Krabi, Thailand

Southern Thailand
Page One

In December, 1997, we (I'm Glenn, in case you didn't arrive via my home page) spent Christmas in Krabi, Thailand. We had to spend one night in Bangkok because our flight arrived after midnight, and then we flew the next morning to Phuket airport and were driven 2 1/2 hours around Phan Nga Bay to Krabi. I had done a web search on Krabi before going, but mainly found some romanticized hotel pictures. Since I took a ton of digital video and stills while I was there, and when I got back to Tokyo I made this series of pages to try to give a more accurate idea of what Krabi looks like and is all about. I hope I've caught some of the atmosphere.

Ao Nang Beach from Water

When most people say they went to Krabi, they really mean they stayed at Ao Nang beach, pictured left. The green mountain at center is on the left end of the cliffs in my little Krabi name plate at the top of this page

There is a U-shaped road that circles the base of the mountain and parallels the beach, as you can see on the map, right. The stretch of road that continues past the Ao Nang Villa to the right is a dirt road that dead ends, so all the taffic circles around along the beach and then out. Keep that in mind when booking accommodation.

Let's start our tour of Ao Nang at the left (north) end of the beach.

	This is a view down the beach, from north to south. Now you can easily see that we're just to the left of the cliffs. Notice in particular the great limestone mountain at the head, as you'll see it again and again in my pictures and you can use it to get your bearings. You can't tell from this picture, but there are plenty of shops through the row of trees on the left and across the street. Let's cross through and go up on the road.
Here I've walked down the beach a little bit and gone up to the beach road. This section of the beach road is not so developed, although there are some restaurants, bars, and shops.
	Now we're down on the southern end of the beach, closer to the cliffs. Some local ladies are doing some intensive beachcombing, but I'm not sure what they're finding. That rather phallic rock formation that you see at the end looks attached, buy it's actually an island. I snorkeled around it, but there's nothing to look at through the cloudy green water but a sandy bottom.
Walk back up to the street and you'll find all the usual shops catering to tourists. Clothes, sandals, Thai pancakes, and fake Rolexes seemed to be the most prevalent items. This picture was taken between the Phra Nang Inn and Gift's.
	After a little shopping, the sun is getting low in the sky. Let's cross the street back onto the beach and take a look out toward Poda and Chicken Islands. Satisfied tourists are wading in from a day on their beautiful beaches. The islands certainly are pretty at this time of day.
This is the Peace Laguna Resort, where we stayed. Located at the base of the aforementioned towering limestone mountain and with its bungalows mirrored in the lagoon, it certainly was a gorgeous setting. What's more, since it is a little secluded, we were sheltered from the constant din of the motorbikes and other traffic that ply the beach road. Their friendly and courteous staff even took down our laundry when it rained one day while we were out! I can strongly recommend the Peace Laguna Resort to anyone.
	Feeding the fish after breakfast became a ritual that my kids looked forward to eagerly.
I forgot to mention that one more thing you can buy is luscious tropical fruit from this stand, located down by the Krabi Resort on the north end.