Krabi December 7th to 10th

Time to hit South of Thailand and the islands! Thailand has so many islands to choose from and each has its own vibe. Having chatted to fellow travellers I sort of had an idea of which ones to go to. But my first stop was Krabi, not an island but a coastal town situated on the the west coast. I went there based on a friend´s recommendation where the town promised a chilled out atmosphere, good vibes and nice sites. What more can you want?

When I think of Krabi now it evokes memories of stunning caves and the good nights out with a British and German crew 🙂 Happy times!

Caves

First day out, I rented a scooter and head north to check out a cluster of caves which I randomly found on a website. When I reached my first stop I realised that to see the caves I needed to traverse a river either via boat or kayak. I had not foreseen to do so but after getting a decent price (with some haggling) for the kayak and the weather being so fine, I had no reason not to do so. So off I went to row, row, row the boat! I just needed to be careful to not row myself out into the ocean 🙂

I was lucky because I was nearly totally on my own and was able to enjoy the serenity of the place.

Getting lost in the mangroves.

Phi Hua To Caves

Cave paintings

Hard to see but there are cave paintings of 2 hand prints on the ceiling.

As luck has it I got caught by torrential rain. Here is me trying to find cover in vain.

Sa Yuan Thon cave

Tham Klang Cave, the most amazing cave I have ever seen! When I arrived there the ticket seller asked me if I wanted to hire a guide. I didn’t see the need given that it was only a cave so I kindly refused. She then said something that stayed in my mind, “no problem but if you don’t come out in one hour we will come and find you”. That got me a little nervous so as a precaution I took a picture of the map and borrowed one of their head torches despite me having my own. Better have 2 than 1. So with that off I went…

The entrance

The caves were pitch black. There was literally nobody, just me and my torch. That made the place more eerie but magical at the same time. When I turned on my head torches I was rewarded with the most impressive stalactites and stalagmites!

The caves are 5 km deep and was composed of 5 separate chambers. With no lighting infrastructure, signs or other people, it was incredibly easy to get lost. The paths were windy and often very similar so I went on to leave stones to guide me back in case I got lost just like Hansel and Gretel!

Khao Ngo Nak National Park