{"id":2120,"date":"2017-03-01T17:10:16","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T17:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/?p=2120"},"modified":"2017-03-01T17:10:16","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T17:10:16","slug":"kohs-and-hongs-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/?p=2120","title":{"rendered":"Kohs and Hongs (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday 20th<\/span>\u00a0February Krabi to Koh Dam Hok<\/p>\n

We had to wait until the tide was right before leaving Krabi so it was late afternoon when we got to the fuel dock to refill for the passage.\u00a0 Anyone fed up with me relating how hot it is yet? Well\u2026it was<\/em> hot and very humid too so once we were out of the river and back out on the shallows it was such a tonic to feel the sea breeze on our skin. The mudbanks were much more visible on the return trip but Paul was more confident this time and we made it across much quicker, with no threat of going aground.\u00a0 Paul chose a great place to stop for the night, just as the light was beginning to fade. Several mooring buoys were available near the small, charming island of Koh Dam Hok. Through the binoculars I could make out a long strip of white sand and what might be a ranger\u2019s hut. A few longtail boats were anchored near it but it clearly wasn\u2019t the busy thoroughfare for marine traffic we\u2019d experienced at Ao Nang, which we could see lit up in the distance.\u00a0 I picked up a mooring buoy (have I mentioned that I can do this pretty skilfully now ;)) and we were securely tied on to it before sundown \u2013 in fact we sat on deck in the cool evening air to watch the sun set and as it was such a clear night we lingered up there until it was full dark, enjoying the peace and the starlit sky\u2026 such are the simple pleasures of this sailing life \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Moored at Koh Dam Hok<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Koh Dam Hok at sundown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tuesday 21st<\/span>\u00a0February Koh Hong<\/p>\n

The security of the mooring buoy and the serene location proved to be ideal conditions for a deeper and longer sleep. However, I was glad to be up in time to see the sunrise when Koh Dam Hok was revealed in all its glory: shades of green from the dense forest behind the spotless white sand, a turquoise sea and a clear blue sky, were all enhanced by the pinkish early morning sunlight. I could have admired it for ages. Paul went for a swim after breakfast to check the condition of the hull and we slipped our mooring at 10 o\u2019clock to journey to Koh Hong. We were able to have the sails up for a while during this passage, although it\u2019s never long before they start flapping and the engine is turned on again. I keep forgetting to mention that the fishing line is usually trailing behind us on these trips (once, it even caught a juicy bit of seaweed).<\/p>\n

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Koh Dam Hok at sunrise<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 1 30 we arrived at Koh Hong and after sussing out that there were once again plenty of free mooring buoys, we motored around the triangular-shaped island for a better look at it.\u00a0 One side was quite lively: two long beaches with lots of day visitors and associated longtail boats. The water was busy with divers, swimmers, snorkelers and kayakers. Round the corner was a smaller, more peaceful beach with fewer vessels so that\u2019s where we (I) picked up a mooring buoy after we\u2019d been round the whole coastline. This is flagged as another \u2018must see\u2019 Hong and it was easy to see why.\u00a0 The binoculars showed steep, rust-coloured stripy cliff sides, surreal rock formations, sea caves and intriguing creeks and inlets. Add to those the gorgeous beaches, lush vegetation and the awe-inspiring Hong itself, and this Hong\u2019s got the lot! The day visitors begin to leave from about 4pm so we waited until 4 30 for our dinghy trip. Our first stop was a cave behind the trees on the beach which could have come straight out of the kind of Enid Blyton adventure stories I devoured as a child. It was dark and eerie inside. I couldn\u2019t see any bats \u2013 lots of stalactites and stalagmites and dark corners dripping with water though. Paul went further in but it didn\u2019t lead to another Hong so we left and dinghied\u00a0round the corner\u00a0to the main one.<\/p>\n

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Koh Hong viewed from Sister Midnight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Paul in the cave of adventure<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking the dinghy into the Hong\u2019s lagoon was delightful (to begin with). It\u2019s huge, and I kept seeing beautiful blue birds flying off the branches of the trees on the sides of it. My mission then was to get a picture of one of them. Part of the enjoyment of being inside a Hong is the tranquil setting, the bird calls, spotting wildlife\u00a0and taking in all the nature on display.\u00a0 The general advice is that outboards should be turned off when inside in order not to disturb the wildlife and to respect the surroundings. It\u2019s nice to row around it in a leisurely manner\u00a0anyway. Pictures from inside Koh Hong\u00a0below.<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, despite almost having it to ourselves, we were subjected to calls and screeches of a human kind when a motorboat carrying about a dozen tourists (either French or Russian) entered the lagoon and began whooping and cheering and jumping in the water, and then compounded the rudeness by playing loud, ghastly Eurotrash music. I was seething with indignation and would have loved to let them know how ill-mannered they were (I tend to go into grumpy old woman mode\u00a0a lot more frequently these days ;)). Anyway I know\u00a0it wouldn\u2019t have done a lot of good to confront them. I did manage to get a picture of one of the pretty blue birds on our way back to the boat\u00a0though (it can just about be seen).<\/p>\n

