Things not to do when you sail Thailand

Sailing the Andaman Sea equals a real adventure because of so many reasons. First of all, Asia is different, like every continent is, and than the Andaman Sea isn’t like the others, even though it is in fact a stretch of water like the others. So, we agree on this: every part of the world has its own characteristics that makes it unique. Now, moving even further with my statement regarding the adventure, we have the following things NOT to do when you sail Thailand:

Do not eat from wherever you see food;
Do not buy from any fisherman you meet;
Do not swim wherever;
Do not approach the monkeys from Monkey Island;
Do not waste the: water & energy you have on board.

Do not eat from wherever you see food

I know some people (even me) who would like to travel even if only for the food. Thailand is one of those attractive countries when it comes to food so your intentions may sometimes lead you to the wrong places/restaurants. Not every terrace you see on the shore will serve you fresh food. Something else you need to know is that in some places locals will not address you in a language that you can understand so ordering from a Thai menu and explaining your desire can sometimes be tricky. Also be careful with the degree of “hotness”. Although locals will be very polite and nice and in case you’ll rapidly google for a Thai word and your pronunciation will not be the right one, that will always close the meal with a round of laughing.

Do not buy from any fisherman you see

When sailing the Andaman Sea, especially in the morning it is most likely you will encounter fisherman. They will present their merchandise as the freshest of them all! But the thing is, it can always be mixed with some pieces from the other day. And it is seafood and fish we are talking about! What can happen is that you will spend at least 3 days being sick and this is the best case scenario.

Do not swim wherever

When we are talking about Thailand, my husband always says it was not that adventurous for him! He’s right because he and his friend refused to swim or do other things that might have caused the adventure 
So that you can understand, we were 4 on a catamaran: two guys and two girls, Ana & me. Guys very detached and in a totally Zen mood, girls very involved and eager for adventure. Andaman Sea has of course its own share of turquoise and shallow water, but also some really dark not see through part. Well, the thing is you shouldn’t swim in this dark places because some surprises like unknown sea animals, can appear. Bumping into such unexpected guests isn’t always such a pleasure.

Do not approach the monkeys from Monkey Island

When visiting “Monkey Island” is better to see it from the boat. These otherwise cute animals have their own habitat there, so why should you interfere? And this is again the girls adventurous side: we decided to swim over there and everything was right until some group of tourists had this brilliant (NOT) idea of approaching the monkeys and even though there was an XXXL sized banner that was saying not to give anything to the animals or approach them, well they did it! And what followed was a crazy episode of panicking and running/swimming back to the boat. Thanks to some guys from Australia we managed to reach the boat with a canoe.

Do not waste the water & fuel of the boat

Thailand is a popular destination, but when it comes to sailing, it doesn’t have the same infrastructure like Croatia lets say: not so many marinas for provisioning; water, fuel etc. So, what you have on board, it is most likely you will need it for a week, or at least 3 days. Try to be moderate when showering and when there is some wind always use it for moving forward.

So, when having all these things in mind, your sailing trip to Thailand will be a happy one!