007, Where Are You?
Finally, after 10 days on Koh Pha-Ngan we left. Steve loves to travel at night, I thought it was a good idea not to waste a day by traveling as well as a saving on accommodation. Gareth just said “whatever, when?”
Obviously, for S&G’s sake, we couldn’t leave until after the World Cup final. The time was however made bearable with a good Wimbledon tennis match involving South Africa’s Wayne Ferreira and Tim Henman which the British number one deservedly won. An added bonus was that straight after the football the rugby test game between South Africa and Argentina was shown. The match was played at Pam Brink Stadium in Springs, South Africa. This venue is close to where I went to school and where many inter-school Athletic meetings were held. It strange to be reminded of your school days whilst sitting of the other side of the world.
We left the island on the all night slow boat. This was quite comfortable with everyone stretching out on huge long mattresses laid out on the top deck. We arrived back on the mainland early the next morning. We did have an almost three hour wait in Surat Thani before the bus to the West Coast town of Krabi arrived.
I reckon the biggest worry about travel is how safe is it really? Well I have been on some dodgy transport and come through unscathed. Travel in Thailand is relatively safe. There are good roads and modern buses are used. Generally the rules of the road prevail and laws are obeyed. Well, that just goes to show you how wrong people’s preconceptions can be.
Our bus had covered half the three hour journey across the Thai peninsula. Our bus driver was a bit concerned about some road construction trucks turning onto the road from the right so he hit his brakes quite sharpish. No concern there and it seemed for a split second there was no reason for concern. Except the driver of the truck behind us either was not paying attention or following too closely or both. The truck smacked hard into the rear, right hand side of the bus. It was quite a jolt but thankfully nobody sitting at the rear of the bus was hurt at all. Even the truck driver was fine because the first thing he did was scramble out of his vehicle and hot foot it into the bush never to be seen again.
Everyone got themselves and their luggage out of the bus. On inspection of the damage the front of the truck was a mangled mess. It was carrying a full load so it must have it the bus with quite a force. Well it’s a testament to the safety design of buses these days that number one it didn’t sustain more damage and number two nobody was injured.
All the travelers waited along the side of the road whilst a replacement bus was sent. We arrived in Krabi around 1pm, about three hours late. So much for not wasting a day by traveling.
We chose to stay at Ao Nang which turned out to be a bit of a shit hole. Building works were everywhere and for what? To lay pipes and cables for the excessive development taking place to cater for the expensive accommodation which abounds when it is the height of the tourist season.
On top of this it was well and truly the Monsoon season, this means a lot of rain. Now on the East Coast islands we did have a couple of cloudy days but as soon as we arrived in Ao Nang the heavens opened up. Albeit for only about 10 minutes, but it was just enough to turn the whole place into a quagmire.
Since arriving in Asia just over four months ago I have been flirting with the monsoon rains. Even as far back as early April in Kathmandu I experienced unseasonal downpours. Whilst in South-East Asia there have been many reports on how early the monsoon rains seemed to have arrived this year. Now in early July this is officially the start of the wet season. To top it all the West Coast of Southern Thailand is where the monsoon rains are notoriously the wettest. The next few days will prove to be very damp.
S&G and I, not being impressed with Ao Nang, didn’t want to dwell in the place but we really wanted to explore the limestone islands off the coast. My Plan A was to book a 700 Baht all in tour or Steve’s plan B was a D.I.Y. which would come in at around half the price. We all opted for the cheaper option.
Bright and early Wednesday morning we hired two good, new 110cc Honda Wave motorbikes and headed the 100km north up Route 4 into the Phang-Nga province. The ride was spectacularly scenic. The whole countryside is framed by soaring mountains of jagged limestone karst. These stick straight up like the fingers and knuckles of some giants hands. The road winds between these karst sometimes coming so close to the cliff that the weather white chalk rock can easily be seen through the heavy jungle foliage. The whole area is very tropical with banana and coconut trees everywhere. Rubber plantations also abound as this is the area’s main source of income. Nestled beneath some of the limestone formations are towns and villages where mosques dominate and women cover themselves from head to foot. Evidence of that 40% of the Thai population in this area are Muslim.
