The trip of a lifetime

First and foremost, we must apologise for the lack of postage on this blog so far! We have not had proper internet access for quite sometime and the internet has been down in Koh Lanta for the last 2 days!!

20/01/08
So we left Ao Nang tof Krabi Town by Long Tail Boat having already arranged out accommodation with the first hostel we stayed in. Arrived there, dropped off our bags in the room and went for some food (more Thai food!). With it being a Sunday, Krabi Town was actually quite quiet so we decided to have a wander round a couple of markets, share a pizza (how romantic!) and then head back. We watched a film (matt read some of his how to survive... book - thanks Carol) and then slept.

21/01/08
Awoken to the sound of marching drums at 8:20am!!! As it turns out we were staying across from a Thai primary school and they were all marching into their first lessons to the sound of these almighty drums!! We then got our day sacks together and made our way down to the port in order to get a long tail boat to Railay for the day.

We arrived there at lunchtime to spend a couple of hours on West Railay Beach (which is beautiful by the way!) and then had a walk round to Pranang Beach (which was equally as beautiful but lacked the awesome sunset that the West Side offered!) for the last hour or so.

Got the boat back to Krabi Town at about 5 o'clock, got showered and then headed out for some food! Then we decided to go and have a few beers in a couple of bars and then head back. What actually happen was that we went for a few drinks as planned, then headed back to the hostel where we said we would have one more outside the hostel and then go to bed, this is where things deviated from the plan when we heard the delightful musical talents of one Jonny Cash in the next bar (to put things in perspective here, this was at about 11pm). We went in and got friendly with the owner (A lovely bloke called Charlie) and then just chilled out on his cushions. Then we got chatting to a friendly Dutch couple, Rob and Silvia, and their German friend (who actually lives in New Zealand) called Stefan. Time flew by as we chatted and before we knew it, it was 4am when decided to head up to bed. Poor old Charlie had to wait for us to leave before he could close the place up!

22/01/08
Woke up again to the rhythmic sound of the drums we had a chilled out day in Krabi Town just wandered further up the estuary to see what was around. Saw a Esso garage and decided to turn back. On the way we stopped to admire a fountain ina small green areabefore heading down a short pier onto a floating restaurant for a drink. Continued our walk back down the port and then back to the hostel to get showered and changed. Went out for some great Thai food at a close by restaurant and then (predictably) back to the Old West bar to meet up with Stefan, Rob and Silvia for a couple of drinks and another chat. Went to bed early so that we could have an early start to get the long tail boat over to Railay Beach. Over the last couple of days since we first visited Railay, we decided to find somewhere cheap to stay so we could spend the next 2 days there.

23/01/08
As discussed above, we made our way to Railay Beach early in order to find accommodation. Stefan had told us the night before about some bungalows that he had stayed in that were good and quite cheap. So when we arrived we walked 15 minutes inland (into the jungle!) to try and find the bungalows. When we got there we had a look round one of them and we decided for the same price, we could stay closer to the beach area... so we did! We stayed in a resort called the Ya Ya Resort which was very basic but ultimately functional in design. After dropping of our stuff we had a bite to eat and then went down to Railay West again to catch a few rays and watch the amazing sunset (see photo links below). Had an early night (with no air con, just a fan).

24/01/08
Got up at a reasonable time in order to make our way to Pranang Beach for the day .Had some Thai food perpared from the back of a boat and just chilled some more! The water in Railay is very clear and warm, but it's not as warm as being out in the sun so it's a blessing really. We soon came to realise that because Pranang Beach faced South, we wouldn't really get a great view of the sunset and so made our way to Railay West to watch it set. And boy are we glad! Some little Thai lad kept selling us beer and in order to enjoy them more comfortably, Matt suggested that we dig oursleves a couple of holes and then mould them into seats in the shape of our body. Maximum comfort for the ultimate sunset! (Again see the fantastic sunset pictures). We ate in one of the restaurants on Railay West and stupily ordered extra fresh chillies with our meals, which was uncomfortable for a time, but well worth it! After the meal we went round to a chilled out Reggie Bar on the East sideto which we encountered a couple of English girls (Air Hostess from Dublin and an investment banker from Stockport) teaching an Isreali guy and a Thai local drinking games. Through no fault of our own we were soon invited to join them. This lasted about half an hour before we then settled into conversation about what we did and where we're going etc. They gave us some really useful info about the rest of our trip and when we told them we were going to Koh Lanta, they advised us against it. We didn't listen (we seem to think they wanted us to stay in Railay because we're so cool) and decided to go anyway. As the night progressed we invited more of the people around us to join in conversations and having fun with us. This seemed to be very popular as by the end of the night there was about 15 of us!! All playing Jenga and having a great laugh. We wanted to havwe an early night due to the fact that we had to catch a boat at 10:30 but it was by no means early!

