Thailand tour operator

PaddleAsia's mission is to provide discriminating travelers the opportunity to see the less-visited areas in Thailand’s national parks and conservation areas with the most highly trained guides in southern Thailand.

PaddleAsia guides are among the most highly trained guides of any paddlesport company in the South. Our philosophy/goal is to show the world that we can have a very successful company with respectable salaries for the local staff without resorting to any mass tourism marketing.

PaddleAsia is the only major kayaking company in Southern Thailand that hasn't sold out to the lucrative day trip market. PaddleAsia remains Southern Thailand’s ONLY multi-day expedition tour operator. w

Furthermore, we also have no interest in going after meaningless tourism awards given by organizations (airlines, government tourism boards, member-funded organizations, etc.) that have nothing to do with responsible, earth-friendly travel. Anyone can fill out an award application and win an award. We don’t bother. We just run great trips.

We are the only ones who do what we do!

Dave "Old School" Williams - Director

Dave Williams, a lifelong naturalist and animal lover, is an American expat who has lived in Thailand in both Phuket and Krabi since 1992. Dave is well-traveled having lived in New Mexico (born is Roswell), Florida, Indiana, Hawaii, and Virginia. He left Virginia in early 1992 and headed for the tropics. Dave is the only kayak tour operator in southern Thailand who was an expert level paddler before getting in the paddling business! He's a paddler first and foremost and in the business second.

He started paddling in 1978. He has a great deal of experience in both very serious whitewater and sea kayaking. Dave has paddled all of the most treacherous rivers in the eastern half of the USA and most of the dangerous rivers of Colorado. He also paddled 229 miles of the Grand Canyon in a squirt boat in 1989. He has, of course, paddled extensively in Thailand and in the rivers of Laos.

Dave is a BCU (British Canoe Union) Level 2 Coach and is Level 3 trained (Level 3 Coach certificate to come shortly). As important as the certification is the fact that Dave has over 33 years of kayaking experience, including many hardcore expeditions.

He is also a BCU Lifeguard. Click here for proof of certification. Dave is an Emergency First Response instructor, a Rescue 3 International rescue technician and is also ITC (outdoor specific) First Aid and CPR certified.

Dave stays extremely fit so that he can offer expeditions to hardcore cyclists, kayakers, rock climbers and mountaineers. Not many people over 50 years-old are in the type of shape that Dave is in.

He is a lifelong student of natural history, ornithology, biology, botany, paleontology, fitness and Eastern Philosophy. Dave majored in Eastern Philosophy and Music (as a percussionist) at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. He has a very broad knowledge of the birds of Thailand.  He has a good working knowledge of the mangroves, edible plants and other plants of Thailand. He’s also interested in all facets of fitness, seamanship, oceanography, rock climbing, wild edible plants, jungle survival skills, archery (click to see video) and all forms of paddle sports.

Certified instructor

Certified in wilderness-specific first aid and CPR

Certified rescue technician

Certified

PaddleAsia has the most highly certified kayaking instructors in Southern Thailand
and the most experienced paddlers by far!

PaddleAsia's all-Thai Staff

Walaporn "Moo" Jitprathep - Co-Director

Moo was born and raised in Bangkok. She moved to Phuket over a decade ago. She has a love for life that is beyond words. For some strange reason, she's always happy...

Moo comes from a very poor family. She could only attend formal school for six years... yet she is now fluent in English and reads and writes it as well! She is a very special individual indeed.

Moo has been on hundreds of kayaking trips and has a very keen safety sense.

Moo and Dave have been married since 1993. They live outside of Phuket Town with daughter Mook ('Pearl' in Thai), granny and their four very pampered dogs.

Moo is a trip logistics guru, planner, guide, tour leader and sometimes a cook. If Moo is on your trip, you'll be taken very good care of.

Here is a nice page written about our Thai guides.

Nipon "Tom" Pannoi

Tom comes from Phatthalung Province in Southern Thailand. He has a degree in tourism from Ratchapat University, graduating in 1997. He has been in the tourism industry 1997. Tom is certified in CPR, First Aid, Swimming and has had several touch-up first aid courses since graduating.

