After a busy week at my new school, we decided to explore a new part of the Thailand coast line. We chose Krabi as we'd heard good reports about it. It  entailed driving off the island of Phuket and going further south down the coast - about 200 km altogether.

     On the way, we stopped to admire a beautiful beach at the top of Phuket, it seemed to stretch for a mile or more, and was deserted. All the tourists seem to flock to the south of the island, safety in numbers I suppose!


     The drive to Krabi took us through fascinating scenery, huge big hills of limestone, mostly covered in shrubbery and trees. Not the sort to climb on as they looked rather crumbly. As we got nearer the coast, we could see numerous islands of the same type of construction.


     At first, we were disappointed with the beaches. The sand was gritty, not like the soft sand on our favourite beach in Phuket. However, the views out to sea were amazing with such a variety of islands and boats zig-zagging between them.

 

     We found a really nice hotel to stay for the night with a sea view, beautiful gardens and 2 pools. After cooling down in one of the pools, we thought it would be more fun in the sea. Unfortunately, so did the jelly fish and I suddenly realised I was being stung! Jon managed to make the kitchen staff understand that we needed some vinegar and it certainly helped to stop the stinging.



     On Sunday morning, we were picked up at the hotel for another speed boat trip to the islands. This time we knew what to expect and headed straight for the front of the boat! The first stop was Tup Island, with amazing sandbanks. You could walk across to the next island but the current was quite strong.



Chicken Island was the next stop, so called because of it's shape. Then, finally, Poda Island where we could snorkel. We returned to the mainland exhausted and vowed that next time we'll choose a trip to just one island.