Southern Thailand - The Seascapes and Islands of Krabi Province
Krabi Province is easily accessed directly from North America and Europe by booking an international flight directly to either, Phuket or Krabi International Airport, or, routing yourself through Bangkok, Thailand's Capitol and largest city.
My choice was to route through Bangkok for two principle reasons: (1) after the 22 hour flight from Seattle to Thailand, I wanted at least a couple days to recoup from jet-lag, let my biorhythms adjust to the SE Asia time zone; and (2) I wanted an opportunity to visit a handful of the primary tourist attractions in Bangkok.
There are additional advantages in choosing to route through Bangkok. Thailand is serviced by a marvelous and efficient regional airline, AirAsia. (AirAsia is a business model similar to Southwest Airlines in the United States). In addition, the principle subsidiary airports in Thailand, of which there are three, are modern, safe, efficient and user-friendly.
All three airports provide international access from Europe and North America and provide all necessary services required for international transit (passport and visa formalities, monetary exchange, tourist information services, security).
It is generally more economical to fly round-trip to-and-from Bangkok. After your arrival in Thailand, book AirAsia to your final destination in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia. AirAsia has dozens of daily flights throughout SE Asia, the continent (PRC), Korea, the Philipine Islands and Japan.
The difference in combined fare savings can be as much as 2-300 USD. That buys a lot of great food in Thailand!
Bangkok Arrival and Transfer Logistics
The logistics of getting from Suvarnabhumi (Soo-wanna-boom) International Airport to downtown Bangkok and your chosen interim lodging, is very easy. The Airport Authority provides strict control and monitoring of taxi services to and from Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Once you have cleared Thai Immigration and Customs, access to several taxi stands is provided.
Taxi stands manage the queues of passengers and taxis, determine your lodging destination and communicate your requirements to your taxi driver (in the event your driver is not multi-lingual) which most are not.
It is important to anticipate the routine from airport to your lodging by taxi, by doing the following:
- Photo copy the name and location of your lodging, complete with the phone number of your hotel, for presentation to the taxi stand monitor. Make two copies and retain one.
- Secondly (and this is very important), once you have entered the taxi, make absolutely sure you request the taxi's meter be activated. Though it is rare, some taxi drivers will purposefully not activate the meter and suggest they will provide the service for "less" than the meter rate which is always absolutely bogus!
- Another ruse is to take a longer than necessary route to your destination, so bear-in-mind that fares to the Sukhunmvit area of downtown Bangkok (location of most hotels and boutique accommodations) is rarely more than 300-400 baht. A 20 baht "tip" is usually sufficient.
Thailand places a very high value on tourist satisfaction. There are many facilities in /at transportation hubs and tourist-oriented venues, including Tourist Police, to provide facilities and personnel to facilitate dispute resolution with vendors, provide advice and direction.
Two or three days in Bangkok to "re-charge" your batteries provides ample time to visit the Grand Palace, perhaps cruise the Chao Praya River and visit the two grand wats (Wat Arun and Wat Phra Kaew) and to take time out for at least a daily foot and body massage at one of a multitude of reasonably priced and competent establishments.
Need I mention Thai food?
We'll discuss this topic in much more detail when we explore the BTS routes through Bangkok.
Suffice-it-to-say, a plethora of street vendors populates every thanon (boulevard), every soi (side-street) in this grand city. My suggestion: be observant of the individual vendor's sanitation habits. If the food offered has been out in the sun too long, look for a "fresher" alternative.
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| Typical street vendor of home-made Thai food |
I have experienced very few digestive problems eating food purchased from street vendors. However, never, never eat the fish caught from the khlongs and avoid (at all cost) water that is not in a sealed container from a well known purveyor of bottled water whose name you recognize.
