Getting there: Our aim is to travel as cheap as possible, so we took a 16 hour bus from Bangkok all the way down South to Krabi – this cost around 600 baht each or $24 NZ. I personally think that busing around Thailand is an awesome way to travel. The buses are usually quite comfortable and when you travel by night you can save on accommodation. If you want to be reeealy comfortable on your bus ride you can book a first class or gold class ticket with Nakhongchai Air – luxury bus riding for a great price! The seats fold back almost into beds so you can get a good nights rest before it spits you out in your next destination, you can watch movies on your own personal tv and you get complimentary drinking water as well. We landed in Krabi at 7am in the morning, far too early to check in anywhere (and I mean anywhere, people will yell at you over the phone for trying to check in before 10am) but we caught a taxi to our guesthouse anyway. We were able to leave our bags there with the lady who was sitting at the front desk while we wandered off to kill time until check in at 11. We found a motorbike to rent for 180 baht per day or $7NZ and then swanned around to try and find some food. Four Island Tour: First of all you can catch a boat from Ao Nang beach to pretty much any island you like if you bargain with the locals. We don’t often do costly touristy things as we try to mainly visit free or cheap attractions. We are backpackers on a budget after all. The four Island tour with Barracudas cost us $40 each NZ – this included pick up and drop off too and from our guesthouse and a buffet lunch with about 3 vegan options which was plenty for Rhys and I (and trust me, we eat like the king and queen) and bottled water as much as you like. We shared a speed boat with about 60 other people including the crew. Try not to sit at the very back of the boat, on the trip to the island we watched about 10 people get completely soaked. Some of them weren’t so happy about it but you are on a boat after all! Our first stop was Maya Bay – where the famous ‘The Beach’ was filmed with Leonardo Dicaprio. My best advice is to try and get here as early as possible. We arrived and left right as a huge amount of tourists were being dropped off on the beach. We were lucky enough to enjoy it all in peace for almost an hour. This beach really is a miracle! The sand is perfectly white and the water a completely glass clear aqua colour – it is breath-taking to say the least. The next stop was my favourite of the day – we ran the boat around the corner and anchored near a cliff side where the water was deep and filled with magnificent, rainbow-coloured, tropical fish. We got into our snorkelling gear (also provided by Barracudas) and swam around for about 40 minutes before it was time to move on. I personally could have stayed here all day googling at the sea creatures swimming through the coral beds laid out on the salty sea floor. We made our lunch stop at Koh Phi Phi. The vegan options were a delicious spaghetti, rice, roasted potatoes and lots of fresh fruit so we filled up before spending the remainder of the hour floating in the calm, heavenly waters that surrounded the quiet tropical paradise. We also got to meet a baby Gibbon here who is taken care of by one of the local men. The gibbon was the most adorable wee thing I have ever seen and I couldn’t stop kissing his tiny, furry head. We gave him a bit of fruit to nibble after some cuddles and then had to carry on. Bamboo Island was serene and dreamy. The water here was much rougher with large waves crashing into swimmers and the boats however the water was still crystal clear and held the most intense, mind blowing aqua colour. The sand incredibly white with reminiscence of tropical shells worth gathering and collecting. We stayed here floating over the immense waves and rode them back to shore for the next 40 minutes before heading to our last island stop (I can not remember the name of our last Island). The last island was the smallest of them all and was another great stop for snorkelling and paddling around eyeing up the beautiful fish that swim by. My favourite thing was to simply star fish and float on top of the water surface and watch all the little friends enjoying the fresh coconut flesh out of my hand. soaking in the sun and laughing at the sqeaky sands of Maya Bay, famous for it's part in the movie 'The Beach'. Swimming and snorkelling with hundreds of fishy friends at my favourite spot of the day, hidden around the corner of Maya Bay. Floating on the pristine, crystal clear waves at Bamboo Island. Koh Pan Ngan:
Our final stop in Thailand before heading to Vietnam and my favourite Island that we visited. Once a month this Island is known for it’s insane ‘till the sun rises’ full-moon parties, but this is only once each month and a small part of the Island. I wasn’t able to attend the full-moon festivities as I was in bed ill and trying desperately to recover before Vietnam but I did wake up at 6 am and head down to the beach to watch the people who had been up all night continue on their antics. My biggest disappointment was seeing how much rubbish and disgustingness had been left all over the beautiful, dreamy, tropical beach that once was the ideal, picturesque destination. If you go to an island for it’s beauty why leave your scum caking and covering it’s perfectly white sands and spilling into it’s crystal clear waves to be taken back out into our already overly polluted oceans. This is one of the most beautiful places on earth, don’t ruin it for our children and future generations but most of all don’t ruin it for the locals who call this Island home – you were never invited here, you made the choice to come here so please be responsible and respectful. On the other hand, the local people were amazingly efficient at getting the beach perfectly spotless again. By 8am the sands looked as though nothing was left behind but footprints and those who remained dancing on stages and pumping their fists into the sky to EDM as the sun rose into the pink and orange sky above the ocean. We spent our time on Koh Pan Ngan exploring by motorbike (costing us 150 baht per day or $6NZ rented from a local man). This island is covered in lush jungle greenery and surrounded buy picturesque beaches creating it’s coast lines. There are also more than 2 stunning waterfalls with small rock pools of clean, flowing water to bathe in. On the West Coast of Koh Pan Ngan you will find at least half a dozen yoga retreats and studios surrounded by mouth-watering (but a bit pricey for a backpacker) vegan and vegetarian restaurants and cafes. There is so much vegan food on this island, I am already planning my next visit back here just to eat the food and do yoga in it’s breath-taking scenery. Unfortunately I did not get to experience any of the yoga classes here as I was not well and suffering from a stomach ache that kept me unable to practice for a few days. I would definitely recommend a visit to the jungle bar on the west coast of the island. It is beside a hidden and quiet, beach with some of the most gorgeous waters on the entire island. The bar itself is really awesome too – you can order food here as well as fresh coconuts and any drink you like, the atmosphere is great with funky music and the staff are all super friendly and welcoming as well. Make sure to bring your bathing suit because you can jump from the warf at the bar into the beautiful ocean waters to snorkel with hundreds and thousands of cute little fish. You can hold onto bits of bread or coconut flesh and the fish will come and eat it straight from your fingers. This is an incredible place to wear a pair of goggles and dive among the coral and when you are ready to relax you can head over to the beach front to soak up the sun. I was offered a job at a retreat on this Island but have not yet heard from the lovely lady at Jungle Gym so I am currently seeking a job at one of the yoga retreats on Koh Pan Ngan as this island is by far my favourite place we have visited on our travels so far. Enjoying the company of hundreds of fishy friends at the Jungle bar near the hidden bay with friends Natalie and Trent from Canada. A view of the bar and hidden bay from the higher view point.
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