Krabi: Day 2

Day 2
Embracing the true Malaysian spirit of kiasu-ness, we awoke early the next morning to beat the crowd for the buffet breakfast (7-10am). It turned out to be completely unnecessary. There were about three other families around when we arrived. Unaccustomed to their serene grazings, we loaded up on fried noodles, bacon, ham, omelettes (with cheeeeeeeese, yum), cereal, croissants etc.

The food was not quite Zagat material, but we were happy enough it was free. Post breakfast, we hurried to the lobby and hopped onto our appointed songthaew. It was already crammed with a Danish family of four. They were quite friendly and offered advice on the local manicurists. We stopped one more time to pick up a young Dutch couple before arriving at the pier near Noppharat Beach.

From there, we got on a long tail boat and headed towards Lading Island. After a 45 minute ride, our expectations were dampened by the bits of styrofoam and rubbish floating about. The water was a milky blue, possibly due to the choppy waves, and noticeably littered. Our guide, a Thai-Malay man named "Ay", apologised for the crappiness of the place. After a few half hearted attempts to wade about, we set off for the next island.

Our long tail boat - Peach Jinda 3 (wonder what happened to 1 and 2?)

Pakbia Island was basically a delta of sand attached to a jungle, with the sea on both sides. It wasn't paticularly special, but I did manage to catch sight of some fish nearby the rocks. A particular species of yellow and black striped fish was noticeably prevalent everywhere we went.

We then took a U turn in Hong Lagoon. Our guide made flimsy excuses about bad weather, hence being unable to stop, in spite of the scores of teenagers splashing about. The lagoon was a beautiful blue with greenery decorating the walls. Or least that's about all I can comment since we spent a grand total of 2 minutes there.

In spite of the promised FIVE island hop, Ay once again let us down by saying that the sea was too choppy for us to venture to the other islands (Dai and Raeng islands respectively), so could we instead spend three hours on Hong Island, a national park instead? Honestly, I felt a little cheated, seeing how we paid THB700 (bargained down from THB750) each.

Hong Island has an entrance fee of THB200, but this had already been included in the package (as reiterated again and again by the agent). The sands were white and the water was thankfully, styrofoam free. We got off in high spirits and snorkeled about. Nontheless, the milky blue of the water provided an estimated visibility of a metre or so. After about 15 minutes of fruitless exploration, I gave up and we headed to the picnic tables for lunch instead.

The fried chicken (a suspicious orangey hue), green curry chicken and mixed vegetables (sourish, eww) was served with rice. It was okay. The pineapples served afterward were especially sweet.

LC, so fair of skin and dry of bikini, was terrified of getting a tan; only DL and I strolled about the beach and and laid under the shade of a tree. I gave him some enhancements then, out of boredom.

Thousands flock to Thailand for breast enlargements

After some fish feeding, we played some water polo with the others, before calling it a day. We arrived back to the pier at about 3pm, an hour earlier. Achey and sunburnt, we decided to recuperate with a massage (can't remember the name, it's the one where everyone wears white and blue uniforms).

I got suckered into a Milky Massage (THB300), whilst LC and DL got the Oil ones (THB200). As far as I could tell, the only difference was how much stickier my skin felt later. Having been completely spoilt by X's loving, sleep-inducing massage strokes, these felt mechanical and uninspired in comparison. Despite my disappointment, I tipped her an extra THB100; THB300 felt too little to have an old lady spend an hour kneading you.

Now with an extra layer of "milk" over the sand, dirt, salt and sunblock that already clogged my pores, we wandered about. Still unable to find Sala Thai, we ended up at Ao Nang Seafood, which was elevated by the sea. We ordered Steamed Fish with Thai Herbs (very Chinese), Deep Fried Calamari with Pepper and Garlic (our favourite!) and Stir Fried Morning Glory (a misnomer, which turned out to be Kai Lan).

As there was an ongoing Buy Two Get One Free promotion, we got a Snow Float (like an alcholic thick shake), Long Island Iced Tea and Pina Colada (served in a coconut!).


Once again, we explored the shops. I managed to get a pretty white and black tube smock, before going back to the room for a much needed shower.

Floating "balloons" - another Thai tradition used to exploit tourists (THB100)