day 130 Ko Mook, Thailand to Kota Bharu, Malaysia

After almost 5 days on Ko Mook it is time to continue south and on to Malaysia. We board the return ferry, (why oh why does the only ferry have to make the return journey at 7 in the morning?) and are collected by the minivan to take us back to PJs in Trang. After a swap to another minivan we continue on towards Hat Yai - a city and transport hub near the Malay border where we swap minivans AGAIN! David is feeling decidedly unwell throughout the journey, which is extremely uncomfortable and very stop start all the way. The Thai roads are excruciatingly potholed and he seems to feel every lurch and judder even more than we do. We drive on towards the border aware that we are driving through an area of historic unrest. Every 5 km or so there is a checkpoint with armed police monitoring the roads and in several places there are tanks lining the streets. The west coast border crossing towards Butterworth and Penang is the most often used by western travellers but this will take us out of our way as we are trying to get to the islands off the east coast of Malaysia - The Perhentians. This particular area of Southern Thailand has been subject to constant conflict, recent unrest as a result of fights for the independence of Thailand's predominantly Malay Muslim south. However, having researched widely, we feel that we will be safe to cross using this route, but that it will be advisable to travel by minivan, not train, and during daylight hours. In fact, the checkpoints are the closest we get to anything like unrest, the bus station at Hat Yai was more fraught! Eventually our minivan makes it to Sungai Golok, and we are dumped unceremoniously at the edge of one country and exit customs.

   Across the border is Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, Malaysia and we must walk across a bridge in "no mans land" before going through entry formalities and then starting the arduous process of getting a taxi to take us the 45 km to Kota Bharu. 

 This proves to be extremely difficult as none of the gathered taxi drivers particularly want to do the trip, amongst the excuses that they dont know our hotel and  they certainly don;t seem to want to transport a family of westerners who are not as green as they look and will not pay the vastly over inflated first price offered. However, we are almost stuck between a rock and a hard place. They know that we have no other option but to take a taxi as there are no buses or trains which run from the border. We know how much we should be paying for the journey and David, however ill he feels, is refusing to budge and for a while there is a standoff. Add to this that we have no Malaysian Ringit, only Thai Baht, with which to pay. There is much sucking of teeth and laughing between the gathered drivers at what we offer to pay which only infuriates David further. Mercifully, another taxi arrives and David shows him the map and he agrees to take us. It is now pouring with rain and we are all tired, hot and hungry. Never have we been so please to arrive at our destination and the comfort of a hotel room! David goes straight to bed and the girls go across the street to the enormous Tesco mall and supper at the local food court.

day 128 and 129 Ko Mook 30 and 31 October

The next two days are spent lazing on the beach, playing in the slightly murky pool and enjoying the good weather and surroundings. Several torrential downpours of rain remind us that we are heading towards Malaysia and monsoon season and we are beginning to regret sending home our rain macs!

 Rowan ought to have developed webbed feet by now as she spends so much time in the water and is turning a sickeningly gorgeous chocolate brown colour (check out that tanline on her derriere!)

Very quickly we have fallen into a steady routine of breakfast, beach, lunch, pool, shower, supper, bed - a bit like our usual 2 weeks away. We are all ready to move on again. These photos were taken on our last pool evening, around sunset, as the girls make the most of their last pool time before we reach Kuala Lumpur!

day 127 Koh Mook PIC no words

 

Not a bad place to spend a day or two relaxing - this is the view from the restaurant at our hotel and the girls have the freedom of the secluded beach.  We stay on the beach all day today until the sun sets! Sandcastles are built,  shells collected, swims are swum and crabs are raced!

 

And we share another beautiful sunset!

