Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Krabi Rules!

Our day in Ao Nang started at six in the morning as Julius and I only have half of the day to explore Krabi before we travel back to Bangkok in the afternoon. 

The town was still silent when we left the hotel; the beach was deserted except for a few joggers. Boats for Raileh, our destination for the day, don't leave Ao Nang until eight. So PJ and I had a couple of hours to waste, which we spent camwhoring (what else?). 

Half an hour before eight, and quite impatient already, we found a group of locals hoisting their cargo into one of those long-tail boats. PJ, who can speak some Thai, negotiated for us to hop on their boat and shortly thereafter we were cruising the bay of Ao Nang on a boat decked with beer, mineral water, and ice (I figured those people were bringing supplies for some resort they manage in Ao Nang). 

The sunrise was beautiful in the bay, with colossal cliffs, popular with rock-climbers, dropping directly into the blue water.
Ao Nang in the morning and our boat ride to Raileh Beach

In ten minutes, we reached Raileh Beach, which rests on the end of a peninsula. The cove on which it sits is surrounded by more imposing cliffs, making Raileh a rock-climber's paradise.

(I actually remember the first season of The Amazing Race stopping in Krabi, and from what I remember it seemed that they had a rock-climbing challenge in Raileh.)

The beach was still coming to life when we reached the beach. Some tourists who were booked in hotels right on the beach-front were having breakfast while some people paddled in the water in kayaks. I would've loved to do some rock-climbing and kayaking but we simply did not have enough time, instead, we quickly took pictures of the amazing place.

Asking a few locals, we located the winding path to Pranang Beach. The walk to the said beach took us though the marshy beach of Raileh East and through limestone walls where we caught sight of a few squirrels and birds.

Raileh Beach early in the morning

Another side of Raileh cove
I died at Hat Pranang. The moment I had my first glance of the beach, I was running towards it, shrieking "Ohmygawd ohmygawd ohmygawd ohmygawd!!!" (repeat 3,000 times). 

I honestly don't know how to describe the place; I fear that I would not give it enough justice. If there was anything on my mind the whole time I was in Hat Pranang is that I wish the Pranses was with me *blush*.

A family of locals were having a picnic near the small cave and except for them we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. While rushing towards the small cave that had phallic offerings (cute!), I did not notice that PJ had conjured his inner mermaid and was already swimming in the emerald water. 


The water was really, really tempting but I thought, damn, if I got wet it would not look good in the pictures. I know, I have set my priorities right! We explored more the cove and camwhored like we owned it.
Hat Pranang, bitch!

Hat Pranang, baby! Wish you were here, guapo.
Hat Pranang is the best beach I've seen in my life. I'm sorry Surigao, but Hat Pranang just nailed it. I swear. 

On the other hand, I haven't really seen all the good beaches in the Philippines. I haven't been to Pagudpud, Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, or Bantayan and I can only hope that at least one of them would bump Hat Pranang off the top of my list. But for now, it sits right there comfortably. 

I wonder how the other beaches in Krabi would fare, having missed Kho Phi Phi and so on, not to mention the beaches in the other parts of Southern Thailand (there are still numerous!). I'd soon find that out coz my friends and I already planning a trip back to Krabi in mid-May. 

Tang ina, I'd stay longer and explore more beaches, at least in Krabi. Methinks: At naging convert daw ako into becoming a beach bum? Katakot! Note to self: You hate beaches, remember?

A number of tourist boats started to arrive in the cove, bringing with them hordes of orange tourists. So PJ and I decided that it was time to go back to Raileh where we caught a boat back to Ao Nang. 


Damn, Ao Nang was already crowded when we got back. Obese people were sunning themselves on the beach. I don't get it, if I were that enormous I would never EVER leave the house, much less hang my flabs in the beach only to ruin the scenery. I know, I know, I''m a weight Nazi (what's new?). And oh dear, I saw some topless women! I've never seen so many mammary glands in my life!!! I'm traumatized, I swear!

