Heavenly islands off Krabi

Lofalitsidwa: 15.04.2018

[from both of us] From Ko Yao Yai we went back to the mainland to Krabi by speedboat, or rather Ao Nang, a coastal town in the province of Krabi. As we docked a little outside at a pier, we took a motorcycle taxi with a self-welded sidecar (100Baht/person = 2.60€) to the hotel, where we could check in right away. The hotel had a free shuttle to the beach, which we used directly at noon. This shuttle was also done with this strange motorcycle taxi construction.

*Both of us in the motorcycle taxi with an attached sidecar*

We looked around a bit in the city, which consisted mainly of shops and restaurants and stretched mostly along the beach promenade. There was nothing special and the beach didn't really convince us either. It was very hard and there were many longtail boats here on the beach. We grabbed a small snack and slowly walked back to the hotel where we spent the afternoon by the pool.

In the internet and also in the travel guide we read a bit about the beautiful and worth seeing beaches in the area. So we decided to take a longtail boat (100Baht/person/one-way = 2.60€) to the so-called Railay Beach the next day and walk to Tat Phra Nang Beach there. A very well-known and therefore touristy beach, but it was definitely worth going there! The water was absolutely clear and the sand was very fine. If you ask me, an absolute dream beach despite the many people! In front of the beach there is a huge rock formation, which you can even swim to.

Tat Phra Nang Beach, white beach and turquoise water

*Both of us in the water in front of That Phra Nang Beach*

*Jonas jumping out of the water in front of the rock at That Phra Nang*

Besides the beach there is also a very peculiar attraction: a shrine of fertility that extends into a cave. It consists of hundreds of phallic symbols (i.e. penises) made of various materials and in various sizes and shapes.

*Cave with shrine of fertility*

We spent quite some time in a shady spot on the beach. But when it got crowded, it slowly became too much for us and we made our way back to our longtail boat to return. When we arrived at the hotel, we needed a break from the sun, because it really shines here.

As agreed, we sat in the shuttle to the beach at 10 o'clock the next morning. Since the price (2,000 Baht/boat = 52.06€) for our own boat with a driver for 4 people seemed reasonable to us, we decided to do a 3-island tour, as we had already seen Tat Phra Nang Beach. The tour included the islands Tub Island, Koh Kai (Chicken Island) and Poda Island. These islands are located within a national park, which charges tourists 400 Baht (10.41€) per person for admission. According to official information, this money is used to clean the beaches.

*View from the longtail boat*

The first island we went to was Tup Island. The island consists of two very small islands that are connected by a beach. From this beach, there is a sandbank that is only exposed during low tide. It connects Tub Island with the backside of Chicken Island. The beach was beautiful and the water was clear as glass once again. We walked and swam around a bit and took some photos.

Both of us in the water on Tup Island — *Tup Island*

*Both of us in the water on Tup Island*

*Both of us standing in the water on Tup Island, in the background more rocks*

After about 1 hour we returned to the boat, where our boat driver was already waiting for us. Then we went to the other side of Chicken Island. On the way there, our driver unexpectedly asked us: "You want snorkeling?" and pointed to 4 snorkeling sets. It turned out that we couldn't dock on this side of Koh Kai, as there was no beach and this part of the island is under special protection. It is called Chicken Island because there is a rock at its tip that, with a little imagination and from the right angle, looks like the head of a chicken. After taking some photos of it on the approach, we were able to leave the boat and go snorkeling. Many colorful fish were swimming with us in the water and on the bottom you could imagine coral reefs, but they seemed to have seen better days. Snorkeling was fun, probably because it was so unexpected.

Rock covered with trees and bushes — *Both of us in the water on Tup Island*

*Both of us standing in the water on Tup Island, in the background more rocks*

After about 1 hour we returned to the boat, where our boat driver was already waiting for us. Then we went to the other side of Chicken Island. On the way there, our driver unexpectedly asked us: "You want snorkeling?" and pointed to 4 snorkeling sets. It turned out that we couldn't dock on this side of Koh Kai, as there was no beach and this part of the island is under special protection. It is called Chicken Island because there is a rock at its tip that, with a little imagination and from the right angle, looks like the head of a chicken. After taking some photos of it on the approach, we were able to leave the boat and go snorkeling. Many colorful fish were swimming with us in the water and on the bottom you could imagine coral reefs, but they seemed to have seen better days. Snorkeling was fun, probably because it was so unexpected.

*Various fish underwater*

But after about 20 minutes we were already exhausted and it wasn't that impressive. So we decided to move on and spend a little more time on the next and last island.

The next and last island of this tour was Poda Island. This is the largest island of the group and also has the most extensive beaches. So after half a circumnavigation of the island, we were able to find a shady spot on the other side with fine white sandy beach, where hardly any other tourists were. Only occasionally someone passed by and we had a little peace and quiet. The water here was incredibly clear as well. The sandy beach sloped so slowly into the sea that even after a few dozen meters in the water, we could still sit on the bottom and enjoy the gentle waves.

Beach on Poda Island with a longtail boat — *Beach on Poda Island*

Beach on Poda Island with longtail boats

*Franzi sitting on the beach on Poda Island*

*Longtail boat with a very narrow rock in the background*

But it was time to leave even here and return to the longtail boat. It took us back to the beach of Ao Nang and we made our way to the hotel.

Exhausted from the day, we only went to the market in the evening, which the two of them showed us the day before, and had dinner there (about 70 Baht = 1.82€ per person)

But then we fell into bed exhausted from the day. The tour was fantastic and we got along wonderfully with Patrick and Alina, so it was really a great day.

The next day was Friday the 13th and also Songkran. You'll find out what that is in the next blog.

Until then

Franzi and Jonas

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