Tag: Krabi

Success, we made it to the passenger ferry! Not quite the sort of ferry I was expecting, with room to walk round outside and sit and watch the scenery pass by, as all proper seating was inside and air conditioned, but still a better journey than the minivan.

Interestingly there were mid-sea transfers for those visiting Ko Jum …

We hadn’t been sure how to spend another day on Ko Lanta, as one downside of the unspoilt beach was hardly any shade so we thought we’d return early to Krabi and end as we began, with a night on the town, especially as its Friday which means the return of the food night market.

We’re staying by the river tonight, although the view was more cable than river.

Walking along while the tide was low we saw these strange looking chaps which, thanks to Wikipedia, are mudskippers, completely amphibious fish that use their pectoral fins to walk on land.

We planned to work up an appetite for dinner by visiting the Tiger Cave Temple, but when it came to it, the prospect of 1270 steps, some a foot high, through tropical forest got the thumbs down! Instead, once it was cooler, we walked along the riverside through Tha Thara Park with its fountain and topiary until we were opposite Ko Klang, the mangrove encircled peninsular, home to most of the longtail boatmen.

It was rush hour, with a queue of scooters waiting for the ferry, which at just 5 a time was going to take a while!

Towards the end of our walk was a huge old fig tree, representing the bodhi tree, under which Buddha gained enlightenment, adorned with coloured ribbons.

We returned passing people enjoying the evening cool and a lady cooking roti for the peckish.

We saw the twin rocks of Krabi ahead, and to the left the tiny glittering Tiger Cave Temple on the top of a hill in the distance.

Our table at the Old West Bar was free so we stopped for Krabi Lemonades and a Blue Lagoon, before heading to the food market for dinner, where we nibbled on BBQ pork and chicken and spring rolls then had barracuda and morning glory and Chris had local greens stir fried with egg. We returned to the bar for a last couple of rounds while we played Yahtzee, Uno and Jenga. Chris remains Uno champ!

Finally time to take a tuk-tuk to the airport as Joanna flies home to Sydney via Kuala Lumpur and we have an internal flight back to Bangkok.

Joanna thoroughly enjoyed her trip and is planning her next Thai adventure!

 

A short bus ride to Krabi and we walked into Grandmom Place to see Joanna waiting for us! She had arrived a couple of hours earlier from Sydney and is to spend the next 8 days with us.

Too early to check in, we went on a longtail boat trip to see the two twin rocks Khao Kanab Nam, gateway to Krabi …

… then spooky looking mangroves and a cave …

… and onto Ko Klang for lunch at a floating fish restaurant.

Later, a wander round town taking in the Krabi crabby and Krabi Wat and several sundowners at the Old West Bar saw an end to the day, ready for an early start for a boat trip in the bay next day.

We had chosen to go by longtail boat in a group of 20, a little slower but with more chance to look around, but realised we had been upgraded to a 40 seater speedboat instead! Chris and Joanna just said to roll with it … and we did … roll, bump and thump into every wave so thank goodness the trip took half the time! It was quite blowy and the sea a bit rough, so we didn’t get to snorkel at our first stop and continued to Pakbia Island where we swam, sat in the sun and had an early lunch … along with quite a few other people!

We continued a short way to Hong Island which was billed as a sheltered bay with white sand, calm water with good visibility for snorkelling and lots of colourful fish. Well we arrived at the floating pier, and took our lives in our hands negotiating the pier as it rippled and buckled underfoot with every wave. Safely on land, we were able to admire the beautiful view, then see how many people were crammed onto a narrow strip of beach. We tried snorkelling but we couldn’t see our hand in front of faces for sand in the water … and didn’t see a single fish!

The evening was spent at the night food market for dinner then on to the walking street to check our souvenirs before a nightcap at the Old West Bar.

Joanna was keen to have a trip in a tuk-tuk, so we took one to Khao Phanom Bencha National Park to see a waterfall with 7 cascades of water. We saw lizards on the way and reached the largest pool of the falls where we had a paddle … only to find ourselves in our very own fish spa, with tiny fish nibbling our feet!

We have noticed some strange chaps hanging around town, which is to recognise the discovery of various skeletons in the area over 30 million years old, of human ancestors in the primate chain, and they are very proud of it here … although they look a bit scary!

Our last night in Krabi and we ate again at the night market and finished with a couple of Krabi Lemonades at the Old West while playing jenga and connect four.

Tomorrow we take the ferry to Ko Lanta.