Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We travelled on the grimy tigerline ferry from Koh Lanta and sat on the top deck to bake in the midday sun. We sailed past the luxurious islands of Koh Hai and Koh Muk to Had Yao, a small town with a pier on the mainland. Only a dozen people got off including us, whilst the rest of the smoking Russians and tattooed flashpackers stared at us for getting off anywhere other than the main stop of Koh Lipe. We hopped on a longtail and headed to Koh Libong, a large jungle coated island containing a small Muslim community and about 3 bungalow resorts. Our home for the next three nights was a quaint white bamboo bungalow complete with aircon and a proper functioning mechanical toilet, which seemed like a novelty after a slow spinning fan and smelly bucket of water for flushing on Koh Lanta. We ventured to the beach to encounter no one apart from the eagles circling above us and the small camouflaged crabs sprinting away from our footprints. This became a theme, and we rarely saw more than two other couples on the beach in the entire time we were there. The sand was dark yellow and the sea was very clear and calm. We snorkelled off the beach a few times and one morning we took a stroll out to the small island, as at low tide it was accessible by clambering over some dodgy rocks. It was further than we thought and quickly regretted not bringing any drinking water- stupid farangs! That was pretty much the most strenuous activity we did, apart from getting up every morning and walking all of 25 metres to the restaurant. The restaurant at the Libong Beach Resort cooked some of the best food we've tasted, especially the nutty massaman curry.
One day we did take a trip titled 'Dugong Spotting' (Dugong: strange manatee-like creatures which eats the seagrass around Trang). This involved sitting on a boat for 4 hours getting burnt to a crisp, staring at the sea in hope and talking to our new American friends. It was actually very relaxing and we did have some excitement in the form of two curious turtles. In the fourth hour we encountered what we believe was the elusive Dugong, two huge splashes and the sound of a blow hole about 10 metres from the boat. Optimistic conclusion: We all saw a dugong! The trip ended with a twitchers favourite, hundreds of grey birds with very long beaks (I don't know their name) that reside on a mangrove covered island. I assume that this is the booby prize for those who don't get to see a dugong or indeed the splash of a dugong. Sailing back to the beach you could see that Koh Libong was a very pretty island and mainly because it hadn't been overrun with resorts. It was so nice to get away from the crowds.
It was time to head to our next destination. This wasn't actually decided until we got back to the Had Yao pier on the mainland. From the tigerline ferry the other day I had spotted some people on a beautiful beach that was very close to the pier. We decided to go and have a look before the next ferry arrived. Five hundred metres away towards more limestone karsts was another small hamlet and the Baan Chao Mai resort. We were shown a room in their beach villa for £19 including breakfast. How could we say no? It was the nicest room we've ever seen and it was in the most unexpected place. There was no one around, it was even more deserted than Koh Libong. The beach was just like Railey/Ton Sai in Krabi apart from it was undiscovered. We would hang here for the next three days finding shade next to the dramatic cliff, playing failed games of bat and ball on the shore and eating at the local restaurant where everything was priced for the thai people- cheap! One day we went by bicycle to the pier for some fresh fish and then another day in the other direction where we rode past a school. The kids all stopped what they were doing and shouted 'hello' 'hello' 'hello' with great excitement and were waving for our entire ride past the field and the school buildings. Even the teachers were waving! It was again so nice to be somewhere where tourists are few and far between. Saying that, we just went out for dinner, and instead ended up with two take away boxes as the restaurant had closed because it had no customers!
Next...Koh Lipe for our last stop in Thailand!
- comments
Mum What amazing pictures! I'm sure you don't want to leave really! The islands look beautiful! It sounds like you really love it there and you're both so brown! Xxxxx