Wow, so much has happend since my last post. I was so happy to see so much green and then finally the beach. My first stop was Ao Nang, a touristic little village in the Krabi province. Nicer then Krabi town, much better than Phuket from what I hear and a perfect take off point for all the other islands on the Andaman coast.
The Ao Nang beach is impressive but definitely not the most impressive one you’ll see while in Thailand. I soon met a local diving instructor, Antoinette, who is simply a great person (if you’re going diving, Aquavision is the place to go). She first renamed me ‘Ray’ (which I actually started listening to) and took me for a night dip on the other side of the cliff ( ask for the monkel trail and simply follow it). This was a magical experience with so many visible stars, the moonlit limestone cliffs and the glow in the dark plankton (I for one did not know plankton glows in the dark).
My days in Ao Nang were spent sightseeing, swimming in the emerald lake, dipping in the hotsprings and driving around on a motor bike. Yes, even the Thai way: with 3 people on the bike (sorry mom!). I even met some locals through the lovely Antoinette and was invited into their home. Great times.
And then of course I cut up my foot attempting to get into a longboat. The driver didn’t want to take the time to park it properly and so we had to take the difficult route to the boat. We were on our way to Railey and since the driver told us (us being me, an American girl who spoke Thai and her sister, the nurse) that there was a hospital on that beach. With a blood trail behind me, I went onto the longboat, foot up, putting on pressure while the waves were smashing up against the boat. Arriving at Railey, no hospital was to be found so I and the best help in the world, Mark, who I had met in my hostel, went back to Ao Nang. “Six stitches” was the verdict, and no swimming for at least 7 days. I was not allowed to drink away my sorrows either because of my antibiotics. And to top things off, the lens of my camera is messed up. I should really learn to walk properly.
Back to funner parts. With the help of Mark, we were able to make it to Railey after all. Beautiful beach and definitely worthwhile. After that, it was time for Koh Phi Phi with only one day of a delay. While I was in Ao Nang, I stayed at Glur Hostel which is possibly the nicest hostel I’ve ever stayed in. It’s concrete and minimalist as many hostels are but it’s the first one that does it the right way. Reviews say it’s far from the beach, but really it’s not much further than other hostels and you can rent a bike ( which they drop off at the hostel!). It’s very clean, beautifully decorated and the staff is very Nice. Only praise for this place. Recommended for hostel go-ers but even for those staying at hotels normally.
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