By 1100 we were able to weigh anchor, then gingerly meandered down the channel, since not one version of our Navionics charts were remotely accurate with the depths we were encountering. It was the amazing colours of the water that grabbed our attention, though, ranging from jade to turquoise to a deep blue, but the depths stayed consistent. Along the way we also passed a few floating fishing villages, or so we thought, but later realised they were associated with the fishing villages ashore, used to store all the fishing gear, unlike Indonesia where the fishermen lived afloat.
By 1230 we’d made our way through to the eastern side of the waterway, where we discovered a beautiful white sandy beach marking the entrance and scattered with coconut palms. It didn’t take long for us to don our swimwear and head over to enjoy a swim and this stunning beach which we had all to ourselves. The only other sign of life were the various creatures we disturbed, obviously taking up residency when the tourists disappeared. We did, however, have one mishap with a few of the dwellers that were clearly not happy with our invasion; large red ants that attacked Roy when he went to tie up the dinghy to a nearby tree. A quick dash into the sea sorted out that problem, but seems to have fried his Apple watch, which was supposed to be waterproof. Guess we’ll be taking another trip to an Apple store soon!
After our frolic in the very warm Andaman Sea, we returned to Paw Paw, rinsed off, got dressed and headed to the little village on Koh Yao Yai in search of Daeng Paradise Food, reported to have the best Thai food in Thailand and we can definitely vouch for that. It was absolutely scrumptious, but what made the outing extra special was the joy on the owners face when he saw Roy approaching his restaurant and then having to dash out to buy a pineapple for our pineapple fried rice, one of the dishes we ordered, as well as to get change when Roy handed him a TBH500 note. He, of course, was over the moon too, with the hefty tip that Roy left for his troubles and fabulous service.
Elaine, on the other hand, decided to wait in the dinghy, primarily because we weren’t sure whether or not the restaurant was still in existence, given so many deserted establishments we’ve seen on various islands thus far. While she waited in the cool breeze and under the shade of her umbrella, she watched the beautifully adorned “longtails” ferrying people and goods back and forth and answered the curious questions of a few brave enough to speak to her. What she wasn’t expecting was Roy returning on the back of a motorbike; the owner of the restaurant had offered him a ride back to Elaine and the dinghy, tied towards the end of the very long pier.
Clearly we were the first tourists this village has seen in a very long time and were delighted to interact with us.
Back onboard we enjoyed our takeaway meal before settling down in the cockpit to while away what little was left of our day.
