Koh Ngai to Ao Nang…….transfer via longtail, fast ferry and minivan

November 9th, 2018

Today we are leaving for Ao Nang and it should be an interesting day as we will travel by longtail to the local pier, then a fast boat to Hat Yao Pier on the mainland, followed by a minivan to Ao Nang and finally we will need to grab a tuk tuk to our hotel….should be a pretty full day. This is a change in plan, as we were to go by boat to Ao Nang but when booking were told that this service would start on November 10th…tomorrow > timing is everything!!!

We wake up early, keen and finish packing ……stuff ourselves as much as possible at the buffet and impatiently wait for the 10:30 departure. Time to say goodbye to Coco Cottage and Koh Ngai……the island is not for everyone but various internet reports and Travelfish (an interesting site which writes about Asian destinations) in particular, do describe it honestly. We certainly enjoyed it but are now excited to continue with our trip.

For some of you who are new to our blog, Moosie appears in some of our pics….. she is our travel buddy and  serves to commemorate Canada’s 150th anniversary. During a rum fueled dinner in Varadero, with our friends Bob & Gail, the original Moosie was somewhat reluctantly gifted to a young mother who had wanted to buy our Moosie for her ninio….see our post: https://footstepsintheslowlane.com/2017/03/28/cienfuegos-to-varadero/

So our current Moosie is a reincarnation which to date has remained in our company….

The longtail arrives on schedule…

 

…….and shortly thereafter we arrive and offload at the Koh Ngai Resort Pier. After  presenting our tickets we are told to wait…..other boats arrive and depart, people come and go, but we remain sitting….in answer to our questions the answer is always the same, “boat coming”. To pass the time we watch people throwing bread in the water which incites the fish into a frenzy…

Finally, everyone is gone, even the porters….it is 12:00 and the alleged boat is nowhere to be seen….

Annie sends me to try and sort this out at the hotel at the end of the pier….the client services lady is super helpful, calls Tigerline the boat company and we learn that due to some police incident issues (whatever that means) they are delayed but coming…..finally  at 12:30 the boat arrives and we are off. The docking/loading/unloading is super fast and the engines roar and we are off. Safety lecture etc……you have got to be kidding….witness the pile of life jackets on the floor which some of the passengers take as their cue to put on….we are fatalists and trust in the innate skills of the child at the wheel ..

En route we visit several islands picking up & dropping off people …all unscheduled due to the incident. Nevertheless, it is a scenic ride and with flat seas the ride is smooth and fast….

As we approach Had Yao Pier, the long beach (Had Yao in Thai) fronting the estuary is lined by a fishing village and attendant paraphernalia: boats, platforms etc. and for you fishers note the guy pulling in a fish in the second to last pic….

Quick offload and a rep from Tigerline  directs us to join some other travelers waiting on us ….just enough time for a nature break…5 THB buys entrance to a pristine toilet. Then off we go in a 10 person van….all is good, until we reach the outskirts of  Krabi, when all hell breaks: thunder bolts, lightning and the term torrential downpour takes on a real meaning when rivers of red mud start to flow on the sides of the road….unperturbed our fearless driver carries on at flank speed passing one and all. The van throwing up geysers of water as it  goes through low spots on the road…..thoughts of hydroplaning go through my mind…but all 4 wheels stay glued to the road. The rain finally relents and we arrive in Ao Nang, reaching our hotel at 17:30 ….all is good with the world.

Smooth check-in at the Vipa Tropical Resort, welcoming staff and we are installed in our cottage room …. our home for the next 3 nights. Plans to venture into town for dinner are deferred, as the rain plays cat & mouse sometimes a mist, then a torrent. Without a great interest in being soaked, we  decide to sup at the hotel and enjoy some decent pad thai and fried rice, washed down with ice-cold Chang beers. Patting ourselves on the back for our clever decision making, we sit in the outdoor resto listening to the rain pounding on the roof. Tummies full, we retire early to our unit for some reading and blogging. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better weather.