I Need To Tell : The World From My Perspective

Monday, December 22, 2014

Day 3 : Elephant Trekking & Wat Tham Sua

Day 3 and today, we actually had a few options of places to visit. We could go to the Hot Spring Waterfall, Emerald Pool, Elephant Trekking or Tiger Cave Temple. In the end, we arranged to experience elephant trekking and visit Wat Tham Sua or the Tiger Cave Temple.

After breakfast, we waited at the lobby for our pick up ....

Our transport

And he brought us to the elephant sanctuary. By then, it was near 10.00 a.m., and it was really hot already!

The elephant in front was our ride ...

We had to go up to a raised platform to get onto the seat that was strapped to the elephant.

Our bull elephant and his mahoot

And once a rope is tied across the seat - sort of a makeshift seat belt, we set off and made our way through the narrow treks around the compound. The mahoot had to constantly communicate with the elephant to urge him on .... and we see him rubbing the elephant's ears to guide him where to go.

Sigh. Both S and I felt so sorry or the elephant and wished for the ride to be over quickly.

Poor elephant ...

The whole ride took about 40 minutes. Then we were served cold drinks and fresh pineapples.

Snacks

Then we were brought to Wat Tham Sua which was nearby.

Inside the Tiger Cave ...

So why was it called the Tiger Cave Temple?

The story .....

This is believed to be the most sacred temple in Krabi. It's also known for its steeps 1270 steps, where visitors can climb up to reach a temple at the peak.

Very steep steps

Looking down from above ....

I made my way up to 400 steps ... and turned back down .....

S reached the top and was rewarded with a 360 degrees view of Krabi.

Splendid view on top after the strenuous climb ...

I merely explored the grounds of the temple ....

There were various images of the tiger, the namesake of the temple ....

2 hours later, we were picked up near the entrance of the temple and brought back to the elephant sanctuary ...

This was the platform from were we got on and off the elephant

The mahoot bathing the elephant ....

At the santuary, we waited for 2 groups of tourists to finish their rides, and then only our transport brought us back to Ao Nang ..... Our little pick up truck sat 13 passengers, and it was cramped and uncomfortable.

We requested for the driver to let us down at McDonald's Ao Nang, where we would grab a late lunch.

Hey, there're dips here for sale ....

S and I both had the Samurai Pork Burger ...

Regular Pork Samurai Burger meal, THB214 including the dip for THB15

Something different ....

Pork patty with teriyaki sauce

The pork patty was softer than the chicken and beef varieties, and I found the sauce to be too sweet for my liking. By the time we finished our lunch, it was near 4.00 p.m. We walked back to the hotel to rest.

We decided to skip dinner ..... and opted for supper instead. But of course, we could not forego massages. We freshened up and then headed back to the main street to search for a massage parlour.... I had a Thai Oil Massage for THB300 per hour. S only wanted to do reflexology, at THB250 per hour.

Our bodies pampered, we went back to the shops for some souvenir shopping ..... and then buy supper back to our hotel to eat. Again, we plopped on the floor unglamorously to eat .... Lol. It was fun, though.

Yummy supper

Instant noodles, Spicy tom yum flavour which we bought from one of the many convenience stores along the main street; the local Chang beer, a grilled chicken thigh and papaya salad which we bought from the street vendors, THB50 each.

A 500 ml can only costs TBH480 .... which was really cheap

Our tummies full, we went to bed .... :P

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Day 2 : Island Hopping By Speed Boat

S and I had a comfortable rest that night ... and we woke up bright and early for breakfast at The Cliff Cafe, located at the ground floor of the hotel. Breakfast was served from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily. The breakfast spread was quite extensive!

Fruits and yoghurt, cereal on the left

Juices, chrysanthemum tea and cold water

The salad bar

An assortment of bread, Danish pastry, waffles and pancakes

I tried a bit of everything .....

Yummy :))

Fried rice with vegetables, and Pad Thai

I loved the salad and had it every morning ....