TG and her latest sand creation!

day 126 Ko Mook 28 Oct

Ko Muk and Tham Morakot are the most prominent points in the Trang Sea. Ko Muk is mostly occupied by sea-facing towering cliffs to the west. Located on the eastern side of the island is a village of fishermen who have still maintained their ways of life as islanders. On the island, 800m around the coast by sea from our beach, is Tham Morakot, a unique sea cave which is where we are off to today. We've  friendly with two french couples and they join us on our trip and we motor out by long tail boat which collects us from the beach. We reach the famed Emerald Cove, a somewhat captivating quirk of nature - a sinkhole rather than a cave, the Cove (sounds better than Emerald Sinkhole) was formed when the roof of a partly underwater cave collapsed, allowing light to flood in and jungle to develop. The only way in is by sea and the girls don life jackets and we plop into the sea. The interior beach is reached by swimming through an access tunnel that leads from the 

outside world. We swim into the mouth of the cave and then swim in the dark  about 100m. The girls are so brave as we blindly follow our guide with only a small torch to show the way, we just kept swimming not knowing how deep the water is or what is also in the water below us.   

Suddenly we seem to round a bend in the tunnel and light from the sinkhole floods in. We swim through the arch at the end of the darkness and into an extraordinary inner beach surrounded on all sides by jungle covered cliffs. The water is a brilliant blue colour and we swim to the shore to rest on the sand and read the inscription on the stone on shore. 

We spend half an hour or so here until our guide signals that the tide is changing and that we must return to the boat. We swim back into the darkness and although we are much closer to the cave roof due to the incoming tide, the girls swim more confidently now and follow the tiny light back out. The best is surprise is yet to come! As we near the exit towards the boat the light from the outside floods in and illuminates the water, now turquoise green and almost glowing.So unusual and beautiful. 

We swim back to the boat and motor on towards Ko Kradan where we snorkel for an hour or two off the side of the boat. Sadly a lot of the coral is dead, but there are countless fish of every shape, size and colour and spiny black sea urchins. The girls cope well and rest from time to time in the boat to adjust their masks and take a breather.

We land on Ko Kradan and have a snack lunch and well earned drink and the girl play on the beach before we start our 40 minute motor on the long tail boat back to Ko Mook.

As we head out to sea it starts to drizzle so we huddle under the male shift cabin until we are back on our beach.

We play on the sand and in the pool for the rest of the afternoon and as the day turns into night the sun sets on another great adventure.

day 125 Trang to Koh Muk

 Our day starts with a trip in a minivan out to the ferry station. This involves a trip across the river on a cable ferry and then another drive to get to the boat.The girls impress us with their thoughts as they draw parallels between here and Fiji. The two places are very similar and the makeshift jetty and ramshackle assortment of buildings housing a shop and streetside food stalls seem very familiar. We wait on the jetty before boarding the long tail boat which will take us across to Ko Mook.
 
We are accompanied by boxes of fresh produce and supplies which are piled and stacked in every spare inch of space on board. The water is incredibly dirty, rubbish strewn on the banks and a thin layerof oil floats on the surface - however this does not seem to deter a group of local children from a morning dip!

 

We head out to sea through the mangrove lined channels of the river and suddenly the water changes from muddy brown to clear blue green and we can see Ko Muk in the distance - it's karst peaks rising from the water. Muk is the Thai word for pearl, so Ko Muk means Pearl Island.

 

Once back on dry land we now have to negotiate our way the 4km across to the other side of the island and our hotel. The only way is by pedicab. This is a glorified motorbike and an open sidecar affair - which probably wouldnt pass any MOT! But we have no choice and a ride is commandeered and a price negotiated. with a driver who rides side saddle and carries  a pair of crutches in the cab.

 

The girls and bags are loaded into the sidecar and David mounts the bike and off we go. The drive probably rates as one of the shortest we will take on our trip but is one of the most uncomfortable as we feel every bump and pothole in the unsealed dirt tracks across. At one point the grown ups have to get out and walk so the bike can make it up hill and over some particularly muddy patches - we are obviously very trusting as we watch our precious cargo of children, bags and valuables disappear in a pedicab into the distance and out of sight!  