25/01/08
We made it up for our boat journey to Koh Lanta which was very refreshing (having spent most of our travelling so far on a plane!!). There were people on the boat suggesting places to stay and seeing as we hadn't booked anywhere, we decided we'd have a look. Found a nice looking place with bungalows for 600 Baht per night (about 4 pounds each). We decided to take a chance on it and the free transfer from the port helped seal the deal. Arrived in Koh Lanta and a group of about 8 were told to jump in this pick-up truck with all our backpacks!! Rick called shotgun for the air con in the cabin and Matt had natures very own air con running through his hair at 40mph!! In the truck Rick got chatting with these two Southern faries (Kirsty and Hannah) and got chatting. As it turns out, they are doing (overall) a very similar trip to us without America. As the truck came to a halt we took in our surroundings to be confronted with this amazing little green area surrounded in bungalows and about 20 yards from the beach!! What a result!! We spent the rest of the day in a little hut on the beach just chilling in the shade and every now and then we took a dip to cool off. Met up with Kirsty and Hannah, and a new girl called Marie, later on to have some BBQ on the beach (no drinking even though there was one free beer on offer with each meal, which we replaced with water). Then we all retired to one of the huts on the beach for some very indepth conversations about relationships! Which really helped get to know them. Matt managed to say approximately 3 words all night, Rick stretched to 7 words, boy can these Southern types talk!!!

26/01/08
Had another quiet day on the beach chatting with people and getting to know our surroundings, and obviously the bar man! We then booked a trip with the 3 girls to go on a 4 island tour with snorkelling and a trip to the Emerald Cave. Just had a meal at the hostel restaurant and then into the bar for 2 beers. Had an early night as we had to be up at 8:00 to catch the boat trip.

27/01/08
Up at 8:00, showered and dressed appropriately for the trip and then down to the beach to catch the boat. The journey to the first island took about 2 hours due to the fact that the sea was VERY choppy!! On a narrow, long tail boat, this causes problems (like having to bail out every 15 minutes) and to take it slow. All in good spirits, except the Americans at the front of the boat who were drenched!!! Rick on the other hand was as dry as a bone with the best seat in the house...right next to the driver!! Got to the first island for some snorkelling. The driver threw out some leftover fruit from our trip which caused a frenzy of activity in the water. After swimming around for 20 minutes it was time to move to the second island for another 20 minutes to see some different varieties of fish and coral life. Rick spent most of the second stop jumping off the front of the boat with a little Swedish lad that decided to befriend us on the boat, meanwhile we couldn't get matt out of the water as he was entranced by the spectacle before him! The third island stop was a little different!! Everyone got out of the boat and was asked to follow the boat driver into a cave. The water was pretty deep and consideringwe haven't done much exercise recently we were both excited and aprehensive at the same time!! As darkness fell about 20 meters into the cave there was much screaming and yelling (please bear in mind that the water was still way to deep to stand up, you couldn't see your hand infront of your face...literally!!!) It was truly an experience like no other but nothing in comparison with the journey back!! Half way through thankfully someone switched on a head torch and we could continue on our swim. As we began to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel (again literally!!) our heart rates decreased slightly to behold this wonderful little hideaway with a shallow pool of crystal clear water and cliffs all around for about 300 feet. There was no way in or out (unless you are very skilled with a helicopter of dare brave the journey back through the cave) so we stayed for 20 minutes to soak it all in. It looked like a volcano from the inside with many rare species of plants and other wildlife. This place actually used to be a place where pirates would bury their treasure to return at a later date to pick it up and move it elsewhere due to its secret entrance. And so our 20 minutes were up and as previously stated, the only way back was through the cave - the nightmare begins (Julie if you're feeling squeemish then skip to the next chapter)!!! Our group began to follow the guide into the cave but unfortunately for us he didnt have a head torch! There were a people lagging behind and before we all knew it we were treading water in the pitch black darkness of the cave (and as you all know...that's pretty dark!), banging into the rocks and then realised that the guide had gone on without us!! (Mild) panic soon set in as people began to clutch onto each other in the darkness for support (both physical and mental). After what seemed like a lifetime we made a group decision to swim back the way we came in order to follow one of the other groups who had a head torch! Our wish was granted and before we knew it we were out of the otherside in the open water with a short swim to the boat. After such an ordeal (which whilst very scary at the time, was really amazing!!) the 4th island was a welcome relaxing hour on a fantstic beach with the clearest, bluest sea you've ever seen (Koh Ngai)! After our hour was up we jumped back in the boat and proceeded for about an hour and a half (through much calmer waters!) back. On route, however, our driver decided that he needed to pop to the local fishing trawler out in the ocean to buy his tea! Quite an experience and not usually on this partuicular tour! The fishermen were just pulling up their nets as we arrived and the driver made his purchase of sardines and small swordfish. The sardines were particularly nice so fresh out of the water!!! And then we came back to the bungalow to write this post and keep all you lovely people back home. As we look to our right we can see the sun setting and the silhouette of an extremely cheeky monkey that Rick has become very attached to and would love to bring it home.

On that note we would love to be able to leave you with some links that you could click on in order to see some photos. However, everybody except Facebook seems to be agains us uploading loads of photos at any one time so we apologise for this. What we will do is research alternative methods asap and get back to you with an answer.

The sun is setting and we are going to grab a quick beer.

Take care all and speak to you soon!

Rick and Mattxx