Apr 6, 2012

back in Thailand

It has been quite a few years since my last visit to the land of smiles and I'm happy to announce that the sun is still shining :)

This time there was no schedule or plans as to where to stay, but a wish to go climbing a bit.
First stop after a quick transit in Bangkok was Krabi town for 3 days. Mellow atmosphere on the streets and a reasonably priced seafood restaurant with fresh daily catches made the beginning of holiday really smooth.

A mere hours' boat ride towards Koh Lanta lies a lovely small island of Jum. No nightlife or any commercial supermarkets, just some local businesses and one main road through the island. Quite secluded beaches, clean and friendly -this is a place worth looking into when you're willing to leave the hassle and hubbub behind and let others also enjoy the calm and quiet without rowdy drunks and fools speeding with motorbikes throughout the night.




A week in this peaceful heaven was unfortunately for me more than enough for my travel companion so we packed our bags and sailed back to krabi mainland, this time to Railay peninsula. The initial idea was to stay on Railay east but because of a really unconvenient morning flight (and in my opinion unreasonably priced accommodation) we decided to take a room next to the pier in Ao Nang and caught a longtail-boat ride to the walls every day (15 mins each way, 200bht return). This proved to be a good idea also for the variety as Ao Nang has a lot more options for leisure time and is also only 20 mins away from Krabi town, where you get great food for half the price. If you want decent stuff in Ao Nang, go to 'Family' restaurant, just off the main road.


house kitty in Family restaurant

Climbing in Railay was great, all I expected and more, lots of routes for every level and dozens of shops in which you can either enroll courses or rent just the rope as we did. We rented our stuff from Real Rock climbers, a small shop up the road from railay east beach. Great staff and the gear was well looked after.





I probably won't going back in the near future since the area really isn't my style besides the climbing at the moment but if i ever have a large family and need amenities as babysitters while I'm doing sports this is a great place.