and a great new year in 2009!!
Hello dear friends
We left Malaysia and headed for Thailand early in December, calling in at a number of islands along the way. The scenery is majestic, the water on the outer islands, crystal clear, the reefs stunning and the weather very warm but at least not so humid – and it even cools down at night for a good night’s sleep!
Rok Nok was our first Thai anchorage, with brilliant beaches and really good snorkelling. We then visited Ko Muk and swam through a cavern (emerald cave) to reach the ‘hong’ – a lagoon within the island. Very beautiful! We went from there to Ko Lanta and visited a number of anchorages there, and caught up with our friends on Eloise.
The approach to the Phi Phi islands was quite stunning – dramatic sheer cliff rising out of the water, or with dazzling white sand at their feet…. The bay on Phi Phi Le (maya beach) is quite stunning and the location where the movie, The Beach, was filmed. We anchored overnight at Ko Phi Phi Don – you can see that this place was once quite stunning, but quite frankly, adhoc and unfettered tourist expansion has totally ruined it. We did have quite a good time though, and really enjoyed hiring a long tail boat to explore the islands – good fun!
We called into Ao Chalong, Phuket for our formal entry to Thailand. We have taken the opportunity to do some final engine and boat maintenance work that was planned for next year in Turkey whilst we are here such as some fibreglass fixes, polishing the hull and topsides, as labour here is very reasonable and the tradesmen very professional and with good attention to detail. I’m also getting new boat cushions for the cockpit done. Believe me, we are quickly becoming experts in all sorts of repairs and maintenance, and examining all work meticulously.
We’re in Boat Lagoon for another 8-10 days having a break from the boat and staying in an apartment at the marina. We hired a car for two days and drove around the island – including visiting the big Buddha: good fun. We have now rented a scooter for a week or so whilst we are here – whilst we expect the boat to be back in the water around Xmas, things do tend to drag on and we may as well enjoy the island, the food and the sun!!
We should be all set to go, hopefully early in the new year. The plan is to spend a w
eek cruising Phangnga Bay to test everything out (and see what we have been told is even more stunning scenery), then depart for the Maldives.We have uploaded the Malaysia and Thai photos to date which you can view at: http://picasaweb.google.com/SV.Mischief
Briefly, we hope to now be in the Maldives in mid to late January 2009, then on to Salaleh in Oman, coast hop through the pirate area to Aden in Yemen, in convoy with other yachts, then up the Red Sea in March – April, with a stay in Egypt to visit the Pyramids etc, and then through the Suez on to Cyprus and the Med around May when it hopefully has warmed up a bit. The first year will probably be spent in Turkey – our plans in a nutshell.
Here’s wishing you a very happy Xmas, and a great new year in 2009!!
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