OVERVIEW
TOUR-3 CHIANG MAI >KRABI >CHIANG MAI……(TAKING IN KOH PHI PHI AND KAYAKING IN BOH TOR)
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OVERVIEW
Number of days taken…….. 8
Number of people… 2
Approximate total cost of trip…..8,300 baht
This trip was made by train and coach; total travel time from Chiang Mai to Krabi….approx 36 hours,(including approx 12 hours in Bangkok)
Approximate travel time of return journey, (all by coach); 24 hours, (including waiting times between services).
Total cost of trip includes all travel, (including renting and fuelling motorcy 4 days), accommodation, (guest house 4 nights) , 2 ‘tours’…Snorkeling Boat tour to Koh Phi Phi…..Kayaking day at Boh Tor.
And yes it does include the costs for both of us.
That’s a full weeks fantastic trip for two for approximately 125 quid!(this was in 2007)
DAY 1………OFF TO SEE THE SEA
This has to rate as one of my favourites, not just because of the white sandy beaches and paradise islands, but also because it started off as a mystery tour. The one firm stipulation for this trip was that we were going to the sea, as Somboon had never been.
We spent most of the Thursday that we began our trip, looking at maps and trying to decide where we would go. Having booked tickets for the night train to Bangkok, we still hadn’t decided on our final destination by the time we had to leave for the station.
We had an amusing start, when we got quarter of the way from home and realised that we’d left the train tickets behind. We went on our motorcy and sidecart so that Boons friend Son could come along and take the bike home for us.
After turning back and getting the tickets, it was a mad dash for the station, with Son and Boon holding on for dear life and me humming the theme tune to ‘Mission Impossible’, all the way.
Luckily we had left early enough, the first time, to get to the station with 10 minutes to spare before the official departure time.
And so, a few minutes later we were on our way to Bangkok, still none the wiser as to where we would end up.
DAY 2——-KAOW SAN RD , BANGKOK
For once the we actually managed to sleep quite well on the train, despite the fact that we had taken the ‘Express’, with no sleeper .
Waking to the smell of coffee, as breakfast was served at around 7am, we continued to discuss our destination options.
By the time we reached Bangkok, around two hours later, we had loosely agreed on Rayong Province, possibly Koh Chang .
However, having been put off Rayong by the girl at T.A.T(Tourism Agency Thailand), who claimed that the water was not so nice in that area, suffering the output from Bangkok, we settled on going further south to Krabi. Despite her best efforts to book us into a resort or hotel, we stuck to our guns and just booked the bus for 7pm that night.
Having a day to kill we decided to head for the infamous Kaow San Road.
Being on ‘holiday’ alters my view on things sometimes and we opted for a Tuk tuk to get there, I usually avoid Tuk Tuks as there is often as somewhat dangerous in Bangkok traffic. Such is my nature that, despite the truth of that assessment, I got a real buzz from the ride, as our driver sped through the traffic as if on a life or death mission, screeching to a stop centimetres from the back of a truck as he took a left into a traffic jammed street, chuckling at my look of horror as I stared death in the face for a brief moment.
Arriving at Kaow San, somewhat shaken but also totally exhilarated, our destination was somewhat of a let down.
My guess is that the whole feel of the place changes at night time, otherwise I can’t see what the big deal is. By day its a market street, lined with cafes and bars, full of Farang , many of them with that ‘cool’ set of traveling posers, with their dreadlocks, and beads, or else people with obviously too much money.
Many of the cafes reflect the presence of these people with their prices but it was possible, we found, to search out more reasonably priced outlets and some very good food.
We actually spend most of the day there, moving from cafe to cafe, watching all the other tourists and street life, with the obligatory Hilltribe sellers and various other street traders. We were entertained most well by one guy keen to sell his magic tricks and demonstrating many of them.
In the end we returned to the train station by around 6pm with an hour to wait for our bus.
BUS…T! , A HOT TRIP TO KRABI
Well, the bus looked impressive when we boarded, comfortable, decent leg room, air-con and video; along with a mix of different nationalities we settled down for the over night, 12 hour,trip.
Maybe the fact that the bus guide was a grumpy bitch, with an attitude more common to the UK, was an omen.
It was around 8pm when we got under way and the journey started well enough. But, as we headed out of Bangkok I began to worry that our trip might get cut short as I began to feel very feverish. The further we went the hotter I got. But I soon found out that it wasn’t just me, as more passengers began to complain about the heat, and eventually, about 2 hours into the trip, the bus pulled off the road, overheated.
Luckily they were able to sort the problem in about half an hour….but be aware that this is not an uncommon problem with the Thai bus tours.
The next official stop was at around 2am when we pulled in to a rest station near Thap Sakae, where we had food, (included in the bus ticket), and a 40 minute period for stretching legs etc.
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From Maya Beach it was of for lunch on Phi Phi Island. Yet another idyllic location, although for me it was a little spoiled by its commercialism. But dont be put off, if you are looking for a paradise holiday destination this place should come high on the list.
It has plenty of cafes and restaurants to choose from, a great market village, resorts and all the usual Island tours, diving, snorkeling , trekking, etc.
Nearby Monkey Island was our next stop , where we moored a little offshore and went snorkelling around the extensive coral beds. We had enough time to swim into the beach if we wanted and a couple of our fellow passengers took that option, to check out the monkeys on the beach. Boon and I stuck with the snorkelling in the deep waters, so many more fish to see, especially when the boat hands threw bread. This made the fish come in from all over and we were in the thick of them , some literally brushing past our goggles.
This was our last stop before heading back to Ao Nang Beach. The weather had worsened and the seas were even choppier than on the trip out. I had to retreat from the bow position, about half way back, because it was just too much.
The activity the day before had been quite tiring so we had an easy start the next morning, heading out on the bike at around 10.30. We first went in search of the Tiger Cave Temple, just outside Krabi. It was a nice ride past many mountainous rocks jutting out of the flat lands. A long tree lined road took us into the Temple grounds and we parked up to take a look around.
Above the Temple is a huge mountain rock, on top of which is a large Sitting Buddha and viewing platform. You just have to climb the 1237 steps to get there.Puffing and panting I dragged myself up. I have to admit to almost reaching my limit around 3 quarters of the way up. Foolishly we had forgotten to take water with us and there was scant shelter from the blazing sun on the steps.
