Koh Hong And Environs, 1

On January 16th we did the day-long cruise to Hong Island and environs, a couple other islands. For most all the cruises in the area, you can go on traditional long-tail boat (more about which anon), speed boat, or larger craft. We chose the former, along with seven other couples (one Norwegian, six German: the name of the firm was Krabi Specialisten), and a crew of three...guide, assistant, and pilot. It was all actually excellent, except for getting in and out of the rolling boat, down the ladder, into the water, etc.

Our route, the upper left; actually we did the lower right a
couple days later in a privately chartered craft; but that's
another post

Tour guide and assistant and others

And we're off!

About a 30 minute ride to these islands

Landing first at Hong Island, beach and national park entrance

We have been warned; I noticed Vicki had requested top floor in booking our
room at Krabi; seemed wise especially in view of the Philippine volcano now
threatening to explode

Helpful map

We headed for a shaded portion of the beach and set up there; this is what you do on
these cruises...go out to "uninhabited" islands, lie on the beach for an hour, then
go to the next "uninhabited" island and lie on the beach or maybe snorkel; rinse,
repeat, etc. You are not alone.

About five minutes of lying on the beach was more than enough for us, so we
opted instead for the national park nature trail, 500 meters long; it was exciting
enough

So there we were, walking along, minding our own business, when I heard Vicki
scream; she had almost stepped on the tail of this 7 foot long water monitor; he
starred at us for a while, brandished his scary tongue, we took pix, and finally he
moved off the trail...

Helpful signage on down the trail

Big cave/overhang, where some 50 injured survivors of the 2004 tsunami were
brought

Stalactites, stalagmites, and columns are common all around these islands, by
no means limited to caves; another limestone wonderland

Returning to the beach to pack up

Us, there

Hong Island is famous for its interior tidal lagoon, through this narrow inlet; water
too low for our boat, but we'd return later

So we headed off at high speed for the next set of islands; the turbulence in the
water is the propeller, at the the end of a 20 foot or so drive shaft: thus, long-tail
boat

Piloting the long-tail boat: the engine--typically an old car or truck engine--is
mounted on a swivel; here, our pilot is controlling the direction of the tail with
his right foot, the level of the propeller in the water with left hand, the throttle
(a string attached to the engine throttle) with his right hand

Heading for these islands; and lunch