For one of our adventure days in Krabi we signed up for a half day kayaking excursion. We were picked up at the hotel and when we get in the van we are told “ok we should be there in about an hour.” Again my one complaint about these excursions is they say half day but now it will take one hour to get there and you guessed it one hour to get back so that leaves 2 hours for kayaking and lunch.
As it turns out half the adventure is riding in the van to Bor Thor because the driver is a maniac with a death wish. According to statistics, 30,000 people die a year from automobile accidents in Thailand. This is no surprise when vans full of tourists are at the mercy of the driver passing cars in blind spots and running other vehicles off the road. As you can imagine an hour to get to our destination felt like an eternity as I sat there white knuckling the seat and praying that we would come out of this alive.
Once we have arrived we are led down a walk way to a shack on the water, which is actually a restaurant and where you put your kayak in the water. We are greeted with coffee and tea and asked what we would like for lunch. With no instruction, we are given a paddle and are told to get in the kayak. During this excursion we will be paddling in and out of mangroves and caves along the waterway. After a little while, Chris and I finally got the hang of it and caused minimal damage and casualties (just kidding).
We travel along the waterway and go in and out Lod Cave, the views were amazing although it is hard to capture it with a camera while you are trying to paddle. We also visited the site for the movie the Blue Lagoon but it is no longer blue because the sand has been washed away and now there is only dirt. Our last stop was Skull Cave, Pee Hua Toh Cave, where you could get out out and explore. This cave is home to 3,000 year old cave paintings. The cave is enormous and has a beautiful view of the mountains when you make it to the top. Something I never would have dreamed in a million years, that we would be kayaking to a cave in Thailand to see 3,000 year old cave paintings, it’s kinda crazy when you stop and think about it like that. In some of the iphone pictures at the bottom of the cave you can see the paintings up close. There was one painting (in the Nikon pics) that looked like a moon man with little antennas and maybe a space ship… but that’s one for Scully and Molder.
When we were finished with the cave exploring we paddled back for some lunch and the crazy drive back to Ao Nang.
Travel Tips:
- Go during low season. The guide said during high season on any given day they can have 300 kayaks on the river which causes a Bangkok like traffic jam on the water. No thanks!
- The half day excursion is long enough because your arms get really tired because there is a current in the water, sometimes helpful pushing you in the direction you want to go but most of the time not.
- Do not touch the cave paintings or you will be arrested. Please do not be that dumb tourist.
From Palmetto Pride to Pad Thai 
Hey sounds like a good adventure. Glad you got there safe back and forth. Yeah taking pictures while kayaking is hard especially if you are trying to keep up with a group. That is why I like to go in a group that doesn’t mind waiting while I shoot pictures. Also getting you camera wet can be nerve racking depending on how expensive it is.
Yea man! The Nikon stayed in the water proof bag because I would have died had anything happened to it! Luckily I have the life proof case on the iPhone so it worked great! Loved kayaking though and will definitely make that a family thing we do!
Yeah I have a compact I keep in a pelican case and never bring my SLR… Maybe when I get a new one I will. Still kind of scary.