We did the last island-hopping tour for the week... to put it plainly, we're burned, tired and ready to chill out for a bit. But that's not to say that we didn't love every second of it. After Poda and Phi-Phi (see earlier entries), we booked a 5 island tour that included Hong Island, Lading Island, Pakbia Island, Rai Island, and Daeng Island. It may sound like alot, but when you see how many islands are scattered about the Andaman Coast, you realize we have only just begun.

Once again, the day started bright and early. We ate at the same restaurant.. the only one open by 8am these days (thanks to slow tourism). We left the beach around 9am, but this time it was on a wide, slow long boat instead of the speed boat we took yesterday.

I was excited by the fact that there were only five of us going on the cruise today, as opposed to the thirteen tourists on yesterday's adventure. With five guests, two tour guides, and one boatman, we were a pleasant little crew in the long tail boat.

At first I wasn't sure we'd even leave Ao Nang. Our driver couldn't get the motor working on his boat, so we sat in the surf waiting while he fiddled around with the motor, cursing in Thai.

Once we got the boat rolling along, we headed North towards the Phang-Nga area, which is dotted with hundreds of limestone islands and rocky shorelines. As we cut through the waves, we could see the islands in the distance floating like an odd assortment of ships cruising along the horizon.

Our first destination was Daeng Island for a bit of snorkelling. But on this morning the ocean was rough and covered with white caps. Daeng Island is nothing more than a rock with vegetation surrounded with reefs and a rocky seafloor.

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The coast of the island was just a few feet away from where we anchored, and the rocks were coated with gnarly barnacles that could easily slice open the skin. Looking at the waves, and judging where we were, all of us knew it was a perilous prospect to go snorkeling today. I stared into the green water and saw a wide array of fish, but I wasn't about to risk it.

After fifteen minutes, our tour guides asked us if we wanted to move on. We all agreed to head to Hong Island (the main attraction on this tour). One of our tour guides told a story of how she was on Hong Island the day of the tsunami. She was carried 300 meters (1500 feet?) onto the island before she was dumped into a thicket of trees. She had a black eye and scrapes all over her back, but she has since recovered. As a result of the tsunami, however, there is a wide patch of dead trees on the island, and a few battered boats lay in piles along the backside of the island.

After thirty minutes of rough sea cruising, we made it to Hong Island. This interesting little mountain chain features a small sliver of beach on one side with a beautiful enclosed lagoon on the other. We arrived at the beach and were told to come back in an hour.

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Shaunna and I placed our mats under a shade tree and then headed into the water to cool off. Afterwards we laid on our mats and napped in the cool morning breeze. The sound of the waves crashing a few feet away knocked me out immediately, and I awoke 40 minutes later feeling refreshed. It was heavenly and relaxing.

We jumped aboard the boat again and went around to the other side of the island to check out the lagoon. This was similar to what we saw on Koh Phi-Phi, but the lagoon was totally enclosed by cliffs and a thick mangrove patch. The water was a rich emerald green, and we could see fish swimming around just a few feet below the boat.

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Even more fascinating was the opening of the lagoon, which had an awe-inspiring view of the ocean outside...

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We slowly glided through the lagoon and back into the bay outside.

Our next destination was Pakbia Island and Rai Island, which are joined together by a submerged sand bar. We parked the boat on a slim strand of beach at Pakbia and hopped into the sand. We were handed our lunches (the same as yesterday), and we were told that we would be there for an hour.

Since there wasn't very much beach, Shaunna and I couldn't get too far away... instead, we placed our mats under another tree and ate our lunches close to the boat.

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After lunch, we swam around a bit and enjoyed the cool breeze. Today the air was significantly cooler than the last few days, and there were moments when we got goosebumps sitting on the beach. Shaunna wanted to swim over to Rai Island, which was a few hundred meters away, but I was having shark-phobia (tease me all you want) and I opted to stay close to our island.

After an hour, we hopped back in the boat and headed to our final destination... Lading Island. To begin, this is one of many locations where the swallows build their nests. These nests are made from the saliva of the birds, and they cling to the limestone cliffs high up in the air. When the nests are abandoned, they fall to the ground and are collected by the local Thais to create Bird's Nest Soup, a famous Chinese delicacy... it sounds nasty to me, but I've eaten grubs and frogs lately, so who am I to judge, right?

Anyhow, this island was interesting for the fact that it is inhabited by a group of Thai hippies who have created a little village for themselves. They collect the nests and sell them on the market back in Krabi. The island had little huts and rope swings, but it was also littered with trash and rubbish. Personally, we could have skipped this island - but there were some spectacular views...

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We spent way too long at this little spot... there were alot of tourists hanging around (even though you can't see them in the pictures), and the Thai hippies were kinda wierd. Their little area was pretty untidy and really detracted from the beauty...

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You can't see it in the pictures, but there were pieces of broken glass and trash all along the beach. A few feet away were firepits where they had burned their trash. The water in the bay had some slimy looking seafoam, and the vibe was pretty funky.

Eventually, the tour guides could tell that the five of us were unimpressed. After an hour they asked if we wanted to head home early. We were delighted to hit Ao Nang before the hot hours (3:30pm to 5:30pm).

We are going to spend the next two nights here. Ao Nang has certainly grown on me, especially since tourism is so slow. If it was functioning at its normal level, I don't know if I'd like it as much. I like the sleepy feel of the place right now, and we're getting pretty decent service at some of the restaurants in the area.