Day 30 Sun 1 October 2006 Pak Meng – Ta Dan, Phrang Nga Bay, Thailand

After a very wet night we were in two minds whether to head north east towards Surit Thani and the beaches on the east coast or continue towards Phuket and maybe head up towards the Myanmar border. However the weather improved once we reached Krabi so we kept going west towards Phrang Nga. After stopping briefly to visit a pretty park with lakes and a drive thru cave, we drove south to Ta Dan the ‘port’ for boats to Phrang Nga marine park.

After a brief haggle we accepted an offer to explore the park in a long tailed speed boat and set out through the mangroves towards “James Bond” Island. The scenery with soaring limestone crags several hundred metres high rising sheer from the sea and clad in dense green jungle is very spectacular. As you head towards the open sea these islands appear to fill the entire vista in all directions, apparently caused by fault lines and a rising land mass. We circumnavigated some and passed thru caves and channels through the mangrove, with an obligatory stop at a fishing village built on stilts in the lee of one of the crags. Although supposedly overpriced we had a superb lunch of sea bass pulled straight from the holding pen and prawns before getting back in the boat to return to the mainland past prehistoric rock painting and kingfishers.

Back on the mainland we checked into a very dreary looking hotel overlooking the bay, I think we are the only guests and the place doesn’t look like it has been painted since it opened 20 years ago. A great shame as the location is superb, it's hard to understand the logic behind such places as with proper management and promotion it could do well. It turns out to be run by a local cooperative, probably built with govt money as payback for voting for Taksin, but with no money left for management and maintenance. Still it provides some local employment.

Weather – showers 25,
Distance 203km
Distance from start 6444km