At one point instead of detouring around the vast Karst outcrops the road wound and climbed up and over a jungle lined mountain pass. I swear the three of us thought we were playing out some scene from the “Easy Rider” movie. I thought I made a good Peter Fonda, Gaz a less rugged Dennis Hopper and Steve a rather weedy Jack Nicholson. Rather perfect really.
At the town of Phang-Nga the limestone mountains reach the Andaman Coast where the formation continues on into the sea creating a beautiful scene of limestone cliffs, odd rock formations and islands which rise out of the water like inverted mountains. Not to mention the caves, grottos and mangrove forests with many tidal channels. Here the fisherfolk and island inhabitants use the aquatic waterways to link the many stilt or floating fishing villages.
Our exhilarating drive took over an hour but was thoroughly enjoyable. We drove to the Tha Dan Customs pier near Phang-Nga. Here we hoped to hire a boat for a couple of hours to take us around the islands. We were particularly interested in seeing Ko Phing Kan and Khao Tapu, collectively known as James Bond Island because of the scenes shot here for the movie “Man with the Golden Gun”.
Now the boat captains and touts here have moved scouting for business to another level. Instead of waiting on the pierside for the tourists to arrive they now prowl the approach road on motorbikes. We were easy pickings, twice we were directed to boats and quoted outrageous prices. We eventually bartered one down and hired a boat for 500 baht.
Feeling very chuffed with ourselves we allowed Captain Bo, our newly acquired long tail boat driver to demand his fee before we cast off. This was the first mistake which was to become a long line in a comedy of errors.
Not long after we set off Captain Bo, who can’t speak English, wanted 200 baht extra for a longer trip. Declining this as we passed a floating village, we were asked if we wanted to stop off there for lunch. As this would not take us out of our way, we excepted. We then had to cross one of the larger channels between the islands, this is when the heavens opened up and gale force winds blew. Captain Bo inexplicably turned off the engine and besieged us to gather up the tarpaulin used as a roof. This was an impossible task for four people on such a narrow long tail boat which was being buffeted by the elements. S&G and I laughed maniacally amongst ourselves, fearing for our lives.
We finally made it across and found shelter in a limestone grotto which ran right through one of the mountains. All too quickly we came out the other side when Captain Bo pointed and screamed “James Bond Island, take photo”. Well I could see some dark shapes through the misty rain and we pleaded with our driver to head out that way, to no avail. Instead Captain Bo turned back to the floating fishing village. Even though we refused to hand over another 50 baht parking fee we were off loaded.
This Muslim stilt village nestles against the towering limestone cliff of Ko Panyi. The village is very commercialized when hordes of tourists are deposited here to eat lunch. The villages have added a number of over priced seafood restaurants along the waterfront. Along the main causeway of the village are many stalls selling tacky souvenirs. There are about 200 households here housing as many as 200 inhabitants. There is a school, a clinic and a mosque. Banned in the village are dogs and pigs and, being Muslim, no alcohol is sold.
After lunch the weather had once again settled and we boarded Captain Bo’s boat. Again we implored him to take us to James Bond Island. Well he was obviously spooked by the earlier encounter with the monsoon rains, he flatly refused and headed straight back to Tha Dan pier. No way, no 007 experience and no refund. Was I miffed.
We got sulkily back on the motorbikes, at least we had a nice ride back to Ao Nang to look forward to. And it was nice except that my bike got a puncture and Gaz, who was up ahead didn’t even bother to return to find out what had happed to us. Instead he continued on to Krabi and got horribly lost. Serves him right. I got the puncture fixed at some local motorbike repair shop.
Next day, James Bond Island, take 2. S&G had had enough so they left on the early morning ferry for Koh Phi-Phi island. Me? I a little bit too determined so I went for the old Plan A and coughed up 700 baht for the full James Bond Island tour. So for the second morning in a row I was on the road to Phang-Nga. This time in a minibus with 12 fellow travelers. The weather hadn’t improved which only served to dampen my already sulky demeanor. At the boat pier – a different one from yesterday – we were transferred in the rain to a big long tail boat with an unfeasibly large engine and a very friendly driver.
