I first heard of Chris Jedrzycki from his cycling stories posted on the Crazyguyonabike
site https://cgoab.com/Spoke2010 in which
he told of cycling challenging routes way off the beaten path. I got to meet him
in 2014 on my first ride to Kanchanaburi Province. He and his Thai wife Areeya run
Hidden Holiday House, a lovely little guesthouse beside the Tha Chin River near
the town of Nakhon Chaisri, just a day’s ride west of Bangkok; the website
www.hiddenholidayhouse.com/index.php/en/homehhh-en-gb
has a description and even a cyclist’s map of how to get here from Bangkok. I didn’t
get to see them again until the end of my solo South Thailand ride in 2021, when
Chris told me that he leads informal kayak and bicycle tours. I rarely have the
opportunity to join group trips, and signed up for a kayak trip on a remote stretch
of the Mae Nam Ping River in January 2022, then
a ‘soft-nut’ bicycle tour in
East Thailand
the following month. In 2023 I joined another set of wonderful trips—a kayak journey
among the Trang Islands
of southern Thailand’s Andaman Sea, a kayak ride down the Khwai Noi in western Thailand’s
Kanchanaburi Province, and three cycling adventures: a ‘soft-nut’ bicycle tour in
central Laos, a ‘medium-nut’
bicycle tour through
South Korea, and a ‘super-tough-nut’ challenge in
central Laos. The
year 2024 got off to a great start with a pleasant bicycle tour in
central Vietnam.
This trip is different from the previous three kayak journeys in that it begins as a river trip, progresses through a broad estuary, then heads into the Andaman Sea and visits a series of islands. Chris had kayaked this six years ago and had made a more recent scouting trip to check out accommodations. Tidal flows have a big impact on the river and estuary days, so Chris timed our days and paddling times for the greatest benefit. At the end of every day we could look forward to relaxing in a comfortable resort and go out for a tasty meal at a restaurant. On WhatsApp, Chris set up a group chat so that we could exchange notes and photos during the trip; surprisingly we had cell coverage most of the time.Besides the kayaking, we made a sidetrip to Kawthoung, the southernmost town in mainland Myanmar
Our route begins in the north on the Kraburi River, which forms the border between Thailand and Myanmar. But because of instability in the uppermost river, we had to cancel plans to kayak the northernmost segment on this map and begin closer to Kraburi. Originally the plan had been to kayak to Kawthoung, but we were so tired and time was short that we took a regular motorboat from Ranong instead. From Ranong we headed out to sea and stopped at a couple tiny islands inhabited by Moken (sea gypsies), then on to Ko Chang and Ko Phayam, where we spent two nights on each before the long jaunt across the sea southeast back to the mainland at a beach south of Ranong.
9 November Bus Bangkok to Kraburi
Moved stuff to new storage unit, GOODBYE
LENIN, taxi to Southern Bus Terminal. Choke Anan Tour bus 2000 to 0430, 764 B,
free snacks, post-midnight dinner of egg, tofu, bean sprouts. Met Mathilda.
10 November Pure House, Kraburi
Mostly cloudy and humid, then clearing late
afternoon and evening. Bus let us off in town, but not resort 10km farther. May
of Pure House drove to meet us, then get takeout at market for breakfast. Big B
of omelet, veggies, salad. Felt good on arrival then rested. Walked to Phra Khayang
Cave, 1.6km and followed main path high inside, then outside to upper reaches. Lots
of bats with yellow eyes in side passage on left. Back at Pure House, met Chow,
Areeya and Chris then we drove to riverside restaurant in town. Areeya pre-ordered
a tofu soup and a local dish with greens and egg, very tasty. Stopped for roti,
banana for me. At resort met Oui, sister of Iew.
11 November Pure House, Kraburi
Our group had six people to paddle the three
kayaks: Chris and his Thai wife Areeya, Chow, K. Oui, Mathilde, and myself. All
of us converged at Pure House, a guesthouse 10 kilometers south of the town of Kraburi
in Ranong Province. Chris and Areeya drove their car loaded with a pair of polyethylene
and one inflatable kayaks plus the paddles and other gear that goes with them. Mathilde
and I caught an overnight Choke Anan Tour Bus (764 baht) from Bangkok’s Southern
Bus Station at 8 p.m. Our VIP bus offered comfortable three-across seating, USB
outlets, a few free snacks, and a free middle-of-the-night dinner (egg, tofu, and
bean sprouts for me). P. Oui also came by bus, but a shorter ride from her home
in Ratchaburi Province. Chow, who lives in northwest Malaysia, arrived on his bicycle,
though he took buses most of the way. Mathilde and I had hoped that the bus would
drop us off at the resort, but we had to disembark in Kraburi town at 4:30 a.m.
in the pre-dawn darkness. Luckily the market here was getting going with lots of
food, and our host May from Pure House kindly drove to meet us. We got a take-out
breakfast from the market, then got a ride to the resort. I felt good despite the
sparse sleep on the bus and enjoyed a big breakfast of an omelet, veggies, and a
salad.