partner in crime 1
partner in crime 2
first stop was a street-side foodstall that was edible. i mean, the food was alright - no complains. started walking around, measuring every inch of the town with me eyes and decided to hop on a boat to Koh Railay. the long-tail boat was the best way to go and not longer than 20 minutes i was there. the boat made the first stop and i thought this was it, once look and i was wondering what is so interesting about this beach. to my relieve, the captain said this is not Koh Railay, it was something else; Railay was the next stop. dropped myself off the boat and i thought to myself, "Oh, now i get it". farangs again at every angle of view! boatmen were playing takraw by the beach and i felt so tempted to join them. for those of you who didnt know, i USED to play takraw back in primary school; represented the school team as a matter of fact. so, i decided not to and just walked around the beach and into the food and beverage junction. Koh Railay is famous for its mountains, never fails to attract rock climbers from all over the world. the best part of it is the sunset; at a certain corner of this island (where you must take a boat to or climb through wet and greasy and slimy rocks). many mentioned that it is worth the extra cash to get a boat there to experience this "mystique" sunset. too bad i didnt have that extra cash and so, i skipped.
now it looks secluded
the Green-Tail Armada
back at Ao Nang, it was sunset and it sure did caught my attention. being a sucker for sunsets and the horizon, i started snapping like i had fits. though i had seen even more eye-bobbling, mouth-opened of the sun setting, it was, still, amazing - speechless.
i'm such a sucker for this
tail boats helping out the scene
if one says that Ao Nang is a shopping paradise, i would think so. but being Asian me self, bargaining flows through our arteries. somehow it makes you think that it is not cheap, and im pretty sure it is not. bangladeshis, pakistanis and indians were the main hustlers here. though their convincing skills are not put into much practice yet, their accent just puts you off. and this is why i said that locals are a handful in this place. this is the town where prices are based on the USD, a little painful for me yea. well, at least there was this restaurant that was priced pretty reasonably. when i say reasonable, you farangs have no worries about it; you can afford it! it serves local thai cuisine with a hint of western food. sadly, i dont remember the name of the restaurant but it is located in front of the beach. look out for a sign outside that says "Smoke here". yes, its a non-smoking joint and they reserved a space for you to smoke outside. a day gone, a couple left...
i made a trip to the Hong Islands, pocket burnt at 1200 bath. the trip takes the jim-bang to 4 islands away from Ao Nang. Koh Daeng -- Koh Rai -- Koh Lading -- Koh Hong. the first stop was Daeng Island where snorkeling was on the to-do list. the seas were rough and i found it difficult to snorkel. three types of fish species i saw, and a couple of coral beds - back in the boat i went. it was simply to rough for snorkeling. it was an experienced though, aside that i was drinking gallons of salt water. mind you that the amount of salt in the Andaman Sea is ridiculously high. back on the boat, as my skin dried off from the sea water, particles of salt can be found trapped on my hairy hands. and yes, you can have a tequila shot if you want. just lick the salt off your own hand and down it - lime/lemon is optional.
look at that split mountain
the next stop was the secluded Rai Island. patch of sand and funky rock formations. it was cool actually. snorkeling can be done as well, as the fishes do come close to the beach. it was pure relaxation; a date with the sun and sun-block. i named this island the "Mushroom Island" because of nature's gift.
vanishing point
fishies
the weird rock formation aka Mushroom Island
weird tree bark formation
tan time was over and we headed off to another island. this time, it was Lading Islang aka Paradise Island. yes, its my own opinion of the island; lunch was served and it was pretty tasty too. not bad actually. this is where the Marine Police camped out with a spliff in hand. i think they are trading. it was like a lagoon. the three-toned sea color was simply amazing. photo session in progress.
its two-toned here. wait...
can you see it? three-toned!
ja man...
forget Monaco... long-tail rocks!
next stop, and the final stop, was Hong Island itself. at first, the boat took us in a tour of the island, going around it and entering a lagoon. lagoon was awesome though. then it docked. this was the kayaking part of the tour. they even have a Komodo Dragon on this island! ONE! as i bounced my way to the toilet, i bumped into the dragon... WTF. thankfully it was tame, had a caretaker standing around. my first time seeing one. and god-damn, that tongue was slithery LONG! i still managed to pee and head back out to the beach.
Kayaking it is! it was fun! the last time i hopped on a kayak was in Vang Vieng. it was like deja vu. forgetting one accident where another kayak bump straight into my skinny arm that left me bruised for a while is something i could not get my mind over. it blardy hurts! the kayak trip was awesome, rough seas & high tides made it so challenging but still managed to pierce through the waters. remember the lagoon i was talking about? yes, that was the kayak's destination. having to manouevre the kayak along with ongoing and incoming boats and long-tails was pretty daunting; got through it somehow. the lagoon was awesome. swimming is allowed but i spotted a jelly fish in it and decided not to hit the waters. it was a pretty huge jelly fish, looking good too. just when i thought it was time to head back using the same direction, the tour guide started howling at me, pointing at the opposite direction. O.K. holding up my pedal. everybody was supposed to kayak the whole island! woo-hoooo! excited i was, i started peddling. taking breaks to soak in the scenic mountains, the blazing sun and the salty sea water... it was paradise. something i wanna do and live for the rest of my life.
*SNAP* shit, the kayak is floating off course. diverted and as the kayak hit the part of the sea where the waters were against it, it was tiring i say. kayaking against the current is messed up! still, i dont see my arms getting bigger. back at the beach, rested, breathe fresh air and it was the long boat ride back to Ao Nang. it was fantastic. amazing. awesome. enchanting.
so long Ao Nang
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