Don’t Be Krabi… – Pai Plong Beach – Ao Nang, Thailand

After a two day stopover in Bangkok, we’ve headed south to Thailand’s Krabi Province for some more beach time. Sorry in advance to everyone at home suffering through Old Man Winter’s last hurrah, but there’s another round of beach pictures in your near future!

We’re starting out in Ao Nang, a small town on the coast of the Andaman Sea and the main gateway to the islands and beaches of Krabi. Southern Thailand is full of small beaches with white sand and iconic green water, surrounded by limestone cliffs and karsts. “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed on Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee) Island, one of the many islands off of this coast. It’s a beautiful area and we’re eager to do some exploring.

We’ve been trying to go with the flow on this trip, not looking too far ahead into every last detail. As planners, it goes against how our brains are wired, but we think we’ve adapted fairly well to this strategy. But this time, it bit us in the ass. The day before we arrived, we started looking at what there is to do in the area. Not ones for crowded tours or small talk, we set our sights on a private long boat ride around some of the islands close to Ao Nang. We dreamt of spending the day in the water snorkeling, maybe doing some kayaking in a hidden lagoon, followed by lunch on a beach. We’d catch the sunset before heading back in. Oh the life! However, all of the private tours in this area were sold out! And not just for today, but for weeks!

This ended up being a good thing. Since we had a free day, we decided to have a doctor look at Christine’s incision, which had become a bit agitated lately. It turns out that she was taking too good care of her wound and another infection developed – fortunately it’s not as serious as MRSA. The waterproof bandages that we’ve been using have prevented water from getting in, but at the same time have prevented sweat from getting out…and have we mentioned how much we’ve been sweating these last few weeks? It’s not too bad, but it means a new round of antibiotics and strict orders to not get wet for the next three days until it clears up.

So no water and no islands today, but we still managed to have a great time. Kevin had scoped out the area on a run when we first arrived, so we knew exactly where to go. We made our way down to the beach, walking past funky bars and restaurants that we’ll be sure to visit later. We found the dock where we’ll take the long boat to our next destination. We dodged offers for massages every 15 feet. And eventually we found the beach with its emerald green waters. It was pretty, but Kevin had found an even better spot. We walked to one end of the beach, where there was a rudimentary wood ladder that led to a path of crooked wood stairs that took us over the side of one of those limestone mountains. Waiting for us on the other side was a small secluded beach resort surrounded by palm trees and cliffs. It was gorgeous. We spent some time here cooling off with our feet in the water. Kevin, being Kevin, started climbing rocks and exploring around the corners of the mountains. We spotted a dock made from those big floating Legos with a few long boats tied to it, so we ventured out to the end for better views. After a few hours it was time to escape the heat, so we headed back over the mountain for some Thai food and a cold shower.

Fortunately we’ve been able to lock in two tours in the next week, so have no fear, we will get to see some islands! Which means you will too. Pictures and Periscopes are forthcoming. By the way, if you’re not following us on Periscope, you should be! And if you don’t know what it is, google it. Our username is kslifer.