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Published: June 19th 2010
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Krabi calling
Only the thought of new adventure could have tempted me away. We took the ferry from Koh Samui to Surat Thani and then to Pooh's hometown of Phangnga, where he picked us up. We were so glad to see him. He had brought his niece and little daughter with him and they all took us to our hotel in Phuket. He insisted, worried that the mini bus would not drop us off right at the door, as the Marriott is set off the main road quite a ways.
Our hotel room was perfect on the second try...we got a beautifully remodeled room on the top floor overlooking the royal suite and the gorgeous Andaman Sea. Even better than the last time, a bit closer to the sound of those hypnotic, rhythmic waves, crashing over and over again, massaging the mind and soothing the soul. I felt that nothing could pry me away from the abject luxury of the JW Marriott's Beach Club.
But I was wrong. Pooh said he could take us to Krabi and we jumped at the chance. We had not been able to get there on our last trip, and were anxious to see what all the fuss was about.
The Krabi/Ao Nang area is so Mmmmmmm, cozy!
This looked pretty good after a long trip. What could possibly lure me away from this 5 star decadence? idyllic and visually appealing, with its small villages, muslim markets, and intoxicating beaches, that we could have easily spent our last week there. We stopped at a muslim market to pick up some snacks for dinner, and that was an adventure in itself. I picked some fresh spring rolls from a muslim woman that were the best I've ever tasted. There were also some teeny bananas encrusted with coconut and fried. Delicious! When we left the next afternoon, this teeming market that covered several blocks, had completely disappeared.
While we waited for a longboat to take us to Railae, we went to a really interesting fish hatchery and saw amazing, huge, really monstrous fish. We are never really quite sure what we will see when we are with Pooh. We are always surprised, as was the case with Railae.
We thought we were going to an island, but it turned out to be a completely landlocked PENINSULA, south of Ao Nang and Krabi town. It seems to be inaccessible by land due to the limestone stacks, which are protected by the national park, so that was the reason for the boat. So there was no "town" there, but
Lilly pond
The JWM people make it really, really hard to tear yourself away. plenty of romantic bungalows and restaurants. Also an amazing number of rock climbing companies, (see photo) and of course, dive companies as well as other beach related activities.
Once again, we took one look at Railae and had fallen in love all over again. No going back to the Marriott now! We found two cute bungalows and decided to spend the night. We all sat on the beds and shared our food from the market (as is typical of Thai people), ate til we were stuffed, and turned in early.
Dane and I were up at first light, determined not to waste one single moment in this enchanting place. The photos below describe our morning, all before Pooh and the girls even woke up. They don't do "early".
We felt free to wander, as there was only a west beach and an east beach, and a jungle in between. We did stop and feed some monkeys, which was fun until the BIG Mafia monkey showed up. He would not allow us to feed any monkey but him. If we tried to get him to share, he snarled and showed his teeth and became aggressive with Dane. I
Private Paradise
Abject luxury, 24/7
Can I take a temporary leave? stayed back. Photographer, you know.
When we got back after about three hours, there was a huge buffet breakfast and we did it justice if I may say! Fresh mango, papaya, watermelon, teeny bananas, sweet rolls, croisants, coffee, tea, cereal and chocolate cake. Man, I love Thai food. So sweet. We spent two hours just eating and looking at Railae beach. Then we spent some time in the pool, also lovely.
And then it got late, we had to go back to the boat. Only this time, it was not close to shore! We had to walk over a sidewalk which appeared to have been covered in thousands of gallons of hot fudge, all the way to our longboat. (See photo) But that was okay. The Thais assume you have common sense and will not slip and break your neck. Handrails? Where would be the challenge in that?
We were quiet, all the way back to Phuket. We stopped at a roadside fried chicken place, which means a man with a wobbly table, a fire, a wok and some chicken served with sticky rice, for our "take out" dinner. There is this type of fast food
Beach at Krabi
Love at first sight: the tide was out; we could walk to the islands. GAME ON! all over Thailand, and it's ALWAYS delicious. The Thais are always eating, always snacking and drinking tea. You gotta love it! They are very picky about the food being fresh.
Once we got back to the hotel, we took our dinner down to Mai Kao beach and enjoyed the long, long uninterrupted stretch of white sand, and the last of the sunset.
More about our last couple of days on the following blog: The Incomparable Andaman Sea.
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