A 350km, human powered circumnavigation of Phang Nga Bay

From November 26 to December 1, 2024, I put together a ten-person team to take on a fun project: a human-powered loop of Phang Nga Bay in Thailand. You can view the more frequent Facebook posts here.

Building on the previous year’s “Million Baht Swim,” where I swam a 122km loop around Phuket Island and raised one million baht for the Good Shepherd School, we decided to use this project as another opportunity to support the community. This time, we chose to support the Banya Literacy Centre, a small organization in central Phuket that provides educational opportunities for Myanmar migrant workers’ children. The Centre had a school bus (a 20-year-old converted pickup) that ferried 30–40 kids to and from school daily, but it kept breaking down, and they badly needed a new one. Our goal was to raise one million baht to buy them a new school bus, with any remaining funds used to provide daily school lunches for a year. And so, “The Million Baht Phang Nga Bay Adventure” was born.

Choosing the Team

I tried to select teammates based on three simple principles:

1. I had previously done something with them outdoors, so I had an idea of how they behaved on an adventure.
2. They would be fun to be around for six days and nights and wouldn’t drive me or the others crazy.
3. They would hold themselves accountable for doing the necessary training and contributing to the fundraising target without me having to hound them.

Unfortunately, none of these people were available, so I ended up with the motley crew in the photo attached below! (Joking.)

It was great that my sister Helen came over from New Zealand to join the adventure. She was joined by Daniel from Sweden, four friends from Singapore (Montse, Kaushiq, Chip, and Darren), and from Phuket, myself, Jason, Sheela, and Kiwi Darren.

Preparation and Planning

During the six-month buildup, Montse took charge of managing the fundraising and social media, my wife Stephanie handled all the logistics, and Jason and I planned the route and figured out how to complete the 350km loop.

The plan was to use three modes of human-powered travel: walking, cycling, and kayaking.

The Adventure

Day Zero:

We took the opportunity to visit Banya literacy centre on day zero, introduce the team to the school and show the team where their hard efforts were going. The centre put on a lovely concert for us. In the afternoon we had a kayak training clinic at the PLAYARD in Phuket followed by dinner at our house.

Day One:
We started in central Phuket with a 35km walk north across Sarasin Bridge to the mainland. With a 5 a.m. departure, we knocked out the walk easily. After a refreshing lunch near the bridge, we hopped on bikes and rode 10km to our accommodation for the night, a resort on Natai Beach. This trip offered plenty of comfortable accommodation options, so there was no hardship for food or lodging.

Days Two and Three:
We cycled around 200km through the backroads of Phang Nga Bay to reach Krabi. The quiet roads of Phang Nga province were peaceful and scenic, with little traffic, lots of greenery, and a few hills to keep things interesting.

Days Four and Five:
The crux of the trip was the 70km kayak across Phang Nga Bay. With varying skill levels in the group and heavy, basic kayaks, I knew this leg would be a challenge. The plan was to kayak 35km each day, spending the first night on the southern tip of Koh Yao Yai island, then completing the final 35km to Rawai Beach at the southern end of Phuket.

We started at 5 a.m. with favorable winds and slightly cross-seas, making good time. Steering the kayaks without rudders took considerable effort, and their weight made them stable but slow. It took 7–8 hours of paddling each day, but we managed to get 7 of the 10 participants across the bay.

We were fortunate to have two support vessels: Captain Todd, Janet, Amiham, and H in their yacht, and Captain Okkie and Louie in their longtail boat, Foxy. These support boats faced challenges navigating the shallow waters that weren’t an issue for the kayaks.

Day Six:
We finished with a 45km walk from the south of Phuket back to the starting point, followed by a finish party at HOMA Hotel in Boat Avenue, Phuket. Although our core team had 10 members, over 40 friends and family joined the final day’s walk, which was a lovely way to wrap up the adventure.

Reflections

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, spent with great people in the outdoors. We were lucky with the weather—it was overcast every day, keeping the heat down, and the wind calmed during the two days we needed to kayak.

Unlike my usual expedition style, this project was more comfortable, with ample accommodation and support vehicles for safety. The goal was to ensure the entire team completed the route efficiently and safely, rather than pushing my personal limits. I was relieved to reach the finish line with no accidents, injuries, or even a single argument over the six days.

The Impact

We successfully raised over one million baht which bought the Banya Literacy Centre a new school bus and we have left over money for school meals.

Acknowledgments

Massive thanks to my wife Stephanie for organizing logistics, Montse for her incredible efforts with sponsorship and social media, Jason for his leadership and local knowledge, and our support drivers and crew: Okkie, Jon, Louie, H, Amihan, Janet, Todd, our photographer Kolin, and our liaison with the Banya centre Shiho. Special thanks to UWC for loaning us the kayaks and to everyone who donated and supported us in so many ways.

Finally, thank you to my teammates—Kaushiq, Daniel, Chip, Helen, Sheela, and the two Darrens—for your unique and valuable contributions.

Enjoy some of the trip photos by the talented Kolin Friske.

Captain Axe