Krabi, Thailand - A visit to Paradise

(This post is out of order. It's from our time in Thailand, mid March)

We said goodbye to our host family in Ban Song and boarded a bus to Krabi for a two-hour ride.  When we first arrived in Krabi Town, we weren't quite sure about the claims we had heard about it being one of the most beautiful places in the world - it really didn't seem that much different than some of the other places we'd seen.  We wanted to explore the area a bit to find a good place to stay so we hadn't booked any lodging yet.  So for one night,  we checked into an inexpensive hostel and rented a scooter to begin our exploration of the region.  Not more than 10 minutes out of town, we started to discover the beauty of the area and agree with the claims of paradise!  The mountains were spectacular formations covered in tropical foliage rising up from the sea.  We drove along winding roads and canyons and eventually ended up on Ao Nang Beach.  There we found some beautiful beachfront and a lively boardwalk area and decided to splurge a bit and treat ourselves to a luxury resort hotel right along the beach for about US $50/night.  Our first day there we just relaxed by the pool and soaked up some rays before heading out for a late evening dinner and a nightcap at a reggae pub with a live band playing.

Get into Reggae Cowboy :)

The next morning, I connected with a small group of climbers, rented some climbing gear, and boarded a longboat for a short ride to Railay Bay for a day of climbing some challenging routes.  The mountains around Railay Bay offered some world-class climbing which tested my ability.  I had claimed to be an "intermediate" level climber and, although I completed all but one of my route attempts, I can honestly say that I could not have done any of them without a belay.  The climbing routes offered numerous "problems" as they are called in the climbing world.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of my fellow climbers who were from Austria and Australia, but enjoyed their company and help in overcoming the obstacles.

The stalactite moved a bit when you used it for balance - hope in never breaks and falls on the belayer below!

Taking a well deserved rest

This is an official rock climbing technique called "using your head"

As I said above, I completed all but one of the routes I attempted - good thing I was being belayed on this one!

I wanted to share the beauty of the place with Brenda so that evening we hired a longboard boat and took the short ride from Ao Nang to Railay Bay.  We hiked for a short time around the bay before watching the sunset. Before the end of the evening, we found ourselves sitting on the beach appreciating the beauty of the night sky and the company of the other travelers.  We watched a fire juggler who wanted to teach his skills to his observers, so I gave it a go.  My moves weren't as impressive as the pro's, but I did manage to keep control of the baton without setting fire to myself or anyone else :)

Railay Bay

Sunset at Railay Bay

Val juggling fire at Railay Bay

The next morning we came upon Monkey Trail during our morning run.  The trail runs through the jungle up and over the side of a mountain and is actually the only way (other than by boat) to get to an exclusive resort area in a secluded bay.  Monkey Trail is the official name of the trail and we can attest that it was appropriately named - take a look at the photos below.  The monkeys were not shy at all and one particular fellow even got so bold as to take Brenda's prescription sunglasses right off her face and run off with them!!!  Although we first thought it kind of funny, we soon started to get worried this pesky little creature would refuse to give them back.  Finally, we determined that we needed to speak to him in his language and asked nicely for him to return the glasses.  Then, fortunately, a woman who'd been playing with the monkeys a few minutes before, helped us negotiate a swap with the little fellow - Brenda's glasses in exchange for a banana. Brilliant!

Aww - How Sweet!

Sharing intelligent conversation with my kin

Brenda was a bit scared at first

Then she thought it was kind of funny

After returning from our "Monkey Run", we took a day trip to the Phi Phi Islands in the Andaman Sea about an hour off the coast of Krabi.  We stopped at several islands and coves along the way and went snorkeling in some of the clearest water we've ever seen.  We thought Ao Nang Beach and Railay Bay were a couple of the most beautiful places we'd ever seen until we got to Phi Phi where the movie "The Beach" was filmed.  Spectacular!!! We'll let the pictures below explain the details:

The cove where we went snorkeling

The most beautiful clear water we've ever seen

Some interesting tree roots

Phi Phi Island where "The Beach" was filmed

Thought this natural rock formation looked like an eagle in flight

This is Chicken Island - The Thais pretty much call them as they see them :)

Returning to Ao Nang Beach from our day trip to Phi Phi

One of the nice things about being on an extended vacation is having the ability to adjust our schedule as we wanted and we liked the Krabi region so much that we decided to extend our stay for another day.  So, on our last day in Krabi, we set off on our rented scooter to see a national park about an hour inland from the coast.  Along the route we passed through some beautiful Thai villages.  We found out that we could buy a pretty nice new residence for less than $30k - something to consider.

The real reason for our adventure, though, was to hike through the jungle and visit some waterfalls.  I believe Brenda has already mentioned a couple of times how HOT it was in Thailand but the coastal breezes actually kept things pretty cool in comparison to the inland jungle!  Although the waterfalls were beautiful, the hike was steep and challenging in the heat and we soon learned why not many Thai folks exercise.  The slightest bit of strenuous activity made us sweat buckets.  We finished the six-mile hike and enjoyed the scenery but were pretty happy to get back on the scooter to generate a 35mph breeze to cool us off!  We capped our day with the most delicious dinner at a locals place a bit off the beaten path for a cost of about $1.50.

Between the beauty of the region and the extremely reasonable cost of lodging, scooter rental, meals, and activities we've determined that we'll probably return to Krabi (and other parts of Thailand) at some time in our future.

Another beautiful spot somewhere near Krabi, Thailand