Final Days Ko Lanta
As with all holidays, they come to an end. I’ve got a few selections left to share over the coming days, bit as I look over my holiday snaps, the bottom of the pile is looming.
Not one for just sitting and basking in the sun, I went for numerous walking outings whilst we stayed at Ko Lanta. Here are some shots from the second to last day we stayed on the island.
“No Parking On Uneven Days” – surely that causes confusion at times?
The Resort – Phi Phi
Landing at the resort, the view was stunning. Clear aqua ocean, white sand, palm trees. We were warmly greeted, and as with all the other places we stayed, welcomed with a cool sweet beverage. Being at the flash end of the holiday, we took on an upgrading offer and temporarily made the beach front bungalow our home for the next four nights.
More tomorrow!
Boat Tour Thailand
For one of our days staying in Krabi, we booked a day trip out to some of the smaller islands. Heading out via longboat, we had three main stops – one for snorkling, one for lunch and one for a few hours swimming.
One thing that became apparent in Thailand, starting with this trip, was the struggle the country appears to have with litter/rubbish, and dealing with it.
Each of the stops was beautiful, and away from the mainland, relatively free of rubbish. However, stopping at the lunch spot, walking on the beach, I could smell the familiar scent of ash/burnt goods. At the back of the small beach area, it was clear that all rubbish on the island just gets piled up and burnt. Relatively small stuff, but I’ll touch on it again in future posts where the issue was more obvious.
Anyway… Landing at the final beach and being left for the rest of the afternoon I went for a bit of a stroll. Thailand was hit by a nasty tsunami in 2004. This beach paradise, like many other places was hit, with old wreckage sitting in the bush as a reminder.
With the Thai authorities estimating that at least 8,150 are likely to have died, the bits of boats and other things around the coastal areas serve as a reminder, and sorts of shrines to remind us of the loss.
From Krabi and back on a boat tomorrow!
The Monkeys of Krabi
Up to this point of the holiday I had not seen any ‘in the wild’ monkeys. I did see a number of pet/trick/show monkeys both in Bangkok and Chiang Mai – but I don’t overly like seeing them chained or roped up as they were in these areas.
Walking around the township I came across this statue:
A fairly good clue that there might be monkeys around. After talking to one of our hosts, they also recommended we visit ‘the end of the beach’ around lunch or sundown time – the monkeys get fed during those times, no doubt for tourism. We can look at that in two lights – one, its teaching them to eat bad food, and get poor behaviours (more about that in a moment). I guess on the other hand, the monkeys are being opportunistic – good on them…
Walking to the end of the beach, several families appeared.
Watching with amusement, I went and grabbed the other half so she could see them also. No sooner had we arrived back, and the monkeys came down to the beach. This is where the bad behaviour comes in. The opportunistic little monkeys, knowing people come to see them, and often feed them, will run and snatch bags looking for tasty treats. Suddenly one of the little ones ran up to us, grabbed our bag with locally made biscuits (I had wanted to see how they compare), threw away all the uninteresting food (including pineapple) and started snatching the cookies off each other (look closely at the first image for the cookie in mouth).
More tomorrow (but not awesome monkeys).
Krabi Seaside
Saying farewell to Chiang Mai and the Northern region of Thailand, we boarded an early morning plane and flew to the west coast, southern side of Thailand – aimed for Krabi (the seaside part of it). Landing in Phuket, and hopping on a transfer coach for several hours, we arrived at out destination. After a short unpacking, it was time to take a bit of a walk around the beach for a look.
What a change in environment. It was busy, but much less busy. Far less taxis and tuk tuks offering rides. And sea! – something I always love being near and take for granted back here in Auckland New Zealand. Sitting down for a drink, we watched the longboats struggling to get out at low time, and zooming around as the tide came up.
The area we stayed at had two beach areas – one, were were told was not really ideal to go to at night (well, he actually said keep away from thee at night). The other good all night long. Walking around both in the day, one looked less touristy, more local. The beach on that side wasn’t as nice as the other side either. Todays shots are all from the ‘tourist’ side.
More of the Krabi area tomorrow!
Destination North
The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
KJV
Misty Morning
Mist over Omaha Beach
Ricoh GRD IV
Hot Sun, Beach Weather
A beautiful hot and sunny day in Auckland, We dropped all chores and headed off to the beach (truth be told, we finished all chores…). The last few times I have been to the beach recently the tide has been low. We choose beaches where that does not matter too much, but I always enjoy full tide more – today was pretty close to it!. Also, the beach was blessed with west coast like surf waves (not that todays images show) on their own holiday on our east coast. A bit of body surfing and wave jumping is always fun.
Drying off I grabbed the Ricoh GRD IV and walked to one end of the beach and back. As shown in images below. That guy setting up his tent must have absolutely cooked inside once done! – wont get sun burnt at least!
The Sea has Abandoned Me
Stuck in the mud
Waiting for the tide
Why did you leave me sitting here
MikeHawkey.com 