Oh Chris what a Whopper !!!

When we were researching about what we could do when we came to Krabi we came across Gillhams on trip advisor (http://www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com/) and knew it was somewhere we had to go.
Basically its a lake stocked with many species of world record breaking fish that you can try and catch. We stayed 2 nights in a gorgeous bungalow on the lake shore. It was not cheap but the fishing truly was an amazing experience for Chris and something that he will remember all his life. He had a fantastic guide called Scott who sat with him and advised him what to do and how to handle the fish when he caught them. The resort is all British owned and run, the food was a real treat. After travelling for over a month it was really nice to taste bacon and proper British staples such as gammon and Ruth's favourite meal chilli con carne (typically British!!).
There was also a lovely infinity pool overlooking the area where Chris was fishing and it was a dream to sit in it and admire the beautiful scenery and watch the fishing.

So on to the whoppers. Chris fished for 2 whole days in total. Before he came here his personal best weight of fish in the UK was 20lbs. This was totally blown away. He caught loads of giant Siamese carp (biggest 50lbs) a massive Mekong catfish (85 lbs) and a red tail (24 lbs) so he was more than pleased. The Mekong is known as the worlds hardest fighting fresh water fish. It certainly tired him out when he had to battle it. The fish swam off down the other side of the lake and this involved Chris getting in the lake to try and land him. They take really good care of the fish here and when they are eventually netted the fisherman has to get in the water to have their pic taken with the fish. Chris was really tired and to lift the 85lb Mekong out of the water nearly finished him off.

First Siamese Carp - 43 lbs

Extreme fishing into the night - a 24 lb Red Tail

2nd Siamese Carp

The thing on the end was so big he had to get in the lake

Fighting the mighty Mekong catfish

Nearly landed

85 lbs of Mekong cat fish

Taking time to recover in the pool after being beat up by the Mekong

Beautiful setting with bungalows in lakes edge

Another Siamese carp

Last fish caught the biggest Siamese carp (50 lbs)

So a fantastic time at the fishing resort. If you are interested in fishing and in the Krabi area or you want a top class fishing holiday we thoroughly recommend going to Gillhams. There is plenty to do in the area also and a beautiful pool for the non fisher!!.

We now have a few days left back in our hotel in Ao Nang to regroup and prepare for the next adventure. Things are starting to run out now (such as shampoo !) and we need to make sure we have everything we need before hitting the unknown that is China. We have also heard that facebook is blocked there - how will we cope ?.

Snorkelling in the Rain

Countries visited : 4      Antibiotics Taken : Ruth - prescribed a course from a pharmacist in Krabi (dont ask why lets just say it was not pleasant)  Chris - took 2 tablets a Turkish restaurant owner gave him and this has done the trick (touch wood)

After 4 continous and non stop days of rain, it finally stopped. The sun came out and it was boiling. We thought we would take full advantage and sat out in it. This proved not to be very sensible as we got sun burnt and had to spend the next day (also lovely and sunny) in the shade.
We did have the chance to walk round Ao Nang in the day light though. We had walked round in the evenings for a meal but it was nice to see it in the day without the need for an umbrella.

We decided to hedge our bets with the weather and booked a boat snorkelling tour to some of the Islands. Unfortunatly it rained, we were on a very large and fast speedboat with about 20 other people and everyone and everything we had got soaked totally. The idea of the trip was to go to 4 or 5 different islands and swim and snorkel. A lovely idea but not when it was chucking it down and there was no where at all to get dry (and no dry towels). It wasn't cold but when the speed boat got going it did provide a wind chill factor. Chris was very brave and got out for a swim in a beautiful enclosed lagoon surrounded by cliffs which was our first stop. Ruth was eventually persuaded to also partake in the snorkelling.

We visited various islands and they really were stunningly beautiful. We stopped for lunch and at last the sun came out- hooray. The snorkelling was fantastic and we saw parrot fish, 'nemo' fish, puffers and 'angel' type fish - definately worth doing for this alone. The fish also were quite happy to swim around our feet when we paddled.

Sp despite getting very wet both in the sea and out of it we had a good day. Not many other plans for Krabi really we are just relaxing and rejuvinating for the China trip during which we are expecting 4 weeks of go go go!!. In a few days time we are going to spend 2 nights at a fishing resort for Chris. They have a lake with monster fish in it so this should provide some interesting photos. However we are a little concerned about the rain as the locals are saying that the monsoon is "coming back" (we though it had!). Anyway will post again when there is anything interesting to report.

Krabi rain !!!

Countries Visited : 4 Flights Taken : 6
Different hotel Beds Slept in : 10 (+ train, tent and mud hut)
No of times in pool in Krabi - Chris 2 v Ruth 0 (its raining anyway - why get wet?)

So after a night at a very nice airport hotel in Bangkok (trip advisor can be wrong!!) we flew to beautiful Krabi in the south of Thailand. At our hotel (www. anantaburin.com) we managed to secure an upgrade to a pool side room which means that we have a little bit of swimming pool which we can step into from our balcony that leads to the main pool - only cost an extra £10 a night so was definatly worth it.

We arrived in the morning and had a good walk round the resort area where we are staying Ao Nang which has impressive scenery with lime stone cliffs and islands of shore. The resort also has lots of shops and restaurants also.

Then the heavens opened and it has not stopped raining for 3 days!!!. In fact we have only seen 20 mins of non rain since then. Have since read that October is the off rainy season (woops should have done our homework!!). However it is really nice to relax and not to have to get up at 6am to get on a bus to do some sight seeing like the last 2 weeks. Hopefully the rain will ease of at some point in the 17 nights we have here so that we can explore some of the famous beaches and islands nearby.