Sunday 27th March 2016 (Koh Mook – Koh Lipe – Ao Nang – Tonsai – Railay)

Today we went across to “Railay beach”, it was about a 20 minute walk over the rocks from Tonsai…. But was definitely worth it, as the beach was beautiful! We enjoyed a bit of snorkelling, albeit there were not as many fish as we had expected, instead lots of jellyfish!

We enjoyed Thai noodles on the beach, as well as a couple of shakes… I just can’t seem to get enough of them! As we were walking back to Tonsai we saw a beautiful bride about to get married at the beach… All of the dresses were stunning! We also came across a family of monkeys, including a baby one…. Awwwww, he was adorable!! This evening we went to our favourite “Mama’s Chicken Restaurant” – I had a chicken burger for the 3rd night in a row – it’s just too good!!! We are now chilling at Freedom bar having a few drinks…. Life is good!

Anyhow, Happy Easter Sunday to you all, we hope you are enjoying your bank holiday weekend & here is another update of our travels: 

   

    
    
    

     

    
    
   
Wednesday 16th March 2016 – after a relaxing few days spent in Koh Ngai, we decided to take the midday speed boat across to Koh Mook…. When we arrived we were grateful to be welcomed by a Thai man called Yai who kindly asked us whether we had booked accommodation…. Being backpackers we of course said no!! So he was able to offer us one of his bungalows for 500TB a night! (£10!!!!!) absolute bargain, so we took up his offer! Yai collected us from Charlie Beach in his ‘motorbike taxi’ (basically a scooter with a trailer attached to the side) – it was the most hilarious looking thing ever!! I held on for dear life thinking that I was going to fall out, but luckily I didn’t!!! I’m still alive! 🙂 

We spent the afternoon on the beach relaxing & then in the evening Yai recommended us a restaurant nearby, which was really tasty & very reasonable!! We shared a starter, had a Thai curry each, a large Chang, as well as a cocktail & you would not believe how cheap our bill was!? It came to 370TB, which works out under £7.50!!! So, in England that can hardly buy one main meal?!? Yes we are going to miss being in Thailand 😦 

   

    
 

  
      
 

Thursday 17th March 2016 – we had a really really really early 6am start (I’m not a morning person) but it was so worth it, as Yai lent us his kayak to explore the island. It was such a great day & we both had a fantastic time! Yai very kindly drew us out a map of the island of where the best snorkelling spots were & how to get to the ‘Emerald Cave’ (locally known as ‘Mokarot Cave’). He also took us to a place where we could buy our lunch – good ole rice & chicken & also buy fresh fruit too! 

The Emerald Cave was incredible! It was rather eerie kayaking in pitch black, but was cool at the same time!! When we came out of the cave, there was a beautiful beach… It was quite small, but very peaceful (until I started talking of course!!) 

We also enjoyed snorkelling around the ‘Big Cave’ – there were so many colourful corals and beautiful fish! After, we relaxed at a beach (can’t remember the name – it was near the caves)… It was lovely, as there was just one other couple, so it felt like we had it to ourselves! Little did we know that the snorkelling would be the best there…. We saw (wait for it) NEMO FISH! They are the cutest things everrrrrrrrrrrrr. We were so chuffed! Ooh & we also spotted a starfish too!! 

We must not forget the fun & games we had getting back to our hut though…. The sea was incredibly choppy and the waves kept crashing against our kayak (we did survive). When we got back to Charlie beach we were able to watch the beautiful sunset… Yai was supposed to collect us at 5pm, but by 7pm there was still no sign of him! We though maybe he had forgotten about us & we were right!!! Luckily, Koh Mook is one of those islands that is so small that everyone knows everyone, so a kind Thai man offered to give us a lift back!! Yai was so apologetic that he gave us some money towards our evening meal (bless him). 
   
    
    
    
    
 

Friday 18th March 2016 – we spent the day snorkelling around Koh Mook… We had a brilliant day & saw hundreds of Nemo fish swimming in and out of their corals. Yai also came & met us so we had our very own guide! 

   

    
    
    
    
    
   
Saturday 19th March 2016 – we enjoyed a nice “healthy” Nutella pancake for breakfast… before heading back to pack our bags & catch a boat across to Koh Lipe. We had a mini disaster, as Yai had his motorbike taxi stolen by one of the Thai kids & we needed to get to Charlie beach to catch our boat to Koh Lipe. In the end, I jumped on the back of his scooter with all of my bags on (wasn’t ideal, but was fun!) & then he went back to collect Harry. After what seems liked AGES there was still no sign of Harry or Yai… It was only a 10 minute journey to Charlie from

Yai’s, but it was almost an hour before they arrived (luckily our boat was late too!!!) it turned out that my domestic boyfriend had been helping Yai clean out the bungalow so that he could collect some more people coming back!

After 3 hours on the speed boat, we eventually arrived at Koh Lipe… We manage to find another bungalow, which was at Pattaya Beach & only a small walk from Sunset beach (our favourite). We went to a really cute beach bar called “Happy Vibe beach bar”, which was at Sunset beach… I enjoyed a pinacolada & Harry a large Chang! In the evening, we decided to go for an Indian curry & it was sooooo delicious! (There are only so many noodle & rice dishes that you can take!!) 

   

    

 Sunday 20th March 2016 – we spent the day at Sunset Beach enjoying 38 degrees of heat! The sea was very refreshing & we enjoyed swimming up until the point where I GOT BITTEN BY A FISH!!!!!! It might have only been a little one but it really stung & it drew blood too! Bloody little fish! 

