Sanantone in Phuket

---

John Gray Sea canoe Hong By Starlight tour was very good. very proffesionally done & the seafood Buffet was delicious. They also cater for people who don't eat seafood so choise for all.the boat that we went out to the sea caves in is quite large & comfortable & airy so i did'nt get seasick!!! Makes a change. The guide we had called Alik spoke very good english, was very knowledgeable on many topics, especially environmental.The sea canoes are inflatable but very stable, Tony was worried he would tip us over getting in with his new hip & dodgy knee but not too much trouble. The hongs are lagoons encircled by towering cliffs & the only way in is via caves through the rock accessible only at mid tide. very peaceful inside & some of the caves have insect eating bats living in them while others support oysters. We had nibblies which were very tasty, spring rolls & that sort of stuff with drinks of ice tea, cordial or as much bottled water as you want, all icy cold.Then off to the hongs for about one hour then back to the boat for coffe, tea & banana or ginger muffins, very welcome by then. straight away we headed over to some more hongs & were told what to expect on the Starlight Tour, the cave is bio-luminescent so in pitch darkness the water sparkles when there's a splash.We stopped to make kratongs, offerings to the sea spirits to say thanks for being able to see the amazing spectacle of nature. it was really neat to see how to make the kratongs, apparently all the Thais learn how to make them in primary school. Back into the sea canoes just on dark & paddled over to the caves.It 's spectacular when the guides turn their headlamps off & its pitch black inside & the micro organisms which are luminescent appear. Then we lit the kratongs & floated them between the canoes. Normally this is only done once a year but for tourism purposes its every night so the kratongs are collected & taken back to the boat otherwise there would be too much rubbish accumulating in the caves. Its a great tour & we allreally enjoyed it. Its suitable for all ages as long as you can step into the canoe & lifejackes are provided if you wish & there are ones to fit littlies.

---

Photos

All the kratongs
Lined up ready for offering in caves.

Tony & I with kratong
standing at front of boat.

Alik, our guide
We helped him make the kratong.

offerings to water spirits.
Inside cave.

Seafood Buffet,
lovely selection of food including chicken.