By Mike Huber
After 5 weeks on Koh Tao it was time to move on to explore more of Thailand. I was becoming complacent and really had a lot more to experience in Thailand before my visa expired. Being comfortable in one place was a new feeling for me, and although it was a wonderful feeling it also meant that I wasn’t growing, which was a huge part of undertaking this journey. There was a lot of Thailand I hadn’t explored yet, but I wasn’t up for a flight. So, after talking with others the city of Krabi kept coming up as a place of beauty. So Krabi it was.
Krabi is a rather large city and after having recently spent two weeks in Bangkok, I was really done with large cities. As with most cities you really cannot absorb the full culture there. Yes, there are museums, temples, and other tourist attractions, but to fully feel the true heartbeat of a region you need to travel off the beaten path, which in most cases means meandering around the countryside.
Ao Nang is the “countryside” of Krabi, and although Ao Nang wasn’t that far off the beaten path, it was near the Andaman Sea. There is easy access to ferries that could bring you to any number of islands quickly. This would make for a perfect base for a week in order to partake in island hopping day trips and even an overnight trip to Railay Beach.
Railay Beach wasn’t an island, but a remote peninsula that was only accessible by long tail boat. Just a 15-minute boat ride and you were on what felt like on another planet. The beach was beautiful with crystal clear waters around limestone mountains that popped out of the ocean in every direction. There were monkeys running around and even parrots in the trees above me. The people here were on island time; there was no rush or hurry to do anything. Railay Beach was the perfect place to watch the sunset while drinking a cold Chang beer listening to a local play classic rock tunes in a smoky bar while people sat almost invisible in the far back on cushions enjoying their mushroom shakes with neon paintings glowing to guide the journeys they were on. It was really a unique place, and for me to be saying that means a lot.
The remainder of the time in Krabi I spent on the beaten path joining in tours of the many islands. The days were lazily spent snorkeling, sunning on the white sands, and embracing the emerald-green waters. Ao Nang is yet another location on this trip where I seemed to continually extend my hotel stay day by day until I realized a week had passed and it was now time to move on to the next adventure. My urge to leave was fueled by my new hobby of scuba diving. Once again it didn’t take too long to decide my next destination: The Phi Phi Islands.
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