Sun in the Andaman Sea

After the really cool days in Chiang Mai, we continued towards Krabi. Since we still had a few days, we wanted to spend them on the sunniest beaches possible.

Ao Nang and Railay Beach

Before heading to the islands, we made a stop in Ao Nang, a small tourist resort near Krabi. Here we spent the first day at the beach, which is quite nice despite the many tourists. However, the prices in the restaurants there were really expensive, which we were not used to from our previous destinations. In the evening, we found a small food court a short walk away from the beach, where we found really good and cheap street food. There I also had the best green curry of our trip:-)

But the main reason for our stay was the trip to the famous Railay Beach, which can only be reached by boat from Krabi and Ao Nang. We set off there the next day. Actually, we thought that there would only be the beach and a few restaurants, but here too tourism has made its mark. It is like a village consisting of restaurants, bars and some luxury resorts.

But before we lie on the beach, we had some sports activities planned. We wanted to see the viewpoint and the lagoon at Railay Beach. I also thought that the way there wouldn't be so difficult, at least that's what I read. But when we stood in front of the climb, it looked a bit different. We had to climb steep rocks for about 30 minutes. That was really tough. Once at the top, we could enjoy the view from the viewpoint and catch our breath. Then we followed the path down to the lagoon. This was also very special. We had to go back down from the viewpoint to a lagoon where you can swim when the tide is high. Again, we had to navigate over rocks and mud, as well as three very rickety and slippery bamboo ladders. Once we reached the bottom, we could swim and get rid of the mud. Of course, we had to make the whole way back, first up to the viewpoint and then back down to the starting point. All in all, it was fun and we really deserved the beach afterwards.

And the beach is really beautiful. It is framed by rocks on the sides and despite the many tourists, it doesn't feel crowded.

Ko Phi Phi

The next day we continued with the ferry from Krabi to Ko Phi Phi, the party island. After a relatively long search for a hostel that wasn't too expensive, we got to see both sides of Ko Phi Phi. One is a beautiful beach that we could see directly from our room, and the other is loud music that echoes through the town in the afternoon. The whole town consists only of restaurants, bars, and accommodation, and everything is twice as expensive as in the rest of Thailand. But it's really cool. We also immediately enjoyed the nightlife on the first evening and celebrated in a beach bar. The beach bars offer a proper entertainment program in the evenings. It ranges from fire shows to limbo and rope jumping, as well as various strength tests. Everything, of course, with the incentive of winning alcohol. It was really cool to dance and party on the sand right by the sea all evening.

So the next day was all about relaxation. We also booked a snorkeling tour for the next morning, which turned out to be a real hit. We didn't book one of the mass tours offered on every corner, but a tour that was more expensive, but we were only 5 people.

Our guide, a Swedish woman who has been living on Ko Phi Phi for a long time, showed us three different spots where we could see different types of underwater world. At the first stop, we saw sharks. Unfortunately, the water here was a bit stirred up and not very clear, so it was a bit difficult to see the sharks properly. Here we also snorkelled into a cave.

The second stop was in a small bay. There were really a lot of colorful fish to see here. But the highlight came at the third spot. Here we were lucky enough to see three sea turtles. We had a really good view here and could swim very close to the turtles. It was really great.

During the tour, we also made a short stop at Maya Bay, known from the movie The Beach. However, we skipped the €10 fee to enter the beach. It didn't look really spectacular anyway.

After three days, our time on Ko Phi Phi was already over. If you are looking for good parties but also want to see some beach and nature, this is the place to be. We really liked it.

Ko Lanta

The final destination before Bangkok was Ko Lanta. There we spent most of our time relaxing in our little bungalow almost right by the sea. We also drove around the island on a scooter for two days and visited various beaches, which are almost all really beautiful and sometimes still quite empty. We also briefly visited the old lighthouse in the national park on Ko Lanta and watched the cheeky monkeys steal food from the tourists:-)

Another highlight was our visit to Lanta Animal Welfare, a rescue station for stray dogs and cats. The facility operates solely on a voluntary basis. They not only take in and care for injured animals, but also try to find them homes worldwide and help with their adoption. They also help with the sterilization of animals nationwide to control overpopulation and the frequent occurrence of inbreeding, especially in cats.

After a short tour, we also had the opportunity to take the dogs for a walk since the organization relies on the help of visitors, as they cannot manage to walk the approximately 25 dogs three times a day on their own. We had a really great afternoon here and the dogs and cats were just lovely.

Next up was Christmas and shopping in Bangkok.