Phi Phi to Ko Taratao to Surat Thani

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Monday 18th January Ko Phi Phi (Cont')
Dave
Quick word on cash: exchange rate is now 52.5 baht = 1 GBP. ATM withdrawals are all charged 150 baht on top of whatever your bank charges.

After a marvellous dinner and a few beers on Sunday night we found ourselves quite worn out so returned to our cell like quarters where we were grateful for the fact it had no windows as we did not really wish to see or smell what was outside. In bed by 9 oclock, we slept like logs and were not further harassed by any biting, stinging or blood sucking menaces.
We had been lucky enough to spot what seemed like a good deal amongst the many trips and tours offered by the multitude of travel agents and booked a days sailing and snorkelling for a tenner each when most offered 2 or 3 hours for the same price. The old saying, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is” was for once proved wrong and we had probably our best day yet on board a spacious motor yacht bobbing around islands and bays. We had comfy seats on deck and lounged around soaking up the sun, listening to some pretty cool tunes on the boat's sound system. (the first time in years that Bob Marley tunes actually worked for me )
Heading out from Phi Phi, first stop was Phi Phi Lei which is the smaller island to the south. We anchored just offshore in a sheltered cove not really understanding what our skipper had told us over the tannoy. All we grasped was that we were going to see Maya Bay which was where the movie “The Beach” was made and that cameras were to be put in his bag.........slightly confused we all put our cameras into a waterproof dive bag and were told to leave bags, clothes, sandals etc on board. Ushered to the stern of the boat we formed a slightly dubious queue and all became amusingly clear: men, women, children and babes in arms were told “Swim, you swim, yes swim to shore” It was only 100 m or so but it made quite a spectacle as many folks donned life jackets and rubber rings and babies bobbed around in anything that would float. Once we reached shore the fun really began as the slight swell herded us all together against the rocks as all shapes and sizes tried desperately to scale ropes and climb up a quite treacherous looking wooden staircase/ladder assembly that dated back to Noah's day but was rejected by the biblical Health & Safety Exec'. I took a different route to the masses and followed a deck hand through a small cave which turned out to be the far quicker option. Sadly, although Maya beach is undoubtedly stunning with the whitest, powdery sand I've seen, it was so crowded with tourists and speed boats that I left immediately, returned to the boat and grabbed my snorkelling kit.
Anna:As he said Dave was impatient and freaked out at the crowd so left. Maya Bay, if you could see beyond the masses, is undoubtedly beautiful, turquoise lagoon, clear water and surrounded bu steep cliffs and palms, if I could chose to be anywhere with no other humans just for a day this would be the place.
On return to the boat we all snorkeled for a while and it was truly amazing. Throughout the day we anchored off several bays and it really was truly out of this world.......we really were 'Finding Nemo'....except we saw everything but Nemo! We have never seen so many fish...and not just normal fish, multicoloured tropical fish of all shapes and sizes and who really don't mind you being there, we were constantly surrounded.....amazing. We were fed and watered on the boat, and we disembarked at about 4.30pm, a really fab day. For anyone interested in taking this trip; the boats are the large green ones and although we can't remember the name of the company just look for the picture of the boats at the travel agents.
Straight home to shower and out again as we promised ourselves that we really must go to the Reggae Bar as it was our last night. Couple of beers, Reggae Bar for happy hour (we were given a green bucket in which they chuck coke, red bull and a small bottle of whisky, all for 2 quid), back to our little back st cafe for amazing king prawn green curry and then return to the Reggae Bar for another few buckets! (I'l let Dave explain about this bar as I have an appointment with the Hotel Spa, Thai massage, 2 hours for 7 quid.....my first this trip! Will let you know!).
Dave: The Reggae bar is without doubt a pretty good place to get legless and I mean that quite literally: there is a full sized thai boxing ring in the middle of the bar where punters can get the gear on and beat seven shades of s**t out of each other. So after a couple of buckets of dutch courage you can be a star or a punch bag and get a free bucket if you win or a darned good kicking if you lose. All good testosterone charged stuff!!
Anna and I watched a couple of bouts but left before we were knocked out by the booze, by the boxers or the rather nasty smell that wafted through the place. (Probably from the drains or the toilets which had no running water and were pretty grim by 11 oclock when the night was quite young!)


