Last time we visited Thailand we didn’t make it to Krabi, or any of the island areas that side of Thailand due to it being monsoon season. So despite it being even more monsoon season on this trip we wanted to check out the area a bit even if the weather meant that we couldn’t do everything there we would like to. First we had to travel from Koh Phangan to Krabi (or Ao Nang which is where we were staying). This turned out to be relatively simple as you can get boat and bus combinations from Thongsala pier that get you there. Whilst we were in Phangan there were 2 options: 1. go with the Raja ferry for bus and boat which leaves at 5am or 8am and doesn’t get to Ao Nang until late afternoon/ mid evening but was only 750B pp or 2. go with Lomprayah who use a speedboat that leaves at 11am and the bus then gets to Krabi for 15.30 for 1200pp. Not really wanting to have to get up super early or spend absolutely all day travelling we spent the extra and booked with Lomprayah. This is not normally how we travel but sometimes convenience is worth the cost. We also paid 200B pp for them to pick us up from our accommodation as we were a bit in the sticks.
You definitely pay for what you get. We were collected on time by a shuttle, with us just needing to walk a little down the road to a recognisable resort for the driver. He took us to the check-in desk where we exchanged our paper receipt for 2 boat/bus tickets, stickers and brown ribbons to label us to staff as going to Krabi and labels/ stickers for our luggage to label it as going to Krabi. From there we walked the few hundred metres to wait for the boat at the end of the pier. In the end we were directed to get on a separate boat to the large one going to Mae Nam on Samui. Our boat did go to Samui but just to Nathon to pick up some other onward travelling passengers. The boat in total took a couple of hours and was very smooth sailing and very quiet with lots of people sleeping. There are toilets on board and you can buy snacks, but we had stocked up in preparation for the journey. Everyone grabbed their luggage when the boat docked at the pier and there were lots of staff directing people to the correct bus. In 2 minutes we had our bags tucked away in the hold of a double-decker bus and we were comfortably inside in the AC buying water for 10B from a seller on board.
The scenery became more pictersque as we travelled towards Krabi, with more and more karsts and green mossy cliffs popping up around us. The weather did however also get worse with there being a lot of rain. The bus ride was uneventful although it did take a few hours with us getting to the Lomprayah bus station outside of Krabi around 4ish. We had been told that the bus would only take people to Krabi but as is standard Thailand 2 ladies appeared on board offering shuttle transfers to accomodations, price varying depending on where you were going. The Lomprayah office is on the main road heading out of town so you can’t really walk anywhere. You could get a songthaew if you waited on their side of the road to Ao Nang for 50B or on the other side of the road to Krabi. However it was chucking it down and for the ease of just being taken straight to our accomodation we happily accepted the 100B pp transfer. After dropping off other people on the way we ended up at our very cheap but nice accomodation.
Krabi Forest Homestay- From the front it didn’t look like much but we had a King room with wardrobe, desk. TV. AC and nice bathroom with hot shower for 388B a night, sometimes travelling in low and monsoon season pays off! As it turned out it was in a great location too. 10 minute walk to Ao Nang beach or 5 minutes to Nottharat beach. As well as a 10 minute walk from the Landmark night market that runs every night and a couple of minutes from 7/11. It meant that we could explore the area, do day trips or boat trips without needing a scooter for the whole time.
Once we had sorted ourselves out and the rain thankfully stopped we wandered down to Ao Nang beach to catch a glimpse of sunset and found some cheap food at a local restaurant on the main strip. Nothing special but good enough for 70B pp. Ao Nang itself is very touristy with lots of tour shops, souvenir shops, bars, restaurants, tailoring shops and massage parlours- with everyone trying to persuade you to go to their place. As touristy as it was though it was good to be somewhere where despite it being low season there was a lot of people about and the buzz of life. We headed the other direction just to check out the Landmark night market and Nopptharat beach. Again the night market was busy and lots of optioins from cheap to not as cheap with a wide variety of food. You get a nice mix of cultures here as Krabi is at the start of southern Thailand, there is a lot of muslim culture here which is reflected in the people, outfits, food and apperance of more mosques. Interestingly enough you also have a lot of indian restaurants in Ao Nang, all catering to the huge numbers of Indian tourists they get.
We made it back to our room just before the heavens opened again. It was full monsoon rain creating large puddles and streams in the streets and knocking the power out for a good few hours… whose idea was it to come here in monsoon season!
But we will try to explore Ao Nang/ Krabi area as much as the weather allows us in the next blog!
Thanks
Alex
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