Posts Tagged :

Friends

Abridgment

Photo by Julien Estiot

Let’s go back in time a few months. May 2013. Phuket. After an overwhelming trip to the Andaman Islands, Iva and I are back in Thailand. We enjoy our first real shower. After cooking three times a day for two months we take a rest, sit down and order our favorite Thai dishes. We don’t forget the juicy burgers and ice-cold beers either. Tourists are everywhere, the beaches aren’t empty anymore, but tourism has its perks. My brother visits again, so do Iva’s parents. It feels nice to be surrounded by family and familiar grounds.

Beers on the Beach

Julien getting a Thai haircut

Julien getting a Thai haircut

Photo by Julien Estiot

Afternoon Boat Activities

First bottle of wine in two months!
Photo by Julien Estiot

We enjoy the company of our friends. Jose and Ana, owners of Zarco, who I met in Fiji nine years ago. Dutch Chris, iconic figure of Ao Yon Bay and owner of the Andaman Sea Club, a catamaran charter company. The amazing Maillard family on Tsarapenhoat : Arnaud and Katia left their steady life in Reunion Island to buy a 38 foot catamaran in Phuket. On board they home-school their four children. We sometimes struggle to cook for two. They do it every day for six.

More friends fly in from Kuala Lumpur. Andy and Steph, who are responsible for introducing me to Iva, finally make it onto Dali. Jess and Rich join the party and make it another memorable outing to Patong. What a contrast to the past two months spent in a bubble with Iva on Dali!

Enjoying a swim in fresh water at our friends’ hotel!
Photo by Jessica Lewis

The Andaman trip has been tiring. We raised anchor almost everyday. I need my lazy days back. So we sail up to Phang Nga Bay, and realize that we haven’t explored it thoroughly. We have gone so far to blow our minds with unexpected images, but Thailand is just as beautiful.

The limestone rocks of Phang Nga Bay. The caves. The secret enclosed bodies of water that we discover everyday. The Thai call them “hongs”, which means “rooms”. OK, we’re not exactly at the end of the world anymore. In most places, hordes of kayaking tourists invade the grounds from ten in the morning to four in the afternoon. That’s my lazy time. The rest is our oars caressing the calm waters of the bay with no one in sight.

Before and After the tourists

Before and After the tourists

Can you spot Iva ?

Can you spot Iva ?

Seashell Beach

Seashell Shower

Seashell Shower

Sunset on Limestone Cliffs

Sunset on Limestone Cliffs

My good friend Guy visits from Doha. He was one of the first guests on the boat back in 2009, shortly after I purchased it. At the time I didn’t have the confidence I have now as the captain of Dali. I thought this time everything would go smoothly, especially thanks to Guy’s sailing experience. I had to think again…

…to be continued

Phil

Eleven On Board

There’s nothing like the feeling of leaving a marina after being tied to a pontoon, mixing sweat and grease, for a time that always turns out to be much longer than expected…

So on a sunny day, in fifteen knots of wind blowing through Phang Nga Bay, we finally untied the lines and left Yacht Haven Marina. With on board, Isabelle and Mathieu, two friends visiting from France ! They would be the first of numerous guests coming and going, sleeping on the available bunks and bringing life and laughter to our small living space in the two weeks that followed…

Isabelle and Mathieu

On our way down to the south of Phuket to meet the rest of the crew, we enjoy some really nice sailing in the strong wind on the flat waters of the massive bay. Isa and Mat quickly take their marks on board and love the boat heeling in the gusts…the intense limestone islands, as if suspended above water, surround us as we anchor for our first night far from the rest of the world…

Fresh prawns, straight from the fisherman’s net to our table!

After a couple of days sailing down the west coast of Phuket, we meet up with more friends! Pierre-Henri (PH) and his girlfriend Clothilde. also from France, and Elise with her boyfriend Vikram, a.k.a. Sunny, flying in from India. It’s a couples’ holiday ! I’m delighted to have three of my best friends on board with their better halves, most of which I meet for the first time.  And it’s the first time Iva meets my French friends. It turns out they all randomly came to visit at the same time ! She won’t be disappointed, we’re now eight people on the boat !

