KRABI
We caught the ferry
from Koh Phi Phi Island into Krabi provence and from there caught a public bus to
Ao Nang, which has lovely beaches.
When we were on the
ferry to Krabi we met a nice guy named Andreas from Sweden who showed us some
cheap guesthouses for us to stay in, as he had been here before. Almost
everything cheap was booked up! So we put together and got a nice guest house
at 1200 Baht per night which is the equivalent of around 40$ a night. Out of
our normal price range but good enough for one or two nights, us being
exhausted from getting up early and luggin’ our heavy packs around.
Went to the beach on
the first day, lay around and soaked up the sun. Beach was beautiful! Saw some crazy monkeys
who we fed bananas. Got really close up to some of them, and some even climb on
your shoulders! There really like smaller, hairier, flea ridden-er humans! We
went for dinner and tried some new things including; fried squid with pineapple
(“Ananas” In Swedish), “Tom Yum Goong” which means “Sour and Spicy Shrimp Soup”
and Fried Prawn with Chilli. Eating here in Thailand is SUCH a luxury on the
tastebuds.
Second day we booked
a tour to catch a long boat (resembles a banana) around to all the tropical
islands and caves. The water here is breathtaking! The first island we stopped
at, we all jumped in for a bit of a snorkel in the aqua and emerald coloured
water. Jumping in and finding that the water is NEVER cold is such a surprise!
Saw some fish (Wushy wushy’s! as mum calls them) and jumped back into the boat
to head to the next island. This island was beautiful! The water was so clear,
and the tropical fish came up and swam around us. Took some photos, thank
Buddha our camera is waterproof! Next Island we came to was called Chicken
Island, as the island literally resembles the head of a chicken!
Perfect snorkelling
opp’s here. Water is clear, coral reefs are so vibrant with sea life it makes
you wish you were a local! Snorkelled around here for a while, and saw an
amazing array of sea critters including; Clown fish (Nemo!), Dory fish, Sea
cucumbers (SO CUTE!), Angel fish, Stripy fish, Crabs, Sea anemone’s , Urchins and
these crazy territorial fish that come and have a nibble on your legs if you go
in there territories.
Last but not least we
came to a MASSIVE cave, named Panang Cave. The cave was so huge like a monster!
Hard to comprehend... soaked up some more sun here, and heard about the story
of the cave.
Local legend tells;
Once there was a man
and a wife, and they were fisherman. They were married for 10-15 years, and
still had no children. So they talked and decided to go to the sea serpent
(VFEBV), who has many powers. The fishermen asked for a daughter, just one, and
the serpent said “Yes.. on one condition, you promise to let my son marry your
daughter when the time comes.”. The fishermen agreed and as the years went by,
the family soon forgot about their promise to the serpent. When a prince came
through the cave and saw the daughter, he asked to marry her immediately. The
family said yes, naturally, as the Prince would one day become a King.
After a few years of marriage,
the serpent became very angry! He brought in an army, and a big war broke loose
in the cave. After years of death and disaster, some Hermits appeared from
there caves.
With their big bushy
hair and beard they called “Stop this war!”. Nobody listened to the Hermits,
and the war went on. As the Hermits grew angrier and angrier they worked there
special Hermit magic and turned everyone into the landscape around them. People
became mountains, Chickens became islands
(CHICKEN ISLAND) and everything
turned into something.
And thats the story
of the Panang Cave.
On our third day, we moved
to a nice cute little bungalow for me and
mum to share. We hung around the main beach of Ao Nang, had a picnic then
decided to catch a long boat to a beach called Ton Sai, which is meant to have
great rock formations and caves. We got stuck in some quick mud, but we ended
up finding a table and mat to lie on, situated right on the beach. The Sunset
was amazing! It was Cool seeing the sun go behind all the rocky formations,
took heaps of pics. Then we Caught another long boat back to Ao Nang beach, in
the dark. The combo of the fresh sea breeze and the big caves and rocks lit up at
night was just breathtaking.
On the Fourth day we booked a tour to go kayaking for the
whole day. They picked us up early
(yawn) and twenty or so of us squeezed into the back of a truck. We jumped into
the kayaks and went mangrove exploring. Mum spotted a water dragon! We Went
into some canyons, and explored some awesome mangroves. The guide took us into
this AMAZING 1 ½ km long canyon, whose plants and water were so still.
Absolutely huge! So peaceful though, practically untouched. We saw some of
those spider crabs, who have two eyes poking out the top of their heads like in
the cartoons! Then stopped for lunch and were herded back into the truck like
cattle and brought to the next place called the “Emerald Pool” You can see why
it gets its name, 200m deep, it comes straight of the mountain (FREEZING) and
has so many minerals from passing down the mountain and being so far
underground which make it literally emerald!
