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Sea Kayaking in Phang Nga Bay
Hong By Starlight

by Aaron Mahan - Photos by Stephan Audiger

When other hong-via-kayak tour operators are winding down for the day, the John Gray Sea Canoe crew is just getting started. Is it laziness, the result of a late night out, or a simple case of ineptitude?

Were I in charge, it would be a combination of all three. Not so with Mr Gray, the godfather of sea kayaking in Thailand. He developed the ‘Hong by Starlight’ tour as a way to avoid crowds.

Sea Kayaking in Phang Nga Bay

Sea kayaks & paddlers in the bay

By starting later, he turns back the clock and guests get to enjoy the Phang Nga Bay of 20 years ago – serene, empty, and beautiful. The experience is memorable, unique, and deserving of great mountains of superlatives. The guides are the most knowledgeable. The food is the tastiest. The company’s practices are the safest; humans don’t touch the scenery, and vice versa. This trip is the single best way to discover Thailand’s mysterious hongs on a kayak (canoe, floaty-paddle-thing, whatever).

The boat departed the pier at Ao Po in the early afternoon. Not long after, a light lunch – noodles, spring rolls, salad, fruit – appeared on the centre table. Once everyone ate their fill, the day’s lead guide used third-grade art class drawings to illustrate the rules: keep mouths shut and cameras ready while in the hongs; have fun; respect nature. And then, on cue, nature started circling the boat.

We’re being followed

Sea-eagle diving for food

A guide flung bits of chicken guts into the sea behind the boat. Red-backed Sea-eagles are scavengers and couldn’t resist the UFOs (unidentified fowl organs), often catching the free snacks midair. White-bellied Sea-eagles aren’t strictly scavengers, but don’t mind the occasional handout. And with a killer talon-and-bill combination attached to a two-meter (6.5 feet) wingspan, nobody is going to challenge them. The airborne escort, courtesy of the Accipitridae family, followed the boat to the first hong (‘room’ in Thai) and dissipated into the jungle trees far overhead.

A wise brew, err, crew

Well trained guides

“The Aussies want to know where the beer is,” said a woefully outnumbered English guest. In fact, there was only one beer on board. It was actually a he – Beer, not beer – and he was my designated kayak driver. Throughout the day, Beer flashed his environmental knowledge as he paddled the custom-built watercraft from one sight to the next. Mangrove Hong, Diamond Cave, Bat Cave – the names are telling. In a hushed voice, he piled on more: geological explanations, previous wildlife sightings, conservation challenges, habitat facts, jokes (this is, after all, Thailand). Informative tidbits poured from him like he’d been doing this for six years. He has.

Beer was not alone in his awareness; John Gray ensures all of his guides are well educated. The bay is their office and product; they know it and respect it. But their smarts don’t end there. With lifeguard, CPR, and swimming training, they are prepared for anything – an obvious precaution that others often overlook. Every guide knows the tides, currents, and what makes for safe paddling; not every kayak operation can make that claim.

The psychedelic side of the natural world

Entering a cave

As amazing as the staff is, the bay is still the star. Its skyline is dotted with islands whose sheer jungle-clad walls are more like imposing fortresses than welcoming landing spots. They rise giant from the sea, reminiscent of a nearly successful attempt to drown a mountain range. Water has sculpted – and is still sculpting – the rock into logic-defying formations that appears to ooze, drip, billow, swirl and defy gravity. It’s like a frozen lava lamp, but far more hypnotic.

Getting into the hongs is usually a simple matter: guides paddle through a dark cavern while guests handle flashlight duties. But it’s not always that easy. Depending on the tide, the space between the water and ceiling can be cosy. Lying in the kayak and making myself as flat as possible, I went cross-eyed watching the shell-encrusted rock pass disturbingly close to the tip of my quivering nose. It only lasts a minute, and soon we emerged, unscathed and sitting upright, into the hong’s brilliant sunlight.

‘Hong’ could mean ‘brilliant’

Out from the cave, inside the Hong

A hong is a chamber in an island’s interior, cave-like but roofless, round in shape, with high vertical walls. The dense vegetation paints every surface green. Trees sprout from the cliffs, their roots looking like they might tire of gripping the rock at any moment. Mudskippers and crabs play in the shallows. Hornbills scream. Monkeys occasionally appear, begging for handouts (without success on the John Gray trips). And guests, in total silence and with barely a ripple, enjoy the awe-inspiring, neck-bending wonders of these majestic rooms.

After an afternoon of hong-gazing, we returned to the boat to wait for darkness. We had time to kill – two hours worth – and the storm clouds that had previously been threatening were delivering. In dry weather, guests would be in the water kayaking, swimming, and getting wet. But it was raining, so all but the most intrepid stayed dry under the canopy, swapping travel tips, engaging in an impromptu television trivia quiz, and building kratongs with the guides.

An armada of prettiness

Releasing the Kratong in a cave at night

Loy Kratong is, without a doubt, the most beautiful Thai festival. Small floating decorations are set adrift en masse as a sign of new beginnings and for good luck. John Gray Sea Canoe recreates the ceremony on every ‘Hong by Starlight’ trip; yet another original, thoughtful touch. Guides lead guests in making the kratong, explaining each element as it was pinned to the banana stalk base: banana leaves for decoration, marigolds for prosperity, one incense stick each for Buddha, monks, and the Buddhist scripture, and candles for health and happiness. Then it was off to the final cave of the evening.

The caver’s motto states “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.” On John Gray’s trip, plenty of pictures are taken, but not even footprints are left behind.

By Aaron Mahan

Interested in this tour?

Hong by Starlight
Price 3,950 Baht

The perfect opportunity to canoe in Phang Nga and get the best of both worlds - by day and night. Starting after lunch, explore the limestone caves, which can only be entered by canoe when the tide is just right. Then at sunset enjoy the view, accompanied by a Thai style seafood dinner. Read more...

 

Photo Gallery of the tour


See below for tour reviews
Phi Phi by Speedboat - Similan Stopover - Phuket pearl Farm - Phi Phi Stopover - Krabi by Speedboat - Island Hopping - James Bond Canoe - Hong by Starlight - Seacave Canoe - Bamboo Rafting & Elephant Trekking - Khao Sok Safari Tour - Siam Safari 4-in-1 - White Water Rafting - June Bahtra Cruise - June Bahtra Sunset Cruise - Luxury Sailing Cruise - Phi Phi by Express Boat - Phuket Tours Mini Guide - Phuket Fantasea - Phang Nga by Car - Phuket Island & City Tour - Phuket Seaplane - Phuket Attractions - Phuket ATV Tour - Diving in Phi Phi - Romantic Sunset Cruise - Romantic Snorkeling Tour


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