IT IS TIME, HIGH TIME!

Phi Phi for us was the epitome of 'same same but different'. It really isn't that much different from many other resorts you find the world over and notwithstanding the amazing scenery on Ao Lo Dalum beach we found that it lacked the character of some of the other places we visited. You have to give credit to, and admire the resilience of, the local people to rebuild the resort after it was levelled by the tsunami in 2005 and there is barely a trace of it to the tourist now besides the odd picture in hotel lobbys and the anniversary T-shirts.

On the Ocean Waves...Gaarr!

Land Ahoy!

It was an hour and a half trip from Ko Lanta which was pretty much plain sailing. As we approached Phi Phi it did look great from the boat. Rising up out of the sea like a rocky monster as we got closer, the limestone cliffs were a great sight. We cruised into the bay through a small armada of fishing and tourist boats and took a smaller longtail boat to Hat Yai (Long Beach), just around the headland from the main pier. We were happy enough with our room which was one of about 100 similar bungalows dotted around a big garden just off the beach. The water just off shore was full of coral and although much of it has tragically been damaged by the tsunami there were still good opportunities for snorkelling.
On our arrival it was bucketing with rain and we had to wait for it to die down until we checked into our room to save us getting soaked. It cleared up soon enough and we went for a walk along the beach picking up shells and paddling in the clear water. I had some delicious mussels for dinner.

Boats in Phi Phi Harbour

The next day we took a trip over to Ao Lo Dalum which is the main sunbathing beach. It is a stunning curve of soft sand with high cliffs on one side and a huge limestone column standing out of the sea in the distance, but it's lined with deckchairs all the way along and quite crowded with people. We sat for the day and watched the paragliders shoot out over the bay on the back of speedboats until the tide went out so far that you could walk about 1 kilometre down the beach and the water would still only be up to your knees.

The View from Ao Lo Dalum Beach - Sweet!

We were in a dilemma for what to do the following day as we couldn't decide whether to stay and do a trip to Phi Phi Lei, which is the main island's national park sister and where the film 'The Beach' was shot. I've never seen the film on account of hearing that it is utter shite and I don't know if it was that or whether we just fancied a change but we pushed on the following morning.

Ko Lanta had the paradise beach I had been looking for and was yet to find. Sweet. We travelled by boat from Krabi which took about an hour and a half and then took a jeep to the resort we had booked in at. It was on Kantiang Bay. As soon as we got there we booked an extra night and stayed for four in all. The beach was stunning with a couple of kilometres of soft unspolied sand fringed with jungle. There were only a couple of places to stay on the bay, other than the mega expensive one where they ferry guests around in golf buggies and have their own private yacht to escort people there, a little beyond our meagre budget unfortunately. The sparse accomodation was good because it meant no hawkers annoying you and trying to sell you rubbish.

Beautiful Beach at Kantiang Bay

Our room was great, really big and clean with air con and the staff at the Kantiang Bayview Resort were top class. Nothing was too difficult for them and they were always happy and smiling. I would reccomend anyone to go there. We felt really relaxed there and did so for four days, chilling on the beach, swimming with fish in the sea and talking walks to watch the sunset and search for crabs (not those kind of crabs Caireen) on the rocks, it was superb.

Sunset

During my travels I am doing my best to add restaurants to my favoutrite list by eating in as many as I can. I think I found one here. It was called 'Same Same But Different' and had some of the best food I have ever had. The thick fish curry with rice rocked. Sitting on tables in the sand with shell and coral mobiles swaying in the breeze around you and the hermet crabs shuffling under your chair was brilliant and we went back there two nights. On the way back from the restaurant on the first night we had to walk along the beach and didn't realise that between our arriving there and leaving the tide had come right in and we had to wade past rocks through the sea up to our knees at one point. It was fairly freeky in the pitch dark and there were several oooo's aaaa's and ohmygod's! We took a torch and went a bit earlier the second time.

