Far from the madding crowd

PHANG Nga Bay, on Thailand’s west coast, has been a popular cruising destination for many years, and for several good reasons. The scenery is stunning, the anchorages numerous and of easy depth for anchoring, the weather is usually benign and predictable, the Thai food is wonderful and the people friendly.

Sadly, the downside of all this is that it can be very crowded and this certainly affects the relaxing “get away from it all” ambience that we all want. From November to April, during the north-east monsoon period, this beautiful bay is packed with cruising yachts, luxury power boats, racing yachts, speeding transfer boats and large ferries, as well as the ubiquitous local fishing boats. Phuket, and more recently Krabi airports are very busy with international flights bringing tourists from all over the world. The major towns are crowded with tourists and the roads often resemble peak hour in a busy city.

For cruising folk this busyness can mean overcrowded anchorages, huge numbers of tourists at the well-known hongs, caves and beaches, full marinas