Day 20 –Wed 20th July
We set off for Koh Lanta on a bonny day – decided to stop off at KO MO for a snorkel – a tiny island which we circled to find the best spot….beautiful clear water and fish spotted from boat – no need to snorkel – however we did…………….came out of the water tingling with jellyfish stings…………couldn’t see the blighters but they were there!!!
Anchor up and off to Koh Lanta – arrived at anchorage around 6pm and put down anchor just off the jetty of Lanta old town……..
Day 21 – Thursday 21st July
Spent a comfortable night on the anchor and went into the old town and hired a motorbike – the biker chicks are in town…………………great way to see this small island – the lunch at the pier on the north side was lovely – food so cheap here - the restaurants are very plain – no fancy seats – garden furniture – but the food is so fresh – especially the seafood! We tried to find Leonardo Di Caprios house but was nowhere to be found……..but we happened upon a resort that looked as if it had stepped out of the sixties! It had tarzan tree houses for accommodation as well as lodges overlooking the sea……looked as if someone had gone DIY mad with old driftwood!! Needless to say it was desserted with only the manager sweeping up things…………we stayed for a coca cola and left!! The sea gyspy community still have a village by the sea – quaint wee houses on stilts………..a very good day indeed….we booked up for a dive to Ko Ha tomorrow.
Day 22 – Friday 22nd July
We dinghyed into the jetty to be picked up by dive boat along with others. The dive was brilliant – so clear waters….we saw lots of unusual fish.. even the favourite clown fish and Y saw a seahorse! Pics to follow!!! Blue Planet instructors needed a medal to get J to stop floating to the surface!! Nevertheless a good day out – weather changed on second dive and we came up in a sea swell……..
Day 23 – Saturday 23rd July
The rain was relentless today………….non stop………….we did move the boat out the channel a bit as it was bobbing round like cork…………so it was pretty much a pj day – reading and sleeping!
Day 24 – Sunday 24th July
Decided to set sail for Krabi – weather fairly settled but when we got out into the open sea………well …….it was like the rocky road to thon place………..so – about turn and go back into the shelter of the channel…………….good plan as we discovered the Beautyful restaurant, Muslim run – with beer!! Classic meal – the food only gets better everywhere we go.
Day 25 – Monday 25th July
Once again we set off for Krabi – the sea had settled down and the weather was fair……we did seem to escape a few nasty nimbus clouds lurking behind us…………we were going great guns until the engine decided it wasnae playing! Y went underneath to check the prop was not snagged after passing a fishing pot area…we topped up with fuel – though the guage read half…….we bobbed about a bit until we checked the throttle line and oil etc……….called the Elite office who told us to bleed the engine!! Happy dayz!! After all that we got the sails up and sailed to the buoy where we were meant to meet the Krabi marina boys who would escort us in to the marina as the river channel is very shallow – didn’t want to go aground! Anyway that didn’t happen as we needed to find shelter for the night as it was getting on a bit……….after many phone conversations with Krabi man, Wijita, we finally anchored off Ko Poda, under the cover of darkness………..we threw down two anchors as we weren’t sure what was under us – rock or sand…….
Day 26 – Tuesday 26th July
We woke up to beautiful sunny weather and news that the engineers were to come and look at the engine…we decided to explore Ko Poda……………if you know the theme to Robinson Crusoe…………sing it now…………as this island is just idyllic – even with a restaurant on it and bungalows you can rent! We walked all around the beach of white sand……had a coffee at the café………..and settled down for a wee sunbathe until the engineers came………..peace perfect peace………….not for long though…….longtails and speed boats arrived in droves dropping off tourists for the day – many with picnics…even longtail boats brought ice cream vendors!!! Time to get back to the boat!! The engineers thought the fuel line wasn’t long enough to get fuel to the engine………..they changed the fuel filter, tested the engine – though we thought it still didn’t sound right……..not to worry – off to Krabi we went following the Krabi marina boat to guide us in…………after about 15 minutes……….yes you’ve guessed – the enging decided to lose power again…………
Once in Krabi, we phoned Ulrich – the Elite manager to ask his advice…..which was fill her up with fuel to the brim………..time for a g and t……………and some thai whisky – courtesy of the marina staff! Have you ever heard of whisky and soda??
Day 27 – Wednesday 27th July
Went to immigration to get Y a visa – no joy – so a visa run is imminent…explored the streets of Krabi – very quaint – the only big department store is Vogue…………reminded us of Lamcy Plaza – but we did have a KFC for lunch – saddos!
Day 28 – Thursday 28th July
Hired a motor bike and went to temple Seau – another Buddhist monastery but with a Buddha at the top of 1237 steps! Did we climb them? Yes we did!! And the view was magnificent!! Our legs ached but hey it was worth it!
Then we took the bike to see round the coast at Ao Nang – dodging very heavy rain showers! Returned to Krabi and had a few beers.
Day 29 – Friday 29th July
Another adventure on our hired putt putt – this time to the hot springs – not that we had a map with us to find it……….we arrived in heavy rain- but sitting in a hot spring at 41 degrees in the pouring rain was appealing………..so it was – and also a fish tank of fishies eating away at our feet- very relaxing. We swam in the mineral pool as the rain stotted off the water, the roar of thunder crashed in our lugs……..very therapeutic!!! We even got a shower after it………….then we went to Krabi walking market which was entertaining – we bought some more stuff –and oh……before I forget – Y sent home yet another box of items she has purchased………..
Day 30 – Saturday 30th July
Booked ourselves into The Krabi school of Thai cooking for the afternoon – brilliant stuff – finding out how to conjure up Thai dishes – the spring rolls were very delicious! Stuffed our faces with the food we produced – even got a cookery book! So watch out folks – thai food could be on the menu!!
We made the decision to travel to Phuket tomorrow so filled the tank with diesel – did the engine checks, so all ready for the sail…………time for a beer…………and put this on the blog!
