PaddleAsia is
the result of over 32 years of kayaking experience and a lifetime
of love for the great outdoors. Founder and Director, Dave Williams
invites you to experience the wonderful world of exploring nature's
delights in the comfort and convenience of a traditional kayak.
No
experience is necessary for most of our trips. For most trips,
all you need is a sense of adventure and a desire to try something
new. Most of our guests have either never paddled before or haven't
paddled since childhood. You can do it!
And, perhaps most importantly, our all-Thai staff will make your
tour safe, fun, educational and enjoyable. They are the best of
the best when it comes to guides and service.
Dave
- Director, instructor and founder
So
there I was, working at a factory.
After thirty-six years, I was still caught up with the same boring
dream that most of us share... a dream that some day, a long, long
time from now, I'll be able to not work. I decided
to risk it all to follow my dream and work at something that matters
more to me than anything else - Nature.
Dave
Williams is a lifelong naturalist. When not in school, Dave
would be outdoors. He has an intense love for nature and all forms
of life.
He was born in Roswell, New Mexico a few years after the famous
spaceship crash. He lived in Florida, Indiana, Hawaii, and Virginia.
He moved from Virginia and headed for the tropics in early
1993. Since then he has lived in Thailand in both Phuket and Krabi.
Dave
started paddling in 1978 and has paddled more than half his
life. Dave lives to paddle. He
has paddled some of the most treacherous rivers in North
America and has a great deal of kayaking experience. He has,
of course, traveled and paddled extensively in Thailand and in the
rivers of Laos.
Dave
is a British Canoe Union Level 2 Coach.
Dave
is also an Emergency First Response Instructor.
Dave
is a lifelong student of natural history, ornithology, biology,
and botany. He has a very broad knowledge of the birds of Thailand
and a good working knowledge of the mangroves and other plants of
Thailand. Wild edible and medicinal plants are of extreme interest
to him. Hes also interested in all facets of seamanship, oceanography
and survival skills.
Dave
has raced both mountain
bikes and road bikes at a highly competitive
level in the past. He has also spent a lot of time rock climbing.
Fitness and nutrition has been a big part of Dave's life since he
was a teenager.
Nipon
"Tom"
Tom
comes from Phatthalung Province in Southern Thailand. He has a unversity
degree in tourism from Ratchapat University, graduating
in 1997. He has been in the tourism industry 1997. CPR, First Aid,
Swimming and several touch-up first aid courses since then.
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.
Read some of the many
guests comments about our guides.
Khun
Moo
Moo was born
and raised in Bangkok. Moo originally came from extreme
poverty. She taught herself English and over the recent past,
she has taught herself to read and write English. Moo is a success
story!
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 and Dave
have been married since 1993. They live outside of Phuket
Town with daughter Mook ('Pearl' in Thai), granny and their five
pampered dogs and three cats.
Moo
is our PR person, a guide, tour leader, cooks at times
and helps with trip planning and coordinating. If Moo is on your
trip, you'll
be taken very good
care of.
Thai
Guides: Kitti and Run
Our
other guides are Kitti (left) and Run (right). Both Kitti and Run
have been in the paddling industry for over a decade. Both have
wonderful personalities with a strong desire to make sure that your
valuable vaction time is both safe and extremely fun.
Kitti is
from Nakon Sri Thammarak, a big Thai town on the east side of the
Malay Peninsula.
Run was
born and raised on Ko Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay. Run is also our
mountain
biking guide.
Both men
are completely fluent in English and both are first aid certified.
Bang
Hab
When
you're on our Phang Nga Bay trip, the guy who runs our company longtail
motorboat is Bang Hab (Bang is a polite term for a Thai Muslim).
We met Bang Hab through the Homestay Project on Ko Yao Noi. We immediately
hired him to work with us as we could tell that he was a special
man.
Bang
Hab used to be a subsistance fisherman. Now he's gainfully employed
in the tourism business with us and fully realizes the value of
protecting the environment in his area. He was born and raised on
Ko Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay. He gets it.
Cabu
In
Tarutao National Park we support a couple of the local sea gypsies.
Cabu is a very friendly guy and we fell in love with him right away.
He does all of our transfers once we're on the outer islands and
he has a helper too. The two of them shoot ahead of us and set up
our comfortable camps.
The sea
gypsies are at the bottom of the pecking order in Thai society.
We strongly believe in helping nice people who work hard and so
we have hired Cabu to be our longtail boat skipper when we're in
Tarutao. You'll love Cabu's friendly and helpful ways.
We no
longer visit Taruato due to mass tourism and the government's lack
of environmental responsibility in protecting this formerly stunning
destination, but if you find yourself in that area, look up Cabu
and hire his longtail. We still care deeply for him and his sea
gypsy friends.
Some
pics from the past
Dave
paddling the New River at very high water.
Sunshine
Rapid on the Arkansas River in Colorado.

Class
V drop on the Lower Meadow in West Virginia.
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