Ao Nang – Krabi Province

We arrived in the middle of the night under the threat of a tropical storm but made it to our hotel before the rain started. The next two days saw cloudy skies, drizzle and the occasional heavy downpour but we were still able to do some sightseeing in between. During the down time the girls caught up with friends via email, tackled some school work and Mark and I did some more trip planning. We knew our nine days in the south weren’t going to cut it, so we changed our flight and added on eight more days. We stayed at Phranang Place, a hotel on the main strip in Ao Nang. We had a giant room (bunk beds and two queens, 2 bathrooms and a private deck), breakfast included and a pool. It was great to have a lot of space during the rainy time.

Once we had our timelines figured out Mark looked around for a place to take Muay Thai lessons. He found a few gyms and after a recommendation from the hotel manager, he and the girls decided on Bull Muay Thai, which was only about 1km up the street. The girls and Mark went to the gym 3 times in a week for 2 hour lessons and came back dripping, sweaty messes each time, but with huge smiles and new moves to show.

The Ao Nang area is a great jumping off point to see Raillay and Phra Nang beaches (both are only accessible by boat), the Phi Phi, Hong and James Bond Islands. These were all options as day trips from our beach.

Our first sunny day we hopped on a longtail boat ($3 for the 10 minute ride) to Phra Nang beach. I think everyone staying in Ao Nang had the same idea. The two rainy days had everyone stir crazy so the beach was packed. It wasn’t too bad when we first got there but as the day wore on people kept pouring in. At the far end of the beach are steep rock faces that are popular with rock climbers and there’s a cave that has a shrine with a bunch of penis statues…..our afternoon was set, swimming in the turquoise water, watching the climbers and the people’s reactions to the statues, lol. There was no lack of food for a beach only accessible by boat. Longtail boats pulled up on shore with stoves on board cooking up all kinds of food. Mark was in heaven. We ate chicken satay and pad thai on the beach for about $8; it was a great. The only downside…this was our first day in the tropical sun and we all got sunburned, even being cautious. We stayed on the beach until the last bit of shade was stolen by the sun and headed back to nurse our red faces.

Railay beach got it’s fair share of the Robertsons later in the week too. It’s not far from Phra Nang, just around the corner, but has a completely different feeling. We rented kayaks here and explored the limestone cliffs and caves up close. We also checked out nearby Tonsai beach, which was almost deserted except for the rock climbers. Once again some street food and fruit shakes on the beach filled us up and the ocean (even though it was quite warm) cooled us down. We found some shade and relaxed for the afternoon.

After asking around we decided to take a trip to the Hong Islands. We had heard that they were less busy than the Phi Phi Islands and we could get there by longtail boat (which was slower, but cheaper than a speedboat). The main street in Ao Nang is full of shops offering tours around the area. We chose to take a private longtail boat to the Hong Islands, which actually worked out to be cheaper for us than joining a group. Another bonus was that we could be on our own timeline and stay longer or shorter in places if we wanted. We seemed to arrive at each of the different islands and beaches either well before a large group showed up or just as they were leaving. We snorkelled, swam, sat in the sun (and shade) at 4 different islands and ate a delicious lunch on a powdery beach in a cove surrounded by limestone cliffs. The water was so clear we could see the colourful fish from the surface. We arrived back at our place relaxed and not sunburned after a full day on the Andaman Sea!!

After some investigation and timeline planning we realized that lots of the things we wanted to do required transportation that wasn’t our feet. Hiring tuk tuks was out because the distances were too far for a tiny vehicle, taxis were too expensive and group tours are always crowded and get you to the places exactly when everyone else is there and making it way less enjoyable. We found a car rental that worked out way cheaper and gave us the freedom to choose when and where we wanted to go. We stuck around Ao Nang for a few more days with the car and took day trips.

Imagine getting up at 6am and walking outside to 28 degree heat and 80 percent humidity. I’m sure the first thing you say is “Let’s go for a 8 km hike up a mountain…” I know, crazy, right? But, besides the rain from the tropical storm, the weather in the Krabi area was pretty much the same every day, so waiting for cooler weather wasn’t an option and the hike we wanted to do was supposed to bring us to a spectacular viewpoint. The hike was fairly steep the whole way but luckily it was through a rainforest so at least we weren’t in the blazing sun the whole time. I think we gained about 450m of elevation over 3.7km and all of us were dripping with sweat within the first 100 steps.

Was it worth it? (I grumbled to my self many times on the way up “this better be worth it”). YES!! From the top we were able to see karst mountains jutting out of the ocean and the lush forest and jungle for miles. There’s a really cool spot to take photos on a rock that hangs out over the edge of the mountain…ha, take a look at what the photo could have looked like vs what we were able to manage. I’m not really scared of heights, but I could not stomach this. There’s even a rope to hang on to and that didn’t help one bit.

There were signs on the way with educational information about the plants, animals and geology of the area along the trail and on the way down the girls took turns reading them out loud and explaining what they meant. Sometimes the Thai-English translation made sense, sometimes not so much. And, if you thought going down was easier, it wasn’t. It was hotter than the way up and going down a steep slope is actually really hard and just as sweaty.

The next day, after a particularly hard morning of Muay Thai lessons, the girls and Mark were ready for a soak at the Emerald Pool. We knew this was a hot spot for day tours so we waited until a little later in the afternoon and drove ourselves there. We arrived to hoards of people leaving and an almost empty parking lot. As we followed the path toward the pool we found that we almost had to shout to hear each other talking. The frogs in the rainforest were so loud it didn’t even sound real.

