Krabi in October has really rainy weather, but that wasn't enough to stop us from using our Saturday to book a day tour by speed boat. On Friday we went to Ao Nang beach and found a tour information booth, and booked a daylong trip to Koh Phi Phi (along with some other islands and coves). We paid 2,300 ($80) baht for the two of us with the Ao Nang Speed boat company- it included hotel pickup, crappy lunch and snorkeling equipment.
We were picked up at 8 at our hotel by a slightly maniac Thai man who spoke very little English. We also had to pick up a group from the Sheraton. When we got there, Nick and I sat in the truck for 20 minutes as the crazy Thai man paced the parking lot, cursing about 'from India'. Turns out our Thai driver is pretty racist... Which was proven when the group of ten Indians came out, got in the retro-fitted back of the truck (nick and I were sitting in the cab), and he drove like a bat out of hell, taking turns wayyyy too fast. Every once in a while, when I had to grab Nick's arm for stability, the Thai driver would look over, wait for me to give him an awkward smile, and then laugh like a crazy comic book villain.
We were some of the only white people on the boat, and also one of the only groups willing to sit up front during the rain and choppy waters to get from Krabi to Koh Phi Phi (45 min).
We got to sightsee quite a bit, but I wish there had been more snorkeling. We even visited Maya bay, where some of the scenes for the movie 'The Beach' were shot. It was incredibly beautiful, even with the rain.
For lunch we stopped at Phi Phi Don, which is mostly backpackers and Aussie guys who run scuba shops. Next time we go, I want to stay THERE :)
The 'Marijuana Thai Massage'... Like I said, lots of backpackers.
We snorkeled a bit after lunch (snorkeling on a full stomach seems like very dumb scheduling), but didn't see much, especially since the rain made it harder to see underwater, and since the staff of the boating company yelled at us every time we got too far away from the boat.
Passing Chicken Island (named for the chicken head-like formation)
Like I said before, there weren't many Westerners on the boat (maybe 5 of 45 people?). There were a lot of Thai and Chinese people, however. And maybe because of the choppy waters, or the crowded claustrophobia of the boat, or maybe even the Tigerbalm menthol balm they rubbed on their temples to make themselves feel better, but all FOUR of the Chinese girls on our boat got seasick and were throwing up in these plastic bags.
Also, a thirteen year old boy drank too much sea water and had to poop in a plastic bag.
It was a weird experience.
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