Ao Nang

Day 26: The overnight ferry was quite an experience, on the upper deck there is a dormitory with around 100 beds. 8 hours of constant rocking, it doesn't bother me much but I don't need to describe the noise at night any further. Then with the first van to Krabi and the next one to Ao Nang. The hostel was a typical party hostel, I was convinced to join a kayak tour upon arrival. We drove to a kind of water forest and paddled a bit, not far. The nature was very beautiful, we swam and played volleyball at one spot. Afterwards, we went to a market, which was quite boring, and then to the beach to watch the sunset. Well, the trip was okay but nothing special. In the evening, I sat with the others but went to bed early, after all, I had been up since 5 a.m. And I didn't feel like playing drinking games and going on a pub crawl. The hostel is almost entirely staffed by women with ample cleavage, always scantily clad.

Day 27: Ao Nang is a very small town, consisting mainly of one main street with shops, massage salons, and bars. I don't find it particularly beautiful. What stands out in the cityscape is that there are many Muslims and Indians. The city is mainly known for its beaches. But it doesn't interest me much. So I rented a motorbike and headed to Dragon Crest Mountain. The mountains here seem to go straight up. The national park is located in the rainforest, very strange sounds there. The woman at the entrance said it takes 2 hours to get up (3.7 kilometers, 565 meters in altitude), she was right and I should have had breakfast. And oh wonder, it's raining in the rainforest. Warm and humid climate, sunscreen and lots of sweat are not a good combination. When I reached the top, I was exhausted, but it was worth it for the view. After a decent lunch, I drove to Tiger Cave Temple. I thought it was mainly a cave temple, but the caves were not that special. Two very large lizards blocked my path, but a friendly monk chased them away. It turned out that the temple is mainly known for the mountain. Well, I had already been hiking, but off we go. There are 1260 steps, which are not standardized. I thought it was brutal in the morning, but this topped it. I have rarely been so exhausted, sweat dripping continuously from my chin, but giving up is not an option. The reward was a magnificent view and a great sunset. After a long break, I went back down, where a pack of monkeys had gathered. I don't like these animals, they are so eerie and I had to walk right through them. The brief power outages are annoying in the area.

Day 28: The evening before, I booked a diving tour. We start early, there are 3 beginners including me. We take a typical longboat to a small island. We do 2 dives, each lasting one hour. Again, very impressive, turtles, snakes, crabs, and many other things to see. I was really scared when the first stingray suddenly appeared from the sand and swam away quickly. But I can't just swim away. The afternoon nap at the new hostel was wonderful, hardly any guests there. It rains from time to time, but usually only for an hour. Then I went to a mountain temple, it looked good from below, but I just couldn't climb any more stairs. In the evening, I had dinner with a girl from diving and we exchanged ideas about various travel destinations, such as Khao Sok. I happened to run into the two guys from Pai at the 7 Eleven. These are 24-hour shops that are on every corner, better than German late-night stores. There is currently a Taoist festival in town and you occasionally see small processions parading through the city.

Day 29: Today is a quiet day, I have strong muscle soreness in my calves. I went to various beaches and read. To get to one beach, you had to hike the Monkey Trail, again those monkeys. The tides here in the Indian Ocean are very strong. In the evening, I had a beer with a very talkative Indian.

So I didn't really warm up to Ao Nang. It's probably fine for beachgoers, partygoers, and sex tourists. There is not much to see and do for backpackers. There is even Burger King and McDonald's here. What is really annoying here is that you are constantly approached every few meters and people try to lure you into bars, restaurants, "massage salons," and tailors. These are tough times for people and you see a lot of vacant spaces, but it's annoying. Goodbye Ao Nang, I won't be back anytime soon.