Fish 'n' Boats

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On my second last day in Krabi before moving across to the other coast I took a '4 islands' boat tour, organised through the Good Dream Guesthouse (review here). The tour was recommended for the quality of the beaches and clarity of the water. They weren't wrong, it was easily worth doing.

These small islands' beaches were still more impressive than Ao Nang Beach that I described in my last post and, though I didn't have much success when I gave snorkelling a go (I'd have to get a customised mask to accommodate my specs!), it was possible to see some of the sealife under the water from the boat. I was able to take a photo of the most distinctive ones, striped yellow and black fish - anyone know what they're called?

As well as beaches and snorkelling, the area around Krabi is also known for the limestone rock formations - such as the one that gives 'Chicken Island' its name. They're very popular with climbers, apparently.

I sorted out transport to Ko Pha Ngan through the guesthouse, with a scheduled departure time of 12pm but after checking out I hung around in the lobby/restaurant area with my bags using the wi-fi there (one thing the otherwise very good guesthouse lacked was secure facilities for looking after bags after check-out). Just after 11 the call came to get the songthaew taxi to the bus station! I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't been sitting around there, but as it turned out though we collected our tickets the bus didn't leave til 12:30. At least there was a little cafe with some shade and ice cream at the bus station.

A second bus and a ferry later, I arrived in Thong Sala on Ko Pha Ngan and found a single room at the first guesthouse I came to, the Buakao Inn then went to have a look around the town. My guidebook doesn't have much to say about Thong Sala but did recommend the Phantip Night Market as a really good place to eat. About 5 minutes' walk from the Buakao it was clearly popular with both locals and visitors and when I saw the seafood stall shown in the photo here I had to try out one of those red snappers. Fried in spices and with a squeeze of lime, it was delicious and definitely one of the best meals I've had since coming out here.

Afterwards I went to visit the Masons Arms. An English themed bar is nothing particularly unusual on this resort island, but this is something else. The mock-tudor building looks like it's been transported away from an English town and deposited here in Ko Pha Ngan, and once inside if it weren't for the Thai staff it would be easy to forget what country you're in (and how warm it is when you step outside again even in the evening). Alas they didn't have ale, but they did have Guinness on draught that apparently is shipped from Dublin, a pool table and a free jukebox.

I stayed in Thong Sala just the one night as I had dorm accommodation booked at Haad Rin on the other side of the island for the following 5 nights, taking the songthaew taxi there in the morning...

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Photos

On the Bus
Listening to Mix It Up compilation on my MP3 player

Comments

[Glenn]

Looks like you're having a great time. You're making me want to go to SE asia, but it seems that you'd have to like eating a lot of seafood! That pub definitely looks like it's been transported straight from England - potentially a good place to watch football. How humid is it out there at the moment?

[Robin L]

Thailand!
Hey Ian! I am enjoying reading your blog greatly. I'm heading to Thailand in May and can't wait. I'm studying thai language at SOAS at the moment. What are your plans now? Slowly heading North?

[Ian8311]

Just some responses to the above: No, you don't have to like eating seafood! It's just that I do, and I find it more interesting to write about than a chicken rice or beef curry. At the same time, if you don't eat seafood in England I'd still recommend giving it a try if you come to Malaysia or Thailand. When I was in the Masons Arms there wasn't any English football on, They did have TVs, however I'm not sure if they'd stay open long enough to watch any but the earliest kick-offs live. I'm not sure how to quantify humidity! It's humid, yes, but actually not that hot here in Bangkok - I think it's cooler than normal for the time of year. The hottest place I've been so far was definitely Penang.