Krabi to Bangkok Rant

Today was an awful day full of travel and wasting time. I'm still frustrated so if you don't want to read a rant, skip to tomorrow. Mainly, all today did was strengthen our resolve to never come back to Krabi.

So we were leaving from Phuket, since we booked a round trip ticket there. Online, we had seen that minibuses run frequently between Krabi and Phuket, so we weren't concerned about getting there. Our flight was to leave at night, giving us the day to spend on the beach or exploring town. We didn't know that for some dumb reason, minibuses and tuk tuks in Krabi raise their fares in the afternoon and evening. So in order to save money, we had to take a morning minibus out from Ao Nang. This took us to the bus station outside Krabi Town at 12:30, where we waited for our 4 o'clock bus to the airport.

We killed time by playing two player games on the iPad and wandering around trying to find a bank that would exchange baht for dollars (we need USD for our Cambodian Visas), but no luck. Krabi. *shakes head*

Our bus still wasn't there at 4pm. Luckily our flight didn't leave until 9:40, and it's only 2.5 hours to the airport, so we had time. I asked the lady and she said 4:30 now, so we continued to wait. 4:30 came and went and the lady told me, "coming soon." Still not there at 4:45, we'd been waiting for over 4 hours in the middle of nothing with nothing to do - definitely no internet - and we were tired, frustrated, and mildly concerned. I made her call the driver, who said he'd be there in one minute. This just doesn't happen. We've taken numerous buses throughout Thailand and they are ALWAYS on time. Krabi.

We finally got on the minibus at 4:50 and set off for the airport. We sat in the way back, crowded with our bags (and everyone else's), in seats that couldn't recline at all, on a very bumpy ride. We were mildly concerned again because the minibus said Phuket Town (not the airport), but we didn't want to yell over everyone so we just sat silently and hoped for the best.

Thankfully, it did bring us to the airport, where we gladly got off and checked in after waiting forever for Chinese tour groups and Chinese tourists who apparently don't understand how to fly. For anyone reading this, please buy your tickets before you get to the airport, ok? And for tour guides, have the members of your group check in by themselves, don't hand the agent 25 passports all at once, especially when your guests are all checking bags. It creates a lot of unnecessary chaos.

Finally, after paying more than a footlong costs in America, the best part of our day was this six inch sweet onion chicken teriyaki sandwich from Subway.

We got back to Bangkok around 11pm and caught the last bus to Mo Chit and then walked 5 minutes to our hotel. We love the familiarity we have now of Bangkok and getting around. No more getting ripped off by tuk tuks and minibuses in Southern Thailand.

Phra Nang Beach

Just a quick longtail boat ride away from Ao Nang beach is Railay, a peninsula cut off from the mainland by limestone cliffs, making it accessible exclusively by boat. We had never been on a longtail boat, and Thailand's beaches are kinda famous for them, so we decided to take it. 100 baht pp, each way. Not bad.

The ride out was fun and the landscape was beautiful! The cliffs diving straight down into the pretty water and the deep greenery of the jungles made for really pretty scenery. We stopped at a few beaches along the way, including Railay Beach, but our destination was the final stop: Phra Nang Beach and the caves.

First things first, we wandered over to the caves. Fishermen believed that a benevolent spirit lived in the cave, and they would seek her blessing for good luck each day. When they met good fortune, they'd return with gifts to thank her. Eventually, it evolved into this:

Regardless of the phallic nature of those matchsticks, the beach remains sacred ground. 

Next to the caves, we found plenty of rock climbers scaling the wall at least 60 or 70 feet up.

Walking back to the center (the caves are at the far end), we found a nice spot and laid out in the sun for a few hours. This was our view.

When the clouds came in in the early afternoon, we caught a longtail boat back to Ao Nang and made it back to our hotel before the rain came down. 

This time I wasn't feeling well, so Isa went out to get a massage while I rested in bed. When she came back, we went out to eat at a place up the street. Mine was spicy and not so flavorful, a poor representation of chicken with ginger. Isa got chicken with sweet peppers, but the sweet peppers were not sweet. They were hot peppers. We had heard that the food isn't great in Krabi, and now we agree.

We went back to Bernie's because they have pastries in he window that looked yummy. Isa felt a little ripped off with her slice...

And mine wasn't a croissant, it was more just bread. But whatever. So yeah, don't go to Bernie's. Or better yet, don't go to Krabi.

Ao Nang, Krabi

Upon returning from Maya Bay, we picked up our bags from the tour company's office and almost immediately bought a ferry ticket to Krabi. Little did we know we should have just stayed in Phi Phi.

The ferry dropped us off in the middle of nowhere, outside of Krabi. Our hotel is not in Krabi either (because there's actually nothing worth seeing in Krabi Town, the beaches are a 20 minute drive outside), but also not near the ferry terminal. Our hotel is just a few minutes walk from the beach, so we paid a ridiculous amount to get on a minibus from the ferry to Ao Nang, where we were staying.

We walked down to the beach, which is pretty, but coming from Phi Phi and Maya Bay, it's not much in comparison. Either way, we just laid out for a while. We were quite sleepy.

We had lunch at Bernie's, which to date was probably the worst Thai food we've eaten in the month we've been here. I'm pretty sure the Phad Thai was made with ketchup, and this fried noodles was virtually flavorless.

We walked around for a little bit, but we're still both dead tired from our very little sleep last night, so that's all for today.