Christmas in Krabi

We'd been planning to visit the deep south beaches for quite a while. We had a trip all planned last Christmas, but changed destinations because of foul weather. We made it to Koh Lanta (island) in Krabi Province this year. We were there for five nights beginning Christmas Eve.

We had an early flight from Bangkok to Trang, so we spent the night in the city, got up at the crack of dawn and had breakfast at the airport.

A van took us from Trang airport to Hat Yao pier. This lady joined us half way through the journey. She sells chicken burgers to tourists at the pier. They were very good.

We waited quite a time at Hat Yao.

Mangrove swamp on the left. Ladies fishing from the pier in the foreground.

The Tiger Line express ferry plies the Andaman coast from Koh Lipe to Phuket.

The Andaman Sea is quite lovely.

It was quite a nice cruise.

We stayed at the Narima Bungalow Resort on Koh Lanta. They had a gala Christmas Eve party on the beach.

Just north of Narima is this lovely beach, Hat Nui.

On that day, it was only us and the boats.

Beach at Klong Nin, Narima Bungalow. Ours is on the ridge to the left of the coconut tree.

The resort has many nice pools.

One day we took a taxi over to Old Town Lanta. It is very nice with lots of interesting old wooden buildings.

Here some rubber sheets dry on a pier in Old Town Lanta. Koh Lanta has many rubber tree plantations.

We had a nice time in Old Town.

Moored right outside the Old Town restaurant where we had lunch was this small squid boat. They fish for squid at night. The lights attract the squid.

The next day we went to Koh Haa for diving and snorkeling. This is a Mantis shrimp. Conditions were not great. Visibility was only fair and the surface too rough for easy snorkeling.

A puffer fish. Maybe a star puffer

Soft coral.

The yellow twig is actually a Ghost Pipefish.

Some shrimp.

A nasty looking Barracuda. He was about a meter (one yard) long.

The ScubaFish dive boat.

The next day we went to Koh Rok for some snorkeling. Conditions were much better with very calm seas and extraordinarily clear water.

Mam behind the mask.

A giant clam. About 30cm (12 inches) across. 

The island is full of these very long (two meters or six feet) monitor lizards. They appear at lunch time looking for handouts.

A happy snorkeler.

Such nice powdery sand and clear water. In the distance you can see several squid boats lashed together.

The last sunset.

Such nice meals at Narima.

A final relaxing day on the beach.

Our return flight was delayed, so we took some time to explore Trang city.

Lots of interesting old buildings.

A nice holiday display. Note the interesting tuktuk (three wheeled taxi).

Typical old-style Chinese restaurant.

We got to Bangkok quite late, so spent the night again and returned to Korat, by bus, the following day.