SS but D

Every night in the 'Why Not Bar' (good name for a bar I thought) at our resort there was a guy who would do fire tricks on the beach. He was basically one of those guys who get a huge burning stick and fling it round their heads at one hundred miles an hour like a maniac, but he was very good. They would usually play 'light my fire' by the doors while he was at it (and then he did the fire tricks - boom boom!! Man I'm hilarious). One night it was a little Thai boy's birthday at the bar. The bar was packed and everyone sang happy birthday to him after which he blew out all the candles on a big plate of watermelon that they gave him. He came round everybody in the bar and gave them some fruit before having any himself. What a nice lad.

Thais preparing a long tail boat

It was a great place. We loved it there and didn't want to leave - in fact we should have stayed longer but we were back on the road, or should I say sea, to Phi Phi.

Our next stop was Krabi on the Andaman (West) Coast. We had heard that the scenery was great at Railay beach so we headed for there. A truck picked us up from the guest house and then we took a mini van from Khao Sok which took about three hours to an office in Krabi who arranged a room for us on Railay and a songthaew. There are no roads to Railay so we got dropped at the pier and had to take a longtail boat which took about 15 minutes. We waded through the water with our bags and the short walk to the resort seemed to take ages because it was so hot. The resort was nice enough but the scenery on Railay East where we were staying lacked the charm we had been expecting. After checking in we took a short walk to Railay West which is the stunning (and expensive) side. The beach on the west side is fantastic about a kilometre long and maybe 100 metres wide and framed with high limestone cliffs on either side of the bay. The water was as warm as a bath and crystal clear. That first day we didn't really do a great deal.

Limestone Karst - Railay East at Dusk

Kayaking Canyon

The following day we went on a kayak trip around Krabi and through the mangroves which line the coast there. The kayaking was excellent and our guide took us through shallow water into the mangroves and then through a huge canyon. We stopped for fruit and lunch and also at a beach where there were loads of monkeys monkeying around on the rocks. We fed them with pineapple and they seemed pretty pleased. The scenery was great on the the trip and we saw a huge monitor lizard and hundreds of star fish on the sea bed. At the end of the kayaking we had to drag our kayaks up 200m of mud flat which was pretty tough expecially as our feet were sinking into the mud above our ankles.

"Bacardi and coke please Myfanwy" The only gay monkey in the village!

Starfish in the crystal water

Despite the scenery there wasn't a great deal to do at Railay other than the rock climbing, (which it is famous for and we didn't do), and there is too much unfinished construction there which kind of spoils the atmosphere of the place, added to this is the fact that you can't get to Krabi town other than by boat so we thought Krabi town would have been a better base.
Hi Ho.....sleepy and grumpy pushed on to Ko Lanta.

We travelled to Khao Sok directly from Ko Pha-Ngan. We had a pick up from our bungalow at 6am and we took a mini van to the pier at Thong Sala where we boarded a ferry, the ferry took about an hour and a half and was a calm crossing. When we arrived we took a bus to a place called Suratthani which is a town about thirty kilometres inland and one of the main transport hubs in the south of Thailand. We got off the bus and took a tuk tuk to an office to 'confirm our tickets', (this is something you usually have to do at some point during your journey in Thailand, you stop, go to an office, present your tickets and they give you a sticker saying where you are going that you wear on your shirt. Pointless for you but good for them as they try to sell you food, drink, trips, guesthouses....), we were picked up at the office by a mini van which took us to another bus. This bus took us to Khao Sok and then a truck took us to our guesthouse. We arrived about 3pm after 9 hours, 2 mini vans, 2 buses, 1 ferry, 1 tuk tuk, and 1 truck. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

Khao Sok is a National Park in central Thailand, it's basically a huge rainforest. We stayed at Khao Sok Rainforest Resort and we got a warm welcome from our hosts who were some of the friendliest people we met in all of Thailand. Our bungalow was right by the river and as it was the rainy season we could hear the water rushing past all the time. Things close up early in the rain forest, you can't get a meal after 9pm but that was OK, we were quite tired after our long journey so had some fantastic green curry and an early night.