Chicken porridge with condiments

Waffle, croissant and a piece of pineapple ...

We were fuelled up or the day! Perhaps over-fuelled and near the stage of explosion. Lol.

Our itinerary that day was island hopping : The Phi Phi Islands Tour. There would be 7 stops altogether, and expected to end at 4.00 p.m. The best outfit to wear, of course, would be our swimsuits. What's essential to bring? Towels, water, sunblock, hat, shades, and a sense of fun and adventure. Lol.

We waited for our free transfer to the beach, where our speed boat would be waiting. Lots of people were waiting at the lobby to be picked up.

That's how the hotel building looked like ...

Specially fitted lorries to transport tourists ...

Our pick up came at about 8.45 a.m. S and I were the last ones to be picked up, and so we said in front of the old battered truck ....

The main street of Ao Nang, heading towards the beach

The speed boats were anchored here ....

A simple registration was done here with the tour operator, Barracudas Tour, and then we were rounded up by our guide, Alex and ushered towards our boat. There were about 25 of us in a group. To maintain the cleanliness of the boat, we had to take off our shoes .... all shoes were dumped into a net and tied to the side of the boat. Then we waded into the waters and climbed aboard. Soon, the boat sped off ....

Whee!!

The morning sun was gentle as we sped to our way to Bamboo Island ....

Approaching Bamboo Island ....

Look at the clear blue green waters! Absolutely beautiful ...

The boat stopped here, and we got off ....

Bamboo Island

Bamboo Island was struck by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; Alex, our guide, told us that before the tsunami, there were lots of bamboo vegetation on this island, and hence the name. Since the tsunami, however, bamboo has all been wiped out .....

40 minutes later, we climbed back to our boat ..... and we headed next to Lohsamah Bay and thereafter to Monkey Bay .... snorkelling opportunities were available at these two stops, but S and I were too afraid to attempt. Lol.

At Monkey Bay

The next two stops were Viking Cave and Pileh Bay .... the boat merely cruised along the bay and we did not get off ...

Viking Cave

There was ancient wall painting here but I sure did not see anything from the boat; Lots of bamboo stilts here because bird nests were collected from the cave.

Lohsamah Bay

Beautiful crystal clear azure waters ..... Alex said there were no fishes there ....

Then we sped off to Maya Bay. This was where the film, "The Beach" was shot. Maya Bay was a part of Koh Phi Phi Ley, the smaller of the two Phi Phi Islands.

Beautiful!!!

We stopped here for another 40 minutes ... and S and I swam in the cool water ....

And the final stop was lunch at Koh Phi Phi Don, the bigger of the 2 Phi Phi Islands. We had lunch at Maiyada Resort. From the beach, we walked about 400 metres to the resort. There was a large hall there, with lots of tables and chairs. We just queued up for our food and then sat down to eat.

The lunch hall at Maiyada Resort

Spaghetti with tomato sauce, fish cakes with sweet chilli sauce, stir-fried minced chicken with long beans and basil, rice, and cucumber stir-fry

Clear tom yum soup with chicken

For dessert, S and I bought ...

Magnum gold, THB70 each

Awww .... cracked d :(

After lunch, we sped back to Ao Nang Beach. It took an hour. Back at Ao Nang Beach, there was free transfer back to our hotel ..... and I took the opportunity to swim in the swimming pool. It was rather empty at that time .... and so it was quite fun and relaxing. It's been a while since I was in a pool .....

That night, S and I decided to eat at the streets. Along the main street were some stalls selling an assortment of local dishes like noodles and rice, and grilled seafood, meat and corn on skewers.

A typical stall

Grilled squid stuffed with mango, THB100

Grilled prawns, THB100

Pad Thai, THB50

We sat down and ate our food at a plastic table at the stall. Opposite our hotel was a mosque, and the Muslim vendors set up stalls there too every night .... and we bought more food. No tables and chairs inside our hotel room, so the both of us plopped on the floor and enjoyed the local delights.