Days 89-91: Krabi, Thailand

Thailand keeps on getting better, and that’s not been easy to do. After the snorkeling in the Similan Islands, we thought we must’ve had the highlight of our stay here. But it turns out that Krabi is just as fun as the snorkeling we did on the islands.

First a bit of explanation of the geography of the area, to explain everywhere we went. Krabi is a province on the west coast of Thailand, as well as the main city in that province. Nearby is the Railay Peninsula sticking out to the south, which contains the many famous karst rock formations for which the area is known. Along the peninsula, isolated from the mainland by mountains, is a small corridor of walkable terrain, with beaches on either end, called (shockingly) Railay East and Railay West. To the west of the peninsula is the town of Ao Nang, and to the east is Ao Nammao (town is used loosely here – there are maybe 30 buildings total). The only way to the beaches is by longtail boat, which are a blast to ride in.

We stayed in Ao Nammao at a beautiful small hotel and took a longtail boat to Railay every day to go sea kayaking, swim, and play volleyball (for me, while Mary went swimming and took some amazing photos). The sea kayaking is simply amazing, we went all around the peninsula, and most of the time you have these limestone cliffs reaching up at least 200 feet above you, frequently with a large caves and overhangs at the base, plus a ton of small islands to paddle around and explore. Plus the water is a beautiful sparkling blue-green color and super warm, making it fun to pop off the kayak into the water. This is a climbers heaven, and we saw many people trying their skills against the faces and overhangs.

The sand here, like the sand on the Similan Islands, is simply amazing. It feels like silk as it runs through your fingers and toes, and is by far the finest grained sand I’ve ever felt. The wind off the ocean keeps it from getting too warm, and the sky is a perfect blue – this is pretty close to heaven. We’ll definitely be coming back here!