Blogs from South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 6

Basically, my days have been get up at 7.30, breakfast and buy a picnic lunch, go to the beach and stay there all day. Having been here before and after an overview of the other (rockier) beaches further south, Long Beach is just perfect for relaxing, swimming and reading a book. The best I ever is 8am, not too hot, people doing yoga type things, so peaceful. Although there are mainly backpacker type huts here, some rather wonky on their legs and with shared bathrooms, the average age of tourist is around retirement age and Swedish, with a few intrepid parents and babies. The Aleena Minimarket is the best social space to meet people as you can just get a cheap beer from inside and sit there all night chatting, always someone to engage with. And ... read more

After a few days of doing not a lot, besides people watching on the beach, snorkelling, watching sunsets and trying out different restaurants, we are truly chilled to the core. (But in a good way, not in the way you might be back home in Britain) So, it was time to go and do some exploring. We set off on a long walk to find some sandy bays and coves further afield. Setting off in the cool of the early morning was quite easy but as we returned in the late afternoon the sun was high in the sky and beat down relentlessly. Half way back we stopped off at Mad Bull bar, a place we'd discovered last time we were here that served ice cold beer and a huge plate of cheesy chips with crispy ... read more

So today was quite simple, get from Ao Nang to Krabi town, a distance of only 17 km. How to do it? The options are several. Taxi door to door - 500B Shared van door to door - cannot! Shared van to airport then another back into town - 300B Local bus (songthaew) - 50B As I had all day and what‘s the worst that could happen, I chose the local bus. The bus stop for Krabi is down the road just before the beach, clearly marked. It goes along the seafront to the Nopparat end so you need to be on the Railay side of the road. They start at 06.30am, no clue as to frequency, and a variety of different vehicles ply the route. As I got to the stop with my bags one ... read more

Happy Chinese New Year, all celebrating! I’m celebrating with all except the family who let their small boy pee at the side of the pool of the hotel. He was about 8, old enough to know better! Last night I decided to get some money from an atm, despite the eye-watering 220B charge, to avoid a 3% credit card charge on Ko Lanta. Research said that Krungsi Bank and Bangkok Bank would both let you get 30,000B in one transaction. Research was wrong. ATM said cannot. I tried 10,000 and that was OK, so I’m not sure what the daily limit is. So yesterday, with the main reason of gleaning information on the status of the massage huts, I went to number 9, where Tam, the guy who used to be at number 15, now works. ... read more

After an early morning flight from Bangkok to Krabi then a two hour minibus ride we arrived on the gorgeous island of Ko Lanta. It's the third time we've been here. So why do we keep coming back? You may well ask. The world is a big place and we intend to go and explore more of it very soon but for now its great to take some time out in a place we know so well and love. We rolled up to the reception of Best House and the owner came out. She instantly recognised us from three years ago and greeted us warmly. She knew about the booking but hadn't put a name to the face. We dropped our gear in the room and went to the mini mart to buy cold water. The ... read more