Island Exploring Around Krabi

I've managed to fit in a fair amount of travelling so far this year thanks to the various wedding invitations we've received.  2014 certainly is proving to be the year to get married it seems!  Of course as well as weddings there are also sometimes hen or stag do's to enjoy and I was lucky enough to spend a weekend in Krabi, Thailand for one friend's hen do.

We had a lovely weekend doing lots of different things (you can read more in my friends blogs here, here and here) this included, on the Saturday, taking a long-tail boat tour around some of the islands off Krabi.  The day began fairly early (for a hen party) with our lovely skipper picking us all up from our hotel to take us to the mooring area for the boats.  There we met his assistant and all boarded.  As the boat was exclusively ours we were able to make ourselves at home and the drinks (and later food) provided for the day only had to be shared amongst us.

Inside our long-tail boat

We travelled a fair distance to our first stop (further than I expected) and once we got out into the deeper sea travelled at quite a fast rate but eventually arrived at Hong Island.  All the beaches and islands in and around Krabi conjure up those images of tropical getaways and this was certainly no exception.  The water was wonderfully clear and the beach suitably tropical looking with white sand and blue skies.  Without hesitation we all got off the boat, walked down a jetty and on to the beach.  The beach is quite small and there were plenty of other people on the beach but we soon found a spot to stop, some of us then went swimming in the sea and some soaked up the sun on the beach.  Whilst we were there we even managed to see a little of the local wildlife in the form of a monitor lizard.

By the time we left the tide had come in quite considerably and most of the beach was beginning to disappear under the sea.  So it was more of a paddle back to the boat than a walk.  By the time we got to the jetty the shallow water we'd paddled through when we got off the boat had got a fair bit deeper and I confess to a little panic inside as I'm not a great swimmer.  I had visions of having to swim back!  Luckily though I was overreacting, some people heading back to another boat before us simply waded through the water and it only came up to their thighs so it wasn't as bad as I had feared.

Approaching Hong Island

The beach on Hong Island

From Hong Island we then headed off to our next stop, on the way enjoying a snack of some delicious fresh fruit, including pineapple and melon, provided by our guide.  Before long we arrived at the beautiful Hong lagoon.  The lagoon is surrounded by the spectacular cliffs you can see in my photo below and the water is an amazing blue colour.  There were a couple of other boats in the vicinity but it was wonderfully peaceful and relaxing being there.  Again some of us took advantage of being able to go for a swim in the warm waters and jumping off the side of the boat and some stayed on board sitting out in the sun and enjoying the view.

Hong Lagoon

By now lunch time had arrived and we were all getting a little hungry with all the fresh air we'd had that morning.  Our fabulous guide had prepared a load of food for our lunch which he'd cooked himself that morning.  You can see what we got to eat below, but it included a vegetable green curry, chicken wings and noodle dishes.  This was rounded off by a dessert of sticky rice with coconut and palm sugar wrapped up in the banana leaves in the photo.

Our lunch on board the boat

With lunch done we headed off again but, as you can see in the photo below, a storm was brewing out at sea.  Our guide had been a fisherman before he started taking tourists out on his boat so he was very knowledgeable about the waters in the area and the possible impact of bad weather.  He made the decision that we should stop in a nearby cove and wait the storm out before heading off again.  We weren't the only boat to do that, some of us then got out and went up on to the beach and some (myself included) stayed on board with our guide.  The storm did hit and I'm glad we were safely moored up for it, even there it got pretty bouncy on the boat so I can't imagine what it would have been like if we'd been out in the open sea.

Storm approaching

By the time the storm passed it was time to head back to Krabi so we made the journey back.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our day, our guide was knowledgeable of the area, was a lot of fun and very amenable and flexible.  If you are heading out to Krabi and thinking about doing a boat trip I'd definitely recommend this company, here is the link to their website and finally big thanks to our lovely organiser of this and the whole hen weekend, she did a fabulous job!