Overflowing with excitement, as well as baggage, and eager to start cruising, we packed up our lives and headed to the airport to start the long journey from Cape Town to Langkawi. We had two weeks to get ourselves and Maia ready before our marina payment expired, and life on anchor could begin.

Once all, or most of our projects were completed, we slipped lines, stowed fenders and docking lines, and headed out for the short trip to Kuah, and the dreaded check-out process. You just never know of you have the right paperwork and correct amount of document copies, not to mention the expectancy to dress smart when visiting the various departments. Turns out, Langkawi is a great place for yacht check-in/check-out procedures and everything was finalised in around 90 minutes, by the friendliest officials. Once you are checked out, there's no turning back, it was time to head to Chalong bay, Phuket, Thailand.

Sailing to Phuket could take as little as 2/3 days but sailing at night is not recommended in these waters, as the risk of running into fishing nets is a real cause for concern. Also, there's no hurry. Thailand regulations also state that AIS (Automated Identification System) is strictly monitored so they can track your progress once you enter Thai waters. In our experience, our AIS was never checked, even during check-in, and our system had a failure traveling up to Phuket, something that was never mentioned or enquired about.. We took a leisurely 7 days trip up, stopping at various beautiful spots along the way.

The check-in process could not be simpler and all 3 departments are conveniently situated in the same building, at the end of Chalong Bay Pier.

This trip was during the Nort-East monsoon and included the following amazing experiences: