Thursday 21 February 2013

Wed 13 - Mon 18 Feb - Krabi and Ao nang


That evening we arrived at Krabi which was our stopover before we went on to the other seaside resorts. We stayed in a lovely hotel with a pool which was very welcome after our hot day travelling.


 In the evening we wandered to the night market where there were loads of local street vendors preparing and selling a huge variety of food. A couple of Thai curries with fried rice and beers were perfect!

The next morning we had a couple of hours to walk around and explore the town, visit the local market with some very strange food on sale, and wander along the riverfront. We then got our taxi to our next stop, the seaside town of Ao Nang.

Our hotel for the next four nights was a lovely new complex with ten individual luxury bungalows and a pool in a quiet area adjacent to a rubber tree plantation. The accommodation was superb but the location unfortunately meant that we were a bit out on a limb. The owner was happy to give us a lift into town and tuk tuks were very reasonable to get back but it meant that every time we wanted to have something to eat or go somewhere it was a 20 minute ride. We got ourselves organised though and planned our days so that we weren't coming and going too much.

The day we arrived was valentines day so we found a great Mexican restaurant, Crazy Gringos. After having a lovely Mexican meal we started sampling the cocktails which were on offer at about £2 each. They had a great duo singing live which made for a brilliant night out, especially as we progressed down the cocktail menu!



Chris made a new best friend, Rasta-otan and posed with him for photos, but didn't have quite enough to drink so that I could finally hear him singing karaoke! Never mind maybe next time!! We actually found ourselves drawn back to Crazy Gringos a few times over the following few days!


The next day we took a long tail boat to visit Railay beach which is well known as one of the best beaches in the area and can only be accessed by boat. it was a sweet little hamlet but very busy with upmarket hotels which have taken over the best parts of the beach. it was a very hot day and there was little space left to sit in the shade. This was such a contrast to the other beaches we have been to which are vast, quiet and peaceful so we were glad we had not opted to say there, although it was nice to visit. We caught the long tail boat back again, going past cliffs, caves and little rocky islands.




The following day was a lazy day spent walking from one end of town to the other, exploring the little shops and sitting looking out over the sea. We wandered through the night market and ended the evening with a few more cocktails in Gringos!

The next afternoon we went on a four island snorkel trip with beach barbecue. We set off in a boat with about forty people. First stop was a little island with a lovely little beach. It is not inhabited but is only used by day trippers and has just a little beach hut selling food and drinks and a long tail boat pulled up in the water which sells all sorts of Thai and western dishes to take away which are all prepared and cooked on the little boat which wanders from island to island. Ingenious!


We wandered off from the group to the very end of the beach hoping to see a few fish with our masks and snorkels. When we got in the water we were amazed at how many fish we could see and the gorgeous colours. We hadn't expected there to be much at all there and it was incredible.

 As we got out of the water a family of monkeys had wandered down to the beach, managed to steal someone's water melon and were enjoying a feast of bananas that so done was feeding to them.




Then it was back on the boat to the next island. There was no beach here but the boat just pulled up next to the rocky island. Back in the water we swam around the rocks and into a cave. Again, even though the water was not as clear, we were lucky to see loads of fish, coral, sea cucumbers and n a lion fish which was beautiful although we were careful not to get too close!



Next stop was Tuk island. We were transferred to the beach by long tail boat where the sun was just about to set. We paddled in the water and took yet more lovely sunset photos before sitting on the sand and enjoying a beach barbecue with freshly grilled fish and chicken kebabs.










 As it got dark we were entertained with a fire show. We then lay on the sand in the pitch dark and watched the stars, there are so many of them when the sky is not lit by street lights!



Back on the boat we had one last stop, this time to swim in the water with phosphorous plankton. The more the water moves the more the plankton glows, however it was having a night off we think as there was very little to be seen. We were disappointed but had had an amazing day and slept well back at our hotel after a nice hot shower.

Next day we left Ao nang to continue our journey south down Thailand towards Malaysia and Singapore. We had planned to go to Phi Phi or Phuket but having spoken to various people who said they are both busy, overdeveloped, touristy and expensive we decided to go instead to another island we had heard little about but was much quieter - Koh Lanta.

Tue 5th Feb to Wed 13th Feb - Koh Tao

To get to Koh Tau we caught a VIP bus from Hua Hin to the port at Chumporn. We then boarded a catamaran for the 2 hr trip on the gulf of Thailand to the island of Koh Tao which means turtle island. On arrival at the pier we were faced with a million tuk tuk drivers all wanting to take us to our hotel! We jumped in the back of a pick up and ten minutes later we were in the next village and at our hotel. Koh Tao is a small island approx ten miles long and four miles wide and a very laid back place with lots of backpackers and divers. Most of the hotels and villages are on the west side where there are the most beautiful white soft beaches and bright blue water. The east coast has little development as there are high rocky cliffs with difficult access to the sea and few beaches.


 Our hotel was on the main road which was fine and was only a ten minute walk from the beach.

The first afternoon we walked round to explore then went down to the beach for a swim. The sand was so white and soft and the water was really warm and refreshing with hardly any waves. After our swim we sat on the beach and had a pineapple shake. We then spotted a little man carrying a load up the beach on his shoulders. As he got nearer we realised that he was a mobile sweet corn BBQ! Of course we couldn't resist ordering two and watched as he wafted his BBQ to get the coals glowing, grilled our corn, smeared them in butter, sprinkled them with salt and then Handed them to us on a skewer. Ingenious entrepreneur!


That evening we wandered down on to the beach where all the bars and restaurants spilled down onto the sand where they had low tables with cushions to lounge on, candles in the sand and coloured lanterns hanging from all the trees. It was magical sitting there looking out at the sea, drinking cocktails and watching the fire show by local lads who wander up and down the beach entertaining everyone.


The next day we hired a motorbike as we wanted to explore the island and check out other accommodation as we decided to spend more than a couple of days there. We had a lovely day driving through the little towns and seeing the rest of the island and on the southern end of the Island we found the most amazing place to stay. The little bungalows were built on stilts and led straight on to the beach and then into the water. The hotel was in a small bay with lovely views across to the few resorts dotted around.



The next day we checked out of our other hotel and moved down to Freedom Beach resort. We booked in initially for another three nights but loved it so much we ended up staying there for six nights, a total of eight nights on Ko Tau.


The resort had a little wooden walkway which led to some of the other bungalows dotted about on the rocks. We followed the walkway one evening and it led up and over the rocks and cliff and then down again to a tiny little beach. This beach was quiet and shady as trees were growing right up to the waters edge. Hanging in the trees were mobiles which people had made out of fishing wire, shells and bits of coral and they tinkled in the breeze.

There was also a tiny little bar built up on stilts where we sat and watched the sun going down with a cold beer. On the way back round on the walkway we heard rustling and were lucky to see a huge, bright purple crab which was scuttling up the rocks as the tide was coming in.



One of the days Chris booked a sea fishing trip while I opted to have a lazy day. He set off early and came back sunburnt but happy after a day when he managed to catch a large fish but an even bigger one got away! Of course!

I clambered over the rocks, walked around the bay to the next beach and went into the little town. after wandering around the few little shops I decided it was too hot to walk back so opted to go and chill out in an air conditioned massage spa and have a pedicure and a foot scrub. I don't think the poor girl looked at my feet before she quoted me the £5. It took her an hour and a half to scrape all the dead skin and restore my feet and nails into something presentable! I came out feeling cool and relaxed and was lucky to flag down the hotel shuttle pickup for a lift back to the hotel, saving me a walk in 35 degree sun for twenty minutes - not to mention ruining my feet! I then spent the rest of the afternoon lying in our air conditioned bungalow reading a book in peace!

The rest of our time was spent exploring the rest of the island on our bikes, eating meals in various little local restaurants and drinking cocktails while looking out at the beautiful views with the most amazing sunsets over the bay. It was a lovely little island to spend time on as it was quite small but not too developed, prices were very reasonable and the people were so friendly and kind.






Eventually we decided that as we could not stay there forever it was it to move on and continue our Thailand journey.


 
We booked another ferry and bus, this time taking us back to the mainland then over the peninsular to the western side of Thailand and the andaman sea. The trip took most of the day but there was lots to see, first of all on the ferry which stopped at other islands and then the bus which travelled overland through banana, citrus, rubber and coconut plantations


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Monday 11 February 2013

Wed 30Jan - Tue 5 Feb - Kanchanaburi and Hua Hin

Our guest house for the next few days was a home stay run by an ageing Canadian hippy who had come to Thailand years ago on holiday, decided he loved it here, bought a piece of land and built a guest house. Over the years he has built on various extensions and extra buildings and developed the garden into what is now a great meeting place and a fun place to stay. We had a basic little shed on stilts with an shower and toilet which was all we needed. Luckily cleanliness and home comforts were not at the top of our wish list! We had a great four nights there, hung out each evening with a the various other guests each evening with a few beers and the delicious meal his Thai cook produced from ingredients bought fresh from the local market each day. No menu here just an assortment of fantastic Thai dishes for everyone to try.


During the days we hired two scooters and explored the area. We visited the famous Bridge over the River Kwai, the Kanchanaburi War Cemetary, and the museum which tells you all about the building of the bridge by the japanese and the terrible conditions suffered by the allied prisoners of war.


We also headed out of town one day and travelled up into the hills, paddled in the waterfalls where the water is crystal clear. We stopped at a little restaurant which had a gorgeous garden and saw monks trundling down the road.
We drove up the little alleyways in the town and found temples and markets and it was great to have our own transport and just potter about and stop when we saw something worth looking at.
Coloured chicks in the market????


After four days we decided it was time to start heading south towards the coast and the islands. We caught another mini bus, this time to the coastal town of Hua Hin, which is popular with western tourists as it is only a few hours from Bangkok. We found it sweet but a bit too touristy and westernised with very little feeling of being in Thailand but it was nice to be at the coast and to break the journey towards the islands.

The first night we had booked into a hotel on the sea front. Part of the hotel was built on stilts actually out over the sea so at night when the tide was in you could hear the water lapping under the floorboards! it was basic but fine and we ended up in a pizza restaurant for dinner! We walked along the beach for a while and on to the pier where we watched the locals fishing and also watched the ladies cleaning the basins full of squid which had been caught that evening and were destined for the local restaurants. The second night we moved to another hotel just up the road which was nicer and also had the sound of the sea below us. We found the local night market that evening and had supper at a local stall where you could pick your seafood and have it cooked for you to order. It was deliciously fresh and only cost a few pounds for a two course dinner. We wandered through the night market where there were some amazing handcrafts.

Next morning we were back on the road again! Our next destination we were very excited about - Koh Tao island by catamaran !!