On Monday, I took a longboat tour to the four islands nearby. They picked me up in front of the cafe I purchased the tickets at, a bit late, but pretty much "on time" by Thai standards. There were only two other people in the van with me from Krabi, but once we got to Ao Nang, the nearest beach, there were tons of other tourists. Many of them were Chinese, Indian, even Thai. I could have gone either by long tail boat or by speed boat. My initial choice was speed boat, because when the water gets rough I've seen the long tail boats struggling through the waves. The waves aren't anything like what we have because we're in the Adaman sea, which is sheltered by India, but they are enough to make it not look very fun in the rain. But the long tail boat was half the price (about $15 for pick up, boat ride, two beach stops, snorkeling, an "English speaking guide" and lunch). Of course the weather report here is always the same, 90% chance of rain, but that doesn't mean it won't be bright and sunny for most of the day. Sunday was gorgeous, and hot. Monday started out overcast, but I was hoping that it wouldn't rain until after I got back. 

Once we arrived in Ao Nang, they took us to a nearby state park where the boats were beached. We climbed aboard on a ladder, which was unexpected for many. Several people were not dressed for swimming, which didn't make sense at all, since it said very clearly that we would be swimming and snorkeling. Some Indian children were even wearing tennis shoes and socks, which were instantly soaked just getting in the boat. The lady at the cafe had given me a special sack made out of heavy plastic to keep all my things dry, which would have been amazing if my water bottle hadn't leaked all in it before I'd even left the island I'm staying on. But at least it kept things from getting soaked in ocean water. 

Our first stop was Railay beach. This is a very popular tourist spot and resort area. The beach was small, and a bit dirty, but still quite lovely. The water is turquoise green and the cliffs rise right out of it. There was a legend in this area about how the islands were formed. Apparently, there was a beautiful maiden (like all the stories start) who wouldn't give her hand to anyone. One day, a man tried to kidnap her, but another man came down and rescued her. She agreed to marry him in return (yep). But the other men were jealous, so on the day of the wedding, they fought with the groom. The fighting was so violent that a magical hermit came out to try to stop them. They wouldn't listen, so he turned all of them in to stone. The Bride became one island (Railay), the groom another, the envious men a third, and the dowry a fourth. There was a cave on Railay dedicated to this "Princess" that all the boatmen would leave offerings at. 

After Railay, we went to Poda island. This was just a national park, there didn't appear to be any hotels on it. The beach was bigger, but there were tourists everywhere. Still, the water was pleasant and you couldn't beat the view. We had lunch, rice and stir fried veggies with chicken, and got an hour or so to enjoy the area. 

Next, we stopped at Chicken Island. It has a name in Thai as well, but apparently that's the one that stuck. It looked more like a turkey to me. We tried to snorkel there, but the water was tough rough to see any fish. 

Finally, we went over to Tub Island. This one was actually two islands, connected by a narrow strip of land under about three feet of ocean. It was hard to swim much here because it was rough, but there was some fish around the island. 

On the way back, we went right through a rainstorm. It was rough, but not as bad as I had thought it would be. The worst part was going in to the rain, having it sting your face with no shelter. We were all soaked. But it was worth it.