From our report on the boat safari in Raja Ampat you already know that my stomach turned out not to be entirely seaworthy. So I had got into the habit of always taking my travel-sickness tablets as a precaution on boat trips and ferries. Now it was time again to board a ferry for a somewhat longer crossing. Since the weather on Koh Tao was unfortunately still very rainy and windy, it was clear to me that this would be a rather choppy crossing. Let me tell you, choppy was a huge understatement. It ended with me handing out my remaining tablets to people in the surrounding rows right at the start, as some had hardly more colour in their faces than a peeled banana. The boat crew themselves staggered between the rows handing out plastic bags just in case. Over time, more and more hands went up to signal that more plastic bags were needed. I myself was stable and concentrated on looking only straight ahead. (Chris, on the other hand, sat facing backwards and was relaxedly tapping away on his phone.) The ferry rolled so much in the waves that objects started to tip over or fall down. The Dutchman sitting next to me turned to me and asked me to calm down his girlfriend, who was starting to panic. "It is going to be alright, right? Can you please tell her that?" She didn't seem to believe him any more, so I tried to calm her down and explained that boats were built for situations like this and everything would be fine. I was at least 91% sure of it. Unfortunately, by now several passengers around us had started to throw up; most of them were big, strong men like Chris, which irritated me a little. Being an extremely empathetic person, I started to join in out of solidarity, and this time Chris ran to the plastic-bag counter for me. But since I have quite some routine with seasickness, I actually still felt pretty good compared to the rest of those affected. Everything has its positive sides. We still found the whole situation funny, but were glad when we arrived safely in Surat Thani and could do the rest of the way to Ao Nang / Krabi by bus.
Krabi was a great, typically Thai tourist spot. Everything was geared to the wishes of beach holidaymakers. Unfortunately, unlike on Koh Tao, fruit wasn't available at fruit stands in many places, but only already cut, portioned and packed in plastic, ready to take away at some stalls. That made eating fruit much less fun. Or you went to one of the many smoothie shops and had your daily portion of fruit in liquid form. There were even a few larger shops, chemists and pharmacies. You could even go to branches of fast-food chains here if you wanted to. In the evening you could walk along the beach promenade and watch the fire shows performed there. There were lots of small souvenir shops and a large choice of restaurants. So by now, all unusually touristy for us. Our hotel was a lucky find again; this time we even had a pool and a gym. When you arrive in Krabi, the big rock face of the local mountain towers up in front of you.
It's a great area for climbing trips, which are offered and advertised everywhere. We walked the short Monkey Trail, which takes you to another secluded beach. Along the way the macaques, already used to the crowds of tourists, were waiting. As always I kept a dutiful distance, while Chris took more monkey photos for our collection.
My friend Lena from Vienna, who was travelling in a group of 4 herself, arrived at almost the same time as us. We arranged a private island-hopping boat tour for the six of us (Hong Island, Koh Lao Lading, Hong Lagoon, Daeng Island). The boat trip turned out to be a complete success. We spent a sunny day going from one great spot to the next and jumping into the water again and again for a short snorkel. You can picture the scenery as similar to Ha Long Bay, just everything a bit smaller and – yes, once again following the Southeast Asian motto – same same but different.
We explored beautiful beaches with viewpoints, a small lagoon at low tide and passed great rocks. We spent the rest of our time visiting the night market and the beach and strolling leisurely through town. There we also booked our onward journey back up north to visit Khao Sok National Park. Now we also wanted to take a closer look at the country's fauna and hoped to come across quite a bit there in the wild.
As always, enjoy clicking through our pictures.