The memorable day our luggage, and us too, nearly ended in the drink! Sitting in the boat, engine cut off, absolutely soaking wet in the pouring rain, watching the boatman bailing like mad, I wondered if I should discard my neckpouch containing my passport, as well as my shoes of course, when we had to swim for it! But that was later in the day. In the morning we had a nicer boat trip.

On our final day in Ao Nang, near Krabi, we had time to go by longtail boat to Rai Lei beach. This was the third time we visited this lovely beach. The longtail boats throng the shoreline at Ao Nang, and each boatman touts for customers as you walk towards the Ao Nang beach - itself not very nice as beaches go. When boats have about six or eight passengers, the boatman pushes the boat off the sand, jumps in and starts the outboard motor. Maybe the long rod of the outboard motor contraption is the reason for the name longtail, because the very high prow, decorated with streamers of coloured cloth, is of course in the front and is not a tail at all. Some of the boatmen have mobile phones.

So the boat trips are fantastic, through the islands off shore. The boats sometimes have a notice saying: "Wear your life-jacket", but
most do not. Once I saw one very battered jacket. with no straps.

At 2.30 it was time to set off for Penang by ferry, for the first leg of our trip to Malaysia. The ferry is run by the Ao Nang Princess line and this the sister ship. the same as the large one, very well equipped, that we had used to go to Ko Phi Phi earlier.

All the passengers from the area were collected from their hotels by the large roofed pick-up truck, like a wide, large Nissan pickup, with benches down each side and one along the middle. A lot of us had luggage. Eventually at the nearest pier, it was with some astonishment that I realized that the tide was out quite a long way. The only way to get to the ferry was by longtail boat again. There were two boats to take us passengers and our luggage. Unfortunately we got on the second boat, with a huge amount of cases, bags and backpacks piled in the prow, and about ten or 12 of us passengers, plus the boatman. Right away there was a problem, as someone got up, the boat tilted, and water came over the side, soaking my back and lots of the luggage.

There was no sign of the ferry in the bay, as we chugged along, and the sky got more and more dark. Rail was obviously going to fall pretty soon.

What happened next I am not absolutely sure, but we were some way out to sea, the boat very low in the water, when we seemed to run over something, perhaps a sandbar. The engine died and the boatman began to bail out the water furiously. At the same time the rain decended in a torrent. We all huddled under the tiny awning, but the sides let in the slanting drops. It was a time when everybody began to laugh and joke, rather desperately!

Engine again, and a few more yards covered. I noticed a large boat with a man on it, wildly waving his shirt over his head. What he was signalling I am note sure, but maybe indicating that the ferry was on its way over. He could see it but we could not.

The engine cut out again, or the boatman cut it off on purpose, I am not sure, but in any event he was again frantically bailing out the water from the stern of the boat and we continued to get soaked by the rain. I realized that the luggage and passengers was making the boat extremely low in the sea.

Happily the ferry appeared, and our boatman made it to be tied up along side, where we had to scramble, or be hauled in my case, up the side, the luggage being chucked up after us. The other longtail boat was already unloaded, and these lucky people did not get very wet.

I had to spend the next two hours, trying to dry off on the deck when it stopped raining, but did not manage to dry my back, only my front. What bliss it was when we eventually arrived at the Metropole hotel in Phuket, to have a wonderful hot bath!