We eat at a really cool restaurant called “King Crab”, which overlooked the island! We both went for a BBQ chicken & vegetable kebab each, which came with a baked potato, salad & fries! It was sooo tasty!! After, we both treated ourselves to a relaxing hour long Thai massage….. Ahhhh it was heaven! Those Thai girls know what they are doing!!!! 

  
Monday 21st March 2016 – we had another beach day with more sunbathing! In the evening we had another chicken kebab but in a wrap with chips in! Oh it was delicious & we were able to eat it on the beach whilst watching the sunset 🙂   
 

Tuesday 22nd March 2016 – same old – beach vs sunbathing vs relaxing (this backpacking life will do!!!) We went to another cool beach bar, which was rather hippy and had the best music!! Their cocktails were delicious too!! 

  

Wednesday 23rd March 2016 – we checked out of our bungalow nice and early & went to the 7/11 to buy our snacks, as we had booked to go to Krabi, which was 7 hours worth of travelling from Koh Lipe… We got a long tail boat from the island and then a speed boat to the port where we caught a mini van to Ao Nang. On the speed boat we met a lovely couple who were absolutely hilarious! They had taken holiday from work & were backpacking for a couple of weeks, making the most of their time until they have children. They got married last year and instead of having a huge honeymoon they decided to go on mini backpacking adventures (cute hey!?). It was lucky that we met them, as the sea was really choppy & I started to feel sea sick, so it was a distraction! 

We arrived in Ao Nang (Krabi) at around 17:30, we were super hungry so went for a light snack and then had a few drinks before finding somewhere to stay! We managed to find a reasonably priced bungalow, which didn’t appear to be too far on the map, yet in reality was a good 15-20 minute walk from the beach (daym). We checked into our bungalow & then went to the beach! Harry had a few Chang beers & I enjoyed a deliciously fresh coconut shake. (I am determined to like Chang but it just isn’t happening!!!) 

In the evening we took a walk around Ao Nang, it was pretty busy and very different to island life – there were loads of restaurants & lots of variety! Given that we had both been craving pizza since we arrived in Thailand, we were over the moon to find an Italian restaurant serving homemade pizzas! 

What was a lovely evening turned into a bit of a nightmare in the end though…. We got back to our bungalow to discover that we had lost our room key :(((( there was a chance that we may have left it on the beach :((((( (typical) you know the room only contained ALL of our stuff & yep important things like our passports too…… We then spent over an hour retracing our steps & went back to the beach only to find that the tide had come in!!!! Brilliant….. Oh it gets better!!!!!! We then went back to our bungalow to find that the grumpy receptionist had gone home & that the reception desk was closed!!!!!! Harry tried breaking into the room but then the door handle fell to pieces (oh it was an emotional evening)…. Cut a very long story short, we managed to get a double room at a hostel in the end… PHEW!
    
   

Thursday 24th March 2016 – so after a stressful evening we kind of needed to get our bags ASAP, as we had nothing but the clothes that we were in & two flat phones. 

Harry worked his magic with the grumpy receptionist…. he managed to put the door handle back together so that it didn’t look obviously broken. The woman gave him a spare key, which clearly was not going to work… So then the grumpy woman used her master key but when she put the key in the door the handle came off and fell into pieces again (oops). They had to get their “handy man” out who used a machete to open the door… So yeah, I suppose we got away lightly, as they didn’t charge us anything!!! 

We then got a long tail boat across to Tonsai Beach where we checked into our bungalow & then eat at a place called ‘Mama’s Chicken’…. We both shared a chicken fried rice & Pad Thai! The portion sizes were HUGE & probably for the first time in ages, we both felt absolutely stuffed!!! It perhaps didn’t help that we also had an Oreo, banana and coconut shake! (my favourite). After, we chilled at ‘Freedom Bar’ on the beach having a few beers / cocktails & loving life!! I thought I would venture out & so tried a ‘Honey Monkey cocktail’, which had Kahlua, baileys, Cream De Banana & milk in…. delicious. 
   
    

 Friday 25th March 2016 – we had breakfast included at our bungalow (cheeky bonus) – we both had fruit yoghurt and museli! We decided to move bungalows, as we managed to find one almost identical for £5 a night rather than £20 (bit of a difference!). We spent the day at Tonsai beach & we met a girl called Lucy, who was really friendly & was also travelling! 

For dinner we eat at ‘Mama’s Chicken’ again! We both had the tastiest ‘Bread-crumbed chicken breast burger’ EVER! It was beyond delicious & it came with fries too! They even had mayonnaise, which seems rare in Thailand! We both had a Coke too & it worked out at 150TB each, which is the equivalent of £3 each! (I don’t think we will ever be able to justify going out for a meal in England)

After our delicious meal, we ventured out to a bar for a crazy night @ “Sabai Sabai” – very chilled, very hippy, very Thai & full of backpackers! We met up with Lucy who we met earlier at the beach & met a load of others whom I cannot remember their names, but we had a laugh & it was good fun!! 

   

   
Saturday 26th March 2016 – we had a really chilled out day at the beach, which was lovely!! We met up with Lucy again & also met another backpacker called Joanna who was really nice too. In the evening we had another chicken burger, followed by a ‘Nutella, Coconut & Pineapple shake’ – amazing! I have since come to the conclusion that I could quite happily live on noodles / rice and shakes!

   
 
So yeah… Happy Easter & best wishes to you all back at home! 🐣🐇🐤

With love,
Jess & Harry. Xx