We do all make it to our hotel though and are left to explore our surroundings. We are staying at Charlies Resort which is located on one of the 10 best beaches in the world ( alledgedly!) It is a truly stunning place and the girls waste no time and head straight out onto the beach spending the afternoon playing in the water, hunting in rockpools and pottering on thesand.

 They search for hermit crabs and we hold our own crab racing tournament. 

 

The girls confidence has grown so much that they are happy to be left on the beach while David and Nicole walk in the surf where they see hundreds of stunning patterns made by sand crabs. So beautiful and so perfect, almost hard to believe that they are a naturally phenomenon.

 

 

We play in the water to cool down when we need to, enjoying the soft white sand and the clear water.

We wander out for supper to a little open air local cafe/restaurant just outside the hotel grounds which looked popular when we passed by on arrival. Here we meet our driver again, we never did find out his name. He arrives on his pedicab mid meal and we watch as he very slowly makes his way in on his crutches with an obvious disability. He becomes a regular cafe companion throughout our stay here sharing his sometimes sad story with us over the coming days. He was a professional diver and from the tales he relates of his adventures is obviously widely travelled and hugely knowledgeable. A really charismatic and gentle man in the true sense of the word, sadly suffering a stroke 10 years ago which left him unable to dive, which is why he now drives the cab. The cafe turns out to be connected to him through family and and we dine here exclusively (apart from breakfast). The food is fresh, local, delicious and above all cheap!

day 124 Trang

The overnight journey is slow and bumpy, with many stops and starts. Eventually, mid morning, we pull into Trang station- it is a world away from the busy municipal city stations we have become accustomed to - almost a village station and we realise that there is only one track. The humidity hits us as soon as we step out into the midday air as does the relief to be on dry and solid ground again! We are also approached by several agents for local tour companies, almost before we have stepped onto the platform, each trying to sell us their particular tours and guest houses. We politely decline, but promise to return later to PJ's, which we have read is the best of the bunch, to book our trip out to one of the islands the following day. We now have the task of  finding somewhere to stay  tonight! The girls have enjoyed the pool so much at Chiang Mai, we decide to head to the only hotel in the town which appears to have a pool - the rather upmarket Thumrin Thana - which we can see a few streets away with a large T on the side of the building.This is fortunate as it give us a point to head for as we walk in convoy, packs on, through the streets of Trang. 

We have no idea whether there is any availability or if the cost of the room and so David is left to negotiate with the very nonchalant reception staff. Eventually after almost an hour of back and forth conversation, visits to several rooms and the pool (which was due to be shut for the next few days) a rate is decided and we head up to the 6th floor to unpack! The saving grace was a very helpful lady on the travel desk who acts as go between for us and ensures  that we are able to use the pool atleast until 6pm. It appears that there is a government conference taking place here for the next few days which is why the pool is closed to other guests. Had it not been for her we would probably have moved on to alternate accommodation.

 

Trang is the provincial capital of this region, (also called Trang) is a charming country town, famous for its Trang Cakes, its unique Tuk Tuks and the home of one of Thailand's famous former Prime Ministers, Chuan Leekpai. From our window we can see one of the main sights in the town, an amazing white chedi - Wat Tantayaphirom- a bit like an enormous wedding cake, said to house the footprint of the buddha.

After a long swim we head out for lunch in the local food court and the supermarket before visiting PJs in the centre of Trang. Not only is PJs a backpacker hostel  but, according to the guidebook, one of the better tourist agents for trips out to the islands and the book is not wrong! Pong and Joy were amazingly helpful and patient with us and help us work through first which island to visit and then where to stay and how to get there. They also book our onwards bus to Hat Yai and advise us about our border crossing into Malaysia. A stay on Ko Mook is booked and we return to the hotel to pack 2 small to take across with us.  Pong and Joy  have kindly agreed to look after the large rucksacks so we dont have unnecessary bags with us. They have also arrange for the minvan to collect us from the hotel!