Krabi

I was sad to leave Phi Phi , its the most beautiful and peaceful place I've stayed on my travels so far....I'll definitely make it back there another day!

Anyway, we got to Krabi and checked into the cheapest hotel so far (less than 2 quid a night). The next day we visited Wat Tham Seua, or 'Tiger Cave Temple', a small temple built inside a long shallow limestone cave, surrounded by natural forest. Upon entering the cave we made a donation and were given little bracelets for good luck! The cave/temple was full of monks meditating and big golden Buddha images.

Two staircases wind up limestone cliffs. The first one has 1,200 ridiculously steep steps. I had read about it in the book but for some reason I thought there was only 600 steps. At step 590 I was almost dead but thought it was only a short way to the top...until I got round the corner and saw hundreds more steps! Anyway, I just about made it to the top and was rewarded with a huge golden sitting Buddha, a golden pagoda, other golden artifacts and the most amazing view of the Krabi region. The second staircase (only 130 steps!) led through rainforest to a network of caves, with Buddah statues carved into them and other with monks living inside!

The whole area was also full of little monkeys! You'd see them jumping around in the trees and trying to steal food. Some Thai people were feeding them old bananas and gave me some to give them. No sooner had I held out a banana, I was surrounded by monkeys, all trying to grab the bananas!




A jolly looking Buddha at the entrance of Tiger Cave



A line of sitting Buddhas inside the cave



Up some stairs was a small cave with this green Buddha inside...



...and lots of money!



The inside of Tiger Cave



A snake!



Buddha statues in a cave, one of them is carved out of the stone!



Me feeding a monkey banannas!



A sign warning people about the cheeky monkeys!



A monk's house built into a cave



This Buddha has a crystal embedded in its hand



Some of the dreaded 1,200 steps!



The sights at the top of the 1,200 stairs!



The huge Buddha at the top of the 1,200 steps!



Amazing views from the top



Hilly views from the top on one side...



...and on the other side the land is so flat for miles...



...and there was a storm brewing, we could see lightning even from this far away!

Paradise.....

Had trouble adding some of the pictures to the last post but I've finally uploaded them all - enjoy!

So, myself and Andre waved Matt off on the boat to Krabi (where he'd get a flight to Bangkok then home). Now it was time to get over the other, quieter, side of Phi Phi Island. Unfortunately, this involved a 3km trek through the jungle over the highest point of the island, in 35 degree heat, with backpacks.... We were almost dead when we finally made it to the other side but it was definitely worth it!

We had trekked to Hat Ranti, a beach on the East side of the island. There was a small community of about 20 locals, a 'restaurant' (which was just a hut but served the nicest food) and about 50 little bamboo bungalows right on the beach. It's low season in Thailand at the moment so the place was mostly deserted. We got a bungalow right on the beach for 250 baht (about 4 pounds) a night each. Hat Ranti is such a relaxed place and there is amazing coral reefs right on the beach. For the first 3 days we just chilled out....our days mainly consisted of snorkeling, playing board games, reading and playing football with the locals (if we were feeling energetic). It really is the most beautiful, relaxing place I've been to on my travels....

After re-charging the batteries we got to one of the main reasons we had come to the island - rock climbing! The cliffs in this area of Thailand are great for climbing and attract people from all over the world. So the next day we walked over to the main part of the island and rented all the gear for two people and headed for the cliffs! I've done a fair bit of rock climbing but Andre has done loads so he had the honor of lead-climbing the first route. We climbed 3 routes in total. The climbs were hard but the views over the bay from the top were amazing! It was so much fun but the next day we were dead! We chilled out in Hat Ranti for another day before leaving by boat for Krabi....



If I was rich I'd have this house on Ranti Bay



The beach, beautiful...



Our beautiful hut - complete with shells



Looking left from our hut along the beach...



...and right...



...and forward, not an ugly building in sight!



The only local kid in the area, he was glad to have some big kids to play with!



Getting ready to climb



The cliff



The beginning of the climb was always scary as you're not connected to anything when you're lead climbing!