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| The variety of Thai food offerings is endless: spicy "Issan", Muslim "masaman", Indian influenced curries and more! |
Krabi Arrival - Transfer To Lodging
After a few days in Bangkok, I suggest that you will be more than
ready for the laid back beaches of southern Thailand. Plan on arriving
Suvarnabhumi airport for your flight at least 90 minutes (perhaps 2
hours) before your scheduled flight departure, especially if your trip
is scheduled between November 15th and March 15th, i.e., "high season".
Do not mistake Krabi for Phuket. Phuket is the largest island in Thailand, has its own airport and is a destination distinctly apart from Krabi. Phuket is a highly charged, party-going destination for the fast crowd, increasingly known for its occasional violence and "binge" parties by youthful, rowdy crowds, both Thai and "farang" (outsiders).
The principle tourist area of Krabi is the small beach-front town of Ao nang. Ao nang is the busy and tourist friendly hub and departure point to many islands and beaches within easy reach by a huge fleet of "long-tail" taxi boats. There is ferry service and high-speed taxi boat service to outer islands as well.
Mt personal favorite for transfer services to other island locations and resorts, is a Krabi tour provider name BLACK TIGER. Black Tiger provides transfer services at a very fair and reasonable price, is secure and is very accommodating and helpful for the "first-time" visitor. (The staff also speaks English).
The Owner/Manager of Black Tiger is "peng" and his cell number is 0897297126.
Black Tiger can be accessed from the Krabi Airport by asking the driver of the bus to take you to the Krabi Pier for a transfer to koh Lanta yai. If you are simply going to a resort in Ao nang, the airport bus will take you directly to your host lodging.
If your hotel or resort does not provide limo service from the airport, it is much more economical to take the tourist bus from Krabi airport to your location in Ao nang. The bus service is much more economical than the 12-person limos for hire at the airport. The difference in price is several hundred baht (again, a lot of food money).
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| Long-Tail Boats - Popular taxis to outlying islands and beaches from the village of Ao nang |
The greater Ao nang area is very popular with Scandanavian tourists. Many resorts and restaurants are known for their focus on Scandinavian familes, attracting a large number of Danish and Swedish tourists during the high season when the long, dark nights and cold weather in northern Europe is at its annual zenith.
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| Limestone Karst - Ao Phra nang Beach |
There are countless providers of booking services for marine-oriented recreation, wilderness treks and specialty recreation such as scuba diving and rock climbing.
Krabi is renowned for its wall climbing There are many spectacular limestone karsts within reach of Krabi and several outstanding, well-equipped guides and guide services to accommodate the growing demand for this adventurous "extreme" sports activity.
Typical Day In Krabi Paradise
An "extreme" day for me was the farthest thing from being tethered to a rope, dangling from a karst 100 meters above the water or beach below!
It was more typical for me to rise, shower, load my back-pack and head for the complimentary breakfast served by my hostess, pai, and then head to the Ao nang beach-front to catch a long-tail ride to one of my favorite beaches.
I would usually be one of the first tourists (if not the first) departing Ao nang each morning, clambering aboard a long-tail ferrying employees to one of the remote beaches, off-shore island resorts or restaurants.
The long-tail would drop me off at one of my "beach haunts" where I would wade ashore and enjoy a solitary presence on the pristine, deserted beach for an hour or two ahead of the other tourists that would trickle ashore during the mid-morning hours.
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| The color of jade - "gin-clear" - Perfect for my morning swim |
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| Exploring for a hidden beach |
The seascape vistas in early morning light and a refreshing swim in the crystal-clear Andaman Sea was both refreshing and inspiring. The precious moments of solitude in this remarkable, beautiful setting proved both, inspirational and up-lifting for me.
It is a venue akin (I think) to sitting at the summit of an alpine peak; the ocean and alpine vistas similar in their magnitude and ability to provoke a profound awareness of one's insignificance, while at the same time inspiring the spirit.
It is wonderful to be afforded the privilege and opportunity to live within the moment of such an occasion!
