It’s already been a couple weeks since we pulled into the marina on the north side of Phuket island, where we intend to leave Tamarisk until we depart Asia in a couple months. We’re accustomed to seasonal weather delays like this one by now, and although they can be frustrating on the one hand, they give us necessary time to do repair work and make plans and arrangements for our final (and most logistically complicated) passages back to the Mediterranean Sea. More importantly, they give us time to explore inland in a way we probably otherwise wouldn’t if we were free to keep sailing uninhibited by mother nature.

So we’ve buttoned up the boat and embarked on a new land-based voyage that will take us through Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. As we’ve done a couple times already on our voyage, the next few weeks will be dedicated partially to our usual sight-seeing and routine, and partially to researching charity related causes in this poverty stricken part of the world. We’re joined again by Elliott from Focusing Philanthropy (“FP”) and will be visiting some NGOs already supported by FP, some which are candidates for future support, and generally trying to form a better understanding for what needs exist in this part of the world and how they can most effectively be tackled with donations from FP’s supporters. All this gives us a rather unique opportunity to see the world from a distinctly non-touristic perspective, and we often discover things suddenly become much more interesting once we get off the usual tourist track.

For the time being though, we’re sitting here on Khao San Road, arguably the most absurdly touristic street in the most absurdly touristic city in the entire world. And we’re reminded of this each time we step outside the hotel door when the ridiculous offers begin flying at us from every direction: sight seeing tours, taxi rides, cheap suits, rubber band helicopters, balloons filled with laughing gas, grilled scorpions, things that make frog croaking noises, knockoff Viagra, and of course prostitutes…. all of it at bargain basement prices we’re crazy to pass up. And as interesting as that probably sounds, we suggest tempering your enthusiasm because the novelty wears off rather quickly. Unless there’s a reason we need to return to Bangkok in the future, this might be our last experience on its shady streets.

So we’ve now lined up our Vietnam and Myanmar visas and are ready to head to Hanoi, Vietnam tomorrow morning. We have a string of charity meetings lined up for the next few weeks, so we’ll be moving quickly and trying to squeak in some sightseeing whenever we can. Off we go!

Thailand’s west coast is world famous for its stunning vertical cliffed islands, idyllic white sand beaches and turquoise coves. A few have have made their way into popular movies like Leonardo Dicaprio’s The Beach and the James Bond film The Man With a Golden Gun. All the fame has caused the area to become a bit of a tourist trap with no shortage of excursion boats and and cheap trinket shops, but we’d generally agree with most of the praise this place gets. And we’re the first to admit the unique beauty has left us slack-jawed more than once.

It’s the rainy southwest monsoon season, which means we’re dealing with unpredictable weather many days. More importantly though it means our movement any further west from here is effectively blocked by the opposing wind. So we’ll be basing out of this area around Phuket until at least late November when the northwest monsoon develops, which will power us through the next (and final) major leg of our journey. We’re perfectly happy with this forced “delay” – it gives us plenty of time to explore the Thai islands, discover what notoriously crazy Phuket is all about, and also privides an opportunity to do another major road trip, this time through Thailand’s neighboring countries in south east Asia.

For the past couple weeks though, we’ve been focused on the smaller islands east of Phuket, and have been bouncing around like a pinball, rarely stopping for more than a night in each place. That changed a few days ago when we arrived in Phi Phi Don, as a big weather system is now ripping through and pinning us down here. Our pathetic attempt to leave yesterday for Phuket lasted just 10 minutes before 35 knots of headwind and 5 meter swells quickly forced us to make a U-turn, and we’re now settled back in the shelter of Phi Phi Don’s famous Tonsai Bay. We’re joined again now by Antra who we last saw in Indonesia a couple months ago, and like a true adventurer, she’s been nonstop smiles while bouncing around with us in the monsoon, and we couldn’t be happier about this addition to our team.