30.11.2006 

There is a boat from Koh Phi Phi directly to Railay but as I had already bought an open return ticket Phuket-Koh Phi Phi-Krabi in Phuket I took a different boat to Krabi pier. By then I didn’t know that people speaking about Krabi probably mean Railay or Ton Sai beach as in Krabi town there is nothing interesting. At the pier it was possible to buy a ticket to Railay for 150 Bath (15min. bus and 30min. longtail boat). In Railay there is an East and a West part. We arrived at East Railay which is said to have a bit cheaper accomodation. In contrast the beach in West Railay is better but as it is only two minutes walk to get to the other side it makes no difference where to stay.

The first night I had a bungalow for 650 Bath  at Highlands which was nice, clean  and quiet. The second day I was at Ya Ya Resort which offer rooms starting from 600 Bath. They are also very clean and a bit more central. On the second day I made a full day climbing course which was really cool an which I would recommend to anybody staying here. I’ve done it at Krabi Climbing where the instructors were really nice but probably it makes not very much difference which company you choose. At least during the first half day at the beginners rock all climbers of different companies were gathered together in one place and the price is also the same (1800 Bath including all equipment, our course also lunch and water). In the afternoon we were on the Firewall at Ton Sai beach and made two nice routes of 30m heights (6A and 6A+). Some parts were really hard and I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it completly without rope but as it was top rope climbing (where the instructor first climbs up to fix the rope at the top) you can simply rest a few minutes sitting in your harnest and the try it again with new power .

Ton Sai beach is another possibility to stay (you can see it from Railay West). It is a bit less touristic and more backpacker style as there are no resorts. Accomodation should be also available for 300-500 Bath. For climing we took the longtail boat (30-50 Bath, 5min) in the evening (I went back to Ton Sai for dinner and to explore it a bit by my own) I walked which takes about 15 minutes but you have to walk a few hundred meters over cliffs or through knee deeo water.

The beach is best in Railay West, accomodation for backpackers probably in Ton Sai. Climbing schools are available in both areas. Both places are very relaxed in the evening - small bars on the beach where you can lay or sit down. In Railay there were a few more people in the evening but all in all it was very quiet although the bungalows were booked out. Most climbers are probably to tired to go out.

Today I will leave for Koh Tao (750 Bath). First longtail boat to Krabi, afterwards 3 hours bus to Surat Thani and then 7 hours night ferry to Koh Tao. So I will arrive tomorrow at 5 o’clock in the morning. In the afternoon I will meet Moritz a German guy who already worked in Chiang Mai for a few weeks. We had email contact several times during the last weeks and wanted to meet on the 1st December in Koh Tao and then travel together.

Categories: Getting around
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28.11.06

During the last three days I was mainly diving. I am now a PADI certified Open Water Diver . I first was not sure whether I should do the course on Koh Tao or on Koh Phi Phi but then I decided for Koh Phi Phi as I wanted to stay a few days anyway. I also met a few divers who said that the visibility, the variety of fishes as well as the training are much better on Koh Phi Phi. And although the course costs about 3000 Bath more than on Koh Tao (on Koh Phi Phi it is 12500 Bath, no matter which of the eleven diving schools you choose), it probably was worth doing it now. At Princess Divers the staff was very friendly and we were only two persons in the course with an own instructor, On the first day even another girl which was doing her dive master was with us so we really could not complain about not getting enough supervision.

On the first day we watched learning videos, discussed the questions with an instructure and then went out to do some basic skills near the beach in two meters depth. On the second day we already did the first two dives at max. 12m depth and watched the rest of the videos in the afternoon. Although it was still a bit difficult to control the buoyancy on the first day it was much easier in deep water and it is really great to float around and feel like a fish in a big acquarium. On the third day we did two more dives at max. 18m depth and wrote the exam afterwards. The visibility on all dives was good (20-25m) and the variety of the underwater world really great. Of course I have no comparison yet (maybe I will do one more dive in Koh Tao) but we’ve seen several turtles, a lepard shark, lion fishes, scorpion fishes and many more, which I didn’t espect from a beginner course to be honest.

Right now I am sitting in the boat to Krabi. I will probably stay two nights at Railay beach which is famous for its rock climbing possibilities. Then I will continue my trip to the Eastern islands Koh Tao and Koh Phangan.

Categories: Getting around
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