The following week, we all sail together from Phuket to Koh Hae, couples taking turns to sleep on the boat (it only sleeps five) while the others book cheap accommodation on land. Cruising around the islands, snorkeling in the good spots, lunch on the beach, sundowners on the boat, dinner on land, what a perfect few days catching up on their lives back home, sharing our own new living conditions… It feels so good to have my old time friends on the boat, actually finally understanding what our lifestyle implies…

Elise and Sunny

A typically French apéritif : rosé wine and saucisson !

Couples’ Holiday !

After a very relaxed beginning of our group holiday, we decide to change the mood and head to Koh Phi Phi, where Jess, Sinead and Diane, three Australian friends of Iva will join us…the more the merrier !

Sailing to Koh Phi Phi

Clo and PH

Dali…the love-boat !

Phi Phi Islands

Iva catching a mooring line, on our arrival in Phi Phi.
That one broke a few minutes after… I prefer my anchor and chain !

Our anchorage in Phi Phi

As mentioned before on this blog, Koh Phi Phi is a group of two islands lying 20 miles east of Phuket. Koh Phi Phi Le, the small one, famous for being the setting of the movie The Beach. Kho Phi Phi Don, the large one is a pretty busy tourist destination, mainly attracting young backpackers looking for gorgeous settings and beach parties… It’s a change for our guests from the more isolated places we’ve taken them so far : streets, people everywhere, long walks with their backpacks to find a place to stay…

Iva, Jess, Sinead and Diane

But at night, the party on the beach starts, with numerous bars blasting heavy bass into the night, firedancers and a lot of drunken tourists… What a perfect spot to celebrate our random reunion, eleven of us drinking and dancing our hearts out till it’s really time to go to bed…

It’s not Phi Phi without fluorescent paint…

After a couple of days recovering from that first night, by diverse means such as sweating it out on a long trek over the mountain or simply sitting on the beach enjoying lots of Thai food (which is NEVER bad), we have to head back to Phuket.

Post Party Trek

The Phi Phi Viewpoint inspires many interesting poses…

Loh Bagao Bay, east coast of Phi Phi

PH and Clo continue their trip to Koh Lanta, Isa and Mat head back to Phuket on an early ferry to extend their visa and we sail back with the rest of the crew.

Early morning stopover in Maya Bay, set of the movie ‘The Beach’, before the daily tourist invasion

Sailing back to Phuket

Cozy girly time on a sleepy afternoon sail…

Unfortunatly we have to say goodbye to Elise and Sunny who head back to Bangkok to catch their flight for Dehli. But Jess, Sinead and Diane stay to enjoy their first night on the boat ! A nice dinner of bangers and mash and a good movie put us all to bed quite early…

The following is not my most glorious moment. The girls booked a hotel room in the infamous Patong for a last night of party in Phuket’s vibrant streets. Isa and Mat were joining us as well. Everything was set up for a crazy farewell night. But the party was cut short rather quickly. As the girls were getting ready to go out, I caught my small toe on a bed corner in a hasty movement. All I could do is look at the sad result : a  toe dangling from the side of the foot. End of the party before it starts. Head for the hospital for an X-Ray that shows the extent of the damage. Well, a broken toe.

Welcoming eleven people on board within two weeks is not an easy task. As the captain of the boat, you are responsible for every person that steps on it. Everyone has different expectations, different plans. Trying to please everybody at the same time, while taking their schedule into consideration, on top of the handling the boat, dealing with the weather, the tides, the dozens of dinghy trips to the beach…not a holiday for Iva and I.

We estimate about a hundred dinghy trips made during the holiday!

But the smile on the faces of your friends, chilling on the boat, enjoying a sunset or awing at the color of the crystal water you brought them to…more than worth it.

We thought after these two weeks we could have our own “holiday”. Finally only responsible for ourselves. Free as little fish in the sea. Well we had to think again. First I have to rest my toe. Let the bone consolidate. Then we need to head back to Langkawi…to meet more friends !

