Tuesday 5th February
I was out of the hotel by 07.30, got some breakfast in
one of the roadside cafes, not sure what to ask for, but I said 'yes' when the
lady behind the counter pointed at some eggs! I was given an omelette and some
red curry sauce for dipping and it was very tasty, I think I will have to
export that one back home. I headed over to Sayan Tours, and they took me to a
nearby jetty where we climbed onboard a longboat and set off for the day.
We first passed through a mazy mangrove forest, and it
was interesting to see how these trees root themselves into the salt water, so
that the roots themselves are exposed (giving you a glimpse of what it must
look like in a normal forest without the earth surrounding the roots).
The national park is one of the more famous areas in
Thailand, or, at least, the images of the many limestone karsts (or jutting
rocks and small islands) are reasonably well known outside of the country. We
stopped off at a few very impressive caves and lagoons, deep inside some of the
small islands. It was all very relaxing, and there were many others about,
either on boats similar to ours, or on canoes which are launched off larger
ships and which first sail out closer to the main sights.
We stopped on a beach for a refreshing swim and some
lunch before getting back on the boats for a trip to the famous Tapoo Island
(a.k.a. 'James Bond Island'). I was particularly excited about this part of the
trip, as 'The Man With The Golden Gun' is perhaps my favourite of all the Bond
movies (although I cannot call myself a huge Bond fan). A personal joke also
had a lot of relevancy here. One of the wonderful nicknames that has been
bestowed upon me, includes that of 'Nik-Nak', the name of Scaramanga's sidekick
in this particular Bond movie (I won't explain why!). It is a name given to me
by Kenny McClintock but quickly picked up by some of the other Derry contingent
and very much in use to this day. So, in a funny kind of way, it was a bit of a
homecoming for me!
The island itself is now a big tourist attraction, and
a row of souvenir stalls lines the beach. I wouldn't have had such a big
problem if there had have been memorabilia from the Bond movie to purchase,
something along the lines of a toy extra nipple 'à la Scaramanga' or a Nik-Nak t-shirt. But, alas, there
was nothing except the usual fridge magnets and seashells. However, the beach
is still recognisable from the movie, with the single, thin karst in front of
the main beach acting as the major landmark.
Our final stop was to a muslim fishing village, a
place where all of the buildings have been built on stilts directly above the
sea. It's an interesting enough place, and the people there seem to welcome
tourists, not least because of the extra income that they pull in from them. We
headed back to the mainland shortly after, getting back to the bus station in
time for me to catch the last bus to Takua Pa at 17.00. My plan was to go from
Takua Pa to Khao Sok National Park, but, by the time I got to Takua Pa at
19.00, the last bus for Khao Sok had gone. This meant that I had to stay the
night in Takua Pa, and get the 10.00 to Khao Sok the next morning. It was a
reasonably big town, so there was never going to be much problem in getting a
place to stay.
The only question was 'where'. The Lonely Planet
didn't cover it, so I got a taxi driver to bring me somewhere nearby, and I
ended up getting a fairly decent place for 300B (despite the efforts of the
receptionist to get me to pay double for an air-con room that I didn't need). I
went for some food and had crabmeat and spring onions with rice, and it was one
of the nicest dishes I had since coming to Thailand (you have to turn your mind
off to the possibility that the crabs were probably reared in the bathtub, but
it still tasted bloody good). There wasn't much about the place, so I headed
back to the hotel and crashed out for the night.