Tuesday 19th January
Ko Phi Phi to Trang

Got the 0900 ferry back to Krabi and after being charged 100 baht - 2 quid for a 10 minute taxi ride to the bus stn got a bus to Trang - 120 km south for 90 baht each! On arrival, we got a short tuk tuk
ride to the hotel and had to argue to avoid being charged the same for 4km as we'd just paid for 120!
Dropped lucky with the hotel which was the newly opened Ao Batong near the train station. A really top class place with great rooms and marvellous staff, breakfast included for about 18 quid a night. As we'd paid 16 quid for our prison cell on phi phi this place was great value as the breakfast is definitely worth a couple of quid.
Trang is quite a large town/city, pleasant to bimble around, friendly and comparatively cheap after the Andaman coast. I tried a “pork” soup in the night market and was pretty disturbed to find that it contained trotters, tripey stuff, skin and gristle. Should really have looked and sniffed closer before I ordered as it was so spicey that even if I had fancied eating it, I would have failed! After a couple of spoons of soup and a half hearted chew at something unrecognisable I gave up. Anna made a brave attempt at something with cold rice which also looked far from inspiring.
I followed this failure with a very nice big crispy pork chop that I chewed as I strolled along getting some sideways looks from the locals. I later realised that a piece of meat like this is usually chopped into very small pieces and used to serve with rice or noodles and feed numerous people, not one greedy Brit!! No doubt there are some great dishes available here but I think we just chose badly.
Wed 20th Jan

Happy birthday Kris!!
I spent the day in bed with my first dose of traveller's trots, feeling feverish and whacked. Although I first suspect food as the culprit I later began to think that I'd got a fever from one of the 60 or 70 bites that covered me from head to foot. Either way, the anti biotics I'd brought along seemed to get things under control and I'm ready to go on the road again the following morning.
Thankful that we were staying at the Ao Batong where being ill was actually reasonably pleasant if that makes sense.

Thurs 21st Jan Trang - Ko Taratao

As I'd been groggy while Anna researched the next leg of our trip, our usually efficient teamwork failed and neither of us found out (either the lonley planet was lying or the locals!) that we'd left things late for getting south to Pak Bara and onward travel to Ko Taratao. This meant that we had to pay 14 quid for a 2 hour taxi ride in order to catch the last ferry of the day.
In a shabby old crate with no fans or a/c but a smiley little chap at the wheel, we trundled southwards leisurely along good roads much of which is pretty good dual carriageway. The backdrop is quite fervent green hillsides with occasional villages and towns some of which are shabby looking but others quite immaculate and built to high standards with good quality roofs (Sorry but I still compare roofing standards wherever I go. These guys are pretty good compared to many of their Indian counterparts who appear to drop the roof on from a helicopter )
Anyway our tranquil little ride passes without event until our driver decides to take a drink stop; no, he doesnt come back with a beer or a bottle of scotch but a harmless looking can of cold coffee. This seems to have a dramatic effect on this previously sedate individual who is suddenly transformed from a sunday driving 60 kmh Richard Bouquet into a Death Race 2010 speed freak!
Our poor old crate starts to rattle and vibrate as the engine rev's go to max and we bounce along at frightening speed and start to overtake everything on the road, screaming around corners on the wrong side of the road. I lean forward to get a look at the speedo but see that no dials are working and eventually have to tap Fangio on the shoulder and say “Steady on old chap”, this doenst have any effect so I hug my stomach and make vomitting motions which does the trick, the alter ego recedes and we arrive safely!
After a short but stiflingly hot wait in the port of Pak Bara we take a “speed boat” for the 30 minute ride to the Island of Ko Taratao (6 quid each! Although other boats do this route and on to Ko Lipe and Ko Adang we could not get a cheaper fare as we were told that this was the last boat of the day at 2pm )
Ko Taratao is a National Park and formerly home to 2 prisons which closed around 1948. We chose it because it sounded quiet with the chance to do some trekking and cycling away from the masses.
It costs 200 baht admittance and the government controlled accom' ranges from 500 baht for dorms with mattresses on the floor to 800 baht for quite a spacious bungalow with ensuite. The main housing is at the harbour or north end of the island but there are also smaller bungalows (600 baht) 4km south at the Ao Malao beach. Tents are available for hire (200 baht per night) and there are restaurants at both accom' sites. The guide books warn that electricity is only on from 6pm to 7pm but on our first night it went of at midnight leaving us with no fan and a very hot uncomfortable night. On other nights it varied from 2am to 4am cut off with no explanation or real pattern. While we have both roughed it in the past and have no problem taking the rough with the smooth, I object to paying 16 quid a night for a mattress that is about as thick as the Daily Mail and an intermittent electricity supply which seems to be cut off whenever it suits the staff and is obviously a fuel saving strategy brought about for what I suspect may be for reasons other than ecological or logistical. I wonder if by chance the generators are powered by the same fuel as the longtailed boats used for those expensive excursions or am I just cynical? Any queries addressed to the Ranger in the Visitor centre were quite rudely dismissed. Other negatives are that the beaches are unsafe if you are susceptible to sandfly bites, jellyfish or lionfish. There are warnings on the map handout about swimming. A few people seemed to enjoy the beach but most gave it a wide berth after the first visit. A shame as it was quite stunning, and when youre sweating profusely all you want is a quick dip).
The boat trips around the island worked out expensive unless you can recruit enough people to dilute the cost and a 3 hour trip is invariably over in half that time.
All this being said, there are a few positives:
The island is very quiet and good to get around either on foot or bicycle (250 baht per day and don't dare bring it back later than 1655 hours!!)
It is hilly and challenging with a great looking coastline.

