Guest writer Fran appears again: Rich’s last blog entry saw us at the beginning of a multi-transport odyssey down the west coast of Thailand. Our trip from Koh Phayam to Ao Nang near Krabi took an exhausting 13 hours in 6 different vehicles. At 7.30am we took motorbike taxis to the harbour in Koh Phayam, a boat back to Ranong, a songtheaw to the bus station, a half decent bus to Kok Kloi, a pretty appalling bus from Kok Kloi to Krabi bus station and then finally a tuk-tuk to our accommodation. We were pretty pooped by the time we got to Ao Nang at 8.30pm! However, the day ended on a high when we saw our room for the next three nights. It was bright and clean with a massive double bed, air-con and a private balcony (thanks Mike and Claire for the recommendation!). There was a really nice touch with the complimentary towels being folded into the shape of an elephant. Even better though (in my opinion) was our dinner – a McDonalds! Rich normally takes some persuasion to dine at the golden arch but he was so tired and hungry that he agreed straight away. We sat in Maccy D’s with our meals and watched the Germany v Argentina match which was showing (in Thai) on a screen in the restaurant. Quite a bizarre evening but it was just what the doctor ordered!
The first okay bus
The second not so okay bus
Happy to be on a bus and on the move
Not so happy with the wafts from the back of the bus
Relieved to be in a tuk-tuk heading to a bed
Nelly the…towel!
After lots of rain in Koh Phayam we were blessed with three days of glorious sunshine in Krabi. Although Ao Nang was quite touristy (hence the McDonalds), down on the beach it was still idyllic.
Ao Nang beach looking one way
and the other – with some bearded surfer bloke standing in the way!
We wandered the length of the beach picking up shells and watching crabs scurrying around before deciding to hire a double kayak. Krabi is recommended for sea kayaking as the large number of limestone karsts on the bay are best explored from the water. Once we had boarded our kayak, which involved me getting very wet as I tried to clamber in while waves splashed over the front of the boat (much to Rich’s amusement), we canoed round the limestone cliffs gazing into caves and looking for monkeys in the trees. Rich occasionally went into rower mode and we had a few bouts of “laying down some beans” to see how fast we could go. We actually had a lot of fun in our two hours and it was lovely just bobbing along watching the sea life. We even saw some jumping fish!
A crab digging out small sand balls and creatively making them into pretty patterns
Some limestone karsts
Some fellow kayakers
Some rocky outcrops waiting to be explored
On our second day we went on a longtail boat to Railey beach. Ao Nang and Krabi are jumping off towns for trips to some stunning bays that are only accessible by longtail boat. Touts wait to take you to the longtail boats which only leave once they are full. There were 5 or 6 boats moored up at Ao Nang and once the engines start they are pretty noisy. We only heard them every hour or so but I’d imagine in the high season there must be tens of boats and a lot of noise. The trip was only 10 minutes and we arrived at the spectacular Railey beach. This is the place featured in holiday brochures for Thailand and it really was beautiful. We spent an afternoon lazing on the beach and dipping in and out of the water when we got too hot – fantastic!
The longtail boats
Ready to set off
Heading out to sea..
powering through the water to arrive at the picture postcard Railey beach
No need to fight for your space on the beach – a big bonus of travelling in the off season!
Marathon training on the beach- well for a few minutes
Enjoying the cooling waters after a hard day of doing nothing!
On our final morning in Ao Nang we made the most of the touristy facilities and got our caffeine fixes in none other than Starbucks (oh, how I had missed Starbucks)! We boarded our mini-van for the 2-4 hour journey to Koh Lanta. Having become hardened travellers (!) we did not bat an eye lid when the van drove for 15 minutes before stopping at the tour companies offices where we were told to get out and sit in the office for 15 minutes before we would depart again. This was blatantly because the mini-van had four empty seats and they wanted to cram in as many tourists as they could before going on to Koh Lanta! The journey, once it started a proper, was fine and quite exciting with two ferry crossings before being dropped at our accommodation on Koh Lanta. I’ll leave it to Rich to describe the bamboo hut complex where we stayed but suffice to say it definitely did not have towels shaped as elephants – there were other features instead! Until that exciting update, I wish everyone well and hope that the outstanding summer weather continues for you! Missing you all lots, Fran x
The drink of the west
How many mini-vans can you get on one ferry?
Arriving at our new home for a few days
Our castaway style accommodation
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