Ko Kret is a small island in the middle of the Chao Phraya River, roughly 30 minutes outside of Bangkok to the North. I had been hearing people talk about it for ages, and it is only about a 20 minute taxi ride from where I live in Bang Yai, so a couple of my teacher buddies and I planned a day trip. Even after hearing all about the island the reality of it still came as a surprise to me. The ferry ride to and from the island was so short a span of water you could probably toss a stone from one side to the other. It only cost about 4 baht each way. Then you get to the island, and you are assaulted by tourist crowds, vendors and temples. My first thought was...this is gonna suck. But, within just a few minutes walk the crowds dissipated, everything grew quiet, and we were suddenly immersed in the local islanders world. A little further around the island and we were surrounded by trees and bogs.
We walked part of the way and then rented bikes for 40 baht. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am not the best bike rider in the world. In fact, I am slightly ashamed to admit that I once ran my bike into a parked car. For some reason I didn't think about this when I decided it would be a good idea to ride around the island, on narrow lanes raised about 3 feet above the surrounding bogs. I was terrified I would steer my bike right off the edge. My knuckles were literally white with the stressful effort not to careen off the track and to my imminent doom. Since I am here writing this however, I guess you can tell I survived the day. And it ended up being a fun time. As we rounded back towards the busy side of the island we ran into a market, which was crazy crowded but also cool. The island is known for its pottery so there were plenty of stalls selling decrative clay pottery, plants in pottery, food and drink in pottery, pottery tea sets, pottery in blulk, pottery for kids...just about anything you can think of. After dropping our bikes off we even got to visit the islands lone micro brewery. It was relaxing just to sit by the water and enjoy a cold beer at the end of the day.
So the island had a little bit of everything and was a really nice place to visit for the day. I think I'll be back next time I have a free weekend.
We walked part of the way and then rented bikes for 40 baht. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am not the best bike rider in the world. In fact, I am slightly ashamed to admit that I once ran my bike into a parked car. For some reason I didn't think about this when I decided it would be a good idea to ride around the island, on narrow lanes raised about 3 feet above the surrounding bogs. I was terrified I would steer my bike right off the edge. My knuckles were literally white with the stressful effort not to careen off the track and to my imminent doom. Since I am here writing this however, I guess you can tell I survived the day. And it ended up being a fun time. As we rounded back towards the busy side of the island we ran into a market, which was crazy crowded but also cool. The island is known for its pottery so there were plenty of stalls selling decrative clay pottery, plants in pottery, food and drink in pottery, pottery tea sets, pottery in blulk, pottery for kids...just about anything you can think of. After dropping our bikes off we even got to visit the islands lone micro brewery. It was relaxing just to sit by the water and enjoy a cold beer at the end of the day.
So the island had a little bit of everything and was a really nice place to visit for the day. I think I'll be back next time I have a free weekend.
Crossing the river to Ko Kret
The raised path around the island
Beautiful blue bird
Little canals ran through the island
pottery for every occasion
Enjoying a beer at the end of the day
guy with an awesome puppet....he would bark at people as they passed...i didn't know T-Rex barked?
Giant Buddha at a temple across the river
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