Krabi Adventure 4: More Coastal Exploration by Scooter

The next day (my third with the scooter) I decided to head back to another section of the coast, working my way north from the densely-touristed Ao Nang area I'd visited on my first coastal trip (after a lazy morning and nice cup of coffee at my favorite local place).

The previous day, scootering to the national park, I'd passed through some lovely large groves of regularly-planted trees which I figured had to be plantations.  One type was obviously pineapple but I didn't recognize the other.  As I've said before, one drawback of motorized transportation, especially with a destination in mind, is that one (or at least I) sometimes skip opportunities to stop and investigate views or experiences further.  But on this morning, exploring some meandering back roads to the coast, and seeing again the same types of alternating plantations (pineapple and something else) I took the opportunity to stop and look more closely, at which point I noticed that the 'other' trees all had little cups with white frothy stuff attached to their bases, at which point I realized they must be rubber trees!  I got off my scooter and looked closer and saw the way the bark was cut in a diagonal strip so the latex would run down and drip into the cup.  Pretty cool.

I eventually made it to the coast at the Klong Muong beach where I found a terrific al fresco restaurant and had a delicious lunch of coconut shake, grilled fish, and spicy papaya salad; all my favorites!  I usually didn't take pictures of my food on this trip because it was a long trip and it was all so excellent but in this case I made an exception.

After lunch I walked the beach and found my own private shady spot on the beach accessible by a waist-deep wade to an island.  At least it's an island except at low tide, when you can walk on sand all the way to the mainland.  I enjoyed reading my book for awhile and then went for a swim and a walk (or rather, a hop) around the island on the rocky shore.

Eventually returning to my scooter evening was approaching so I went to a reggae bar I'd spotted earlier on my scooter explorations to watch the sunset from the cliff top.  Here I met Mr. Narong, owner and bartender, and his wife.  It was really a delightful find and they also had some chill cats (and some felines, too: ba dum ching!) and Mr. Narong sized me up and asked me if I wanted something stronger than the signature cocktail I'd ordered (something traditionally associated with reggae culture) which I happily accepted.  That put a slightly different spin on the remainder of my trip!

I realized that as long as I was staying in Krabi Town I wouldn't be able to watch the sunset over the ocean unless I was willing to scooter home in the dark so on this evening I decided to suck it up and do so.  It wasn't bad at all.  The traffic is really quite mild in that area and I think the plethora of scooters makes everyone quite experienced with looking out for each other.  I never did see any accidents the whole time I was there.

A pretty grove of (what turned out to be) rubber trees.  If you look closely you can see the little black collection cups at the bottom of each tree and the diagonally cut bark with the little strip hanging off to allow the latex to drip into the cup.

And across the 'street' was a pineapple plantation.  Or could they be coconuts?  Hmmm.  There were lots of both pineapples and coconuts at all the food stands in the area.

Checking out the latex collection up close.

Navigating with the aid of my Maps.Me app I was able to avoid the major roads and find my way along back routes.  At this point I was crossing a river on a bridge.

These guys were fishing off the bridge.

I made it to the beach again!

... and was delighted to find this restaurant there because it was lunch time!

Waiting for my meal to be served.

A view (north) along the beach.  The small island near the shore is where I'll be heading (it turns out) after lunch.

Now that's good eating!

And with a nice view, too!

I guess I explored a little further north by scooter after lunch before I returned to the beach.  I'd forgotten about that.  I'd have forgotten everything if I didn't have it all in photographs!

 

Back to the beach, walking north from where I'd had lunch toward that island, just exploring at this point, but wanting to find some shady place to put down my towel and read my book.  There wasn't much unoccupied shady space along here and what there was seemed mostly associated with some large resorts here.

So I kept going, and eventually rounded the point here, and decided, after seeing some other people in the water, to try wading out to that island, because I could tell that everything on the near side would be shady, and I didn't see anyone out there.

Wow, that was sure an idyllic spot!

Now I'm on the island.  See how nice and shady!

That's where I'd waded out from.

This is looking south, back toward my lunch spot where I'd come from.

This is one of the special modes my old phone/camera supported, a kind of simultaneous vertical/horizontal panorama, which unfortunately my new phone (see subsequent posts) doesn't have.

A couple hours later, after scrambling around the island, I came back to the near side and found the connection between mainland and island high and dry.  I believe those are the same two boats from a couple pictures back!

So, afternoon is passing and I'm heading back to my scooter now, looking back at the place I'd waded a few hours earlier.

Next stop, the reggae bar I'd spotted earlier from the road.

...featuring Mr. Narong!

View from the bar toward the ocean.  Note the seating platform on the right and how it's been built to resemble a long-tailed boat.  Pretty cool!

There's my drink, the house special, though I don't remember what it was called or what was in it.

Time passes...

Having walked down a trail to the coast to view the sunset I had just missed it.

But I was in time for the afterglow.

The special (lost) camera mode again!  I'll miss this ability.

 

How did Mr. Narong know to ask me if I'd be interested in his additional product?  Maybe he just asks everyone.  Come to think of it, considering his bar and the self-selected sample who walks in there, that's probably a pretty good strategy.

Heading back up the path to the bar proper.

Getting dark.  Time to head home for the night.  Tomorrow is another day!