When we reached the pool we were relieved to see a reasonable amount of people and not the huge crowds we had heard about. The limestone in the Krabi area makes for gorgeous blue/green clear water and it’s easy to see why so many people flock to the pool.

Just down the road from the Emerald Pool were some Hot Springs. The sun was going down and we thought it would be great to end the day with a soak in some mineral hot springs. The hot water runs through a series of pools and waterfalls that are all natural. We were almost alone here and Mark and the girls were able to soak their aching Muay Thai muscles for a long as they wanted.

The freedom of the car had our feet itching to see more of the south of Thailand. We all love snorkelling and a little research on the best places to snorkelling told us the Surin Islands were where we should go. They were consistently recommended for both the snorkelling and being less crowded. The car was packed and we were headed for Khao Lak (a town on the mainland with easy-ish access to the Surin Islands) .

Khao Lak/Saurin Islands

This was one of the times we splurged and blew our $200/day budget. Our accommodations were cheap, but cute. (Sunshine Inn Bungalows), the food was cheap, the snorkelling was NOT cheap.

The Surin Islands are a 90-minute speed boat ride from the main land. Prior to getting on the boat we had a 45-minute drive to the marina where the boat left from. So, the logistics of getting there make the price a little high and the area is in a National Park, so we needed to pay the entrance fee for that too (totally not begrudging that cost as the money is used to conserve and protect the area). A light breakfast, snacks, water and lunch were also included. It was worth every penny!!

We snorkelled at three different sites and at two of them we were the only boat there. This isn’t one of those snorkelling trips where they throw bread in the water and the fish come around. The reefs are pristine and the fish are plentiful. The gear was good quality and the boat ride was fun. If you’re ever in Thailand snorkelling here is a must!! By the end of the day we were sun kissed (no burns!!) and sleepy. Grace actually slept almost all the way back on the boat, even though we were bouncing over rough water. We still had a 45-minute drive back to our hotel once we docked but the girls read books and Mark and I dozed in the back of the van. We could have stayed a little closer to the marina, but we wanted to hang out on the beaches in Khao Lak for a few days too so it was a good place base ourselves.

The rest of our time in Khao Lak was spent being beach bums. Lots of swimming and building race courses for hermit crabs on the beach.

The 2004 tsunami hit this area hard. The movie “The Impossible” was based on the story of a family staying at a hotel in Khao Lak. The area has rebounded well, but the damage is still evident in some places.

Ko Lanta

Grace’s birthday was coming up and she said she’d love to spend it on the beach and watching some Muay Thai fights. We decided that the island of Ko Lanta would be a good spot to do both. We’d met many people who loved Ko Lanta for it’s quieter, relaxing feel. There are a lot of people who visit southern Thailand. Koh Samui, Phuket and Koh Phi Phi get really busy around the time we were there. Ko Lanta has been described as Phuket 30 years ago. Great beaches, great food, less people.

Our drive from Khao Lak to our hotel Ko Lanta took about 4 hours including the ferry ride so we were able to spend the afternoon on the beach and in the pool. The hotel was great and CHEAP!! For $80/night we had two attached bungalows, beside the pool, about 50 steps to the beach. Breakfast was included (something we’ve found is a must for cutting costs and saving the hassle of finding somewhere to eat first thing in the morning).

As per Grace’s request we spent our week playing on the beach (a new game invented by Mark and the kids called “bounce” – (basically ping pong but using a tennis ball, no paddles on a court drawn in the sand), boogie boarding (body surfing), getting Thai massages, finding deserted beaches and watching live Mauy Thai.

We had to do something special for Grace’s birthday; it’s hard to plan something when we’re always together. Mark and I managed to find a bakery owned by a super nice German lady, and she baked Grace a yummy chocolate cake. We were even able to pick it up and get it into the restaurant without Grace noticing. The look on her face when the staff came out singing with the cake was priceless. After stuffing ourselves with pizza (Grace’s choice) and cake we headed to fulfil her last birthday wish…..watching people beat each other to a pulp.

The Muay Thai fights were a little less dialed than the ones we saw in Bangkok. The fighters were still really good, maybe a little on the young side. The atmosphere was definitely more rowdy. Locals were betting, tourists were drinking, people were smoking like it was 1999 at the Fraser Tavern. Grace actually saw a sign that said, “No Smoking, No Betting”. The whole section we were in, every person except us was smoking and betting, literally!! At one point I thought maybe we made a mistake and sat in the smoking section!! The final fight saw a Croatian fighter vs a Thai “fighter.” The Croatian was ripped, a giant wall of muscle. The Thai guy was short and pudgy. It lasted about 20 seconds, not that I was complaining. But for the title fight? I’m sure they rounded up some guy who was close in weight and paid him a couple hundred bucks to get in the ring just so the Croatian would have an opponent because they had a fight to promote.

Ko Lanta was great, we were disappointed when it was time to move on. Mark’s said it’s one of his favorites so far. Hopefully it doesn’t change too much and we can come back here in a few years….maybe a good retirement spot, lol?

From Ko Lanta we ferried to the mainland and headed back to Ao Nang to return the car and fly north to Chiang Mai. Leaving the beach was hard and we knew we wouldn’t see the sea for at least another month, maybe more. We brushed the sand from our shoes and moved on.