Ao Nang March 2013
Day 1
After spending 4 days in Bangkok which was 2 days too many I decided to venture down to Southern Thailand and the islands. We went to one of the many travel agents in the Khao San Road area and were told we had 3 options with regards to getting to Krabi (which is a good starting point to getting to the other islands). We could take a 64 person tourist bus taking 14 hours for 700 baht/£15/$23. A regular 24 person bus for 1100 baht/£24/$37 or a 32 person bus for 900 baht/£20/$30 both taking 12 hours. We decided to take the 900 baht bus as it was quicker and had more leg room than the 64 person bus.
After we purchased our tickets we got a taxi to the bus station and waited to board our coach. It left at 8pm and we were scheduled to arrive in Krabi at 8am the following morning. To my surprise and delight and seats were incredibly comfy, lots of legroom and fully reclinable. I must say this journey was more comfortable than my flight from London to Bangkok. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better the driver handed out cakes for the passengers and there was fruit juice and water on the seats.
There was a television showing Twilight for all those fans out there but not so loud that I couldn't sleep which was nice. The driver stopped 4 times for about 20 minutes a time, only once were passengers permitted to leave the coach.
After 4-5 hours sleep we arrived at Krabi bus station bang on 8am. After we arrived tired and certainly hot after being accustomed to the blissful air conditioning for the past 12 hours we worked on getting somewhere to sleep and eat. We got a mini van to Ao Nang a beach town in the Krabi province. There was the beach in addition to a plethora of souvenir and clothes stores, restaurants, bars, hotels and guesthouses.
We found a pretty standard guest house with a double bed, bathroom, wifi and air conditioning just around the corner from the beach at 400 baht/£9/$13 a night each. There may have been cheaper options but we went with the first one we found as it looked nice and fatigue prevailed.
After we dumped our backpacks we walked until we could find somewhere to eat. The prices are much more heavily inflated than in Bangkok when it comes to food by about 2-3x which was a bit of a shock to the wallet.
After some well needed food we got some well needed sleep and had about a 5 hour nap then proceeded to some bars to check out the nightlife. We went to a few on one side of Ao Nang with some live bands which made a change. Most places offer cocktails, wine or the local beer Chang/Leo/Singhai for 100 baht/£2.24/$3.37.
Most of the bars by the beach seem quite chilled but the ones that are more party types are down side streets. We ventured down on of the party roads to see what it offered and after talking to some locals, Norwegians, Brits and too many games of Connect 4 we made it home around 4am.
The verdict: Krabi is a cool town with a lot to offer those that want to relax on the beach in the day and party at night in the evening but don't want the crazed party scene of Koh Phi Phi. But even if that is your scene Krabi is a great starting point to getting to other islands such as Koh Phi Phi, Koh Phanghan, Koh Lanta, Koh Tao, Hong Kong islands by bus, mini van or ferry depending on how far away it is.
After spending 4 days in Bangkok which was 2 days too many I decided to venture down to Southern Thailand and the islands. We went to one of the many travel agents in the Khao San Road area and were told we had 3 options with regards to getting to Krabi (which is a good starting point to getting to the other islands). We could take a 64 person tourist bus taking 14 hours for 700 baht/£15/$23. A regular 24 person bus for 1100 baht/£24/$37 or a 32 person bus for 900 baht/£20/$30 both taking 12 hours. We decided to take the 900 baht bus as it was quicker and had more leg room than the 64 person bus.
After we purchased our tickets we got a taxi to the bus station and waited to board our coach. It left at 8pm and we were scheduled to arrive in Krabi at 8am the following morning. To my surprise and delight and seats were incredibly comfy, lots of legroom and fully reclinable. I must say this journey was more comfortable than my flight from London to Bangkok. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better the driver handed out cakes for the passengers and there was fruit juice and water on the seats.
There was a television showing Twilight for all those fans out there but not so loud that I couldn't sleep which was nice. The driver stopped 4 times for about 20 minutes a time, only once were passengers permitted to leave the coach.
After 4-5 hours sleep we arrived at Krabi bus station bang on 8am. After we arrived tired and certainly hot after being accustomed to the blissful air conditioning for the past 12 hours we worked on getting somewhere to sleep and eat. We got a mini van to Ao Nang a beach town in the Krabi province. There was the beach in addition to a plethora of souvenir and clothes stores, restaurants, bars, hotels and guesthouses.
We found a pretty standard guest house with a double bed, bathroom, wifi and air conditioning just around the corner from the beach at 400 baht/£9/$13 a night each. There may have been cheaper options but we went with the first one we found as it looked nice and fatigue prevailed.
After we dumped our backpacks we walked until we could find somewhere to eat. The prices are much more heavily inflated than in Bangkok when it comes to food by about 2-3x which was a bit of a shock to the wallet.
After some well needed food we got some well needed sleep and had about a 5 hour nap then proceeded to some bars to check out the nightlife. We went to a few on one side of Ao Nang with some live bands which made a change. Most places offer cocktails, wine or the local beer Chang/Leo/Singhai for 100 baht/£2.24/$3.37.
Most of the bars by the beach seem quite chilled but the ones that are more party types are down side streets. We ventured down on of the party roads to see what it offered and after talking to some locals, Norwegians, Brits and too many games of Connect 4 we made it home around 4am.
The verdict: Krabi is a cool town with a lot to offer those that want to relax on the beach in the day and party at night in the evening but don't want the crazed party scene of Koh Phi Phi. But even if that is your scene Krabi is a great starting point to getting to other islands such as Koh Phi Phi, Koh Phanghan, Koh Lanta, Koh Tao, Hong Kong islands by bus, mini van or ferry depending on how far away it is.
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