MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
Thailand and Cambodia Trip
Day 7 - December 7 2014
We woke up at 6AM so we were ready to be picked up at the hotel at 7:30AM. Breakfast downstairs is a buffet incuding everything from french toast to egg noodle stir-fry. We were picked up in a nice large van to be driven around for the day, going anywhere we pleased. The first stop was our planned kayak trip through mangroves and caves in Krabi.
Our guide spoke English very well and was super passionate about the area. He said he grew up in the neighboring small town of 150 people! We got into our tandem kayaks and headed out onto the incredibly still river. The mangroves were lining both sides of the river, giving us incredible views of wildlife throughout the trip. From the water, we got to see monkeys jumping from branch to branch as well as monitor lizards relaxing on the low hanging branches.
Our guide pulled up to a wooden bridge in which we climbed on to from the kayaks and made our way into a dark cave. Stalagmites and stalactites covered the cave. Water was dripping from the ceiling constantly, bats were hanging from the roof, and 3,000 year old cave paintings on the ceilings distract us. We were lucky enough to be the only ones on the tour, so we got to explore the cave almost alone. Two days prior, we were standing in temples built 1,000 years ago and now we got to look at paintings created 3,000 years ago. Absolutely incredible.
We got back into our kayaks and paddled towards the next two caves. We got to stay in the kayaks and drift under these two caves.
After two hours of paddling and exploring, we changed and got back into the van, heading towards the nearest National Park, but only after a large meal.
We asked the driver to take us to a local restaurant, where they cook for Thais, not tourists. The driver called a friend and found out the best place to stop on the way. The restaurant was open-air with a limestone cliff as the view from the tables. There was no menu in English offered. Score! They served authentic Southern Thailand cuisine. Mike said it was the best meal he had EVER had. Actually, he said that about 5 times. I definitely agreed.
The park was small, but the beautiful emerald colored river was worth the detour. We only spent about 30 minutes walking around and taking photos.
We decided to head back to Ao Nang beach, where our hotel was. Limestone islands shoot out of the water. Black, white and tan on the sides with bright green trees and bushes on the top of them. Cool ocean water greets us and we headed out far, although strangely enough, it didn’t get any deeper. Any beach I am used to, this distance from the sand means you cannot touch the bottom, though here, the water is only waist-deep.
A quick motor bike ride up the hill and we arrived at a bar far enough that it wasn’t filled with tourists like us. We sat on wooden tables on the beach and watched the most beautiful red sunset we have ever experienced.
After getting dinner, we rode back to get some rest for the day of excursions to come next.
