Stop 3: Krabi: Ao Thalan

Last night we treated ourselves to a Ladyboy show at the Blue Dragon. I absolutely loved it! It was a cabaret, with each lady having their own song and dance. The first few songs welcomed us and set the scene and then an older lady came on.. and sang "I Will Survive". My favourite act by far!! Alex even got a kiss from her, lucky fella.

After we'd taken photos with the cast it was on to Chang bar. Time to boogie and down a sprite or two. I know how to party! Shapes were thrown and fists were pumped. I went home with Alex and Laura  just after midnight.

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After our late night last night, where everyone else got just a little "drink, drank,  drunk" and stayed out way way past my bedtime.. It was time for a lie in.

We made it downstairs just in time for breakfast, just bacon and fruit for me this morning. Once I'd packed up most of my stuff, I decided I was going to have a wander and a little shop.

The main stretch was quite busy by the time I headed out. I walked the length of the street one way, crossed over and walked the other. This way I knew who had the better deals! I bought some Party Pants from one young lady, in a nice burgundy and gold pattern. Then I made my way through Shopping Street, a mini market off the beachfront, and bought two Chang tops from another stall.

I then walked as far as I could down past all the fancy hotels. I had massages offered left, right and centre, but politely declined them all. Maybe if I wasn't still reeling from the sunburn! I kicked off my flip flops and walked back along the beach, my toes sinking into the golden sand.

I got back to the hotel just after midday and after refuelling with a water decided I would treat myself to a foot massage before my kayak tour. There was a great place right next to our hotel, and I couldn't  leave Thailand without having had my own Thai massage!

Oh my god it was so relaxing, I was a bit worried because my feet were patchy burnt.. but I needn't have been. I was the only one there and she did a really really good job. I think I was a bit vague, all I asked for was a foot massage and I had a full leg thang, my toes were popped and everything. It got to twenty past one and she asked me if I wanted head and shoulder massage too, I had to be back at the hotel for half past. I told her this but she told me it would be five minutes.

After throwing money at the sweet masseuse, I ran up the hill to the hotel, getting there at 1.30 exactly. I had time to run my shopping upstairs, pop to the loo and fill up my water bottle before the drivers appeared at 1.45. There was seven of us that had decided to join this tour; me, Alex and Laura, Daniel and Maron, Steffen and Mo. We all piled into the back of a 4x4 and were off.

Had a nice nap, I woke up to find we'd reached our destination, a stretch of coast called Ao Thalan. It was not as blue as Ao Nang, and was almost like a cove, quite close to the limestone cliffs and surrounded by mangroves. It was quite cloudy at this point but still warm, I was looking forward to our little expedition. We were given dry bags, one to each boat. Mo volunteered to have his own kayak so me and Steffen would be in the other one together. Another group was there too but we had our own guide and assistant hand out life jackets and paddles and show us the ropes.

Shoes off, we waded into the water and into our kayak. I was at the front, with the bag and Steffen behind me. Our guide was very enthusiastic and once everyone was in and ready, had us follow him across to the mangroves. I'm not going to lie, we were struggling. Everyone else was so fast and there was us trying to stay straight and keep in rhythm together.

Although the water was quite still to start with, as we paddled further out it did get rockier. I was soaking by time we'd rounded the corner and my arms and back were aching. It was so much more of a workout than I'd remembered. We finally found a rhythm though and were both trying so hard to keep going, and keep up! Wasn't too difficult once we were between the rocks, it was much more peaceful and the water was still and shallower.. easier to paddle and navigate we found!

We stopped for a break in one of these pools so to speak and our lovely guide insisted on mini photo shoots for each of us. Quite sweet really. Then it was onwards to the mangroves. We were in our element in this still calm water and somehow were at the front of the pack. We could only go so far in because of the tide and other conditions. The trees were quite creepy with their weird leg-like roots. Our own route through was quite narrow and we could understand why it was soon time to turn around.

We navigated our way back through to the still pools, avoiding other groups along the way. It was then that it started to rain. It was refreshing actually, and we didn't mind tge cooling off. And it was then that it started to really rain and we heard thunder for the first time. Fantastic. We still had an open stretch of sea to cover to get back!

Our guide decided we'd paddle half way and then stop on a small beach to rest and re-assess. I wasn't sure what we'd be re-assessing, I wasn't about to die in a storm in the middle of the sea on a bloody kayak! The ten minutes it took to get to that beach were the most mentally and physically draining ten minutes of my life. But we made it, beached the kayaks and stood in tiny patches of cover watching the storm.

Once we'd "rested" and my imagination had run wild for a good fifteen minutes we were shivvied back into our kayaks. I was not looking forward to the journey back. The sea was rocky, we could barely control the direction of the kayak, rain was in our eyes and dripping from our noses and I know I was exhausted. Then a mad determination came over me and I decided we would be first back if it killed me.

Apparently the storm was the best motivator I could have asked for and I paddled like an Olympian. Steffen upped his game too and we both put our hearts and souls into getting back to shore. In my head we looked amazing, paddling like hell and storming our way across the ocean. In reality we probably just looked like two crazy white people thrashing against the waves and not getting too far. But we did it, we made it back first and we made it back alive. Drenched to the skin and shaking with adrenaline we ran up the steps to dump our oars and treat ourselves to water and fruit.

As we left it was still raining, and another group turned up.. I would not want to be them! All I wanted was a hot shower and a hot drink. As much as I enjoyed the experience, I think it's safe to say I won't be repeating it in a hurry...