THE VIEW POINT AND MONKEY TROUBLE ON THE WAY DOWN
It took about an hour to get to the top where we sat for a while recovering before really taking in the splendor of the surrounding views.After around half an hour taking it all in and paying our respects to the Buddha watching over these beautiful lands we made our way back down.
The downward trip was, in more than one way , a little more precarious than the tiring climb up. Firstly the steps were very steep in places and trickier going down. And then we came upon a very aggressive looking adult male monkey, sitting on the handrail at the side of the steps.
Not carrying anything, I passed him first trying not to show my nervousness. Then I encouraged Boon to do the same. As Boon passed, with a bottle of water in his hand, the monkey made a lunge for the bottle and then went after Boon who dashed down the steps , turning to throw the bottle at the monkey.
Having got what it was after, it stopped chasing and set to work getting at the water.
Full of satisfaction at having made the climb and got back down without being bitten by the monkey we then rode over to Ao Nang Beach for a relaxing afternoon, swimming and sleeping on the sand. This was about 30 minutes ride along good roads and great scenery on the way.
AO NANG BEACH
This is a busy seaside town built along one road that runs along the seafront and is lined with cafes, restaurants, and several boat tour operators.
The beach stretches further than the seafront road and is made up of lush golden sand. The view out to sea is spotted with islands and at the one end of the beach is a mountain rock that looks like a mini-volcano.
If you don’t want want to go on an organised tour but still fancy checking out the many Islands out, there are many long-tail boats that act as taxis to the small islands close by. Be aware that there may be an extra hourly charge for spending time on certain islands.
This is a well developed resort now so expect that to be reflected in the accommodation prices if you want to stay at one of the many hotels or guest houses, that said it will still be cheap compared to home.
DAY 6…KAYAKING AT BOH TOR
It was another early morning call to be up and ready for our transport to Boh Tor, to the west of Krabi, for our days kayaking.
About an hours drive, in a very nice air conditioned minibus, got us to this beautiful inlet.
The waterway wends its way around lush mangrove islands, huge green topped lumps of granite making a great impression on the skyline.
Our tour party was very small, being myself, Boon, and a Londoner with his Thai wife.
Our guide was a Thai guy in his mid twenties who was very friendly and funny and obviously took pride in his job, telling us all about the history of the lake and its islands. To my shame I didn’t actually take alot of it in, but only because I was awestruck at the natural beauty of the place. 
We had two sessions kayaking, about an hour and a half, before taking lunch at the lakeside restaurant,( in the price of the tour) and about the same after.
As a child I often used to imagine paddling about in a kayak, down narrow waterways, and I reveled in a childhood dream come true.
The guide took us into a few interesting places such as a long cave tunnel, and also stopped us and walked us through a set of dry caves where there are ancient cave paintings.
In the afternoon the wind got up quite strong and the currents created in the narrow waterways made it quite hard work returning to base, but I was well up for it so it was ok.
THA POM KHLONG SONG NAM NATURE TRAIL
When the kayaking was over, before heading home , the tour took us to a nearby nature trail which took in a fast running mountain stream, a short ‘safe’ section of which was set aside for swimming.
Testing the waters with my toe I quickly realised that the only way to get in was the sudden plunge. The water was so cold, but wonderfully refreshing.
A raised wooden walkway took us through the marshy mountain forest where there were many different plants, trees and butterflies to be seen.
The tour guide was happy to stay as long as we wanted and we had about an hour there before heading back to the guest house.
We spent our last evening back down at Nopharatara beach , getting food there and watching the sunset before getting an early night ready for our trip home.
DAY 7…GETTING BACK UP NORTH, UNBOOKED, CHRISTMAS WEEK
In the end it was no great problem getting home. Refusing the TATs offers of help to buy premium rate flight or train tickets we winged it by going to the local bus station, where Boon informed me that they are under an obligation to run buses as long as there are people wanting to travel at this time of year because so many Thais travel to their respective family homes for the New Year.
So after the mild panic, we managed to get a ride back to Bangkok in a very packed, but comfortable, air-con coach and after a couple of hours at the terminal in Bangkok, got a similar ride home to Chiang Mai, which actually got us back into Chiang Mai in the afternoon of the next day.
All in all a great holiday.
