Ao Nang Beach- Krabi, Thailand

Hello Mr Sister, this is a fine evening, how are you today!

This is how they greet in Krabi 😁 

We were walking past Bombay Palace Indian Restaurant where one of the staff greeted us, it definitely put a smile on my face. This rhymes perfectly!!

My stay was at Ao Nang Godwill Hotel, it is a Boutique style Budget hotel with large rooms. It is in the main market where all the food places, shopping and massage parlors are. The beach was just 15 mins walk from there. 

How to reach Ao Nang from Krabi Airport?
Option 1: You can either take a bus which would cost you THB 150 per person and it will drop you at the road outside your hotel, you will have to give them your hotel name.
Option 2: A direct taxi would cost THB 500

Time taken to reach from Krabi Airport to Ao Nang is between 30-45 mins.

Day 1: 

Elephant Safari- We took elephant safari in jungle without the elephant show, now I regret it because we didn't get to bath the elephants. The tour was booked through our hotel and the cost was THB 500. Pick up ad drop was included, although we had to buy food for elephants, if we wanted to feed them. I would suggest to skip this as the jungle walk is quite boring, you really aren't interacting with the elephant, if  you have time and are keen for this then get the one with elephant show, so that you can bath the elephant and play around

       

For Lunch, I had Pad Thai at Bangboo Restaurant which was right in front of our hotel. The food quality and taste was very good, the portions are slightly small, the staff is very friendly. We ended up having most of our meals there.

Ao Nang Beach- It started pouring in the afternoon, yeah it rained in February. 😕 We walked to the Ao Nang beach and I thanked god for the rain, the sky looked so beautiful. Ao Nang is not a swimming beach so we sat on the sand and saw the sunset. It was so peaceful listing to the hymn of the waves and having a drink.

 

Sunset at Ao Nang Beach

I had read good reviews about The Taj Palace Restaurant and decided to go there for dinner. Chicken Tikka was good, Chicken Biryani was mediocre. The total cost was THB 600, quite high in comparison to other restaurants. You can give this one a skip.

Day 2:

Railay Beach- At Ao Nang beach, end of the road on the left hand side if facing the beach is a ticket booth where you can buy a return ticket for THB 200 per person. If you plan to stay at Railay for sunset, don't buy a return ticket but get a return ticket from Railay beach. There is a small booth there and it will cost THB 50 extra, so THB 150 after sunset. The main arrival port is at Railay west.

Ao Nang Boat Ticket Booth

Railay west is the best beach for swimming, relaxing, sun bathing or wandering like me. 😀 There is a small walking market, where you can get food and do some shopping. Food is slightly expensive than Ao Nang as well as the shopping items. I went to Railay twice and I had chicken roll (THB120) once and a vegetable spring (THB 80) roll the other time.

Railay Beach West

Phra Nang cave is 10 minutes walk from Railay west, you have to go through the walking street. It is a small beach with shallow water, I didn't stay there long as it felt crowded. The Phra Nang Cave was quite interesting, every tourist had a grin on their face. 😀

Phra Nang Cave, Railay Beach

Monkeys on the way to Phra Nang Beach

          

Phra Nang Beach

Phra Nang Beach

After freshening up, we headed to the market and booked appointment for my first body massage at Ao Nang Haven. Relaxing Aroma Oil Full Body Massage- THB 400  

I must say the massage was so good that I nodded off, I think it was a mixture of normal and Thai massage using oil. My body was sore after massage but on reading up I found that it was quite normal and the reaction would subside in one or two days.

Tea after massage- Ao Nang Haven Massage

I was starving by the time we were done with massage, it was time for food 😋

Thai Pancake (I claim no rights to this image)

Day 3:

Hong Island- We had booked our tour the previous day for Hong Island on a long tail boat with Krabi Andaman Horizon travel agent. It is the only travel agency that gives you a reasonable rate at the first time itself, you can bargain THB 100 less. We paid THB 1000 for Hong Island on a long tail boat with Kayaking. This included hotel pick up and drop, lunch, fruits, water, life vest, and snorkeling kit.  

