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Published: February 7th 2007
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We had read so many rave reports on the John Gray sea canoe trip that we certainly wanted to make sure we had this booked before we left. I did send numerous e-mails via the John Gray web site and to their e-mail address but after a couple of weeks of no response we ultimately booked and paid a deposit through an online booking, with an agent in Phuket. When we arrived we rang the John Gray office and they had no record of any booking for us!!! It's funny though, as if this happened at home I probably would have freaked but on holiday in Thailand it was just easier to go with the flow and hope it all sorted out. After contacting the agent she was able to reconfirm and said that the booking had been lost somewhere in transit and that everything was now fine.
I was still a little nervous so was very relieved when we received our faxed confirmation, the night before even though the pick up was 2 hours earlier than we expected.
The access to the hongs is so dependant on the tide level that the timetable is altered daily to accommodate that. This
was a positive and a negative for us and I don't mean the early pick up. I had been concerned about the possible very tight squeezes into the hongs but on our trip we were able to be upright the whole time. The tides were so low that in fact sometimes we were in only a few inches of water and our poor guide was really pulling us through mud rather than rowing. The downside of the earlier Hong expeditions was that we were also there when other operators were there which actually resulted in quite a traffic jam at one stage!!
Besides this we had a thoroughly fantastic day and enjoyed it immensely. The organisation of the whole trip from the mini bus driver who actually drove in a sensible manner, to the helpful courteous crew was very impressive. We were again very lucky to be on a trip with some really nice people that really added to the enjoyment of the day. There was one family who had a very unhappy young toddler who was really tired and grumpy most of the day. The rest of us were very understanding and the parents were concerned he was disturbing
us. It certainly didn't ruin a great day but it did have an impact when we were in such tranquil settings with him crying and yelling. The crew were very patient with him and tried their best to do what they could.
The boat was pretty full as we did have more than the usual 24 on board but there was still enough room for us all. There was a plentiful supply of bottled water and soft drink. No alcohol on board which was probably a good thing to have an alcohol free day!! The food we were served for lunch and dinner was amazing. How they put that feast together in the kitchens below deck, I'll never know!
One of our highlights was the unexpected bonus of monkeys. I had been disappointed on our Phi Phi trip that there were no monkeys so I was delighted that one of the hongs had quite a few. It was great watching them interact and I was very comfortable viewing them from a distance. A little later when we were going through a smaller cutting I noticed one just above me and I was a little unnerved remembering Reets experiences. I hoped
John Gray Boat
On our way to the first hong with the boat and other canoes behind we were OK as we didn't have a canoe full of bananas!
We had a lovely guide as they all seemed to be and he was a wealth of information. When it came to making the Kratongs later in the day I was rather nonplussed when he looked at my handiwork, shook his head and commented "ladies, usually good at this"! I have never been creative or good with my hands and now I know I can't even fold up leaves very well either. Never mind, it didn't look that bad!
When we had our free time we did a little self paddling but Terry was having trouble with his back so we had to give up on getting to the little beach. The sea lice were pretty bad that day so ocean swimming wasn't very appealing. We ended up just dozing on the front deck and that was very relaxing.
Although we couldn't actually see the sun setting we did have a lovely view of some great cloud formations with stunning colours. It was beautiful and many of us were on the top deck taking photos.
The evening trip with the Kratong ceremony was very special, especially as we
discovered afterwards that both Terry & I had the same heartfelt prayer as we released the Kratong. It was very moving and we could have stayed out there for ages.
This trip is always high on everyone’s must do list and we can see why.
It is one of the more expensive options in Phuket at 3450 baht per person but after you have experienced the trip you realise you it’s worth every cent or rather every baht!!
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CathyP
non-member comment
Fantastic report and lovely photos - I want to go back right now!! Cathy