Made it to the top!



Andre absailing down after conquering the first climb



The view was beautiful!



The cliff where we climbed!



Our view just after sunrise



A beautiful sunset from the highest point on the island

Kho Phi Phi days 1 and 2

After Phuket we headed to the islands of Kho Phi Phi. I can't actually remember why we decided to go there but I'm really glad we did! You might have heard of Kho Phi Phi ...we were actually staying on Phi Phi Don, the North island, but the South island, Phi Phi Leh, is where much of the film 'The Beach' was shot.

We arrived on the ferry at about 4pm and after getting off we were pounced on by about 100 people telling us they knew cheap places to stay (which is not unusual upon arriving to any destination in Thailand). For once we didn't actually know where we'd stay due to the fact that my guidebook was written just after much of the island was flattened by the tsunami. We wanted to go to the more remote, quieter, side of the island but there was no time to check it out (there are no roads and it was a 4km trip over a very big hill), so we stayed in the main part of the island for a couple of nights, in the U.S. Guesthouse. The woman who ran the guesthouse had a rather odd way of finding out which rooms would be free for the day....about 2 hours before checkout time (about 9am, when we were usually still asleep) she would bang on the door and scream 'are you staying or going?!'....now that's service!

Anyway, our first full day on the island was Matt's last with us, as he was flying back to the UK in a couple of days. So, this was the day we'd get a boat round Phi Phi Leh and check out the beach from 'The Beach'. We rented a Thai longtail boat, complete with crazy driver, and headed off. We cruised toward the South island wondering if we'd actually make it as every wave made the boat creek. We went past a big cave and then into a bay for some snorkeling. The coral was amazing and I was glad to finally use the snorkeling set I'd lugged round Bangkok and Phuket! Next was another snorkeling spot where we saw a sea snake! Finally it was time for 'The Beach' beach, AKA Maya Bay. As soon as we entered the bay we all recognised it! It was smaller than in the film but just as beautiful. We had a walk around, chilled out a bit and did some swimming. Next it was back to Phi Phi Don for cliff jumping, where you could jump 6m-18m into the sea. We jumped off the 10m ledge and that was scary enough trust me! Finally we went to 'Monkey Beach'. I'd not read anything about this beach and just guessed that we might see a couple of monkeys. Well, just as we were pulling onto the beach a few guys in kayaks cruised onto the beach. As soon as their kayaks touched the sand about 30 little monkeys shot across the beach, jumped into the kayaks, and grabbed every piece of food these poor guys had. One guy tried to hold onto some food but he was fighting a losing battle and eventually gave in and handed it over! As soon as our feet touched the beach they came over to us and tried to steal my camera! Even after walking into the sea some swam after me! Our Thai guide just stayed in the boat and laughed at us.....

That ended a great day but the island would get better in the days to come.....




Some hills on the boat trip to Phi Phi from Phuket



Phi Phi Leh from the boat



And again with me to prove I've been there!!



The islands were full of dramatic limestone cliffs



They reached right out into the sea



Once on the island we found a bar that put little stirrers in our drinks, mine had a woman on it...



Drinking is done by the bucket on this island, good job!



We found this round bit of concrete, naturally I was rolled along inside it



We climbed the big hill in the middle of the island to see the view, there was a family of wild chickens living there!



The South Part of Phi Phi Don



The middle part of the island



The North side of Phi Phi Don



Me on a ledge to get a better view!



A longtail boat like the one we rode on!



Our boat driver



Standing on the front of the boat was a scary thing to do, every wave almost knocked you off!



A 200m cliff on Phi Phi Leh



Twin hills at Maya Bay



Maya Bay featured in the film 'The Beach'



Just cruising into Maya Bay



Our boat 'The Sea Pearl' arrrggghhh!!!



The beach is surrounded by cliffs and hills



Relaxing in the warm waters of Maya Bay



More cliffs as we circled the island on the journey back to Phi Phi Don



The vicious monkys at Monkey Bay!!



They hi-jack some canoes!



Can you spot the little one?