Although i was aware that the 4-island tour is a must-do for any visitor to Krabi, the trend then in Year 2011 was the Phi Phi Islands tour; hence, it was a hiatus of more than 8 years before i finally checked out the popular four islands in Krabi.
Me getting ready for the island hopping tour! I couldn't do without my specs but for the sake of more comfortable swimming and snorkeling; i had to make do with contact lens instead which i usually dislike as they have the tendency to dry out my eyes.
Waiting for the local shuttle to bring us to the pier to start the tour; the indicative pick up time was between 8.20 am to 9.00 am and Alex made it a point to be punctual and trust me; he can be extremely naggy.
Shock greeted me; i was expecting an air-conditioned mini-van or something and the vehicle that arrived was a non-air-conditioned, pickup truck! I can endure the condition; what worried me was that am prone to motion sickness.
Thankfully, the place where we would take the speedboat, Nopharat Thara Beach, was less than a 10-minute drive away. With the relaxing sea breeze blowing at us, it's actually pretty nice to be seated in a non-air-conditioned vehicle.
Nopharat Thara Beach; located next to Aonang Beach, it's a "three-kilometre long sandy stretch lined by casuarina trees", according to this website here.
Queuing up to register!
It's an important step as this will cover indemnity and insurance if the unfortunate happens. Now, it's about 8.47 am and i assumed we should be able to leave on schedule at 9.20 am (as mentioned on the brochure). Assumption wrong as we were told to loiter around and meet up again at 9.40 am!
I am not one to quietly sit and waste my time; therefore, it's loitering time to see what photographs i can take. More on Nopharat Thara Beach.
There were limited stools and i dislike sitting on sand. So much for being a beach person. I wouldn't mind should i be wet and enjoying the underwater world but the tour had not yet started.
Some of the tour agents like Sea Eagle Tour were so professional and created a much better impression on their guests (and competitors' guests) with photo backdrops, drinks and snacks etc.
Shark sculpture near the toilets.
Strolled to the back of toilets where i found a quiet place with breathtaking scenery! Although it's the location of Nopparat Thara Pier, there were less than ten people.
It's like the 'carpark' for the iconic longtailed boats.
Price-list for your reference; you can in fact take a boat from this pier to Phuket at 700 baht each. As i had been to Phuket before, my interest was more with Lanta which was said to be rustic and less touristy!
Mass congregation back at the spot where we registered our attendance for the tour. This was when i got riled up with the way things were being conducted. One simple word described it best; messy.
Granted it was a big crowd on a weekend but by shouting out hotel name and room number to identify your guests for allocation of vessels is just unacceptable, and it also subject your guests to the possibility of 'opening up' their now-vacant hotel rooms to persons with criminal intent! Furthermore, we were assigned to the wrong vessel, twice!
Things were finally sorted out at about 10.05 am; a delay of more than 40 minutes of our precious time. Time that could have been better spent on the islands.
Donning our life jackets; safety is important and it's not too long ago that two boats filled with Chinese tourists had capsized under sudden bad weather. It's not to say that wearing a life jacket is a 100% guarantee against dying but it's at least an extra layer of protection.
Finally setting off at 10.24 am; away from mainland Thailand.
I mentioned it was a big crowd for the tour agency that day. Even though i don't have the actual number, our entourage occupied a total of 2 speedboats and 4 long-tailed boats.
First "Island" - not exactly an island as this area, Phra Nang Beach, is part of mainland Thailand. However, its isolation (accessibility is by boat) gave many the impression it's an island on its own.
Photos taken on Phra Nang Beach for your reference. There are hotels in case you want to spend a few nights here and popular activities include cliff climbing, cave exploration and visits to the penis temple! For more photographs, please click here. Those who would wish to see more phallic objects can visit here.
Leaving Phra Nang Beach at about 11.30 am.
Next up; Tup Island which is technically two islands linked up by a permanent sand bank. Maybe that's the reason why the tour package is known as four islands.
Time-lapsed video at Tup Island!
More photos for your viewing pleasure; it has literally nothing but the sand and the sea. However, there were many boulders and rocks with sharp barnacles; be careful when you walk in the water! When the tide is extremely low, you can in fact walk over to the neighbouring Chicken Island. Click here for the detailed posting!
Tup Island is also the place whereby you have to pay for the National Park fee of 400 baht per adult (foreigner) / 200 baht per child (foreigner). Thai nationals pay only 10%. Our tour package included the national park fee; hence, when you want to buy tour packages from the tour counters, please do check if your price includes the hefty national park fee.
Complimentary bottles of chilled mineral water to quench our thirst!
Saying our goodbyes to Tup Island at 12.30 pm. If i am going for snorkeling / swimming, i am mindful that i shouldn't have too heavy a breakfast. The disadvantage is that my stomach would be growling madly for food when it's lunchtime.
Lunch wasn't on our next itinerary; our destination was Chicken Island, named due to the chicken head lookalike rock formation! We wouldn't be exploring the island though; main objective was snorkeling! Want to see some underwater photos? Click here!
This seemed like a great island to explore if you are on a canoe!
Finally, our lunch destination; Poda Island! Again, i was rather unhappy with the fact that lunch wasn't ready when we disembarked from the boat and we were once again kept waiting.
Saving grace was that the island was teeming with starfishes and sea cucumbers! And it had a wonderful view of mainland Thailand that was gorgeous when nature put in large cotton-like clouds against the blue sky! As usual, you can find more photographs of Poda Island here.
2.36 pm - time to leave Poda Island for Nopparat Thara beach.
Keeping our easybreath snorkeling mask. In view of the current COVID-19 pandemic, this mask has recently gained much recognition as an "emergency mask for hospital ventilators", given the shortage.
2.51 pm - reached Nopparat Thara beach. Those "rubbish bags" contained all your shoes / slippers / sandals that were collected before you embark the boats earlier this morning.
Super low tide! Now, your feet are likely to feel rather sandy after exploring so many islands. Don't bother washing at the small, dirty water pool outside the washrooms. Go for the blue tubs at the back of the washrooms; click here for the locations.
Taking the open-air pickup truck once again for our journey back to BlueSotel Krabi AoNang Beach. By then, we were exhausted and badly needed a shower to perk us up!
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The tour package with Krabi @ Sea Tour was purchased from a tour counter at Aonang and if you have read in detail the full content above; it's obvious i wasn't satisfied with the way the tour was conducted. It's a pity though as the islands were beautiful and definitely count as a must-do for any traveller new to Krabi.
Having said the above, i must admit the pricing at just 1,000 baht for each of us was attractive and it includes the 400 baht national park fee for each adult foreigner. We did check with other tour counters that evening and most were priced at about 1,200 baht. But, i don't mind paying slightly more for better service and protection for my privacy.
Click here for the itinerary
of my 4-day trip to Krabi
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