Krabi Trip 2015 - Things we did ~ Island Hopping

Guess which boat is ours?
*The smaller one*

Island hopping is the 'main thing' to do in Krabi, as the better beaches and waters are out there, away from the mainland.

We have visited a few islands in Malaysia prior to maiden trip to Thailand.. and had the experience of swimming with lots of fishes and seeing colourful coral towers that are brimming with life in the midst of crystal clear waters. And I do mean crystal clear..... so clear that you can see what's in the sea from your boat, jump in and get shocked that the water is so deep, LOL.

So, we decided not to spend too many days going island hopping....just one day enough.
I thought I only wanted to go for Hong Island trip... but my dear decided to go a full day...
This is the one we took.

It's Low Season price in June 2015

the itinery....

Pickup was told to us at 10am, but they came earlier!
We were the last to arrive at the pier. Once we arrived, there was a briefing and off we went

At the pier, and that's the songthaew for tour transfer.

my turn to get in.. oh shaky shaky legs, hahaha

Our boat is a long tail boat. It's like a fishing boat, rustic and the wind gets into your face, sea water as well... Afternoon seas are rough and splashy! If you can't stand noise... get ready some cotton wool. My ears were numb by the time we reached the first destination.. the lagoon. After that, my ears got used to the noise.

The lagoon... wasn't impressive. Nice to look at, but there's froth in the water...

Then we went to Lading Island to have lunch... We were served something like Chicken Padprik with rice, but not spicy at all. It was tasty and simple. The white rice was gooood. I got biten by a sea louse twice (it looked exactly like this)... at the same spot where I stood in the water. The second bite left me bleeding a little. That louse must have thought that I am fish! Since I like swings, I sat on one and swung myself towards the sea.... lovely breeze..

One warning, don't leave your half eaten food around, bring it back to the boat, as there is a monkey there that will grab your food. According to the guide, that is the only monkey on the island.

After that we went to Hong Island. This is the most beautiful island of the lot. Sand is fine, and we like the shady beach. Water looks blue and clean but two of our tour mates went down snorkelling in the water and came up to tell us, they saw nothing. Oh well, I tried putting my hand into the water... I can't even see my hand, how to see fish???

But other than that... it's a nice place to swim and relax, and seems quite safe for kids as well, as there is an island right infront that protects the huge waves from crashing in.

Hong Island  Pier, the only island with a pier

shady long fine sandy beach :)

We left Hong island and the wind blew strong... It was a long ride......I was under shade but just not in luck, as my position was the worst. I was dripping wet. We rode against the wind and the crashing of the boat against the waves just sent splashes of salty water right to my face.

Then we rode past Daeng Island.. it has red rocks.. and that's all.. we didn't stop for more than 5 seconds.

This picture was taken when it wasn't THAT crowded. See the sand bar?

The we drop by Tup islands, of which 2 islands are connected via a sand bar. Beach is nice, although sand is quite coarse and water is warm. We were there during low season and the place is quite crowded.. I can't imagine the high season.

Then, we went to Poda Island..... not exactly Poda but an island nearby Poda, we saw lots of pink jellyfish in the water... another 2 boats were preparing to go into the waters... but my boat decided to leave. Phew! I wonder what were those other 2 boats thinking of.

We went to Chicken island.... And the boat anchored. We can snorkel and see corals and fish. Seriously, if you have been to Pangkor for snorkelling, don't even want to compare to Redang..... Don't waste your time jumping in. Almost nil corals and teeny weeny fishes that are almost invisible are all you can find.

the BBQ is somewhere under the trees..

Then.... we went to Poda island for dinner. Grilled chicken, fish and vegetables for dinner. Nothing to shout about, taste ok, edible. Flies flies flies.

 We sat there for 1.5 hours! Waiting for sunset..of which took forever to come. We saw dark clouds looming, and some of us asked the boats to go back.. but they won't budge, saying, it won't rain and we will only leave once it gets dark! sigh......

Poda, Chicken and Tup island are near to Aonang, and you can see Poda from the Aonang beach. So we sat on Poda looking at the mainlaind and yearning to go back, hahaha.

It really didn't rain and as we rode back  in the dark... the boat stopped..... We thought, did anything happen as there were 2 other boats in total darkness....

Oh.... there was night snorkelling, looking at phytoplanktons. The final stop!

 It's supposed to be the climax of the trip, but my dear and I decided not to jump in. My tour mates said it was like magic, as you move your hands.. it just glitters all around. The plankton needs to be 'activated' with movement.

Reached the pier and all tired.... and reached hotel at around 8.30....bathed and went out for snacks, LOL.

Overall, the trip is worthwhile.... nice view... but it just felt a bit too much going out the whole day seeing almost the same thing.

If we ever come to Krabi again with our kids, we shall only go Hong island.

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Krabi Trip 2015 Compilation

General
1. Hotels We Stayed and might stay in the future
2. Itinerary
3. How We Got Around- Transportation information

Food
4. Food We Ate--- a long list of food
5. Eateries We Went To

Things to Do
6. Attractions We Went To
7. Massage We Went to
8. Island Hopping
9. Shopping
10. Visit Markets - Night Market, Fruit Market, Morning Market