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Thailand sea kayaking: Phuket adventure travel tours - Thailand wildlife tour |
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| Stephen Darley (Australian living in Bangkok) on Khao Sok National Park "...your [Dave's] enthusiasm for thailand and its natural heritage and particularly your interest in life sciences was enlightening. Mark Strickland: professional underwater photographer
& author I can't say enough about our fantastic trip to Thailand's
Khao Sok National Park with PaddleAsia. It was a great experience from
start to finish - well organized but flexible itinerary, with just the
right combination of paddling adventures and relaxation. The scenery
is absolutely spectacular - we explored miles of pristine shoreline,
bordered by towering, limestone mountains and verdant tropical jungle.
The accommodations were a special treat - floating bamboo bungalows,
snuggled into a remote corner of an immense lake. Food was simple but
delicious, and our hosts certainly lived up to the tradition of Thai
hospitality. And, amazing at it may seem, surrounded as we were by tropical
fresh water, there were no mosquitoes! Starting each day waking up to
the sounds of gibbons and other jungle dwellers was an experience not
to be forgotten. What really made the trip unique, however, was the
wildlife viewing. Thanks to Dave's expertise, we paddled to just the
right places to see a wide range of creatures - primates like dusky
langurs, pig-tailed macaques and white-faced gibbons, and lots of bird
life, including several types of eagles, hawks, and 3 different species
of hornbills. We even saw wild pigs feeding at water's edge. It would
have been enough just to see these creatures, but Dave made it all the
more interesting by identifying each animal and educating us about their
habits. On top of all this, we also spent part of one day doing a very
scenic hike that led to an amazing cave system. Our Thai guide led us
along a subterranean stream bed through an incredible maze of underground
grottos and passages, complete with stalactites, bats and blind catfish.
It was icing on the cake! All in all a thoroughly enjoyable trip that
we would love to do again - keep up the good work guys! Dr. Bill Rolfe and Dr. Moon Kerson
(American) on Rivers of Vientiane Steve Bragg (British) on Khao Sok National
Park Rick Herpel (American from West Palm Beach, Fla.) on snorkeling in Tarutao Marine Park "One of the most outstanding days I've had diving. I've been diving for 20 years and it was as good as anything I've seen."
The American TV show "Survivor" is being filmed on Ko Tarutao in June of 2002. PaddleAsia offers a variety of tour packages to Tarutao National Park. If you'd like to learn more, see our Tarutao Survivor page. Bob Brodersen (Californian University Professor) on birding in Khao Sok "It was a great trip. Dave's a fantastic birder. I got 28 new species!" John Furman (American) on Phang Nga We had an incredible trip, exceeded our expectations,
and are eager to do it again. Dave was always good natured, engaging,
and knowledgeable...and didn't put any pressure on us to achieve great
paddling feats! This made it a lot more relaxing. Thanks again. Wolfgang & Hannelore Viertel (BC, Canada) on our Rental program We were very happy to find paddleasia in South Thailand and could rent sea kayaks from them. The kayaks as well as the additional equipment which paddleasia provided were excellent. We used the kayaks in the Krabi area. It's an area with no transportation and accommodation problems. There are daily ferry service between Phuket, Phi Phi Island, Krabi and Ko Lanta. After the monsoon (December) the ocean was calm and we did day trips and a long distance crossing to Phi Phi Island. We kayaked from island to island and enjoyed the excellent food in the lodges, the warm water from the Andaman Sea, the beautiful islands and we had trouble free holidays. Line Hansen (Norwegian) on Laos (rivers near Vientiane) "We enjoyed ourselves immensely in Laos. Also enjoyed the company. The trip turned out to be everything we hoped it would be and more." Lisa Priestley (American) on Phang Nga Bay "We had a GREAT time! Dave was terrific and we really appreciated how he was able to arrange no other tourists or even fishing boats our first day out --- we had the islands completely to ourselves!!!!" Kimberley McGrandle (Canadian living in Hong Kong) on Phang Nga and Khao Sok "You're the greatest kayak company in the world!" Ralph Stephanelli (American living in Hong Kong) on Laos "...whenever I look at them [referring to photos] its a great reminder of what a good time we had, you can almost relive being on the river."
"...it was all great fun and extremely interesting - the bird life and the monkeys were amazing. All in all the experience was one I wouldn't have missed for the world. The days were spent paddling gently around this vast (165 sq mile) reservoir in a National Park of 650 sq mls. The scenery was also amazing."
"We both had a great time and just want to learn more." Peter Bond (British - living in Bangkok) "Rebecca and Tabitha [Peter's daughters] have just returned to Bkk [Bangkok] full of praises for your outfit. Well done, they are not the easiest people to please so you deserve full marks...."
"My head and my heart are however full of the sounds, smells and images of the Khao Sok National Park. I will always remember sitting back in my kayak and gazing at whole troops of gibbon and monkey sharing a tree and gorging themselves on fruit, of the call of gibbon, all the hornbills, kingfishers and eagles. Thank you both so much for taking so much trouble to ensure this part of our honeymoon was perfect. Thank you particularly for waiting for a whole morning for us to cross from Ko Racha Yai when the sea was rough, your patience in teaching us how to paddle, your humour and genuine knowledge and respect for the flora and fauna of the park."
"Please accept Markku's and my warm thanks for an excellent week of paddling in Thailand. We had a great time - good value for money." Clas was also kind enough to put
us on his paddling club's website at http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Cabin/5199/wakes/thai2000.html "I truly enjoyed the trip and would go back at any time. Oh, if I just would have the chance to. I learned a lot from you. It was an educational experience to go and look for the animals." Sinthu Satawiriya (Thai international school student) on Khao Sok National Park "Thank you very much for teaching
us how to kayak. I thought it was a really fun learning experience and
I'm sure I'll be trying it sometime again in future, maybe next time
I will be able to do the Eskimo roll. Thanks to you, the trip was both
fun and educational!" "Without you I would never find out the side of me that I found out in Khao Sok. I can still remember that initial moment we first that we arrived that tranquil, serene, secluded inlet of the rainforest where the bungalows buoyed. Absolutely sensational and tremendous! Since "you guys", I have been really into Kayaking/Paddling, I am starting my own Kayaking Club in ISB, so I will be needing you very soon again! I was truly inspired by the energy and life in your spirit when we paddled.
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