Every type of tour operator you could think of, paid a visit to this idyllic cove; fishing charters, yacht charters, huge dive boats, one stopping right on top of Paw Paw to drop off numerous divers and snorkelers then disappeared, only to return about an hour or so later, loaded with other divers and snorkelers that had been dropped off and collected somewhere else. The corker was the owner of a humongous gin palace who decided he could nudge his way into the anchorage amongst the mooring field, gave up, but then tried to nudge into the even smaller adjacent cove; its staggering just how often we see this diminished level of basic intelligence, yet somehow these people have managed to accumulate enough wealth to purchase such an expensive luxury item.
This bedlam continued over both days and all of last night too; the latter due to a crewed charter yacht which arrived early evening with a group of young adults onboard. From the minute they arrived, they spelt trouble! But, we were all young once and partying all night on the beach is what you do. However, setting off fireworks straight out over the moored yachts from midnight to sunrise, intermittently throughout the night, when they had the option of shooting them off in a different, safer direction, was profound ignorance at its best; fools and booze is a potent mix, one that could have resulted in our home going up in smoke and could have shattered a lifelong dream. While everyone enjoys a fireworks display, this was definitely not one of them, but we got to see the 4th of July fireworks upfront and personal and see the beautiful sunrise whether we liked it or not ! How we didn’t end up with damage to Paw Paw is truly a miracle!
Then, when that lot had barely packed up and returned to their yacht this morning, a power-catamaran, loaded with tourists, came screaming into the anchorage, doing at least 20 Kts, with the captain jamming the catamaran into reverse only when it was nearly on the beach, following which he reversed it up onto the beach, the passengers disembarked and the crew set up a beach picnic area for the day. This captain clearly had total disregard for anyone who might have been snorkelling in the water, including ourselves, as we’d barely returned to Paw Paw from our morning swim when this idiot came charging through.
We’d been told by cruising friends about cruising in Thailand during the height of the tourist influx, but if this was just a glimpse into what it must have been like, there is no way we would have stayed in Thailand for any length of time. Fortunately, there’s still plenty to explore and enjoy without having to deal with hoards of tourists, especially since it’s unlikely the “Phuket Sandbox” will stay open for long, if what we witnessed was anything to go on; during all this activity, there wasn’t a single mask worn or any social distancing taking place whatsoever, not even by the crews of these tour operators, which means it won’t be long before the COVID-19 cases start to increase again. Additionally, no one seems to be adhering to the guidelines that all arriving tourists had to remain on Phuket Island for 14 days and have three negative COVID-19 test results before being allowed to visit anywhere else in Thailand. The latter was the reason we decided to head south, away from civilisation and off the grid, to put some distance between ourselves and the arriving tourists, at least until we’ve been vaccinated. So much for that bright idea!
Nevertheless, we got on with enjoying our days in these beautiful surroundings under sunny, blue skies, although it was difficult not to be distracted by all the goings-on. When things settled down in the late afternoon after all the tourists had left or indeed before they arrived in the morning, we enjoyed a swim and snorkel to the beach and around the cove, testing the underwater camera again. Elaine also spent time painting, while Roy worked on his project and we’ve had time to get back into our reading. We decided a long time ago we wouldn’t let our days be spoilt by others!
Sleep deprived after last night’s antics meant an afternoon nap was definitely in order. A rain shower, however, put pay to our stargazing exploits, but we both needed an early night anyway.
