Date: Dec 19th, 2009
Having decided I wasn’t going to end my Krabi trip in further disappointment, I got down from my tour boat at Railay instead of Ao Nang, which is where my hotel was. I wanted to see as much as possible of what I had intended to in Krabi.
I was on the Railay West side and I made my way through a narrow ‘street’ in between resorts on either side. It was one short walk to get to Railay East.
Railay is essentially for backpackers. And if you are into reggae. Seriously.
It was funny to see Thai Rastafarians but the place had loads of them. Bob Marley, Jamaica and ‘weed’ art pretty much painted Railay East’s bar scene. Accommodation is mostly budget and the parties go on until late.
Railay was hit by the 2004 tsunami too — but compared to Koh Phi Phi and Phuket — not as badly.
You have to walk a bit to get to the shore.
Railay East was, well, different from all other coastlines I saw in South Thailand. It’s still a cool place to be if you just want to party and smoke up — because just about everyone who chose to stay in Railay looked like they didn’t want to be among the ‘other’ tourists.
As it neared 5pm, I walked back through the hotels and resorts back to Railay West.
There is a boat taxi counter on the beach itself. A ticket back to Ao Nang costs 80 baht (Rs. 110). That’s fairly steep considering the journey takes less than 5 minutes. On top of that, you have to wait for the boat to get enough passengers before it can leave.
But wow — the ride as short as it is — is beautiful!
Getting to see the enormous rocks from up close was an awesome experience.
Having taken a longtail boat, I must say, the ride is a lot smoother than I thought.
I went back to Ao Nang Grand Inn, freshened up and collected my bags. Since I had to catch a flight from Phuket back to Bangkok the next morning, I was contemplating spending the night at Krabi town.
But since I was still on the “don’t-want-it-to-end” mood, I instead sought a cheap room in Ao Nang itself and decided to leave early next morning. I found a decent room just a few shops down from Ao Grand Inn for 300 baht (Rs. 415) . I checked in, showered and went out in search of a bigger bag as I was tired of carrying around 4 small bags (including the tripod stand).
I found a 80 litre capacity bag for 1500 baht (Rs. 2,000), which I thought was a good deal as I had bargained it down from around 2000 baht most shops were selling it for. Of course, once I got back to Bangkok a day later, it wasn’t quite a bargain I thought it was.
Dinner was at Bernie’s Place, run by a Dane, who was offering an all-you-can-eat buffet for 250 baht (Rs. 340) that was attracting quite a crowd. And boy, was it a good deal or what! First you have option of whatever you want barbequed — chicken, fish or corn. Then there were breads, fries besides a decent selection of starters and main course items. Then ice cream for dessert. Highly recommended if you are hungry!
By the time I was stuffed and cleared the bill, it began to rain lightly in Ao Nang. As the streets cleared, and knowing there was little to do in such a scenario, I headed back to my room (after picking up an ice cream from a 7-11) and called it a night.
I had planned on seeing quite a lot in four days… and I saw most of it in one. Not bad, I guess.
Other posts in this series:
Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK
Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi
Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok
Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai
Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market
Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town
Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket
Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket
Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)
Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)
Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok
Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok
Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?
Day 10 – Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha
Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand
Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do
