Thailand

We were surprised to find that the minibus didn't take us all the way to Krabi, it dropped us off at the main passenger pier 3km from town - and they refused to take us further. We called our hotel that we had booked on latestays.com, and they sent a truck to pick us up. The Cozy Place Hotel was brand-new, and located 2 minutes from the main shopping area (just far enough to not be noisy). After checking in at the hotel, we spent the day shopping and looking at sea-kayak tour packages. We decided to go with a 1-day tour of sea-kayaking at Hong Island plus snorkelling at two other nearby islands, and a 1-day tour of kayaking through the mangroves and caves of Bor Thor. We showed the pamphlet to the hotel owner and he made the bookings for us (and let us pay with Visa). We went to a night-market for supper, where there were dozens of food stalls selling all kinds of Thai food, beverages, and even fresh produce. With nothing labelled, we had to just choose things that looked good - but with super low prices it wasn't much of a risk! My parents bought a large fish for only 100THB, and I went with a piece of skewered chicken with peanut sauce (25THB), and corn-on-the-cob (10THB). We also sampled some satay skewers, fish cakes, and some sort of green cake full of an unknown vegetable. For dessert we had the traditional sweet-rice with mango, and some colorful spheres full of a sweet paste that reminded me of red-bean desserts. Around the corner was the actual market, selling all kinds of clothes, shoes, accessories, and souveniers. One stall was selling women's shoes for 100THB, so Mom and my girlfriend each bought a pair, and my sister bought 4 pairs!

Our first 1-day tour was a bit of a disappointment. First we were taken by songthaew to Ao Thalane, where we were told we had to wait for another couple to arrive. We were worried that this would eat into our tour time, so we showed them the pamphlet and asked that they ensure we get the same amount of hours indicated by the itinerary. That's when we discovered that our booking wasn't with the company on the pamphlet (Ao Nang Group), but rather with another company called Krabi Sea Kayak. After 15 minutes of waiting, they suddenly decided to leave without the other couple (maybe they cancelled). We climbed into a long-tailed boat that had 3 triple kayaks loaded on it, and headed out to Hong Island. We unloaded the kayaks on a tiny beach and paddled halfway around the outside of the island. The guide didn't talk to us much, in fact he stayed far ahead and pushed the pace as much as he could - making it hard work for us to keep up. Once reaching the opposite side of the island, we entered the "hong" (lagoon) and were somewhat disappointed again. Surrounded by sheer cliffs, the only thing to look at was a few rock formations and some small mangroves on one side. There was no beach and no wildlife to be seen. The guide didn't say anything, just led us around and back out again, where the long-tail boat was now waiting for us. Our next stop was Lading island where we had lunch and some time to snorkel, but there was nothing to see in the water other than a few plain looking tigerfish. Then the boat took us to Pakbia island, which was also quite boring except that My sister spotted a huge lizard on the beach which ran off when the boat approached. I followed its footprints into a cave but was unable to find it or flush it out.

Upon returning to Ao Thalane, we asked the songthaew driver to drop us off at Ao Nang. From there we took a water taxi (another long-tailed boat) to Railay beach, which is the only way to get there besides climbing the surrounding cliffs. Railay was proclaimed in our guidebooks to be the best beach in Thailand, but the girls said that the Similan Island beaches were still better. We lazed around until sunset, which provided a very beautiful combination of beach, ocean, clouds, and limestone karsts.

We decided it would be better to head back to Ao Nang for supper, but my sister was starving and insisted on buying something. While she and Dad went off in search of food, the rest of us watched as taxi after taxi departed from the beach, until only one remained. Once reunited, we approached the taxi driver standing on the beach. His knowledge of the English language consisted only of numbers, but he managed to communicate to us that we either had to wait for more people, or pay 1000THB for a private trip (regular price is 100 each). Soon after, three more people showed up but he insisted that he needed at least 2 more (to make 10). So we continued to wait, with the sky darkening and a lightning storm flashing in the distance. Still no people came and we started getting worried. Another taxi arrived but he wouldn't take us, insisting that we talk to the first guy. Finally the 8 of us got together and decided to pay the 1000THB fee, but my Mom was quite angry with the driver and said she would be reporting him to the tourist police. This pissed him off and he then refused to accept the fee, which was probably just an illegal bribe. At last, in total darkness, 4 more showed up and we were finally able to get underway - except the engine wouldn't start! After five minutes of trying, it finally turned over and we headed out into the dark ocean. Ao Nang soon came into sight but the driver kept going past it, despite our exclamations of anger and dismay. He pulled up at the next beach, but it was low tide and the water was shallow for half a km out - so we had to wade through shin-deep water in the dark, with hidden rocks cutting our feet. As we walked, my sister started puking up her burger that she had eaten on the boat, and whined that she just wanted to get back to our hotel. Mom had a migrane and was in a very bad mood, and also wanted to return. So, we fought with a taxi driver over the fare and finally made our way back to Krabi just as the rainstorm arrived. The lesson learned: do not dally around Railay after sunset if you want to get back to Ao Nang!

Our second kayaking tour was much much better. Though still with the same company, this time we were picked up in an air-conditioned mini-bus, which took us to their location near the village of Bor Thor. Along the way, the driver (who was also one of the guides) told us many interesting things about Thai culture, including much info about rubber tree farming (his father owns a rubber tree plantation). Upon arriving, the 14 tourists were split into 2 groups - the 5 of us were with two ladies from San Francisco and a guide named Chai, plus another employee who was paired with my sister. Right away we were told to take our time and enjoy ourselves, and Chai set a comfortable pace that was much better than the previous day. He also took the time to explain about all kinds of things, and offered to take photos of us using our cameras. The location was also much nicer: rather than paddling on the rough seas were were on a calm river with a weak current. And the area was very beautiful, with mangroves everywhere and massive karsts scattered around. First we visited Tham Pee Hau Toh, a cave situated a little above the waterline - so we had to get out of our kayaks and explore on foot. It has several large openings to the outside, so there was plenty of light to see the prehistoric paintings inside! The rock formations were also really neat, and I snapped many photos here. We then continued paddling through the mangroves, passing through a number of small caves: Tham Lod Tai, Tham Lod Nua, and Tham Khoa Wong. The latter one opened out into a beautiful lagoon surrounded in vegetation-covered cliffs.

After returning to the dockside restaurant for lunch, we were next taken to a crystal clear freshwater stream named Ta Pom. It was a nice place to relax, but the water was a bit chilly so only my Dad went in for a dip.
This tour was one of my favorite parts of the trip, and I will hopefully never forget this wonderful day. I would highly recommend that anyone visiting southern Thailand make sure to include a day in Bor Thor.