He loves taking care of people and showing them the wonders of his country. His personality is one of his many strong points. Guests find having Tom lead them to be both fun and educational.

Guest Comment:

"Just thought I would drop you a note to say how spectacularly wonderful our recent trip to Khao Sok and Phang Nga Bay was. I would like to congratulate Nipon [Tom] on his ability to deliver a quality experience. He is an intelligent and knowledgeable guide who continually provided a commentary that dramatically improved our understandings of the culture, wildlife and locations we traveled to. He also shared with us the most amazing experience of watching 3 elephants play, swim and cavort with one another for over three hours. One of the highlights of my life. This was on top of seeing a wide array of other wildlife.

Nipon was also warm, humorous and willing to go out of his way to ensure everything was as good as it could be, planning the trip to ensure we had a good balance between challenge and relaxation! He is most definitely a wonderful asset and ambassador for your company. The accommodation was excellent, the food beautiful and people at the floating bungalows and Passai Beach were friendly, warm and accommodating. The Thai people also made us feel welcome wherever we went and the whole experience has created a desire to return and adventure further into this beautiful country.

Once again thankyou to Nipon for providing a trip to remember!!!"

Robyn Leggatt - Khao Sok and Phang Nga Bay, September 2010

I recently returned from a trip with my friend, Robyn Leggatt for three days in Khao Sok and 3 days in Phang Nga Bay. We had an absolutely incredible time. Our guide Tom was unbelievable. He looked after our every need and made sure that everything was perfect for us. I have never been on a trip where a guide does so much to ensure that you have a wonderful holiday and also learn so much about his country. He organised everything and we just had to wait to be told what we would be doing and it happened, and it was always interesting and lots of fun. We loved Khao Sok, saw some amazing wildlife including three elephants!! The bungalows were perfect and the food scrumptious. We also were really impressed with Phang Nga Bay.

Again the accommodation in the beach bungalows was fantastic and the kayaking varied with really spectacular scenery.

I had not been to Thailand before and definitely will return after this trip. I like to be busy on holidays and this trip made each day a different adventure. I returned home refreshed and exhilarated.

Thank you and congratulations on your organisation of such fantastic trips.

Ann Campbell - Khao Sok and Phang Nga Bay, September 2010

"We had an AMAZING adventure and Tom was EXCEPTIONAL!. I can't believe all the wildlife we saw, it far exceeded our expectations and was definitely a highlight of our three weeks in Thailand. Please let Tom know how much we enjoyed his expertise and leadership and hospitality."

Julie Gieseke, Khao Sok May 2010

"Our guide, Tom,was an excellent wildlife spotter, and it seemed to me that he took pride in showing us the environment and that he enjoyed just being there. There was only one time that I spotted a bird before he did!"

Walter Davison, Khao Sok, December 2009

Just wanted to send a short note to say that Jane and I had a fabulous day of kayaking yesterday with our guide, "Tom." He was friendly, professional, and knowledgeable about the area, flora and fauna. His English was good and he had a good attitude. Our vegetarian meal was delicious and abundant. I'll be sure to spread the word about the excellent service and extraordinary experience your company offers!

Penny Cousins and Jane Mennie (2 satisfied customers) Phang Nga Bay day trip Oct 2007

Our guide, Tom, was brilliant. He was very attentive but not pushy and just always seemed to say and do the right thing. Moo was also fantastic and lots of fun, but she also showed us by example how to be very still and quiet. The bungalows were just awesome and so was the time we spent on water and on land.

Jackie Spragg - Khao Sok National Park January 2008

When we run trips in Phang Nga Bay, Bang Hab (Bang is a polite term for Thai Muslims) is the longtail skipper.

Bang Hab was born and raised on Ko Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay. They don't come any more "local" than that!

Bang Hab used to be a subsistance fisherman, barely making ends meet. We met him through the Ko Yao Noi Homestay Project and gave him a job looking after our company longtail.

He does a great job, he's always smiling and happy... and he's got a wonderful future with us.

Tuk Tuk Drivers on Phang Nga Bay Trips

Bang Lek (left) Bang Mut (right) our tuk tuk drivers on Ko Yao Noi are both born and raised on the island. Both guys are very nice and they try to help anyway they can. They are safe drivers and we are glad to have them on our team.

