Krabi 4 Islands Tour!
We booked ours from YourKrabi.com before we left for the trip because we wanted to settle whatever we could before reaching there. Even though it would be just as easy to book any other tours because there's a lot of agencies there in every corner of the street. There's one right beside the hotel we stayed in too.
Probably the only day we managed to wake up on time. We were at the lobby at 8am but figured that it was still rather early so I had my morning tea while Nan had his morning coffee at the cafe nearby. Realized that they didn't serve any food so we settled for cup noodles from the convenient store next door. At about 8:45am the transport came to pick up us and since we were the last ones they picked up, there wasn't any space left for us at the back so we sat with the driver in front. Rather squeezy but it wasn't a problem at all. It's just a 2 minutes drive to Nopparattara Beach and that's where we took our longtail boat. Even before boarding the boat, we were already wet but we were all ready and set to get wet since I brought a dry pack for my phone just so I could take pictures underwater!
I haven't been on a boat for a long time and just so you know, I haven't been to any great beaches for more than a decade so I was extremely excited for this trip and honestly, I feel like 2014 will be my Beach Boi year!
Our first stop was Poda Island and the waters were so damn clear. Lovely. I swam near the shore, even though it's the near shore I still wore my life vest because I'm scared. I swam with the fishes! They were so close to me! Snorkeled a bit at Poda too. It was at Poda too that Nan and I tried to figure out how to use my phone properly underwaters because everytime I wanted to snap a picture, it locks itself. How frustrating. I can't exactly remember how long we were there but the guides called us back to the boat so that we can move on to the next island.
We cruised past Chicken Island, which I personally think that the rock structure looks like a Peacock instead. On a side note, I'm extremely fascinated by all the beautiful rock formations in Thailand itself, especially while I was in Krabi and doing the Islands Tour. I find them really stunning.
We stopped by Tup Island for our lunch and picked a spot near the rocks to enjoy our lunch. Once we're done we took our snorkel kits and snorkeled a little around our boat. The waters there aren't that clear as Poda but I saw a sea cucumber chilling by a rock and my feet cringed because I didn't want to step on it and I kept imagining how squishy it might feel like if I stepped on it.
After Tup Island, we cruised along more rock formations and then the boat came to a stop. Then I remember Qama telling me that they had open water snorkelling in the middle of nowhere. Okay, here's the thing. I can swim. But I have no water confidence even with a life vest and Qama said the water was 2 metres deep, so I thought, "That's not so bad." That spot had a lot of sea urchins too but it was on the other side of the boat and now I understood why Qama was so afraid. He has phobia of sea urchins after his trip to Krabi. So the boat stopped, the ladder was put on the side and we wore our life vest and our snorkel kits. Got insde the water and I dipped my head inside. "Oh Lord, save me now.", was chanting in my head. It was definitely not 2 metres deep! Nan was holding on the ladder while I told him that we should just swim, afterall we do have our life vests on. It was super deep, but it was beautiful. I saw corals right in front of my eyes, huge corals with a huge sea urchin on it. I saw bigger fishes as compared to the ones in Poda. I was so scared but the experience was beyond words. Despite the tormoil in my head (because of my fear of drowning and whatnot), I found peace in being underwater and being able to still breathe through the snorkel kit. I felt so calm as I swam further away from the boat and away from Nan because I was engrossed on seeing more marine life. Only after I put my head up that I realized Nan was nearer to the boat so I swam towards him and decided to just hold on to the ladder because my fear came back to me. We decided to go up to the boat and that's when the guide were holding on to a sea urchin. I heard they sting but I still wanted a picture with it so I held it in my palms. It tickles when it moves! After that we decided to jump again, swam a little bit more and get all scared again before heading back up to the boat.
Off to the last island! Which was Phra Nang Cave Beach! It was quite a walk to the cave but it's definitely quite a sight. Full of wooden penises. Very interesting indeed. After reading what it's for and all, we decided to put our bags down under the shade of the cave and head for a swim. But before that, I realized there was a black dog that was sleeping at a small opening at the cave. It made me wonder where do that hole leads to. But obviously I don't have the guts to go there so let's just a swim. The seabed at Phra Nang Cave Beach was rather flat so we didn't mind going further. Stepped on a lot of rocks too! We swam for about half an hour or so before heading back to the boat and off we go! Back to Ao Nang! A lot of things went through my mind on the boat ride back to Ao Nang. Nan and I was pretty silent throughout that journey, probably he had a lot in his mind too.
Back at Nopparattara Beach, we decided to get ice creams before taking the transport back to our hotel since it's been a long day. From morning till about 4pm! We got a shock of our lives when we got back, got naked and realized how dark we got! But I didn't mind it a single bit because I know that's only the start of it. Darker shades to come.
So we washed up, washed our clothes and hung them to dry. Rested for a bit before leaving for an early dinner. Nan rented a bike so transport wasn't a problem. We bought plenty of souvenirs that night and off we go to Mr. Long Bar again for drinks and guess what? For tattoos! Nan had his anchor tattoo done while I had a small compass to accompany my swallow which was done with bamboo. Chang definitely did a great job on our tattoos. Chilled out after we were done with our tattoos and spoke to some of the other fellow travelers there while they were playing pool. A few more bottles and we decided to ride back to our hotel and get more cup noodles for the night!
We had our cup noodles and sausages once we got back to the hotel and we couldn't watch any shows that night because there was something wrong with the television so we resorted to watching YouTube videos and singing out loud since we were quite bored and was pretty high. Nan knocked out first and then it was my turn.
Definitely had a damn good sleep after a damn amazing day!
Next post shall be about Ton Sai and Railay! I really should start uploading the pictures too. Shall do so soon enough and most times I wish I am able to write better and describe better but oh well.
