Krabi / Ao Nang (not so nang)

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After the short ferry trip from Ko Lanta to Ao Nang we arrived at the Ibis Hotel. It was a lovely looking hotel, built right by the mountains offering wonderful views. The location was great with a short walk to the local beach and lots of boats to other popular beaches.

The first night we had to focus on planning the rest of the trip and deciding on a potential end date. Getting the next month planned wasn't easy, but it means we don't have to spend ages each night on TripAdvisor. It ended up getting quite late so obviously I ordered room service. It was disgusting. I threw it in the garbage where it belonged. Everywhere in this bloody country substitutes butter for Mayonnaise, it's like sacrificing sex with Jennifer Lawrence for an angry hand job from Samuel L Jackson. Unfortunately, that's not where the problems at this hotel ended. I ended up having to go downstairs to the 'conference' room computers to book some flights as the Wi-Fi was so bad. They were in the lobby. Not really what you call conference.

The following day we woke up early due to having extremely loud neighbors. It's the back end of Chinese new year so we had two families either side of us, and I think also across. They were running around, banging and slamming doors. It's the year of the rooster, it doesn't mean they have to cock-a-doodle doo all night. When they finally went to sleep all you could hear was snoring and talking in their sleep. They were saying random numbers. Most likely ordering a Chinese. Zzz number 2.. Zzz egg fried rice... Zzz ting tooong number 87. Whatever. We had been put in a room with a divider, so the wall was paper thin. We then ate a medicore continental breakfast. You know the ones. The reheated eggs that look like a bad boob job, slightly droopy with the yolk in the wrong place. Yuck. I made a complaint to the management about the room but they said they were full and couldn't move us, but would look into it. I decided to leave it there for now. (English for, I'll do nothing but complain more).

We headed Phrang Nang beach on a long tail boat which was quite cool. The beach has fantastic views with huge cliffs sprouting out of the sea and the water is crystal clear. It really is a beautiful place. We jumped into a kayak and decided to explore around the rock faces, inside the caves and climbed to the top of the cliffs. Lovely view and loads of fun. They had monkeys there like usual. People are still stupid enough to let them climb all over them. More attacks and bites from the little fuckers. It's worse than any East London gang I can assure you. Some Russian guy flat out squared up to a monkey and they had what only can be described as a huge row/stare down. It's ridiculous. They should really leave the wild life alone. I managed to get a few selfies with an unsuspecting monkey. I didn't want any trouble.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the island and found some cool sights, like a cave/shrine, which the locals believe if you place a gift there (generally a dildo), the lady who protects it will help you conceive. So the place looks like a knock off sex store. Obviously I stayed well back! Can't be getting none of that hubu jubu shit near me. We also spent some time on Railay beach which was really nice. Great views of giant cliffs coming out of the water. Amazing sights.

That evening we headed out to the strip of bars and restaurants along the beach. It's much more family oriented but still very lively. You get hassled a lot more outside shops from sellers and restaurant owners. It's a massive annoyance. The people here are generally more rude. Perhaps they deal with tourists so much they don't care. I attempted to haggle for some items and was met with a look of disgust. We managed to find a fantastic Belgian restaurant which served amazing food. Best meal of the holiday so far. The owner however pissed me off, as he charged extra for cheese on my jacket potato.

The next morning after another night of poor sleep, we decided to hire a moped and head out to a lagoon and hot spring waterfall. It was a long trip but we hoped it would be worth it. We stopped on the way in Krabi Town, had a look around and enjoyed lunch on the pier. They had some lovely sculptures and the place was very scenic. After that we headed straight for the lagoon. It was a beautiful crystal blue lagoon in the middle of the forest. Lots of fish in there and we enjoyed a nice swim. There were a lot of other tourists too so that dampened it a little bit. We then made the short trip over to a hot spring water fall. This was awesome. It was a natural Jacuzzi on the mountain, with waterfalls blasting you with warm water. Just what I needed. That's the best moments, in the middle of nowhere alone having a bath in a rock face.

Upon leaving we had a huge laugh as some local teenagers on a school trip attempted to take pictures of us on the sly. They were as discreet as diarrhea. I had heard it's rare for them to see white, blonde haired women. I didn't believe it until now. Over here the make up products bleach your skin to make you look more white. Just shows everyone wants to be different all over the world.

As we set off for the long journey back the weather took a huge turn for the worse. We had to pull over several times as visibility was poor. I hate scooters. No protection at all. Soaked from all angles. I probably would of been OK if I had a pair of goggle's or full helmet. There was a funny moment when a car went through a large puddle and soaked us. Funny looking back, not then! The culture is weird here, I wouldn't get on my own Superbike without leathers and full face protection, but here it's normal to wear sandals and a poncho. I don't like it, however choices of getting around are limited so you have to just be as careful as possible. We hit the hay that night, soaked, battered and exhausted.

We returned the next day via long-tail boat to Phrang Nang Beach again, where I set off up the mountain to the viewpoint. It was a taxing climb but very enjoyable. The viewpoint wasn't much to be desired as the overgrowth of the forest blocked much of the view. From there I headed on a steep decline down to a lagoon. It was a really cool, a huge hole in the middle of the mountain with caves and what would usually would be a place to have a dip, however the lagoon was so shallow it was basically a mud pitt which was unfortunate. A long climb back up and then back down left me exhausted but provided a good workout. I also assisted a couple of Canadians down, it was nice to speak some English. Too bad I forgot to bring water. I was parched!

Dinner and packing for the next adventure was the job that evening. After complaining to the manager for the third day in a row, they offered us to move rooms. A little too late. We departed Ibis complaining to management about the poor stay. They refused to do anything about it. They all start conveniently forgetting English words, and making more of those annoying high pitch noise they make. The matter is now with customer services. So I'm sure nothing will happen, and I'll vent my fury how we all do, online, behind a keyboard in a forum.

My general thoughts on this area are mixed. I found Krabi is a wonderful location to see, with lots to do. Many tourist places, great beaches, sights and activities. However the people here were the least friendly so far which dampened it considerably. It's completly different to the laid back vibe of Ko Lanta which is only 100km away. It's not just the locals and staff members either. The tourists here are worse. It's that attitude of being the most important people there and to hell with everyone else. The Chinese in particular are the worse. It's overrun due to Chinese new year. The rudeness and high pitch ying yang noises they make are draining.

It's not just them, this area attracts more holidaying Europeans, not backpackers. They think they are Kings, treating animals poorly, leaving a mess everywhere, even actively pushing other climbers out of the way on the hikes if they're too slow. Then of course the English broad I spoke to on the beach, who suggested in the hotels that all the nationalities should be housed together because she hates Russians. I may be a little disgruntled with cross culture attitudes, but I'm not quite there yet.

So a great place to visit and I had a wonderful time, but looking forward to getting away from some of the people. A few hours on the coach and a few more on a ferry takes us over to Ko Phangnan next. Where we will be a lot more secluded and hopefully have some much needed downtime.

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