PHUKET GETAWAY
Moving experience of sun, sand and bioluminescence
Thailand is one of the few destinations in which South Africans still have spending power
Feel the fear but do it anyway: This is the best advice for claustrophobes who’d rather endure torture than be in tight spaces. When the emotional rewards and bragging rights are so great, just do it. The Hong Caves near Thailand’s Phuket Island offers an opportunity to see limestone edifices rising from the ocean. This is reward enough, but travelling deep into the caves in one of John Gray’s inflatable sea kayaks is a growth experience therapy can’t deliver. Visitors have to lie back in the kayaks with their tummies sucked in as experienced guides manoeuvre them into the Phang-Nga Bay cave that becomes sealed by water during high tide. It makes an MRI tunnel seem roomy. In darkest areas at the back of the caves, the inky blackness and the heat feel like a wet towel around the head. Agitate the warm sea with your hands and see the bioluminescent plankton sparkle to light in the water. After the trip into the caves, there is an opportunity to see rare birds and monkeys. On the boat ...
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