Getting closer to the bird<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The blue bird in the middle of the picture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wednesday 22nd<\/sup>\u00a0February Koh Roi<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a\u00a0smoother and faster exit from a mooring buoy and not having to flake the anchor\u00a0frees me up to get things tidied and sorted below. It doesn\u2019t take long for the cabin to get cluttered and for items to go astray if the rule of \u2018a place for everything and everything in its place\u2019 isn\u2019t adhered to :). We also need to keep up with charging phones and various other devices so we make the most of the power\u00a0inverter while the\u00a0engine is running. Up above, scenes straight out of the glossy pages of travel brochures were coming into view on the port side: golden beaches and palm trees with luxury holiday accommodation nestling in the jungle-like forest. There is nothing garish about these resorts, the buildings blend in with the surroundings and they are designed so that it never becomes too crowded.<\/p>\n

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On the way to Koh Roi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Secluded luxury holiday resort<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We arrived at Koh Roi at about 2pm and decided we would visit this\u00a0Hong earlier. From our anchorage we could see the arched, cave-like entrance to the Hong and looking through the binoculars I could see that people were stooping underneath it to get in. Paul checked the tides and worked out that 3 30 would be a good time to visit. As luck would have it, it looked as if the beach was deserted as we approached on the dinghy. Looking around me I was struck by the sheer beauty of our surroundings. It\u2019s hard to describe in words, I think the pictures convey it well, but it\u2019s the very size of the rocks, and their solid, molten shapes that look almost too crafted to be natural that inspire such awe. Travel writer Thomas Swick sums it up well in an excerpt from his book, The Joys of Travel: And Stories That Illuminate Them:<\/em><\/p>\n

No technology can replace the visceral experience of arriving in a new place, the moment when you step out of an airport, or off a ship, and subject yourself\u2014body, mind and heart\u2014to a strange land. You\u2019re attuned to everything: the sights, the sounds, the smells, the textures, very soon the tastes.<\/p>\n

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From our anchorage – the arched cave can be seen on the left<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leaving the dinghy on the beach we headed straight for the cave, sweating profusely from the heat and humidity and when we stepped into that Hong I did indeed subject myself body, mind and heart to the strange environment before us. The first thing that hit me was how gorgeously cool it was in the dim cavern after the searing heat. Then I noticed the\u00a0mangrove trees,\u00a0their dry roots on show without the water we usually see covering them. I was aware of screeching noises and assumed they were birds or monkeys. I\u00a0kept looking down to paddle my way through the shallow, murky pools of water we had to negotiate to get further in.<\/p>\n

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Near the cave entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Inside the Hong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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When I looked up the sight that met me was one of the most amazing things I\u2019ve ever seen. The noise we heard came from bats \u2013 the fruit bats I had been so keen to spot, and there they were in the tall trees in the Hong, hundreds of them. Hanging upside down from the branches, their black wings were\u00a0either wrapped around their bodies cocoon-like or stretched out as they\u00a0opened them one at a time, but it was their\u00a0dark beady eyes that fascinated me. Like portraits hanging on walls in stately homes where the eyes appear to follow you, each bat I looked at seemed to be staring back at me. The noise was deafening as we went further in. Strangely, it built up to reach a crescendo and then gradually subsided until it was almost silent before slowly building up again. I could have stood there for hours looking up into their cute furry faces. Picking our way over the rock strewn floor with its gnarled and tangled tree roots and swampy mud, this Hong was like a Gothic grotto, complete with a colony of bats. It wouldn\u2019t have looked out of place in scenes from Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings. I loved it! More pics below but unfortunately the bats didn’t photograph very well.<\/p>\n

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There are bats in those trees!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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IMG_2479<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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IMG_2506<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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IMG_2505<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Back onboard, we sat at the bow watching the people from the two catamarans that had anchored near us, swimming over to the Hong as the sun set. By then, the tide was in so far that it was impossible to see the arched entrance, but I could still hear the bats clearly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday 20th\u00a0February Krabi to Koh Dam Hok We had to wait until the tide was right before leaving Krabi so it was late afternoon when we got to the fuel dock to refill for the passage.\u00a0 Anyone fed up with me relating how hot it is yet? Well\u2026it was hot and very humid too so … Continue reading “Kohs and Hongs (Part One)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2120"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2151,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2120\/revisions\/2151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sistermidnight.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}