Friday 22nd January
Taratuao National Park

We cycled to the first prison site and found the hill work as hard as anything we'd done in past including our nemesis; the Capa de Rama in Goa. In one day, we managed the prison on the south east coast, and the other 2 beaches on the west coast and got back in time avoid solitary confinement. Plenty of langur monkeys, hornbills, monitor lizards and wild boar along the way and in all a satisfying and quite rewarding day. Info is slightly scant but the map handout is adequate to get you around. There is a small shop selling drinks at the first prison site but taking your own water is advisable as its opening hours, like the electricity supply are variable. A good day, hard work, but were completely exhausted on return and waited eagerly for the cafe to open at 5pm so we could eat and return to our room to lay down and enjoy the electricity!


Saturday 24th Jan

We took a longtailed boat trip to the caves formerly occupied by saltwater crocodiles and although the trip lasted half its allotted time, it turned out to be great fun. The longtail chuggs you up river through the mangroves to a small pier from which you walk a short way overland to the cave entrance. With very little ceremony we were given life jackets and head torches then directed into 2 man kayaks and given a shove into the darkness of the cave. Our exped mates, the lovely Aldo & Marta from Venice eventually managed to paddle in the same direction at the same time and fell in behind us as we entered the gloom. If it weren't for the hilarious bickering of our Italian friends behind us: “Sinistra Aldo..no no no a desta Marta..dritto dritto” it would have felt like a scene from Indiana Jones ; as an eerie silenced descended, bar the steady drip of water from the impressive stalactites, I looked up and in the beam of my head torch saw that we were not alone! The cave was home to a colony of small bats who hung there quite happily until we woke them up and tempted them to dive bomb us as we paddled our way into the spooky depths of the cave. After maybe 200m we reached the end of the waterway and ran aground on a dark looking shore. We considered turning round until I saw footprints and decided to explore further....this was almost my undoing, curiosity killed the cat and all that.........I stepped of the kayak and immediately sunk upto my undercarriage in mud and slime. Managing to stay upright with the aid of my paddled, I squelched slowly forward while Anna, Aldo & Marta collapsed into hysterics. Ignoring the giggles and shouts of “Is it worth us coming or not?” I slowly extracted myself from the mire until I was only ankle deep in what I hoped was mud but accepted was probably at least a substantial percentage of bat droppings. Looking ahead thru the gloom I could see a vague pathway leading deeper into the cave so with a wry smile I shouted, “Oh yes you really should come and look at this!” Now it was my turn to giggle and gloat! Already blathered with mud, dung or whatever, I was past caring and reveled in the next few minutes as my tormentors slipped, slid and sunk upto their nether regions, the girls squealing in disgust and Aldo muttering and cursing until they reached me looking like they'd had a session with Rolf Harris and a toilet brush!
Once the hilarity had subsided we continued on the Indiana Jones theme and explored the remainder of the cave. Such a shame that we'd left the cameras in the safety of the boat with Geno, the 3rd Italian because some of the limestone formations were truly magnificent. It made us wonder just how many years of dripping it takes to form a stalactite especially one that forms up and makes a column by meeting with a stalagmite...
Anyway enough of that serious stuff, on with the giggles: the trek back to the boats was just as disgusting and funny as the journey in and got even better as Aldo's boat was moored just off shore and Marta didn't fancy wading out to it. I persuaded her and anna to get in our boat and I played Indiana Jones again wading waist deep in shizen until we got level with the second kayak. As I steadied proceedings Marta made her move towards Aldo who was bobbing around uncertainly alongside. Now, whether this was made more tragically funny because Marta was slithering around like a pooh covered eel or whether it was the look on Anna's and Aldo's faces that said “whatever you do Marta, don't tip US over” I really cannot say, but when she got one leg on one kayak and one on the other and both went separate ways, I thought I would laugh myself to death!! All this fun for 100 baht each!!!
Just a couple of questions about the saltwater crocodiles that alledgedly lived here:
1.Where do they live now?
2.Why did they move?
3.When did they move?
4.Which nutter came in to check that they'd gone??

