Floods in Bangkok, Extended Vacation Down South

By Shelly (finally!)

As some of you may or may not have heard, there has been some massive flooding here in Thailand. We got back from our semester break to find that we would not be starting school on Nov.1 like originally planned. There were 11 provinces that delayed school 2 weeks due to flooding, or schools providing refuge for those affected by the flooding. So, after a nice long 3 week vacation, we were told by our school coordinator to take another vacation and be back by the time school started on the 15th. So, since we had to go on another vacation, we decided to check out Southern Thailand; Matt, me, and my new roommate, Sarah. After brief deliberation, we agreed on Krabi, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, packed a backpack and headed to Bangkok to catch an overnight bus down south. *In case we've never mentioned the overnight buses here, I just want to say the govt buses are quite delightful with blankets, refreshments, and of course, either Thai music videos or a Thai television drama.

Railay Beach, Krabi

We spent 2 full days on Railay Beach in Krabi with incredible scenary, and less than incredible accommodations; the only real disadvantage of traveling to popular destinations down south on a budget. Luckily, the beds in our bungalow had mosquito nets to keep the bugs that came in through the warped floor boards away from us. We spent the first day doing some exploring of Phra Nang Cave beach and swimming in the beautiful Andaman sea.

 

The path to the beach was littered with monkeys all along the fence.

 Since Railay beach is world famous for climbing with it's towering limestone faces featuring over 700 routes, we decided to do that on our second day there. It cost 800 baht for half a day, and lucky for us, our climbing guide took a special liking to Sarah, lending us an extraordinary day of climbing. After we completed 3 climbs at Phra Nang beach, our guide, Neung (1 in Thai), took us to a cave in Thaiwand Wall (a popular face) that had breathtaking lookout points over the beach.

We climbed up and through the cave, ending up on the other side where we learned how we'd be getting down: repelling.

And so we did. We spent the remainder of the day swimming out to explore a tiny beach and small caves in the nearby island (visible from picture 2) and continuing to relax, just as any beach vacation requires.

We left late morning the next day by boat and arrived on Koh Phi Phi Don that afternoon.

Koh Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi reminded me of chinatown in San Francisco right off the bat. Except, instead of Chinese residents and tourists, their were Thai residents riding bicycles all over the place and European tourists.Walkways were a little too narrow for all of this, and loaded with shop after shop of the same exact touristy merchandise. It was a little crazy to say the least. This area is called Tonsai Village. After a short hike up the hill, we found a place to stay, set our bags down, and headed out for some more beach time. Walking down to the beach was a little calmer after we got out of the "downtown" area and was only disturbed by dodging the occasional bicycle rider. Lots of bicycles, not really any cars. It took us about 40 minutes to walk down to the beach we wanted to go to, a quiet beach with relatively few people. The water was the perfect temperature and was the perfect depth for sitting and relaxing. After wading out about 30 feet, it eventually became waist deep.

The majority of island residents on Koh Phi Phi are Muslim. Other areas in the south of Thailand are a mix of Buddhist and Muslim, so it was a bit strange to see the crazy bikini-clad (both sexes) tourists mixed in with the ultra conservative Thais covered from head to toe.

  Our second day on Koh Phi Phi, we took a boat out to the smaller island of Koh Phi Phi Leh (remember the late 90's film "The Beach"?) and visited three spots before landing in Maya Beach, which is THE beach, from The Beach. :) Needless to say, we definitely should have gone camping on Koh Phi Phi Leh (the only way you can stay overnight there). The next morning, we left early to finish up our trip on Koh Lanta. Enjoy the Koh Phi Phi Leh montage before you go on though... :)

            

Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta was a nice change of pace from the other touristy spots. The island is pretty big but allowed us to chill out for the last bit of our islands vacation. We were hoping to get some good snorkeling in, but every day during our vacation, it would cloud over around 4pm and rain -- sometimes a lot and sometimes not so much. Either way, it totally affected the visibility in the normally crystal clear water, which also meant that snorkeling would be futile.Regardless, we still got some awesome activities in! Our first full day on Koh Lanta, Sarah and I went stand up paddleboarding while Matt rented a motorbike and explored the island. Pete, the super nice owner of Lanta Paddlesports on Koh Lanta, charged us a mere 400 baht (half price) for all day paddleboarding, anticipating that we would last 2 hours, tops. I assured him that we would last at least 3 hours. Almost 4 hours later, 20 minutes after Sarah came in, I brought the paddle and surf board back in to an amazed Pete. Apparently, 2 hours was the most that anyone had ever lasted, and that was on a day that the water was still and clear, rather than choppy from the storms. Needless to say, both of us slept VERY well that night. Enjoy the photos of our adventure below:

 LOI KRATHONG -- Krabi Town

The very last night of our trip was the annual Loi Krathong festival, which happens on the full moon in November. You make a Krathong, made of banana leaves or the layers of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant. A krathong contains flowers, incense sticks, a candle, a 5 or 10 baht coin, a clipping of your nail and a piece of your hair. Then you float (Loi) the krathong down the river to pay repects to the water spirits. We made our own krathongs at a bar down the street from where we were staying and were basically given creative powers to make it however we wanted. The other part of the fesitval is sending a floating lantern into the air. It is such a beautiful sight!