In the morning we had booked a six hour jungle trek. We were picked up by our guide, the self styled 'Tigerman' at 8am. He was concerned because we were wearing light clothes and he said we would get dirty. We said we didn't mind. The trek started fairly gently for the first hour or so along a wide path that was obviously heavily trodden. Once we reached the park rangers' station things began to get serious. Tigerman told us that to stop the leeches biting us to buggery, not his words I admit, we would need to tuck our trousers into our socks and douse them with a tobacco and water solution which kills them. It sounds vile but its better than having your blood sucked by what is essentially a slug. It turned out to be great advice because as we set off on the very small trails through thick jungle and over small streams we realised how many there were. We stopped every 20 minutes to flick the dead ones into the dirt.

Brian the lizard

During the trek Tigerman caught tiny frogs and bigger lizards from the jungle for us to hold and kept our spirits up by calling to the tigers that he had some fresh meat for them and to come and get it, I had a bet with him that if I saw a monkey before he did he had to buy us two beers each but although we heard gibbon calls from up in the mountains they were too far away for us to see them. On the way it rained heavily and we were completely soaked, but very hot as it was humid as hell, so by lunch time when we reached the waterfall we were trekking to we were glad to get the swimming togs on and jump in for a dip. Because it was the rainy season the water was high and although we could swim around the rock face to see the waterfall it was difficult not to be carried away by the current. We maybe only swam for 5 minutes in what seemed like a swim tread mill and then had some lunch. During our fried rice feast another couple came down to the waterfall, they, unlike us, had an unexperienced guide and were wearing shorts and sandals. The leech bites did not look pretty.

We trekked back a slightly different way and Tigerman was suitably amusing. At one point he secretly made a mask out of a big leaf and turned round and roared at Ruth with it over his face, this had him in fits of hysterics and Ruth screaming. He was a funny guy. We were nearing the end of our six hours and feeling a bit weary and very wet, and we were all saying what a shame it was we didn't see any monkeys. Just as we came to the end of the trail Tigerman stopped dead in his tracks and looked up in the trees. He spotted them first. We saw a group of about six monkeys swinging through the trees and chasing each other around. It was fantastic to see them in the wild.

We woke in the morning to hear a comotion outside the bungalow and I went to have a look. Tigerman was stood there saying, 'snake snake snake.' It transpired that a seven foot long python was taking a nap in a bush just outside our room, so I got the best pictures I could without gong too close and kept my eye out after that. We felt that we would be able to do a smaller trek on our own but it was raining really hard, as it had done the night before. Rain in the rain forest is not like normal rain, its like having buckets of water poured on your head continuously so we decided that maybe it wasn't a good day to start doing the whole Indiana Jones thing and after breakfast I promptly went back to sleep whilst Ruth read. In the afternoon it had brightened up a bit so we went for a walk around the park perimeter, but not in the jungle. It was still interesting and we saw some monkeys, lots of brightly coloured birds, wild banana trees and white snails, ever seen a white snail anyone? We went for a beer in the reggae bar to kill the time and ended up having several. I phoned Kev as it was his birthday and by the time we remembered that dinner finishes at 9pm we were too late, so had more beer instead.

Richard the long tailed macaque

Look at the size of it......and what about the snake!

The following day was our last day and we were determined that we would go on our trek. Luckily it was brighter and there was no rain so we grabbed some lunch from the guesthouse and set off for Sip Et Chan Waterfall. We had bought a guide book from the guesthouse so we weren't completely in the dark but the trail proved to be very small, quite overgrown and very wet from the previous two days. It took us about two hours to get there through three kilometres (or so the guide said) of undergrowth and along the way we saw a huge red and black butterfly, lizards and all kinds of weird plants. On the way back, after lunch we had a bit of a hairy experience when the path gave way under my foot and I nearly fell down a 50 foot drop, luckily I grabbed a vine that was hanging down and stopped myself before I went plummeting into the abyss. Ruth was a bit unnerved about it but I had it under control, what with my extensive jungle experience. Ha. We followed some tracks that we found off the trail for a while in the hope of seeing something bigger than a gnat's ass but I think we probably scared whatever it was away long before. By the end we were completely knackered but in any case, Khao Sok Rocked.