Again we made our way in the rain and spray through channels between the mangrove trees out into the numerous islands with spectacular limestone cliffs. I wanted to take a picture of the scene but when I reached for my camera to record, the damn thing switched on and promptly died. Flat battery, don’t you hate it when that happens? And always at the most inappropriate time. If I was sulking before, now I was rock bottom.
As we drove through the limestone grotto, called Tham Lawd, I had seen the previous day I sat slouched at the back of the boat with a long face. I must of looked bad because two people, and remember these were strangers, asked me why I was not taking pictures. I knew I would get a battery at the first stop we made albeit at some inflated price. I just wanted to feel sorry for myself.
Eventually the boat powered out past more islands and at last Koh Tapu – a.k.a. James Bond Island – came into view. We landed on the seaward beach of Ko Phing Kan and were given 30 minutes to explore.
First I had to get a new battery for my camera. What follows is typical bartering, whether it’s the right way or not I don’t know.
Tourist approaches vendor – “How much for this” (In my case, a camera battery)
Vendor – 450 baht (insert own amount where appropriate)
Tourist – It’s too much!
Vendor – I give you discount.
Tourist – how much then?
Vendor- 400 baht
Tourist – It’s still too much, I don’t want it.
Vendor- How much you want to pay?
Tourist – This cost 100 baht in my country.
Vendor – But you not in your country.
Tourist – OK I’ll wait till I get home and buy one there.
Vendor – OK 350 Baht.
Tourist – I don’t want it (turns to walk away).
Vendor – How much you want to pay?
Tourist – 100 baht
Vendor – 300 baht
Tourist – Too much (walks away and turns back on vendor).
Vendors friend – How much you pay for this (in my case show me the battery I want)
Tourist – 100 Baht
Vendors Friend – 180 Baht
Tourist – 150 Baht
Vedors Friend – O.K.
Tourist – Do you have change for a 500 Baht note?
Tourist Friend – No
Luckily one of the strangers, which by now I had become friendly with, had change and I was able to get the new battery for my camera. So I also got the sought after photos of Koh Tapu and my mood noticeably improved within minutes. I am such a moody bastard.
On exploring the island we climb the cliffs and find another beach made famous in the 007 movie. I half expected the half pint villain, Nik Nak, to come walking down the beach in a tuxedo carrying a tray of martinis (shaken not stirred) and saying “Bonjour Monsieur Bond”. We also saw no sign of the wily million-dollar-a-shot hitman, Scaramanga. But we all know that Christopher Lee has relocated to Middle Earth to wage war against Gandalf (or did he go to wage war against the Jedi Knights?).
Back on the long tail boat and after a few panoramic shots of the bay with its many islands the rain came down again. Covered in whatever waterproof material we could find we made our way back to the Panyi Floating village. Here a delicious seafood lunch was provided (included in the tour this time) and I got to know my fellow companions a bit better, having spent most of the morning sulking and generally not speaking to anyone. After lunch we were invited to walk around the village to do some shopping. I already knew what tacky tourist merchandise would be on sale and opted out, preferring instead to sit in the restaurant overlooking the Andaman Sea and watch the Monsoon rain blow in.
Thankfully after lunch we were taken straight back to the minibus and headed for the cave temple of Wat Tham Suwankhuha. This temple has a large reclining Buddha in the entrance cavern surrounded by many other Buddhist statues and images. There was even a monk/guru sitting there very still, he must have been meditating or something because at first I didn’t even notice him there, thinking he was just another icon.
At the rear are another two caves where the stalactite and stalagmite limestone formations hang impressively in huge caverns. This temple is over run by cheeky monkeys who grab at anything that looks like food.
Our final stop for the day was the Thanboke Khoranee waterfall. To get to this waterfall we had to drive through some quaint rural Thai village, well worth exploring if it wasn’t pouring down with rain. At the waterfall the group were forced out of the bus and we all huddled under a shelter for 20 minutes. The waterfall itself emerges from the base of one of the limestone krast before tumbling over rocks and through the tropical forest. The locals had ingeniously built an irrigation channel to provide water to nearby villages for domestic and farming use.
Finally the day came to an end and I retired to bed early. What a couple of days.
Next I will cross the Andaman Sea to the Koh Phi Phi Islands. Here I will catch up again with S&G.
