MONDAY 12th
Took a 15 minute longtail boat trip to Railay beach. Zooming in and out of the limestone rocks and stacks that are so common in this part of Thailand. There are dozens of these longtails operating out of Ao Nang and no sooner the tickets had been bought we were off with the huge car engine hammering away at the stern.
Arrived at Railay at sought out a spot at the far end of the beach which offered shade from overhanging trees. The bay is surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs making for impressive scenery
It may look dramatic and scenic but it's a crap place to go swimming. It's so shallow until you get way out and the sand is littered with sharp limestone rocks. Maybe it would have been better at the other end?? Water is also very murky.
In the event we only spent a couple of hours here and got a return longtail around 1pm.
It was later in the day that it became apparent that I'd picked up a bug. What was annoying is we'd made a booking at the Jungle Kitchen, a restaurant so popular that it needs a booking process, and there was no way I could eat anything. Aom ordered take-away food from the restaurant so she and Jack were OK.
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TOP: Longtails at Ao Nang.
SECOND: Railay Beach.
THIRD LEFT: Yes the boat did go through that gap, at high speed too.
BOTTOM: Coastal "scenery".
TUESDAY 13th:
A not-much-going-on day. Ventured out for a foot massage and finally got around to eating at the renowned Jungle Kitchen. Very good and very reasonably priced food.
WEDNESDAY 14th:
Another wasted day for me personally as my stomach bug is still with me and I'm not up to venturing too far. I pushed Aom and Jack to take a day out with a friend of hers whom lives locally; at least they're not wasting their holiday.
Me, a day of reading, puzzles and crosswords and bugger-all else.
We'd booked into the famed Jungle Kitchen again and, once again, excellent reasonably priced meals were enjoyed.
THURSDAY 15th:
Rather than waste another day, we decided on a day out to one of the islands on a longtail boat.
We would have liked to have gone to Phi Phi Island but that drew complications; it meant a 10-mile taxi to a different port followed by a 45 minute sea journey. By the time we got there it would be time to return. In the event, we settled for an island visit much nearer.
The ticket office recommended Ko Poda, so that's were we went.
KO PODA:
Koh Poda is one of the favourite getaways for people staying in Ao Nang for their holiday. Located about seven kilometres from Ao Nang, Koh Poda can be reached in about 25 minutes by long-tail boat. Featuring a 1,100m-long beach, a superb coral reef 50m off its eastern shore, and a luscious central area, Poda is a tropical dream come true. Sunbathing, snorkelling, diving and kayaking are the main activities here.
Got dropped off on Ko Poda around noon sand was blisteringly hot. The beach was the whitest coral sand I've seen and it hurt the eyes without shades on..
We found a spot under partial shade of some pine-type trees and just got down to usual beachy-type things. As the tide went out later in the day the water got too shallow for swimming unless one went out as far as the coral beds.
We were due to be picked up again at 3pm but this entailed a hike to the far end of the island to catch the same longtail. This is because the drop-off point was too shallow with the receding tide.
Back at Ao Nang there was a dispute between us and the boat crew. They charge farangs 400Baht each for (alleged) entry to the island. This is a rip-off as this clearly goes into their back pockets. Thai nationals only pay 40Baht and that was the argument as I have a Thai I.D. Card and should only pay the Thai rate. In the end Aom just coughed-up to settle the matter
Popped into a beach road bar for a swift ice-cold Chang then caught the taxi back to Phu Pi Maan.
Back in time for a shower and then out to the Jungle Kitchen one last time for good eats.
