Wat Chalong
Its a truly beautiful temple complex with several statues an smaller temples in Phuket. All the colorfull buildings are not only interesting to discover but also wonderful photo subjects. Due to the size of the complex you will find a lot of places without any people to get a nice shot.
PHANG NGA BAY
Definitely one of the dream destinations in Thailand: to drive through the giant limestone rocks with a traditional long tail boat through the Ao Phang Nga National Park. We booked a private tour for around 3 hours which took us to all the places we wanted to see.
After passing a dense mangrove forest and some impressive rocks our guide showed us the most bizarre rock shapes and even some really old cave paintings. After this we passed the Floating Village called Koh Panyee which is located in the middle of the ocean. On our way back we made a short stop for lunch here. Almost 200 families live on this small place which is a completely stelted construction. The people are making their money with catching fishes or selling stuff/food to the tourists. They even have their own mosque, school and also a floating soccer field! The next Highlight were the caves, which can be only discovered by boat when the sea has low tide. Therefore we changed into some canoes which can be rented directly at the caves (you even get your own paddler) Unfortunately this place was super crowded due to tons of bigger tourist boats which all made a stop there – nevertheless a Must See!
Not far from the Ao Phang Nga NP is the cave temple Wat Suwas Kuha. It’s also famous for the many monkeys that live right at the entry. Many tourists bring lots of bananas to feed the monkeys but they were already so full that they weren’t quite interested in it & all the bananas were laying on the floor!
The temple itself is quite and due to its special construction as a cave really interesting to see.
KRABI
A Must Do in Krabi is definitely the Khai Ngon Nak National Park – only 10 minutes by car/scooter from our hotel. Yo can find some natural fresh water pools (mostly used by local kids) but most famous is the Khao Ngon Nat Nature Trail through the jungle. You need about 2,5-3 hours for the 3,7 km to reach the top with a majestic view! This is cause after maybe 150 m the way turns into a small path over rough & steep areas. Its a great adventure but clearly none for older travellers with a bad condition! The best part of the hike is the 565m high top with a 360 degree view around the bay! Be sure to pack enough water for the climb up since its really exhausting due to the tropocal climate! Its also importand to wear sturdy shoes.
At all beaches around Krabi you can book a tour to the beautiful small islands in the bay! We decided for two of them: one really quite & the other one super famous!
The first is Koh Nok – a tiny little island far away from the touristic spots! Its such an unique experience to be alone at a beach (& even on a whole island) in Thailand!
After this we continued our journey to Koh Hong with a picturesque bay which is also really nice for snorkeling. But this island is anything but lonely ! So the best is to come early at the day so you’re able to find a nice spot at the beach. There is also a really short 10 min hike behind the beach along the cliffs and through the jungle – we even met a shy lizard there.