The Bungalow

Previously, on Potomac Fever...  we were in search of the James Bond Island, on Day 1 of sea kayaking.

After accomplishing that mission, we explored some of the "hongs" or hollowed-out islands, which we entered by lying flat in the canoe while our guide steered us through low, rocky tunnels only passable during low tides.  Inside the island, the almost-vertical banks are high, the air is still, it is eerily quiet, except for the faint sounds of birds or other wildlife, which we sometimes see.  We spotted a monkey high up a rocky cliff.

These strange islands and caves were formed by sea levels falling over a limestone plateau over thousands of years, and washing away much of the stone.

Anyway, later that afternoon we transferred to a different boat, the one that would take us through our second day of kayaking.  Turned out that no one else had signed up for the same two-day tour same time as us, so it was just us, the guide, the owner of Sea Canoe, and an apprentice boatman.

After some exploration of mangroves in single kayaks, we headed for an overnight stop on the northeast side of an island in the middle of Phang Nga Bay called Koh Yao Noi.

An expert on the bay, its islands and wildlife, the captain/owner Mr. Soonthorn Sagulsan was a perfect guide on our voyage.

A long, weather-worn concrete pier stood high in a low tide at our destination.  The captain and other two crew gradually maneuvered the boat close enough to a moored fishing boat that we were then able to hop on the fishing boat, then climb up to the pier on a not-long but steep ladder made of steel bars.

A few people from the town (outpost?) came out to watch the proceedings.  At one point Bob and I were asked to play a small part by standing on the bow of our kayak mother ship, adding weight (hold the jokes !;-) where it could help maneuvering.

We were at Tha Khao, and soon settled on the beach in one of the Tha Khao Bungalows.

A fish dinner was served in the bungalows' dimly lit family-run, open-air restaurant.  

Some backpackers chatted at another table.  The manager's little boy played games on an iPad.  We went to bed under mosquito nets.  The quiet was broken only by the occasional call of a very loud gecko, always from a different location, but somewhere VERY close.