John Gray's Sea Canoe in Phuket

When doing research for this trip over a year ago, I came upon a website for this sea canoe trip that explores the caves and hidden lagoons of Phang Nga Bay, that John Gray discovered back in 1989.   He then set up this sea canoe trip that allows others to learn about the nature and wildlife of the Bay while minimizing the environmental footprint and respecting the sanctity of the flora and fauna in the Phang Nga Bay.  We are so doing this trip I thought! 

our lovely resort!

To do this, we had to first take a ferry from Koh Lanta to Phuket via the Phi Phi Islands.  There we were supposed to transfer ferries, but we never actually went to the pier- we switched ferries while out at sea; the two pulling up side-by-side with a narrow wooden plank placed between them (and yes, we had to walk across this plank with our backpacks-definitely an experience...).  Arrived in Phuket and traveled about an hour to our lovely resort in a national park, and near the airport, as we were only staying two nights with the full day in between reserved for the sea canoe experience. Picked up at 11:30 am by the John Gray folks and traveled about 30 minutes across Phuket Island to Ao Po where we were organized onto our respective boats for the day.  We were briefed on the itinerary for the day, the John Gray history, the geology of the Bay, and their philosophy about the environment and healthy food that they serve.  We were also assigned our professional canoe guide for the day and served a lite Thai lunch that consisted of locally sourced organic vegetables, seafood, and fish. 

We finally arrived at the first island and boarded our custom "SOTAR" kayaks specifically designed for this trip (two persons per canoe plus guide/rower), that would take us through “Tidal Nape” Sea Caves inside Phang Nga Bay’s marine limestone karstic islands.

We sat back and took it all in as our guide Ollie, rowed us into pitch-black caves (some with extremely low ceilings that at times required us to lay completely flat in the canoe).  The caves would then open up into “Hongs” (Thai for rooms) that were open-air enclosed lagoons with steep limestone cliffs with dense foliage growing up the sides.  Living inside these lagoons (which were totally inaccessible at high tide) were monkeys, birds, macaques, sea eagles, water monitors, kingfishers, mudskippers, snakes (there was a viper coiled up- did not get too close to that one), bats, and mushroom jellyfish.  We went through several caves and lagoons on two different islands, and had a free swim where THE John Gray appeared in a canoe to talk to us about 

Inside a "hong" hidden within the karst mountain, only accessible through a small water passage

why he cared so much about this area (we had seen him earlier in the day in one of the lagoons, anonymously scooping up trash from the water).  John is in his 70s now and no longer does the actual tours but comes out daily to check the lagoons, pick up floating trash, and welcome the tour groups.  He's appeared on many travel shows and PBS documentaries although I never saw him on TV.

John Gray !

As sunset was nearing, we boarded our main boat and began the creation of our “Loi Krathong”.  While this tradition is usually celebrated once a year in November to give thanks to the Water Spirits, John Gray believes that anyone who comes out to enjoy the bay and lagoons should respect and give thanks

creating our Loi Krathong

back to nature for the enjoyment we had.  Each of the canoe guides worked with their two passengers to create a unique Loi Krathong, made of a banana tree stem as the base, then decorated with banana leaves (folded like origami), orchids, chrysanthemums (to represent prosperity and worship of monks who are disciples of Buddha), incense sticks, and candles- all pinned to the base with bamboo tacks, or in our case, nails.  "Loi" means "to float",  "Krathong" is a type of tiny raft.   We even saw how to form the unopened orchid buds into birds to further enhance our design.  Each team created a unique Loi Krathong and they were all beautiful!

Masterpiece!

everyone was busy creating a unique Loi Krathong

completed Loi Krathongs

We then set them aside and partook in a lovely buffet dinner (all organic): net-caught seafood, free range chicken, coconut chicken soup, shrimp, fried whole snapper, chicken curry, lots of veggies, and fresh pineapple and watermelon as we watched a magnificent sunset.  As darkness approached, we got back into our canoes with our Loi Krathong and went back into the cave to light them up and set them afloat, launching them with a wish.  A strand of hair or piece of nail was added to personalize our thanks to the water spirit.  We also got to experience the dinoflagellates (bioluminescent plankton) which when you pass your hand through the water, light up like tiny fluorescent fireflies.  We did collect our offering as the candles burned down as doing this daily would really trash up the caves and lagoons.  It would be brought back to the mainland and composted for the local farms.

just about time to go back out on the canoe to light up our Loi Krathong

taking our Loi Krathong to the cave to light up and float

Our Loi Kratong....beautiful!

A beautiful sunset to a beautiful day 

We were transported back to our hotel arriving after 10:00 pm.  A long day but so worth it!  We got to know our guide, learn about Thai culture, gain an appreciation for the environment, see amazing sites, and eat delicious food.  Kudos John Gray!

Just a few photos of this totally awesome and memorable day!

	low ceiling ahead....duck	cave monkeys!