"Bang" is a polite title for a Thai Muslim.

Graham Wardle (British) - Our Safety Guru and Educator Par Excellence

Graham doesn't work for PaddleAsia, but we feel he is an integral part of our team as he teaches us so much about safety and BCU standards.

Graham is an International School teacher at NIST. He lives in Bangkok with his lovely wife and darling daughter.

For close to three decades he has worked in the field of Outdoor Education, as a coach, manager, senior BCU development officer and teacher.

Graham has paddled, rafted, dived, trekked and climbed in 35 countries. He is a British Canoe Union Level 5 Coach Raft Guide and Rescue 3 Swift Water Rescue Instructor. He holds British Mountaineering Council, rock climbing and mountaineering awards as well as been a keen and avid PADI Scuba Instructor.

Graham has been instrumental in the development of White Water Safety & Rescue techniques in the UK and Europe, along with the development of coach education schemes. His teaching skills and methodology work with both foreigners and Thais equally. Graham has a lot to offer and we try to soak as much of his vast knowledge up as possible.

Piroum Chanaakson - jungle survival expert

Khun Piroum is our extremely friendly and knowledgeable jungle survival expert. He has lived his entire life in the jungles surrounding Khao Sok National Park.

He knows all of the wild edible and medicinal plants. He's a master at building temperary shelters.

Piroum doesn't speak much English, but JJ or Tom go on trips with him to interpret.

For a sample of one of his many skills, check out this bamboo hammock video.

Cabu

If you head down to Tarutao National Park with us, you'll be treated to meeting our local sea gypsy longtail skipper, Cabu. Another former subsistance fisherman, Cabu along with a fellow sea gypsy help run us around the outer islands in his longtail motorboat. He and his helper travel ahead of us to set up our camps too.

Sea gypsies are at the bottom of the pecking order in Thai society and we prefer to find and help nice folks like Cabu whenever we can. Once you meet him you'll see why we hired him to be part of our team.

Unfortunately, due to mass tourism, environmental destruction and too many bars, PaddleAsia no longer offers trips in this formerly stunning national park. If you go down there, please say 'hi' to Cabu and hire him to help you escape from the maddening crowds.

Pompam is one of our four dogs. She was left out in the street at a very early age. She's one of the most darling dogs imaginable. When you pick her up, she does a wai (the Thai prayer hands). She actually puts her palms together... how cute is that!

Two of our other five dogs are Brownie and Pook Look. Brownie was abandoned as a puppy. It was immediately apparent that she was a very intelligent and loving dog. Her intelligence and compassion came to full light when we adopted Pook Look.

Left on the side of the road to die a slow death, Pook Look was a mess when we found her. She had massive head wounds. She was almost completely blind and she was covered in ticks and fleas. After almost a month in the hospital, she recovered. She was still blind for quite some time. It was then that Brownie came to the rescue. Brownie was Pook Look's seeing eye dog. Brownie would walk in front of Pook Look and guide her in the right direction and even slow her down when coming to steps. It was incredible to watch.

Pook Look is one of the most affectionate dogs on the planet. She craves attention and whenever I take a nap (all I've got to do is say "nap" and she hops on the bed), she cuddles up tight to me.

Brownie and Pook Look are best friends. They like nothing more than running full-speed around our big yard. One of their favorite activities is chasing cats. We have three cats too. They are not at all interested in hurting any cats. They're in it for the chase. If the cat does run, they quickly lose interest. If the cat runs, it's game on! When not in chase mode, Brownie and Pook Look are on cat patrol... as seen in the photo to the left. Whenever I say, "where's the kitty cat?" They both race to the window to find out.

Our other two dogs are Lucky, a toy poodle with a bad hip. Lucky was abandoned as a puppy.

Galong, orphan in Thai, was our other dog. He's a three-legged hound dog who has had a rough life. Galong lost his leg as a puppy and has spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital. He's a good boy and he gets along just fine now. Galong unfortunately passed away due to kidney failure on October 3rd, 2011. He is missed, but still loved. RIP my beautiful brown-eyed son.

We have taken in a sweet little blonde street dog named Soda in honor of Galong. Soda and Galong were friends. He and her played in our big yard constantly.