Andaman Horizon travel agent

As it was full tide the currents were quite strong, beginner level swimmers were not allowed to snorkel at the initial stop as the water was deep. There is not much of a snorkeling activity in this tour, except few common fish and no coral. The lagoon was beautiful and kayaking around the lagoon was strenuous yet beautiful. The waves were strong and it was quite hard to kayak, you need strong arms and good direction. Our tour lead was not at all good, he was rude and spoke bad English. I had an argument with him, he has no respect for women and thought that women knew nothing and men should be handling them. Anyways, if given a choice to kayak in Hong Island, I would do it again, I liked what I saw 😊

 

Hong Island, Lagoon entrance

My dinner was at Bangboo Restaurant, mussel shells were made to perfection accompanied with egg fried rice, prawns and french fries.

Mussel Shells Thai Recipe, Bangboo Restaurant

Day 4:

Phi Phi Island- Again, this tour was booked through Krabi Andaman Horizon travel agent for THB 1200 per person on a speed boat including everything (food, cold drink, water, fruits, snorkeling kit, life vest). Our tour lead was Mat, one of the funniest guys I have met in my life. Enjoyed every moment of this trip, shame there were too many tourist(Chinese) at Phi Phi Island, it almost felt like a supermarket.

Bird's Nest cave- run by a mafia 😱

There was not much to see in Phi Phi Island tour, it was mainly for snorkeling. The last stop was the most amazing part of the tour, we saw so many fish. I was so lost, I drifted far from the boat looking at those fish 😊
The food was really nice, there was a buffet with a nice spread. There were cold drinks ad fruit throughout the trip and the most entertaining tour guide. Definitely a must if you are up for snorkeling. 

We had dinner again at Bangboo Restaurant.

Fish suggested by Bangboo Restaurant staff (Very good)

Pineapple Rice (Yummy!)

Day 5:

 

Thai Tea to start my day

Emerald Pool and Hot Spring- 80 Kms from Ao Nang is a natural hot tub Jacuzzi and a brightly colored blue pool. We got a bike on rent from Mr. Kord (only reliable motorbike rent agent in Ao Nang) for THB 280 which included insurance and no deposit required, just a passport copy. I got the fuel tank full for THB 100 and it was enough for the day. 

 

Entry for Emerald Pool was THB 200 and bike parking THB 10, the path to the pool was a nice nature trail with spring water around. This walk in itself was a good experience. The entrance fee for Hot Spring was THB 100 and bike parking free.

The experience of riding a bike in such beautiful trail and a different country is amazing. You might need to ask for directions on the way as there are very little signboards, always remember to ask direction for Khlong Thom. None of these places have good food available around so grab whatever snack you find on the way and keep eating.

Path to Emerald Pool

On my way to Emerald Pool

Emerald Pool (can't swim here)

Hot Spring

Shopping:

Krabi Weekend Night Market- I got a lot of souvenirs from here. There are many DIY item shops, food not so good. I would skip this next time because I could find similar items in Ao Nang at a cheaper rate. It cost me THB 100 return from Ao Nang to Krabi in a songthaew. Tour agents sell this trip for much higher price. I would rather enjoy a shisha at Pyramid Restaurant for THB 300.

There is a trail of shops along the Ao Nang beach where you can find all sorts of items. Clothes, bags, gift items, antiques, shoes and what not. Little bargaining is recommended. 


Entertainment:

Reggae Bar has really nice live music.

Bar in the walking street near the beach has very good live music, the singers voice was exactly like Mark Knopfler. The atmosphere was lively and everyone was clapping and singing along.

There are local artist who have their paintings on display and also make on order (THB 5000), you can watch them paint live.

You might be able to spot a fire show while you walk on the street in night. I did on my last night at Ao Nang at a Thai Buffet Restaurant.


P.S- All these island hoping trips get annoying if you are planning to chill at the beach because every trip covers around 4-5 island so you cannot stay at a single place more than 45 mins.