For my first post about travel I’d like to write about the beautiful Ao Nang beach in Krabi, Thailand. I visited here during the spring festival. After what seemed like the world’s longest school term, my plan for this destination was simple: relax, eat as healthily as possible, and take beautiful photographs. Ao Nang was certainly the best place to achieve all three!
Although Krabi was relatively busy (a local told me it is very much ‘the new Phuket’ of Thailand), it didn’t detract from it’s value as a completely chilled out resort. The beach is dotted with places where you can indulge in hour-long massages for 200 baht (around 4 pounds) and some lovely restaurants (pad thai is more pricey than the street stalls in Bangkok here- I paid around 100 baht (2 pounds) here while a street stall would have been half the price.) For those on a tight budget, there any many touts walking up the beach selling things like spring rolls and barbecued sweet corn at really low prices.
As you approach the beach there are long tail boats to take you to the nearby islands. We did this one day and took a boat to Raleigh Beach. To be honest, I enjoyed the boat ride more than the destination (it was pretty similar to Ao Nang) but being out in the sea gave me the opportunity to take fantastic photos of the area’s rock formation. These long tail boats are quite cheap (usually a few hundred baht) but if there are several of you and you want to tick of a few places in a day, it’s best to sign up for one of the many tours that are on offer or look into chartering a boat privately (which is less expensive than it sounds, if you manage to be time efficient and get to see lots of places ).
The thing that really left me head over heals for Thailand however was the food!
Lots of blogs rave over the food in China but me I find it too greasy, too meaty and sometimes quite frankly disgusting! Perhaps I should turn off the news each time something on gutter oil or dead pigs comes on! However Thailand is just perfect for anyone trying to stick to a healthy diet. I know some Crohn’s sufferers (or anyone who needs to be extra cautious when it comes to health) are reluctant to visit less developed countries in case they pick up an infection but I felt really well the whole time while I was there. Most dishes tend to me naturally dairy free and if not staff were happy to customise. Breakfasts usually consisted of cereal with soy milk at my hotel, fresh fruit shakes at the many stalls lining the beach (just be carefully they don’t add sugar.) Other good options for me during the day included lots of fresh shrimp, fish and chicken, noodles and surprisingly Subway (it’s really easy to get something for your exact requirements).
For those on a less restrictive diet there’s plenty of less healthy treats to be had: fried spring rolls, thai fish cakes and fresh pancakes with peanut butter were just a few treats that I had to try extra hard to resist.
Although I didn’t get to travel around the islands as much as I hoped (sometimes you just need to lie on a beach and get your nails painted each day), Ao Nang was perfect for ignited my love for Thailand and I plan to visit Chaing Mai, Ko Lanta and Phuket the next opportunity I have to travel.
What’s your take on Thailand? Have you visited Ao Nang?
Hmmm. My take on Thailand. I went for a three week tour.Came back to Canada, sold my house and moved to Chiang MAi! 11 years later married a beautiful lady I met while teaching at Mahasarakham university. She was a professor there from Yasothon in the North East. We plan to retire back on her family’s organic farm in 4 years. Yep – you can say I liked the place! Also loved teaching. Looking forward to reading more of your travel teaching stories. Enjoy…smile!
What a wonderful place for trips to the lovely islands off the coast. However Aonang itself. Is this place in Thailand? Indian run tourist resteraunts one after the other, with things called ” appetisers” on the menus. Eh? What ? An Isaan thing is it?? Regae bars with some supposid Thais wearing Rastafarian woolly hats. Bars with no girls, of if there are a few, they take your order and stare at the street with a bored look. Bands in bars that never play Thai music. No motorbike, or pushed food carts with pamping horns. No ice cream carts with ringing bells. No calls from the bars, hello white shirt, my friend like you. I,ve been in some places and spoken a bit of Thai and the response is ” what?” ” what are you saying” the bars don’t even have checkbins for your bill, or for that matter cashiers working their Samoots. Aonang. When your not on a boat trip to the islands, best thing to do is stay in and watch teliivision. Not to mention the rediculous prices in the Manchester bars.