I took a boat from Ko Phi-Phi to the next Island in this chain; Krabi.
Krabi was on the fringes of the Tsunami so it sustained very little damage. I had heard so much about Krabi, I decided to check it out.
This is my first view of the Island as I arrived.
I thought these trees had been flooded but it turned out they are Mangrove trees and do fine in the ocean water.
I hitched a ride from Krabi town to Oa Nan Beach, which is a half hour away.
I arrived just before sunset, so I just sat on a rocky retaining wall and watched. I also went for a swim but I actually couldn't stay in the water very long because it was so hot. This was the warmest Ocean I encountered in Thailand.
After my swim a had some lunch.
As I was eating I heard a clatter and rushed over to see this waitress had dropped all her cutlery. She and I both started laughing and I took this picture.
This gives you some idea of what the Beach town looks like. Krabi is a combination of Ocean with outcroppings of Rock everywhere.
A traveller I talked to on the way here said that he found Krabi Town to be a disappointment but that the key was to go on the tours. I went for a massage to think things over and then I talked to the owners, Brian and Cena.
They suggested a river tour so I booked a Kayak trip through the caves and Mangrove forests around Ao Nan Beach.
I turned out to be the only person for this expedition so I ended up getting 3 guides to take me around for just 900 baht. They looked nervous when they told me that I was the only one going but I was delighted. So they cranked up the Thai music in the Pickup truck and off we went.
We arrived at a small village where I had a cup of coffee and met the locals.
Then my river guide took me out to four ancient Caves.
This is my guide; Mann. His English is pretty good. As we travelled we talked about one of the most mysterious subjects that exists; Women. Mann said he had a girlfriend but that she didn't stick around because he was always away doing these tours.
Oh yeah, these are some prehistoric shells encased in limestone... Anyway, he asked me what I thought about the women of Thailand. I said: "They are beautiful."
Huge stalactite formed over thousands of years. He asked:"How do Thailand women compare to Farangs?" I told him that from the little experience I had, the difference seemed to be that Thai women are much more grounded and relaxed in their culture. North American women are forced to compete much more in the work place and still try to be feminine.
These are the Mangrove trees. They grow in salt water and were used until recently when they were declared a protected species. So then Mann asked why so many ugly men seemed to have such beautiful wives (I hoped he wasn't referring to me). I said that I had found that women seem to want two things above all else: 1)A man who can make them laugh, and 2)A man who can make them feel good about herself. Mann thought that was pretty good information. I said: "You pay me 500 baht for woman advice." He laughed and said: "Okay, then you find way back alone..."
Here are a couple of Japanese tourists who were heading into the 'Tunnel Cave' that we had just come from.
This tour took about three hours. Then I had a Thai lunch and my two travel buddies took me to the Krabi Botanical Park for a swim.
This waterfall drops into a very deep pond where a couple of us had a great swim. I stood under the falls to the left and just enjoyed the peace of my surroundings.
I asked my drivers if they could take me to a Temple in the area. This reclining Buddha was built into the rock of one of the huge stone outcrops in this village.
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