The Jungles of Krabi

With a late flight we had enough time to do some more sightseeing by touring Namtok Ron Waterfalls and both Crystal and Emerald Ponds. 

Although rather small, the mixing of the cool jungle stream with the local hot springs in the travertine ponds made for great spa, soaking time, we were told.

We had a choice between a 600 meter paved walk/roadway or a kilometer (0.6 mi) long serpentine pathway through the jungle to the ponds. Our guide stayed with me on the shorter paved walk, provided a wealth of information, and helped me over a few rough spots along the way. We passed a bear sanctuary, where the bears were active just before feeding time; but Don missed them on the other side of the compound. The spring fed ponds were rather pretty and were named for the natural colors from their mineral content. The main activity was to swim in the Emerald Pond, but with our upcoming flight we did not go swimming as some of our group did. 

Don and I got back to the restaurant well before the swimmers arrived. I had time to get a smoothie for a midday snack. I like combinations of tropical fruits, passionfruit, mango, pineapple and coconut; Don prefers the mundane fruits like peach, apple and orange while occasionally venturing into mango and other mild tropical flavors. 

Enroute back to the hotel, several others were dropped at the Tiger Temple Caves. We chose not to avoid the entrance fees and more stair climbing to another temple. We got back to the hotel with plenty of time for checking out and relaxing. We were invited to wait in the lounge area on the 2nd floor and got a nap on the available futons and bean bag chairs before our driver arrived to take us to the airport.

As usual, we arrived very early for our flight. We discovered the opportunity to eat dinner at the Zurich Bakery sandwich shop and split a very good BLT. We had time to arrive at our designated gate, to learn the gate had been changed while we ate, and to move to the new gate well before finally boarding.

After an uneventful flight, we arrived in Chiang Mai. This had been a Thai domestic flight with neither customs nor passport checks to slow us down. Even without these, we arrived at the Delanna Hotel after midnight ready for sleep.