Two Days in Krabi, Thailand

There are hundreds of tours which can be purchased from one of the many tourist information booths along the streets of Ao Nang.  We found that by stopping and speaking with several agents, we were able to find just the right combination of features desired in just about any adventure we wanted to pursue.  Island hopping by speed boat or long-tail is a popular option.  But after a full day of doing just that, we decided upon pursuing a jungle destination for a half-day of four-wheeling.  While the best location for such an activity was 2-3 hours north of us, we found an intermediate level course about an hour away.  Elephant trekking is also offered at this location, but having done that before, we opted for a little more of a thrill ride (click here).

Here are a couple of videos I took that day (Monday, January 19, 2015).  The first shows a bit of the landscape of Krabi and gives a feel for the lifestyle of the people, and the second is a cheesy video which our guide took of us on the ATV's.

A plunge in the pool upon our return to the hotel, was a welcome purge from the dust accumulated on the trails.  That evening we explored the town and were greeted on the streets by several lavishly dressed "women" soliciting attendance at "Simon Cabaret", where (according to their website), "You will arrive relaxed but will leave confuses as our performers is more of a man than you will ever be and even more of a woman too!"  There is a large community of such performers in Thailand.  After dinner, we stopped at the beach to witness another beautiful sunset.

For our final day in Krabi, we arranged to go kayaking at a place called Thalane.  The majority of the trek took us along narrow passages of water through dense mangrove forests which challenged the skills of many in our group.  Along the way we discovered limestone caves and sea gypsy dwellings (bones and all), were attacked by monkeys, swam in a secluded lagoon, traversed some of the waterways filmed in the James Bond movie, "Man With the Golden Gun", and raced along the open sea.  It was a thrilling adventure, differing in many ways from the sea kayaking we have previously experienced.

 

Bob and I loved the time we spent in Krabi, and concluded that our recommendation to those planning to vacation in Thailand is to opt for staying in Ao Nang rather than on a beach in Phuket.  But, read on to learn more about our experiences in Phuket, and the highlight of our Thailand trip - a visit to the Similan Islands north of Phuket in the west Andaman sea!