On arrival to Chalong we found that the immigrations official was just on the way out so after him requesting we buy him "lunch" for the inconvenience we caused we were processed and on our way.. 1000 Baht well spent.
For our own lunch We found a lovely beachside bar for with very friendly staff, after which we decided to sail further up towards Boat Lagoon, which came recommended as the best harbour in Thailand. What a disappointment...

For about 4 kms into the harbour we followed a dredged channel along timber posts in the water, and even though it was high tide it was that shallow that the boat hit sand banks a couple of time on the way in. Once in there it was ridiculously cramped, dirty water, no breeze and hundreds of mozzies. The harbour did have a huge hardstand and quite a number of shipping services but most were closed.

After being guided in to a berth alongside a number of tour and dive boats (most of which are running triple 225hp outboards) and handing out some beers to the mechanics that were working on the boats next to ours who arranged power and water as well as guiding us in, we filled up the water tank, unloaded our rubbish and headed off to a fantastic Indian restaurant at the adjacent resort. Great food and service, sadly due to off season and we were the only patrons the whole evening.

The next morning we headed out on a much better high tide after refuelling and sailed back to Chalong.

Excellent winds saw us sailing back at 8 knots for a lunchtime arrival at which we checked back out of Thailand with customs etc. Dad and I then caught a cab up to Patong beach for the night while Eky stayed aboard Blue Lagoon.

The shopping at Patong beach, with its outdoor markets and shopping centres is great, however you literally cant walk 5 meters without someone trying to sell you something. Its nuts. I bought some great stuff including a t-shirt that really sums up the shopping here - “ NO I don’t want a fu****n tuk tuk (taxi), suit or a massage!” The whole place has a rather seedy vibe but it was great for a look and after 10 days on the boat it was nice to be sleeping in an aircond hotel room, hot shower, cable tv for 1 night for $28 for a night.

In the evening we walked the night markets and bars. Interstingly we met and had drinks with Greg Hall, the jockey who rode Subzero to victory in the 1992 Melbourne cup amongst others. The great thing about travelling is the amount of people you meet and everyone has a story.

The food is pretty good here too. Pad thai and green Thai curries for about A$5 although plenty of places selling chicken feet, fried crickets and the like. Haven’t been game to try them when there is so much nice food on offer.

This morning we will be heading back to the boat and over the next 2 days sailing back to Langkawi before continuing on down past singapore over the next few weeks. I will update again in a few days when we dock at Rebak marina.