Thailand Trip - No Crabs in Krabi!

Although during our trip to South Thailand's Krabi Province we were battered, bashed and bewildered, we also enjoyed phenomenal natural Beauty and ended our trip with Bells on … literally  … 

We were on the overnight train to Bangkok on Sunday night… and I thought we would “be there with Bells on”….  just like at all the Buddhist temples... we bought little bracelets with tiny bells on.  But I was WRONG – mine fell straight down the toilet (train tracks/railroad ties speeding by – gotta love train toilets… ) – no hope of recovery… so just Gabby arrived with bells on!  The sleeper train was a pretty great way to travel, though... kill two birds with one stone - no hotel and travel concurrently!  It was actually very comfortable.  Getting there was somewhat comical, however... being bumped from bus to boat to cattle truck to bus to van in a well-coordinated series of transportation designed to get you where you need to go on time.  Unfortunately I was remiss in taking a picture of the many colour-coded stickers that go along with this system - we looked like a kids sticker book by the time we got to the final leg of transport!

We certainly had our figurative bells on, and our karma revved up from our Krabi visit!  Our long weekend included the search for the most beautiful beach on earth… along with the throngs of drunk 17-year old Auzzie tourists who were at Koh Phi Phi Island in southern Thailand this weekend.  Actually, we were lucky to have ‘the beach’ to ourselves… I guess the 17-year olds all had hang-overs, so when we dragged ourselves out of bed at 7 am to charter a private boat, there was not another soul around – and we ended up with the place to ourselves.  And as soon as the big power boats and hoards started arriving, we high-tailed it out of there, having had our fill and a very special experience!

Getting in and out of 'the beach' was the challenge, as we had to swim in from our boat through a different access point, which consisted of waves crashing over barnacle-covered shallow rocks, and clambering up a cliff... hence the 'bashed and battered' status at the end of the weekend!

We did go on one very touristic ‘day tour’ to "James Bond Island" (aka Koh Phing Kan and Koh Tapu), among other sites… which was also very beautiful, if touristy.  I find it incredible how a 1970’s James Bond movie could make hundreds of tourists flock to this little limestone island daily… I don’t find it that much more beautiful or stunning than any of the other hundreds of limestone karst outcrops in the area of Phang Nga Bay National Park.

... although I guess it's the draw of taking part in that 'classic' James Bond photo shoot...

The day tour included kayaking around the caves, mangroves and 'rooms' of Tham Lod and Koh Hong.  The kayaks slip into the cathedral-like rooms via a small hidden entrance - ceiling-less cave walls drip with green ferns and orchids.

Then it was off to lunch at Panyee Floating Fishing Village (reminiscent of the Bajo or Bugis villages of Indonesia, and probably of the same origin as those 'sea gypsies').  Obviously this is not my pic, since our tour did NOT include an ultra-light trip around the bay to see the islands from the air...

In Panyee we also had baby monkeys thrust upon us with the demand of 100 Thai Baht (4 CAD!) to take pictures with them, without the option to decline... Funny money-making scheme...

We donated one dollar, and moved on to look around the funny markets set up exclusively for tourists...

HOW a tourist is going to transport a preserved porcupine fish back home in their luggage and through  customs is a mystery to me!?

On the way home we stopped off at the 'monkey cave' temple, Suwannakuha Temple, a beautiful Buddhist cave temple with extensive stalactites, stalagmites, and monkeys, as well as a stunning reclining buddha statue!

We received a blessing from the monks - both live, and animated, and headed back to our 'marshmallow' (the term of affection we referred to our little guest house in Ao Nang, Baan Purr).

Another day we found ourselves on a hidden beach (having been directed by a geocache!)... no access except by boat, or by negotiating monkeys on a rickety staircase along the cliff (our point of entry)!

... yet another day up to the "Pee Pee Viewpoint"...

The best part about the whole trip was the reunion, after seven years, with Gaby!!!  Oh, and the food... Thailand has amazing food...everywhere!  I mean, there are a few Indonesian dishes that I really like, but in Thailand everything is more flavourful!  What I don't understand is why they don't pick this up in Indonesia - I mean... they can grow exactly the same produce and ingredients... Anyway, Gaby was a fabulous food guide, showing me around to "the best pad thai in the world" (although it was a bit of an ordeal, we finally got there!), "the best curry in the world" (its called masaman), "the best chicken in the world", "the best toast in the world", etc, etc!!!  Oh, yes, and she knows her Thai beers as well!

We started our food-fest in Krabi, the land of the coconut shakes (delicious!!!)!