Another beautiful day in paradise. The sun is hot, but in the shade and with a light breeze it is quite pleasant. I have breakfast at the same buffet. I have been staying at the Ao Nang Palace, a fairly new 4 story hotel (no elevator), and my room rate was 1300B per night. I notice that the hotel office also runs the B.B. Bungalows next door. I ask about their price--only 1000B per night--and after taking a look I decide to move. Now I have my own little house in paradise.!
I call G on her cellphone and ask her if she and N want to go to the beach again. I tell her I want to go see one of the outlying islands, the one named "Chicken" island for the unusual rock formation which is similar to the head and neck of a chicken. Although it looks pretty close, it must actually be pretty far, for the bext price we can negotiate with the longtail boat guys is 800B, which will take us from Ao Nang beach out around Chicken Island and then to Pa Nan Beach and then later back to Ao Nang beach. Well actually that’s a lot of boating for about $21US.
We finally get going at about noon. The water is a little choppier than yesterday, and so the ride out is occasionally wet with spray from the boat hitting the waves. But it is a great fun. Chicken Island is one of 3 or 4 small islands grouped together about 5 miles or more off shore. It takes us at least 40 minutes to get out there. The scenery is really good, and there are many boats with divers and snorkelers. As we are rounding the last island and heading back towards Pa Nan beach the ladies point to a nearby beach and say that it is also very nice and maybe we should go there. After some conversation with the boatman, it is agreed that we will go to Poda Beach instead of Pa Nan beach.
Poda is also busy, but not crowded, and it has its own restaurant where we soon have a nice lunch--we alll have either noodles or rice with veggies and meat (shrimp for me) and a beer. Total cost for the 3 of us is less 300B! That''s about $7.70 US! We spend the afternoon pretty much the same way as the day before--sitting in the shade, and getting into the water whenever we felt like it. Later I walked south and west along the island's edge, but it was very hot in the sun, and I really didn't feel like walking around the entire island.
At the agreed time of 4:30 the boatman reappeared to take us back to Ao Nang. The ride back was quite exciting. The water was much choppier than in the morning, and the narrow longtail boat is not really made for rough water. But the boatman was skillful and he slowly and surely got us back. It was a struggle for all of us--lots of work for him, and the 3 or us got soaked with spray! I gave the boatman 1000B, that's a 200B tip. He earned it, and we were his only customers for the entire day!
I went back to my bungalow and cleaned up. Tonight I did not want the same buffet, and so a bit later G and I went to a pizza place! All pizzas on the menu were one price--150B. We shared a seafood and mushroom pizza. Very good, and very filling! We walked around a little, passing many food vendors. I saw one that made "pancakes", with your choice of toppings, including various fruits, chocolate, coconot, sesame seeds, etc. I ask G if they are good and she says yes, very good. I decide to get one and order a sesame seed pancake. They are actually thin crepes, fried on a round skillet in light oil, then topped with sweetened condensed milk and your choice of topping. Mine, with sesame seeds, was delicious. Wow! These are really good! I make a mental note that this is my favorite dessert here in Thailand! G then must go to work, and I again walk around (I finally buy some of those DVDs) but soon go back to the bungalow. I am tired.
Yes, another beautiful day. I think about all of the great weather I have had on my trip. I can hardly even remember the last time it rained wherever I was. Amazing! I have "pancakes" for breakfast--one with egg, and other sesame, and cup of coffee. Total cost: 45B! I then walked back to my bungalow, but first stopped in at TKT Travel, which is a local tour agent, long distance phone call service, airline ticket agent, and internet café. TKT is located directly in front of my first hotel, and next to my bungalow. The manager is F, and this is the business of her family. They started it about a year ago. I had seen F at the office almost all the time, from early morning to late at night. I wondered if she ever went home! I asked her about going to Phuket, and she explained the different boats that would take me there. I decided to teravel tomorrow, taking one boat to Phi Phi Islands, and a second boat from Phi Phi to Phuket. This way I would have a more interesting trip, and the boat fares would total 450B, only 50B more than the direct boat. I commented to F that she certainly seemed to have a good business--there were customers in her office almost all the time. She said that yes, now during high season business was good, but later in the year it was very slow. She had to make the money while the getting was good!
I had told G that I did not want to take any more boat trips today, and she asked me if I would like to go into Krabi Town and see a Buddhist temple. I said great, and so we met at about 11:30. We took a minibus--open air bench seating in the back of a small pick-up truck under a metal canopy--20B each-- to Krabi Town, about a 30 minute ride. Krabi Town is a real town, not like An Nang beach. Here there is a definite downtown area, and a definite main street. Krabi Town is located along the banks of the local river, XXX river. We need to take another bus to the temple, but first I am hungry, and so we find a local open air restaurant where I have rice, veggies, and shrimp. My menu is pretty limited--I don't want chicken (there is a chicken flu virus that is causing problems here in Thailand), and I really like shrimp!
After lunch we get on another minibus, 50B this time, for the ride out to the Temple. It is another 30 minute ride. But when we get there I see that it was well worth the time and effort! The main attractions are Tiger Cave (a Buddhist shrine built into the side of a mountain), and Buddhas Footsteps, a shrine built on the top of the mountain (1,273 steps to the top according to the sign). They are also building two more temples that will each be breathtaking in their own right. One will be a large wooden structure with a female figure, and the other will be a huge concrete structure with a dome. Yes, this will definitely be a popular attraction in a other year or so!
But what is there now is good enough. We walk up a stairway (138 steps up), and then down the other side, passing wild monkeys hopping around in the treetops, and a mother monkey that scurried across the stairway carrying a baby monkey hanging upside down on her stomach. We reached a clearing and another shrine built into the side of the mountain. Living quarters for some of the monks are also here. The path also takes us past a 1000 year old tree that was blown down in a storm not too long ago. Wow, too bad! Big tree! We did not climb the 1273 steps to the mountain top. Maybe next time.
We then take another minibus back to Krabi town. We walk along the riverside for a little while, and then take a second minibus back to Ao Nang, getting back about 6:00. Geez, how time flies when you are having fun! I was really glad to have been able to get away from the tourist center and out into the countryside. G and I have some Thai food tonight at one of the open-air restaurants on the main drag, and then she goes off to work. I get a few more DVDs on my way home. I also stop and get a chocolate pancake for dessert! Yum yum!
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