Anna: I have returned from my massage.....amazing. The best 'proper' massage I have had, my god it was painful on the calfs, and ticklish on the knees. The Masseuse was a tiny thing but so strong, I had no idea what she was massaging me with at any point, hands, fingers, elbows, feet but it was damn good and will defo be having another before we leave Thailand.

So after the cave adventure was to follow our last evening on Taratuao and we were quite relieved. It could be wonderful..... but unfortuntaley it's not. The attitude of some of the staff is very poor, and this goes beyond the language barrier, rooms are very expensive, especially if you consider you only have electric for 6 hours. The fact that Dave could not make a cup of tea in the morning was just damn unacceptable to him. The beaches bite, and generally things are just made a bit difficult for you despite the fact that tourists pour in the money, for example only 2 menus in the cafe that seats about 60 people....what does it cost to photopcopy a menu?!We made the best of it but do not agree with the Lonely Planets description of 'its only a matter of time before someone lets this secret out of the bag' No Siree!


Sunday 23rd January
Taratuao National Park to KO Tao

The 10am ferry arrived at half past and was chockablock, boxes and rucksacks and people everywhere. We had a really quick decision to make on arriving at Pak Bara and ended up in a miniwan to Hat Yai, in Songkhla Province, basing the decision on the fact that we wanted to catch the night boat from the mainland at 11pm to the island of Ko Toa on the east coast, just next to Ko Samui. We made the wrong decision, all was going far too well, train was slightly delayed from Hat Yai but otherwise timings worked out perfectly...that is until our train broke down for 4 hours...yes...4 hours in the same place, nobody knew what was going on and we knew we had missed our boat. Finally arrived in the ferry town 0100, and either booked in the hotel across the road that charged by the hour (!) or got ripped off by 5 times the normal price and paid for a taxi to a lesser seedy area. Thank god we did, we found the place we are sat in now, like a 5 star hotel with spa, waterfalls and gardens everywhere for ..? per night. The place is so lovely that we decided to stay the night after also. The heat just takes it out of you, we hadnt slept properly on prsion island for 3 nights and just needed the catch up in a bit of luxury. Bonus? Tescos superstore was just across the road.....this is a good thing believe me, we had a fridge in our room so stocked up for breakfast with croissants, yoghurts, butter! Dave also stocked up on KFC, in fact he has gone for his second installment as we speak! Tonight we leave for Ko Tao on the 11pm overnight ferry, this is a cargo ship not a tourist boat so we have no idea what to expect...at all! But we have recharged our batteries so nothing will seem that bad, we arrive first thing and then need to find digs as all the places we have called will not take prebookings, so fingers crossed!!

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Photos

The pork Offal soup!
My head is about to blow off!

Boat ride to cave
Little did we know what was ahead!

Description of prisoner life
Many prisoners thought theywould be better off on an island than on the mainland......think again!

Last hill of the day
An exhausted Dave...and no beer at the end of the road....

Tescos!!!
Thank god!

Wehey, tescos disposable pants!
Havent needed them yet but ya never know!

bedroom at 1000 island resort
The comfiest bed ever!