John Gray’s Sea Canoe
I mean, this photo alone is worth 1,000 words. Booking John Gray Sea Canoe in Phuket, Thailand was the right choice. The whole day was pure magic.
John Gray Sea Canoe, established 1983 in Phuket, Thailand, was a company I found while reading the book Bangkok Babylon by Jerry Hopkins. Here’s an excerpt:
Sliding through the first hong John explored, called Bat Cave for its numerous furry inhabitants, and then back into daylight onto the surface of a placid lake with jungled walls rising hundreds of meters to a china blue sky was, if not to return to prehistory, at least a return to childhood, when innocence and awe were still intact.
I was impressed by the Thai guides' environmental awareness, too; not only were they able to identify and talk (in several languages) about the wild life we encountered, they collected floating trash and enforced silence once we'd entered a cave.
"This, to me, is a temple, John said, "made by God. Man cannot make a temple as sacred as these places are and if we come, we should have a minimal impact, and there should be a specific purpose for it.”
My parents are coming out from one of the hongs in this photo. The guides did all the paddling so we literally got to lay back and enjoy the experience.
The book went on to explain there are many companies who have copied John “The Caveman” Gray’s tour over the years but nothing beats the original. When we visited in March of 2023, we saw other boats in the same cave and hongs, but their guides seemed much less engaging.
Side note: anyone traveling to Thailand would enjoy reading Bangkok Babylon, each chapter introduces you to a different expat living in Thailand.
The views were breathtaking. The time spent on the “big boat” was just as enjoyable as the time spent canoeing in the sea.
The onboard chef cooked all day and her food was absolutely delicious. It felt like every hour they were offering us fruit, coffee, a snack, or a meal. Before boarding the boat in the morning they stopped by a convenience store so we could buy beer or other drinks (Krating Daeng anyone??) and they kept them in an ice chest for us.
A waterproof phone case like this one was helpful to make me feel comfortable bringing my phone out in the open ocean, but I had it out of the case most of the time.
Floating in the ocean at sunset is just as magical as it sounds. I was a little worried since I’ve heard night diving can be scary, but after spending all day canoeing and swimming, it seemed natural to climb back into the canoe.
Here’s a great video to show you what the full experience is like. We even got to see bioluminescent plankton which was a huge treat!
Highly recommend John Gray’s Hong by Starlight tour when you’re in the Phuket area.
Loy Krathong is a Thai festival celebrated annually, and though we weren’t there during the festival (typically November), we got to enjoy a little piece of the tradition by floating our krathong after dark.