Tour Guides and Tour Leaders
A
very important part of any tour is the guides and leaders.
It is arguably just as important as the tour destination. Our team creates
a mood that's both serene and exciting. We the most highly skilled paddlers
in all of southern Thailand and possibly all of Southeast Asia.
PaddleAsia
is a small company dedicated to providing you with a very person experience
with nature.
We
are paddlers and nature lovers first and in the paddling business second.
Dave
"Old School" Williams
Dave
Williams, a lifelong naturalist, is an American expat who has lived
in Thailand in both Phuket and Krabi since 1992. Dave is well-traveled
and has lived in New Mexico, Florida, Indiana, Hawaii, and Virginia.
He left Virginia in early 1992 and headed for the tropics.
He
started paddling in 1978. He has a great deal of experience in both
very serious whitewater and sea kayaking. He
has, of course, paddled extensively in Thailand and in the rivers of
Laos.
He is the
only person of all of the tour operations in Phuket who was a hardcore
recreational paddler well before going into the paddling business. PaddleAsia
is his "labor of love."
Dave
is a certified British Canoe Union
Level 2 Coach and the most experienced paddler in Southern Thailand.
Just as important if not more, is the fact that Dave has over 30 years
of experience in both hardcore whitewater and sea kayaking.
 Dave
is also a certified Emergency First Response Instructor, a certified
rescue technician through Rescue 3 International, certified by the prestigious
ITC Outdoor-specific first aid organization, a certified assessor for
the International Award for Young People organization and he is a BCU
certified lifeguard.
He
is a lifelong student of ornithology, geology, biology, botany,
and Eastern Philosophy. He has a very broad knowledge of the birds of
Thailand and a very good working knowledge of the mangroves and other
plants of Thailand. He’s also interested in all facets of seamanship,
oceanography, mountain
biking, survival skills, wild edible plants, archery
(click for video) and responsible tourism.
Dave has
been an instructor for many of the guides in other companies as well.
PaddleAsia's all-Thai Staff
Walaporn
"Moo" Jitprathep
Moo was born
and raised in Bangkok. She moved to Phuket over a decade ago. She has
a love for life that is beyond words. For some strange reason, she's
always happy...
Moo comes
from a dirt-poor family and only had six years of formal education.
Her family simply couldn't afford to keep her in school. Still, she
made it a point to keep learning. Moo taught herself English! Not only
is she fluent in spoken English, but she is very good at reading and
writing.
Moo and Dave
have been married since 1993. They live outside of Phuket Town with
daughter Mook ('Pearl' in Thai), granny and their four pampered dogs.
Moo is a guide,
tour leader, cooks at times and helps with trip planning and coordinating.
If Moo is on your trip, you'll be taken very good care of.
To read about
some of the other talented people in PaddleAsia, check out our other
tour leaders page.
Our
Guides
- a huge part of the heart of PaddleAsia
Jarean
"JJ" Chanapon
JJ Chanapon
is native of Nakorn Sri Thammarat in Southern Thailand he has worked
in the Eco tourist industry all of his working life. Combine
this with his qualifications in CPR and first aid, kayaking and Nature
knowledge, and you are assured of an educational enjoyable and safe
experience.
JJ runs most
of our jungle survival courses in Khao Sok National Park. Him and
Tom share the Phang Nga Bay kayaking and other trips.
Daniel Loiterton - Khao Sok December 2011
Just wanted
to drop you a quick email to tell how much we enjoyed our week in
Khao Sok with JJ. Everything was really smooth, organised well, but
flexible enough to tweak the schedule whenever we liked. The family
at the floating bungalows were lovely, made us feel very welcome,
and cooked us some great food. Please pass on our thanks to JJ who
was an excellent guide and helped us spot tonnes of wildlife.
Click on the
links to see some of Daniel's wonderful gibbon
photos and impressive
animal photos.
Jumrat
'Run' Rengsamut
Run has been
in the paddling industry for over a decade. He has wonderful personalities
with a strong desire to make sure that your valuable vaction is both
safe and extremely fun. Run is very safety conscious.
Run was born
and raised on Ko Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay. Run is also our
mountain biking guide.
Run is completely
fluent in English and is first aid / CPR certified.
 Bang
Hab - Longtail skipper
When we
run trips in Phang Nga Bay, Bang Hab (Bang is a polite term
for Thai Muslims) is the longtail skipper.
Bang Hab
was born and raised on Ko Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay. They don't come
any more "local" than that!
Bang Hab
used to be a subsistance fisherman, barely making ends meet. We met
him through the Ko Yao Noi Homestay Project and gave him a job looking
after our company longtail.
He does
a great job, he's always smiling and happy... and he's got a wonderful
future with us.
Tuk
Tuk Drivers on Phang Nga Bay Trips
 Bang
Lek (left) Bang Mut (right) our tuk tuk drivers on Ko Yao Noi are
both born and raised on the island. Both guys are very nice and they
try to help anyway they can. They are safe drivers and we are glad
to have them on our team.
"Bang"
is a polite title for a Thai Muslim.
You're never too old
or too young to start kayaking.
It's a gentle sport that suitable for all who have a sense of adventure
and who wish to explore the natural wonders of the world in comfort.
If you can trek, you can paddle! It's that easy.
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us
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