Steve the lizard

It was a tough trek

The boat to Ko Pha-Ngan took about forty minutes, it was hot and sunny but the sea was a little rough, I am a little wary about boats and being the wuss that I am held on to the rail most of the way with Ruth laughing at me. We arrived and jumped straight into a mini van. Our first destination was Ao Thong Nai Pan Noi, a secluded little bay on the North East tip of the island. It was a fifteen kilometre drive over the top of a mountain to get there on a 'road' which looked more like a river bed. It was lovely there and we rented a bungalow at the top of some steep steps in a kind of jungle garden setting. We stayed for two nights and didn't do much other than soak up some rays and eat good food at the resort restaurants. On the second night there the electricity went off, as it occasionally does, and we took a very dark walk to the Jungle Bar for a couple of cocktails. Ruth had the frog paranoia and was convinced that she was going to step on a frog. We really loved it there as it had great views, was quiet with hardly anyone on the beach and a welcome contrast from Ko Samui

This week I are be mostly wearing a beard!

Ban Khai Beach

We left after two days for Ban Khai, another beach nearer the action as it was the full moon party in two nights time and we wanted to be within reasonable distance. We stayed at a cool little resort there, the name escapes me, and although the beach wasn't as nice it had a laid back atmosphere and the owners were friendly. The beach there stretched for several kilometres in both directions and on the second day we decided to talk a walk to the island capital, Thong Sala, which was about two kilometres, or so we thought. It seemed like four as we set off about 11am and the sun was baking. You could have fried an egg on my head. But it would have been a sweaty egg.

Fish drying on the side of the road on the way to Thong Sala

Thong Sala itself was fairly unremarkable but we did have a nice lunch there before getting a taxi back. The best thing about our bungalow was the hammock that was strung across the balcony, and I spent a lot of time swinging on the hammock and watching the resident ants build a nest, it was a busy time.

Ants! Making a house! From leaves! Surely Not!

We met a couple who were holidaying in Thailand called Nick and Danielle and went to the full moon party with them. We caught a Songthaew, a truck with seats in the back, from Ban Khai as it was about 5 kilometres to the beach at Had Rin. On the way Nick and I had an interesting ride hanging onto the back and standing on the tail gate as we drove up and down hills at about 50 mph. The party was in full swing when we arrived about 11pm. There are about 8 big bars along the beach playing all kinds of music: cheese, pop, hiphop, house, I seem to remember hearing YMCA at about 4 o'clock in the morning. We spent most of the night at the Paradise Bungalows party, the original spot and the progressive house was top class, in my humble opinion. The moon was huge all night and the sky was really clear and I liked that. At the end of the beach they were releasing huge lanterns into the sky and people were all over the beach, really, all over it. Nick and Danielle left about 3am but Ruth and I stretched it out til about 5.30am. We decided at that point that we had had enough of watching people piss in the sea, fall over and smear each other in luminous paint and dragged our weary old bones off to bed. It was truly a messy night especially some of the states that we saw but I would not have missed it and now I can say I have been there, done that and yes I did buy the T-shirt.

We were there......

For our last stint on Ko Pha-Ngan we styed in Had Rin so that we could do a tour to An Thong Marine Park. The trip only went every other day so we had to extend our stay by three days to do it but we thought it would be worth it as it is a National Park and supposed to be really beautiful. The morning of the trip we were supposed to be picked up at 7am so we clambered out of bed and to the travel office early. We waited until 7.45 but no-one came and nothing was open so we went back to bed. We were fairly fuming as you can imagine and went to complain. The lady told us the taxi company had already phoned her to say that they forgot. So we got our money back and walked out. Man that was annoying. We spent the rest of that day moaning to each other about it and waiting to leave.