Phil

We would like to thank Isabelle, Mathieu, Elise, Sunny, Pierre-Henri and Clothilde for letting us use some of their photographs for this post.

Visitors

In sudden and boisterous contrast to our first two months alone, we have spent the past few weeks welcoming friends and family on board. The first guests we were expecting were newly wed Cedric and Sum from Hong Kong. Since they graciously welcomed us at their wedding earlier this year, we wanted to make sure we returned the favour and showed them a good time on the boat. That same weekend, some friends of ours from Kuala Lumpur were hosting a farewell party for a notorious Mr.Freddy. Those who know us (individually and as a couple) know well that we aren’t the kind to turn down a good party… So we anchored in Pantai Cenang and prepared to socialize for the first time in weeks.

We all spent a lovely afternoon on the boat. Sum and Cedric were excited and at ease. At the time they also shared with us their hopes of having a baby and since we have recently found out this dream of theirs has come true we can’t help but think maybe a little Dali magic helped speed things along! In any case, may they realize the rest of all their ambitions.

That night Sum & Cedric retired early (possibly for reasons stated above) and we joined our KL friends on the beach. It was great to be surrounded by such familiar faces and feel like we were not too far from the city we both called home, and its people. The night was complete with a full blown game of Flunkyball after which we even visited Langkawi’s ‘hottest night club’. All in all a great day and night amongst friends and a warm welcome back to Malaysia.

Photo Courtesy of Romie L.

However, the party could not continue the next night as we moved the boat and prepared for the arrival of Philippe’s parents.

Fuel Dock in Telaga Harbour

Dali anchored in front of Philippe’s parents hotel, awaiting their arrival!

I was very happy to meet Philippe’s mother and father, Renate and Alain and to see that the feelings of relief were mutual as we all got along effortlessly. Their easy ability to adapt also applied to the boat, where they were both instantly comfortable.

While I was just beginning to breathe a sigh of relief, we had to brace ourselves for the arrival of my family.

The day before my family was to arrive Phil wanted to take his parents out for a short sail. We left in the morning, enjoyed lunch and a swim at a nearby beach and were making our way back when Phil noticed a problem with the engine. For those of you who know about boats, and those of you who don’t: engine problems are stressful. Philippe and I had gone up to the border of Myanmar and back – sometimes using the engine for 13 hours straight and the first day he takes his parents out is when something decides to go wrong. Needless to say we both believe strongly in Murphy’s Law. I also believe in Karma and like to think that’s why we were lucky enough to have good conditions and were able to sail back and anchor in front of his parents’ hotel and identify the problem with the engine: a broken impeller in the water pump.

Alain and Philippe raising the French and German flags

The next day my parents arrived at their hotel with me sweating and stressing, and Philippe up to his neck in grease. My parents arrived in the middle of the problem yet eager to help. I spent the afternoon with my mother and sister on the beach while the men worked on Dali. With help from my dad, who has always loved mechanics, the problem was finally fixed – just in time for celebratory sundowners.

That evening we met back with Philippe’s parents and had a wonderful meal together. The rest of my family’s stay was just as pleasant and the next day we all went for a sail around the islands of Langkawi. I was very happy to have my parents and sister experience a little of life on the boat and be able to imagine what our day to day is like in more detail. All in all both families were very happy to have had the chance to meet, and Phil and I the happiest of all.

Both families. Only missing Philippe’s brother Julien (who will join us soon) and my sister Ileana who will hopefully visit this year.

My parents returned to Kuala Lumpur as Philippe, his parents and I sailed to Koh Lipe, Thailand, for a few days of clearer waters and gorgeous beaches. We enjoyed our small vacation and returned to Langkawi happy and relaxed, with his parents even more at ease on Dali.

Beautiful Koh Lipe

We have said goodbye to Philippe’s parents now, happy to hear that they are excited for their next visit. In a few weeks our string of visitors continues as we prepare to welcome Philippe’s brother on board. Meanwhile, we may take a short holiday to Kuala Lumpur to take a break from playing hosts!

Iva