Captain’s Log: Phang Nga, Krabi and Birthday

May 5 -12

Hi All,

We have really been enjoying our slow cruise around Phang Nga Bay and now Krabi and Ko Yao Noi island. It’s been a week since we have been out……and we have made it to 4 anchorages……Koh Hong for 2 nights, Koh Phing Kan for 2 (aka James Bond island), Koh Kudu Yai for 2 and now Koh Yao Island Resort for 2 nights……gotta love all these names!!!1

“Phang Nga Bay is one of the most beautiful bays of Thailand. It is famous for its gravity-defying limestone formations. Most travellers visit Ko Khao Phing Kan, that since 1974, when it was featured in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, has been popularly called James Bond Island (see also James Bond tourism). In front of it is Ko Tapu, probably the most characteristic islet of the bay and often seen on tourist brochures”

It seems we both needed to slow it way down and recharge. It took me 4 days to finally have some energy….for those 1st 4 mornings I would climb our stairs first thing in the morning and I had zero energy….noodle legs…..by the fifth day I had a little and by the 6th morning I felt I was back to normal….yeah!!!! We have really been on the go the last 5 months……2 months in USA with nonstop family and friends, then 2 months travel in Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam and Cambodia with some travel in Thailand and then a month or so of boat projects……and then the 3 day marathon in the sauna at Yacht Haven fixing the fuel issues…..I think that finally zapped what energy/mojo we had left!!!

So, our days……get up around 6, coffee, internet (we have had 2-4 bars of 4G so far….not always fast but doable for emails), more coffee/tea, emails, read a little, either move Mystic or go explore some of these karsts/hongs in the dinghy, come back…..maybe a passage beer or BM, read, lunch, read, nap, read, cocktails, dinner and a movie……we have been watching “House of Cards”…….did Donald use their script????? It has been heaven and so much needed for our energy levels!!! As Kathy said…..a mini vacation for sure!!! We are both rereading the Outlander series…..total of 8 books……the story has totally captured us and it’s fun rereading and then discussing the various subtleties!!

And, we have pretty much had the place to ourselves…..maybe seen 5-8 charter boats……had the anchorages all to ourselves except the 1st 2 nights when there was 1 other boat…..we have seen many, many day tourist boats but mainly off in a distance and nothing bothering us. We have been out early when we explored in the dinghy avoiding any possibility of the tourist crowd…..when we went to James Bond Island we had it to ourselves for a bit….then a tour boat showed up so we left:))))

Weather: Hmmm……that has been the challenge……hot and humd…..like heat index above 100 every day….ugh!!! This is the start of the rainy season and so far it has rained 5/8 days……actually not too bad except for the last 2 days where it has been a heavy overcast and intermittent rain……the first 5 days we had a lot of thunderstorms/lightning all around us in late afternoon and evening but not much directly on us. We actually liked the thunderstorms as it cooled everything off……but this past 2 days of heavy clouds and intermittent light rain and no wind has just made it a steam bath. So how do you survive you ask: hello air conditioning. Yes, we are very blessed and are able to run our GEN and AC at night. We turn it on around 9pm in our stateroom and then I turn everything off sometime around 1-2am…..it then stays cool enough until we get up…..so, we get a very enjoyable night’s sleep!!

I’m writing some of this log on Friday, May 12: Yep my birthday…….I’m 63 and actually this one sucks……whaaaaa!!! I think mainly from both of us being shaken emotionally by the passing of Gary Rogers. Gary, as some of you may know, was the CEO/Chairman of Dreyer’s…..the man responsible for the Nestle deal……the deal that allowed Kathy and me to retire and answer the question, “so what do you want to do for the rest of your life”. I’ve had a lot of great bosses in my P&G/Dreyer’s career and Gary certainly was one of the best if not the best. He was 74 and just dropped dead playing tennis……yep, so sudden, and so much life left……and that is the point I think. This happened about a week ago and we are still emotionally distraught….ugh!!!

I think another “hit” was Cambodia….at age 63 they stop counting birthdays…..which might not be all that bad……but, for many, they put you in an adult care center…..mainly monasteries for you to study and live out the rest of your years……oweeeee….as in NO, I’m way to young to be put out to pasture……arghhhhhh!!!!! So all that has made me a bit melancholy and feeling old……and then bam…….I had just finished typing this paragraph when Dana texted a picture of Kennedy, our youngest granddaughter…..now 8 months old……we call her sometimes MK for Miss Kennedy…..the picture was of Kennedy eating pasta and peas…..a favorite in our family…..well, mainly MK wearing the pasta, lol….it was just adorable…..MK is so full of life……her expression was priceless……like this is how I eat my pasta….you gotta problem with that…..that picture and Dana’s thoughtfulness stayed with me all day….it enabled me to get my mojo and enthusiasm back…..so much to see, so little time…….it was the best birthday gift a depressed Papa YB could get!!!!!

So what are you doing for Mom’s day and your BD…..well, yesterday we headed to Koh Hong in Krabi…..but it did not work out……both sides of the island were somewhat tenuous to anchor…..water was deep (80-100′) and the water quite unsettled…….this was the 2nd day of the overcast weather and although the winds were light, the water was a bit rough……so we decided to go over to Ko Yao Noi island…..a huge island running N/S……about 3 miles away…..and anchor in the lee and out of the rough seas…..well, and I think Kathy had a plan…..we end up outside this 5-star resort….Six Sense….and they are friendly to cruisers…..well then…..how about a cheeseburger in paradise……so we have a late lunch…great cheeseburger and a lobster salad on a brioche…..AND today……90 minute massages……yep, that should do the trick……although no longer Thailand prices…..these are California prices…..ugh!!!

May 13: Yep……the massages were wonderful…..very relaxing…..this is now been our 3rd Thai/Cambodian massage and all have been wonderful. When we came out of the spa the clouds had vanished and we had a bright blue sky and very hot…..whoa. So…..to continue the celebration MK style…..so full of life…..we had martinis on the FB with some good tunes…..Moody Blues and Van Morrison….hey they are old too:))))……followed by some excellent Australian beef steaks and a bottle of 1999 Markham Cab……yummers!!!!!

OK……I’ll stop the blog here as we are headed out in a few minutes……maybe down to the end of Ka Yao Yai Island……about 11 miles…..then in the next day or so over to the Phi Phi islands and then back to Phuket to get a few projects done (more on that later) and to check out of Thailand and head for Malaysia!!!

Hope all is well!!

Birthday Boy John
Mystic Moon