Konquering Ko Por by Kayak

While K was out for a run this morning, I fried some rice for breakfast. Taking the spirit of pineapple fried rice (khao phad sapparot, ข้าวผัดสับปะรด), I combined diced tofu, boiled eggs, cucumber, cashews and, of course, pineapple with cooked rice. Flavouring with yellow curry paste and soy sauce resulted in a slightly-spicier-than-intended breakfast that warmed us through. Growing tired of photographing anonymous mounds of rice, I went all Joan Miró on the presentation with a wedge of pineapple and a cashew nut.

Pinya i Ocell

If yesterday's cycle ride was a work-out for the legs, today was about the upper body. We hired a kayak from the same couple as lent us the bicycles and paddled out to the nearest island, Ko Por.

Despite being in the Andaman Sea, the water is fairly calm surrounding Ko Lanta, as it is sheltered by a number of islands (one of these being Ko Por). Clad in orange lifejackets, we descended from the deck of the house into the awaiting kayak, which was bobbing in the water. The tide was in, which made things easy, but we knew it would be out when we returned, as high tide wouldn't occur until after dark.

The journey out was a relaxed affair, taking a leisurely 45 minutes to cover the 3km. Ko Por is home to a small Muslim community, mostly housed on the far side of the island. There is a pier on coast closest to Ko Lanta, but we aimed instead for the deserted beach at the north end, which is covered in shells of one kind or another.

Things that look like faces #58

After relaxing on the shell-strewn beach and taking a dip, we felt a little indolent. If we only paddled here and back, we would feel ad though we had barely been in the kayak. We resolved to circumnavigate the island and arrive back at the pier.

Setting off in a clockwise direction, we soon discovered that the surrounding waters are shallow. We gave the island a wide berth, bit still ran into a dense patch of rocks lurking below the surface. Heading farther out, with Ko Bubu on our left, we soon made the rear side of the island and spied the fishing village, replete with pole houses similar to those in Old Town.

The sense of adventure and discovery at powering our own way around the island was thrilling, especially as a flock of ibis (recognisable by their distinctive long beaks) took off over our heads. However, as we rounded the next corner, which we hoped would bring us back to the pier, we found our journey lengthened by an unexpected peninsula on the south of the island.

To compound matters, we were now facing the open sea and, without the sheltering effects of the island, the going was tough. For every stroke, we seemed to be drifting, but this was illusory. We were making slow but sure progress, inching our way to the farthest point of the island. The ominously darkening skies behind us gave us the impetus to carry on.

Once around the tip, the water reverted to a millpond and we sat back, enjoying the tailwind working to our advantage. We soon reached the pier, after about a 6.5km circumnavigation, alighted, and explored the island on foot.

The local community is similar to Lanta Old Town was before the massive influence of tourism on the island. There are no restaurants, cafés or bars, although some people grill and serve food from the porch of their houses. Being still full from breakfast, we took our leave and set off back to Ko Lanta.

Another minor drama threatened to unfold as the storm we had been aware of earlier finally caught up with us. The wind whipped the gently rippling surface into undulating waves, and the rain settled in. Fortunately, the gusts only served to speed us to our destination and the shower didn't resolve into a full downpour.

As predicted, the tide was far from the pole houses, so we had to lug the heavy kayak across the muddy, stone-ridden bank. Returning triumphant, however, was all we needed.

Garlic pepper tofu has become a request dish in our house. K requested that we reprise the meal from last week, and who was I to deny her after a gruelling 12 or 13km sea-borne adventure.