Wed 13 - Mon 18 Feb - Krabi and Ao nang

That evening we arrived at Krabi which was our stopover before we went on to the other seaside resorts. We stayed in a lovely hotel with a pool which was very welcome after our hot day travelling.

 In the evening we wandered to the night market where there were loads of local street vendors preparing and selling a huge variety of food. A couple of Thai curries with fried rice and beers were perfect!

The next morning we had a couple of hours to walk around and explore the town, visit the local market with some very strange food on sale, and wander along the riverfront. We then got our taxi to our next stop, the seaside town of Ao Nang.

Our hotel for the next four nights was a lovely new complex with ten individual luxury bungalows and a pool in a quiet area adjacent to a rubber tree plantation. The accommodation was superb but the location unfortunately meant that we were a bit out on a limb. The owner was happy to give us a lift into town and tuk tuks were very reasonable to get back but it meant that every time we wanted to have something to eat or go somewhere it was a 20 minute ride. We got ourselves organised though and planned our days so that we weren't coming and going too much.

The day we arrived was valentines day so we found a great Mexican restaurant, Crazy Gringos. After having a lovely Mexican meal we started sampling the cocktails which were on offer at about £2 each. They had a great duo singing live which made for a brilliant night out, especially as we progressed down the cocktail menu!

Chris made a new best friend, Rasta-otan and posed with him for photos, but didn't have quite enough to drink so that I could finally hear him singing karaoke! Never mind maybe next time!! We actually found ourselves drawn back to Crazy Gringos a few times over the following few days!

The next day we took a long tail boat to visit Railay beach which is well known as one of the best beaches in the area and can only be accessed by boat. it was a sweet little hamlet but very busy with upmarket hotels which have taken over the best parts of the beach. it was a very hot day and there was little space left to sit in the shade. This was such a contrast to the other beaches we have been to which are vast, quiet and peaceful so we were glad we had not opted to say there, although it was nice to visit. We caught the long tail boat back again, going past cliffs, caves and little rocky islands.

The following day was a lazy day spent walking from one end of town to the other, exploring the little shops and sitting looking out over the sea. We wandered through the night market and ended the evening with a few more cocktails in Gringos!

The next afternoon we went on a four island snorkel trip with beach barbecue. We set off in a boat with about forty people. First stop was a little island with a lovely little beach. It is not inhabited but is only used by day trippers and has just a little beach hut selling food and drinks and a long tail boat pulled up in the water which sells all sorts of Thai and western dishes to take away which are all prepared and cooked on the little boat which wanders from island to island. Ingenious!


We wandered off from the group to the very end of the beach hoping to see a few fish with our masks and snorkels. When we got in the water we were amazed at how many fish we could see and the gorgeous colours. We hadn't expected there to be much at all there and it was incredible.

 As we got out of the water a family of monkeys had wandered down to the beach, managed to steal someone's water melon and were enjoying a feast of bananas that so done was feeding to them.



Then it was back on the boat to the next island. There was no beach here but the boat just pulled up next to the rocky island. Back in the water we swam around the rocks and into a cave. Again, even though the water was not as clear, we were lucky to see loads of fish, coral, sea cucumbers and n a lion fish which was beautiful although we were careful not to get too close!



Next stop was Tuk island. We were transferred to the beach by long tail boat where the sun was just about to set. We paddled in the water and took yet more lovely sunset photos before sitting on the sand and enjoying a beach barbecue with freshly grilled fish and chicken kebabs.

 As it got dark we were entertained with a fire show. We then lay on the sand in the pitch dark and watched the stars, there are so many of them when the sky is not lit by street lights!

Back on the boat we had one last stop, this time to swim in the water with phosphorous plankton. The more the water moves the more the plankton glows, however it was having a night off we think as there was very little to be seen. We were disappointed but had had an amazing day and slept well back at our hotel after a nice hot shower.

Next day we left Ao nang to continue our journey south down Thailand towards Malaysia and Singapore. We had planned to go to Phi Phi or Phuket but having spoken to various people who said they are both busy, overdeveloped, touristy and expensive we decided to go instead to another island we had heard little about but was much quieter - Koh Lanta.