Adventures in Thailand

After our trip through Italy ended in an amazing weekend in Portofino, we decided to switch gears and head for Southeast Asia.  I’ve never been to Asia and have always dreamed of visiting Thailand.  I pictured white sand beaches, ancient temples, night bazaars, jungle, elephants and magical sunsets.  Well, let me tell you, Thailand did not disappoint!

After a weekend pit stop in Singapore, we flew into the Krabi province of Thailand.  Located on the southwest coast, this province is known for it’s stunning limestone cliffs, mangrove forests, beautiful beaches and hundreds of off-shore islands.  We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel and then headed straight for the beach. We arrived right as the sun was setting and my heart melted when I saw the scenery.  The limestone cliffs, the islands in the distance, the signature long-tail boats and the cotton candy pink sky… totally exceeded my (already high) expectations!

We spent the next five days exploring the Krabi province – and Ao Nang was a perfect base since it is so centrally located.  If you plan to visit Thailand, Krabi is a must and while you’re there, don’t miss:

• Island Hopping!  I will NEVER forget this experience as it was one of the most beautiful days in my life.  I had read about the touristic nature of the island hopping tours (known as ‘4-Island Tour’) and the number of people that can be on these islands so we opted to skip the organized group trips and hired a private long-tail boat (only USD $30!) to take us to a few of the islands in the mid-afternoon (since most of the tours leave at 2:30 / 3pm).  We set off on our long-tail boat with Tek Tek, our driver, and a picnic we packed ourselves to visit Koh Tub, Koh Poda and Koh Chicken.  We arrived at Koh Tub and I was in awe of the white sand, crystal clear blue water… and lack of people!  We had the island to ourselves, I couldn’t believe it.  Another surprise.  We ran into low tide, and a sandbar emerged linking our tiny Koh Tub island to the larger Koh Chicken island.  You can walk straight across the sandbar to either island!  We learned this is referred to as Talay Waek which means divided sea.  I almost didn’t leave.

• Railay Beach (also known as Rai Leh) is another must-see.  It is only accessible by boat and takes about 15 minutes from Ao Nang. Railay is known for it’s stunning beaches and dramatic limestone cliffs which have become renowned for rock-climbing. We took a day-trip here and spent the day wandering the island, enjoying the beaches, drinking coconut smoothies, playing with the monkeys and watching sunset before heading home.

Stay tuned for more of our Thailand adventures soon 🙂