Day 6 - Monday 30 November 2015

Fresh start........The night has passed without any further negative thought and as there is no evidence it rained overnight, I’m in a more positive mood from the start. Breakfast is free at Pha-ngu Hotel; a more western style meal goes down a treat and I’m all set for the day by 9.30am. There is but one thing on my mind at the moment and that’s to set up transport to my next destination where I won’t be using the car. As I head towards Tha Dan Pier, there is a turning on the right to Nai Ngob Pier used for boat trips around the islands of Phang Nga Bay. This trip is an option but not right now. I’m only here to enquire.

Tha Dan Pier........Tha Dan Pier is located off the main highway to Phuket, just a few kilometres from Phang Nga City. When I arrive at the pier I’m ushered into a parking space by a lad holding a board which can only mean one thing: He wants to sell a trip also but I only want to confirm that I am at the right pier for my next destination. It is, but at 10.30am I’m too early for the service I need which departs at 1pm but there is something nearby that will use up some time.
Ao Phang Nga National Park........Opposite the pier is the visitor centre for Ao Phang Nga National Park. The park covers much of the western shoreline and islands in Phang Nga Bay. It’s not my intention to explore the park, at least not yet but you can get a flavour of the nature of the park from the headquarters just a kilometre further back along the road from the pier. Here there are excellent views of the mangrove lined river of Ko Pan Yi as well as a short nature trail. Entry to the park here is free. When I’ve finished looking around it’s still not long after 11am. Dare I make a visit to one of those three temples on the temple tour list? Both remaining temples are not far away.

Wat Sawankhuha........Wat Sawankhuha is less than 5 kms from Phu-nga Hotel if I choose to go there. In any case I need a set of batteries from 7Eleven and something for lunch so I head off back to the main road. The temple is located just a kilometre along a road to the right off the main road to Phuket. As expected there are tour vans parked up. Virtually all foreigners arrive by tour van. Wat Sawankhuha is obviously a religious site but so often when you visit a temple in Thailand you cannot separate religion from history or nature. In this case it’s the latter that dominates. Many temples are found on hilltops or by rivers. This one is in a cave and as caves go, it’s one of the most magnificent caves I’ve seen. A classic limestone cave, this one has several large caverns, the first containing a large reclining Buddha image. Further inside the cave there are stalactites and stalagmites and the magnificent colours from mineral secretion on the cave walls and roof. I don’t have a great deal of time to spend here but neither would those arriving by passenger van. As travel destinations go, this temple gets the thumbs up, right out the top drawer. It’s not surprising it’s one of the top destinations for tours from Khao Lak, Phuket and Krabi. If I hadn’t visited this temple now, I would have had to fit it in somewhere on my way back. There is still one more temple to visit but it’s the easiest to reach, located in the city itself. That one will definitely have to wait.

Tha Dan departure........It’s time for the grand finale. If my final destination fails to please it won’t have a major effect on the general success of this tour but if it gets anything more than an average rating then I will be mighty pleased. I’m back at the pier in plenty of time for departure to Koh Yao Noi. Boats to this island arrive from three directions. As well as from Phang Nga, boats arrive from Phuket and Krabi; both Phuket and Krabi have more frequent boat services. There is just one per day from Tha Dan and none on a Sunday. One advantage of this route is the spectacular views it offers of the Phang Nga National Park. When I climb on the boat I’m joined by three foreign couples and a number of locals. The boat is not that large. I’m all set to go, then there is major panic that could ruin the trip.
With barely five minutes to go before departure I decide to study my map. Ouch! I left my glasses in the car. I couldn’t use the internet or read a menu without them. Katoon scurries off back to the car offering an apology if there is a delay. It’s not necessary. The car is parked in the visitor centre opposite the pier. Incidentally, I could have paid 100 baht per night to use private parking but the staff in the visitor centre say that’s unnecessary. Nice try though. Finally the boat departs practically on time. Payment for the trip is made onboard. The 200 baht fee is more than my online source suggests. How out of date are these guides? 120 baht is not even in the ball park. The trip will take more than an hour and a good portion of that is taken up exiting the Pan Yi River. Even when the boat exits the river system and the bay opens up, the bay is so full of islands there is no clear view of the ocean. To the right is the coastline of the national park. Somewhere in this area is the famous James Bond Island then a bit further out is the village of Khao Panyee. This village is entirely dependent on boat transport; there are no roads there. The entire village is built on stilts. There is a mosque, a school and even a football pitch.

Koh Yao Noi........The day is cloudy as it’s been for most of the tour but it isn’t raining. At Koh Tao and in the Gulf of Thailand storms are lashing the western coastline but here the sea is calm and I actually dose off for a while but the coast of Koh Yao Noi is growing larger then closes in as the boat enters the mangrove once more. The pier at Sukha is not the main pier and appears to be used only by the Phang Nga service boat. There is but a single songtheaw waiting here. One couple doesn’t use this transport. What plans they have I don’t know but all the beaches on Koh Yao Noi are on the opposite side if the island about 5 kms way. This much I know but I make no other contribution to the selection of my destination. Katoon has arranged all that. At Pasai Beach we’re dropped off. It appears we are staying at Pasai Beach Lodge.

Pasai Beach Lodge........Pasai Beach Lodge is a collection of about a dozen wooden bungalows. I already know what I’m in for and here bungalows without air conditioning are 800 baht per night but the few resorts on this beach are just the opposite side of the beach road within easy walking distance to the beach. Apart from lack of air conditioning there is also no hot shower. Both of these I’m prepared to sacrifice for the location. At 3pm I wander along the beach road to get my bearings but apart from a few resorts, restaurants and shops, there is little to see apart from the view from Pasai Beach but at the moment I don’t need anything more and in this respect ‘it’s my kind of town’. I just love it. The next event is to continue with my afternoon nap. Sheer bliss! At around 5.30pm I head off to a beachfront restaurant just 50 metres away. Tonight I’m going to skip the rice again and go for the Korean BBQ popularly known as ‘suki’. The Thai name is actually ‘moo gata’ but that suggests pork and Muslims don’t eat pork so while the BBQ is a nice change from the usual, I can’t have pork or a beer. Hmmmm! But no worries: I’ve brought beer with me from the mainland. Back at the bungalow as I write up my blog for the day it’s amazing how beer lubricates the fingers but I’ve left it quite late for a shower. Well let’s just say it’s refreshing! Next Page.