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Published: November 16th 2009
First of all, sorry that it’s taken me so long to get round to writing this blog! The time seems to be flying past and I forget how much I have done since the last post!
I left Kanchanaburi to get the bus to Nakhom Pathom (as this is the nearest train station with departures to the south) on 31st October. The train left at 9.15pm and I was very grateful to be able to climb into my bunk as somehow I had managed to get us to the train station 4 hours too early! We arrived at Surat Thani at 7am and then took a minibus to Ban Takun where we were picked up by Limestone Lake Tours who were going to look after us for the next few days, as part of a tour I had booked in England. We were taken to the pier at Chieow Laan Lake and had a 40 minute long tail boat ride to our home for the night.
The scenery surrounding the lake was spectacular, towering limestone cliffs break up the lake which is a gorgeous blue/green colour (as you will see from one of the many photos I took!). Our
accommodation in itself was also worthy of a few pictures as when I had read we were staying in raft houses, I imagined they would be huts on the edge of the lake but in fact they were actually floating on the lake! Due to their location, the huts were the most basic accommodation we had stayed in so far, just a mattress and mozzie net, but the view out of my bedroom door more than made up for this fact!
After a nice cool down and swim in the lake, the other guests on the tour arrived and we all sat down for a lovely buffet lunch. The others joining us were a family group of 8 from Australia and we soon became friendly with them which made the 3 days much more fun! After lunch we went for a walk through the jungle with You, our guide telling us about the animals and plants as we struggled with the heat! We also went on a bamboo raft to a local cave.
Early on the morning of the next day, we went on a boat trip to try and spot some more wildlife and then returned to
our huts to chill out and to explore the lake by canoe. After lunch we all boarded the long tail to take us back to the mainland where our transfer was waiting to take us to Khao Sok National Park. Luckily for Dave and I, we were at the front of the boat with the luggage as after hearing a lot of screaming coming from the back, I turned round to see one of the Aussie girls and her mum absolutely soaked from the spray of the boat!
When we arrived at the National Park we were taken to our new accommodation, a tree house! This also differed greatly from my expectations as it was a very solid structure and the plushest accommodation we have stayed in so far! Inside we had 2 double beds and plenty of space to move around in although I could not see our bathroom. Cautiously opening the door at the back of the room I was surprised to find our bathroom was outside! Thankfully, as the tree houses are high off the ground, no one can peer over your walls and when I finally braved the shower I felt like I was in
a herbal essence shampoo advert! Luckily Dave was first to test the toilet though as when he lifted the seat he found a brightly coloured green frog hiding in it!
During our 2nd day at the tree house we went for a morning elephant ride and then went river tubing in the afternoon. The river ran right outside our lodge so we all chose our inflatable tyres and jumped in! The weather had unfortunately changed for the worse as soon as we all stripped off into our bikinis but as the temperature never drops in Thailand, it was still an enjoyable afternoon! We spent about 1 hour floating, splashing, bumping our bottoms on rocks when it got too shallow and frantically paddling to keep up with the rest of the group and then got driven home by a modified pick up truck with rows of benches in the back (I’m sure Dave has a piccy!).
The morning of the 4th November we left the Australians at the National Park, after exchanging email addresses for when we are in Sydney, and boarded a minibus heading for Krabi. Once we had arrived at a bus stop in Krabi, we then
got a bus and boat transfer to Railey, one of the most stunning beach destinations in Thailand. We checked into a resort called YaYa which was on the east beach and after some lunch went to explore the prettier west beach.
The two beaches are connected by a 5 minute pathway with the backpackers living on the east, and the holiday makers and honeymooners on the west!
We spent 2 nights in Railey, relaxing and having a few cocktails and on our last night we decided to stay in for the film shown at our resort. Although the film was relatively recent: X-Men Origins Wolverine, it was a very bad pirate copy with all the special effects missing! Thankfully this was still quite amusing seeing actors with strings on their backs while flying, and plastic planes zooming through the air instead of a real jet!
On 6th Nov we boarded the Ao Nang Princess ferry for Koh Lanta which took us the 2 hour journey to our next destination. Once we left the ferry we were met by hoards of hotel touts all trying to get us to stay with them! After a quick analysis of the leaflets
being thrust in my face I chose the Lanta Riviera based on the fact that we could have a room for 300 baht a night and the resort had a swimming pool!
We stayed in Koh Lanta for 6 nights and spent most of the days relaxing by the pool and reading our books. One day Dave hired a scooter and we explored some of the island, stopping in the north to do some shopping and further south to have lunch at the View Point restaurant. We also paid to do a tour of 4 of the neighboring islands by long tail. At the first island we visited our propeller unfortunately snapped off the end of our boat! Luckily within 15 minutes another boat came to our rescue and we carried on our tour!
At the second stop we snorkeled for 30 minutes alongside the brightly coloured fish and coral and at the third we swam through a pitch dark cave to find a secluded beach, completely surrounded by limestone cliffs. Finally for our forth stop we had lunch on a beach which had the best views I have seen so far! It truly looked like paradise!
After
leaving Koh Lanta by minibus and car ferry on 12th November we stayed for a couple of nights in Ao Nang at Bernies. Ao Nang is a package holiday destination, complete with every ounce of tourist tat you could wish for! Saying this, we still had a nice few days and Dave enjoyed the delights of a Double Big Mac Meal at the local Mc Donalds and a couple of rounds at the shooting range while I got my hair braided and did some more shopping!
On Saturday 14th, rather than take another night train, we caught a flight with Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur from Krabi and landed at 5pm. We then checked in to The Green Hut (sleeping in a dorm room for the first time!) and found some dinner in a local street, bustling with food vendors.
During our first full day in KL we were kindly given a map by one of the girls leaving for Penang and headed off on foot to explore. Our first tourist attraction was the KL Tower which is the 4th highest communication tower in the world. Our ticket into the tower (38 RM about 7 pounds) also
included a F1 simulation, a pony ride which I decided to miss for the sake of the pony! and entrance to the animal zone. Unfortunately the other included attractions did not match up to the enjoyable experience up the tower as the animal zone kept animals in inadequate conditions and the F1 experience involved you sitting in a plastic car and playing a computer game! Dave came 1st in his race while I did not even manage to finish the course!
After the tower, we headed to Little India for more bargain shopping and some lunch and then carried onto China Town and the Central Market.
The weather in KL is very different to Thailand as it is a bit cooler and rains a lot more! Every afternoon/evening so far there has been a heavy downpour but most of the mornings have been dry.
Time for bed now I think, as I am going to visit the Petronas Towers tomorrow morning and have to be up early to guarantee one of the free tickets they issue!
Hope everyone is well,
Love Katie xx (and Dave! If you want to read his blog, search for 977)
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Andy
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Excellent Blog!
Katie, Met your Dad yesterday for drink and he told me of your travels and of this Blog. Have spent some time today (when I should have been working!!) reading through it. All I can say is it the trip sounds wonderful and your reports really bring the places you have visited and the things you have done, to life. Now I have the link, I will be dipping in every now and then to follow the next stage of your adventures. Oh to be in Thailand / Malaysia / China / anywhere rather than an office in wet, rainy Croydon!! Good luck with the rest of your travels! Andy