Spending few days in Ao Nang, Railay - Krabi, Thailand

Last stop of our trip in Thailand we spent few days in Ao Nang, located in the Krabi region, where we visited the beautiful Hong Island and the sandy beaches of Railay.

We took a three hour trip by ferry from Koh Lanta to Krabi from where we took another approximately 15 minutes trip by bus to Ao Nang. After arriving to our destination, we quickly searched for a place to stay. We managed to find a very cheap hotel, right in the center of the town. For 300 Baht (9 USD) for a room per night. We later realized it wasn't really the best decision since the bars were open all night and loud music was playing right underneath our room until 3-4 o'clock in the morning. But to our advantage by the time we got back to our room we were so exhausted, we could actually fall asleep even with the loud music playing. Just something to bear in mind if you ever visit Ao Nang and want to find a cheap place in the city center, you will not likely get much sleep. But you can always join the party people downstairs, after all you are on vacation, no? :)

Next day we took a full day boat trip to visit the nearby small Islands. I don't remember exactly how much the trip coasted, I believe it was about 500 or 600 Baht (approx. 18 USD), lunch and snacks were included as well snorkeling masks. Part of our trip was a visit to Hong Island, a beautiful two sided gulf surrounded with tall cliffs, palms trees and sandy beaches.

We spent few hours on this gorgeous island where we relaxed, enjoyed a few coconut drinks, swam in the beautiful blue ocean and relaxed by the beach. There was an open bar serving drinks and snacks, and also possibility to rent canoes.

This is me and my friend. Some Chinese tourists approached us and asked whether they can take selfies with us, in exchange we asked if they could snap a pic of us too. I didn't really understand what was the deal with the selfies but that wasn't the first time I have been asked by Asian tourist to take pictures with them. Is it because I am blond? Either way it was really cute and flattering from them, so I didn't mind. :)

Next day we visited the nearby Railay beach, which is one of the most famous destinations of the Ao Nang and region of Krabi. You can take a boat for 100 Baht (3 USD) from the Ao Nang coast and spend an entire day by the beach if you want to avoid getting accommodation in Railay since the prices are much higher than in Ao Nang. The last boat back is around 6 o'clock in the afternoon, just make sure you don't miss that.

It's a great place to relax by the beach, swim in the ocean, have some drinks, enjoy a good coconut or mango smoothy or taste good Thai food in one of the local restaurants.

On our last day in Ao Nang we rented a boat again this time to visit the other side of Railay just next to the beach we went to the other day. It is a smaller a bit more private beach with less people. A perfect place if you want to have a relaxing day by the beach just reading a book underneath a palm tree while listening to the ocean breeze.

It was our last full day in Thailand so we wanted to take advantage to enjoy the day before heading back to Bangkok from where our plane left. Having spent 2 weeks there, what I can say about Thailand, is that is not enough for such an exotic destination where you have so much to see. You need three weeks or even a month to be able to relax and also visit all the places you had on your list. Thailand is a beautiful country with a variety of places you can choose from to visit. I recommend you make yourself a plan in advance and list down all the places you want to visit before you make the trip. You don't need to worry about getting accommodation in advance unless you are traveling during a busy period which is December-January-February mainly, the dry-hot season. This is the period when most people visit the country, prices are doubled then and it is less likely to find accommodation without booking in advance. If you travel in any other month during the year, you can actually get a place to stay right way, you don't need to worry too much about booking in advance, just in case you have a change in plans and decide to stay more in one place or choose another destination to visit instead. Only downside is that it is more likely to be a rainy season. But even then it is really enjoyable since the temperature never drops and it is always warm even when it rains outside. You don't need to be too worried about food, try to avoid ambiguous looking street food if you are a bit weaker with the stomach just to be on the safe side. Food in restaurants are all the time well cooked and shouldn't cause any problems. But make sure you only drink bottled water, always avoid tap water! We used bottled water even when brushing our teeth. Also make sure you are always protecting your skin with sunscreen. Other than that just enjoy, people are lovely, everyone is very friendly, you can meet so many lovely people from all around the world, hang out with other tourists, make friends. It is a great place to visit to see cultures mix and see everyone enjoying their time and relax in this tropical paradise!

-Anna-

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