Our Heat Torture Journey to Krabi Province

---

Getting to Krabi town was an absolute blast.

Not.

We decided to cheap it out and take the public bus. A private car would have cost 1500thb and a minivan would have cost 350thb each. The public bus cost us 180thb each (60 to Takupa* where we then transferred to the Krabi bus which cost 120). We had this idea in our minds that the bus would have air conditioning - we swear we read this & were told this by others - how wrong were we!

We flagged the bus down on the road in Khao Lak - they come every hour from 710am. We didn't realize that there was absolutely no air conditioning until we transferred buses in Takupa and were on the road to Krabi. If we could have jumped out and called a cab, we so would have! The bus was packed, and Colin was sitting beside a lady with a baby, both leaning on him. We sweated more than we have in our entire lives during the seemingly endless 3 hour journey to Krabi. We decided that what we had just experienced was Thai Heat Torture!

From the Krabi bus depot we had to take a taxi into town. After paying 200thb we realized we would have paid almost the same for the mini bus with air conditioning - doh! Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk right?

We found a cheap fan room at P Guesthouse in Krabi Town for 350thb. They were sold out of the air conditioning rooms for 500thb. We had previously inquired about an air con room up the hill at KR Mansion, but Steph wanted to price shop (we try to save money when we can so we can afford to splurge in the better areas, ie by the beach!). However thinking about walking back up that hill was unimaginable, so Steph managed to convince Colin to take the fan room - and he will probably never stop harassing her for that. It wasn't THAT bad, but Colin likes his air conditioning and after the bus journey from hell, we probably should have just sucked it up and walked back up the hill towards air conditioning! .

There isn't a ton to do in Krabi town - its a good place to stock up on supplies and save some money on food and accommodation (we ate a 3 dish meal for 150thb at the night market along the river). We bought a bottle of Sangsom from 7-11 (250thb for 750mls!), mixed it in Slurpees, and wandered the streets. There was an Indian Princess beauty contest going on by the river, so we watched that for a short while and had some Chang at a waterfront restaurant.

That was basically it for us in Krabi. We still hadn't managed to cool our bodies down from the heat torture earlier in the day, despite numerous cold showers. It was insanely hot in Krabi and with our fan room we had a feeling we would be having a pretty sleepless night.......

We were up early, excited to take the long tail over to Railay and cool off in the water. We went to the pier where there were a few guys selling tickets on their boat for 150thb. This was roughly the same price as taking a songthewa* to Ao Nang and a long tail from there. We gave up the potential to have Burger King and Starbucks in Ao Nang for the quicker commute to the beach! We waited for about 10 minutes at the pier then were brought onto the long tail. The driver demanded our money then took off for a good 20 minutes. Our boat already had 14 people on it plus all of our gear, and there is no way we could fit more than 1 other person. We were pretty surprised to see the driver return with a jerry can of gasoline and a quart of oil! So THAT'S why he demanded our money so early!

The ride to Railay was beautiful. It is on the mainland but only accessible by boat. As we drove further from Krabi town we saw less houses and developments, and instead palm trees and lush plants were dotting the coastline with the occasional tsunami warning tower joining them. More and more limestone cliffs were appearing, leaving us in awe at the unique and beautiful landscape that was surrounding us.

We were at East Railay within 20 minutes and were surprised by how little of a beach East Railay has - a useable beach that is. Don't plan on spending your days on East beach! It has a very dramatic tidal change; at high tide, when we arrived, the water leads all the way up to the sidewalk. If you are unlucky enough to arrive at low tide, you may have a very very long walk ahead of you! East Railay is really only used as a transportation dock, but because of the less than flattering views (if you can even saw that - we are in Thailand after all!) the accommodation on the East side is much cheaper than the West.

With our backpacks on, we huffed it trying to find a place to stay in the sweltering heat. We spoke to an American man who said that Diamond Cave resort was one of the nicest and cheapest places in the area, so we took his word and booked in for three nights. We were very happy to have air conditioning, wifi in the lobby, and a pool!

More on Railay in the next blog along with pictures!

Railay tips

Don't fret about buying tickets to get there in advance. You can walk up to the pier when you want to go and pay 150thb per person. Aim to go before 11am as they will wait until the boat fills to leave. Less people travel there in the afternoon so morning is a safe bet to leave pretty quickly!

Expect to pay a fair bit for accommodation here. We paid 1300thb per night at Diamond Cave Resort (we met people who booked in advance for 2000!) but we paid for 3 nights in advance. Day to day payment would cost you 1500. We were at one of the cheapest places on the island - although we heard Yayas Resort had fan rooms for 750-1000. Tonsai Beach is a cheaper place to stay, but it is quite the hike to get there.

There are tons of cheap places to eat on East Railay. Most plates on average cost 100thb. We really enjoyed our meals at Yam Yams (although avoid the chicken burger). Colin thought they had the best Panang curry he has ever tried! If you are craving western food, ** has great burgers. Remember cheese is processed in Thailand. The Indian Food at Luckys (beside The Last Bar) is delicious and a nice change from the Thai food. The pizza there is very good as well, but very small portions for upwards of 220thb.

---