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Land of Smiles Gallery

I cannot imagine how the crew felt behind the galley door.It was about 7:30 at night off the eastern coast of Phuket, Thailand, and I was sitting at the regal dining table onboard the 172-foot motoryacht Taipan III. I was about to be served dinner—a formal, European-style affair to celebrate the end of our group's charter in a beautiful cruising ground well on its way to
  • By Mike Smith
  • March 1, 2008
<p>Thailand is definitely a Third World country where most people earn their livings humbly, perhaps on fishing boats or by selling handmade crafts.</p>

Thailand is definitely a Third World country where most people earn their livings humbly, perhaps on fishing boats or by selling handmade crafts.

Restaurant service is another area that employs many locals.

Shopping for scarves, clothing, and other souvenirs can be done at this Muslim village built on stilts.

The village is accessible by way of a longboat, which is like an extended canoe but roughly twice the width. Ours was covered to provide shade.

Longboats practically litter the shore in most tourist areas here, serving as taxis among the islands and taking people to remote beaches.

There are so many small, uninhabited islands that you’re always able to have a deserted beach just to yourself. If a longboat should come by to drop off some tourists, it’s an easy enough matter to simply pick up your things and dinghy over to another quiet beach.

Water sports are a big part of the charter program.

Options include Wave Runners, scuba diving (by rendezvous with a local company), and fishing from the yacht’s tender.

If you decide to forgo watersports and fishing, other entertainment options await, include lounging at onshore resorts with Taipan III in the distance.

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Mike Smith

  • Charter, Photo Gallery, Voyaging

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