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| Guardian of my favorite tree and beach |
Before the beach became populated by vacationing families and the arrival of high-speed boats filled with "day-trippers" (mostly organized tours of island-hopping Chinese or Japanese) I would wander the beach until I reached my favorite "lounging" spot.
I would unload gear from the back-pack, which consisted of sun tan lotion, an iPod and a 1-litre bottle of water, layout a mammoth beach towel and then park my carcass under the shade of a favorite tree until the arrival of the "food-boats" around high-noon.
It was under this tree that I would eventually meet Bodil and Anders, Jorgen and his family, all of whom were escaping the winter chill of their native Sweden.
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| The Swedish Connection - A businessman and a Swedish rock-n'-roll icon. |
Suffice-it-to-say, our congregation of happy "farang" became a daily ritual. We spent a great amount of time together playing and conversing in the sand and water. Fortunately for me, my Swedish friends were fluent in English, and we were able to share a lot of good humor and many stories about our lives in separate but similar environments.
I have remained in contact since our serendipitous meeting February of 2011, and, was reunited this year (2012) with Anders and Bodil. Our happy reunion occurred on the island of koh Lanta yai where we shared a couple days in the sun and a few semi-raucous meals together.
I would challenge anyone looking at this photo, to guess which of the three adult males above, is the Swedish Rock-n-Roll icon!
No; it is not me. I'm not Swedish, but that's a good guess. Once upon a generation or two (or three) ago, I did make a few bucks working as a part-time professional musician while attending college (is that possible...to be concurrently, "part-time" and "professional")?
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| Long-Tail specially equipped as a mobile marine kitchen |
Around mid-morning each day, specially equipped long-tail boats would begin to arrive at their favorite beaches.
All boats pretty much offered the same menu, but repeat tourist visitors to the same beach every day would eventually determine which boat excited their taste buds most to their liking.
The photo to the left, is my favorite "long-tail restaurant".
We became very well acquainted over the nearly one month that I daily visited Ao Phra nang beach. The proprietors are an engaging and immensely friendly Muslim family who reside near Krabi Town (Muang Krabi),
Not only was their food fantastic, but my impression was that their boat was the most concerned with sanitation, hygiene and had the freshest fruits and vegetables. The crew was also very adept at making fruit smoothies which added, for me, a whole lot to their appeal as a snack source late in the hot afternoon sun!
The menu included satays of pork (mu), chicken (gai), fried rice and vegetables, charcoal-broiled corn-on-the-cob, curried quarter of a chicken on a skewer, spicy salads (som tam thai), seafood soups, various other noodle soups and a desert they should have been arrested for serving, banana roti (bananas wrapped in a crepe, fried in butter on a hot cast-iron plate) and sprinkled with confectioners sugar.
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| Service always with a charming smile! |
Approximately 5 PM every afternoon, I would begin to think about heading back to the village. Some days I would hike through the karst and around the peninsula which separates Phra nang from Railay Beach, a pleasant stroll through the vegetation and trees which was home to a colony of thieving, but humorous monkeys.
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| Distant relatives! |
The monkeys were a source of great curiosity from the kids (admittedly, the adults, too). But, the thieving little rascals would sometimes dash in and steal anything edible that was left within reach of your beach towel. I watched small groups (3-4 of the adult monkeys), rush a location, frighten the inhabitants from therir towels, then rifle through the belongings searching for food.
I even observed one clever female rush up and grab food right out of the hands of a small child, leaving the little girl to sob over loss of her fruit treat!
In a Buddhist society, even the rudest of animal behavior is tolerated, so the troupes of monkeys are left to occupy their habitat, unmolested and tolerated by the human cohabitants of Ao Phra nang.
After their noon-time raids, the monkeys would retreat to the coolness of the forest for their afternoon siesta.
Long Day's End
I would loiter until the last two or three boats were loading to make the sea-trek back to the village. It was always with a little regret that I watched the equatorial sun slowly descend the western horizon and immerse into the placid Andaman Sea.
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| Ao nang Beach Sunset - End of the day |
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