PJ and I had a big lunch at the street-side food stalls and went back to the guesthouse to freshen up. Since we had an hour to kill, we took pictures of Ao Nang town and lingered under the midday sun, watching the long-tail boats bobbing in the water. 


We then took a 30-minute ride on a songthaew back to Krabi town where we camwhored in the jetty set amidst a verdant mangrove forest and some distant karst formations. A couple of hours later we were on a bus bound for Bangkok.
Ao Nang at noon

At the jetty, Krabi Town

Now I'd take this chance to thank PJ for being such a nice traveling companion. He was very, very patient with all my whining about the mosquitoes, the heat, the sand, and just about anything. 

He was also a willing photographer to such an extremely demanding model (that's moi dear). PJ really came prepared for the trip, his costume and accessories in particular. 

Three sunglasses, two scarves, one sarong, two swimming trunks, and a host of cleavage-bearing shirts. As a tribute, I present the changing face of PJ.
The diva of them all. Jabo!
That concludes my entries about the trip to the south of Thailand. 

I am very much impressed with the ease of traveling in this country. The bus stations are relatively clean and efficient, the buses are comfortable, the boats leave on time, the people at the guesthouses are honest and accommodating, and in general, the people are very friendly and helpful. 

And dahling, don't get me started on the amazing infrastructure (highways, seaports, and airports) otherwise I'd sound like I came from some other planet. And for those traveling with a budget, it is surprisingly VERY cheap to go around.

For more pictures of this last section of the trip, check this out.

15 comments:

the boomerang kid said...

nice post & photos! bangkok, chiang mai & kanchanaburi are the only places in thailand that i'd been to. your post makes me want to see more.

by the way, thanks for dropping by my blog. ex-links?

kawadjan said...

hi zen bitch! thanks for dropping by ha.
hay, i've never been to chiang mai and kanchanaburi. swerte mo!
the south is something. i heard there are more beaches down there.

i linked you already. i've been reading your blog for the longest time pero ngayon lang kita nadagdag sa links ko.
cheers dear!

chase / chubz said...

oh my. pristine beach!
kaka inggit!!
sarap mag swimming ng hubad jan!

kawadjan said...

chase: YESterday! skinny dipping ang drama.
ang ganda ng lugar. i swear babalik akeeezzzz.

jericho said...

shettt, ang ganda-ganda ng mga lugar. at cute ka dun sa Krabi Town pic... hehehe

kawadjan said...

jericho. naman, salamat sa pag appreciate ng mga pics. ang chaka ng pagka-retouch actually. pero nakakapagod cyang i-career. tamad ako. :)

Anonymous said...

clap clap clap...wonderful pics. wagi ang mga posing, wala akong ma say!

7 hrs north from krabi, nasa penang ka na, where i live, dumalaw ka na! pramis, maganda rin ang beach.

kawadjan said...

hi ms penang! naman, i will drop by your wonderful city next time. sabi nga ng friend ko winnie the pooh din ang place. i suppose i'd love the architecture there. ikaw ang guide ha. choz!

Anonymous said...

ganda pics! reminiscent of my el nido days... u should go to palawan. :-)

Kiks said...

nakakainis. walang effort sa pagpose. sa pananamit.

like sa pagsusulat.

so smooth. nakakainis...

kawadjan said...

bianca: haler love! salamat sa pagbisita. winner nga ang krabi. i wish di ma-spoil ang visit ko to palawan (if ever) only because i would keep on comparing it with krabi.

kiks: naman! i do exert a LOT of effort just to look and sound effortless. fake it til you believe it's real! hahaha. thanks for the kind words. coming from you, it means a lot. bow.

Admin said...

Nice naman, kakainggit....

Huh~!

Next adventure mo pumunta ka ng Mindoro... ako ang bahala sa iyo! Hehe :)

kawadjan said...

hi richard. salamat sa bisita.

Anonymous said...

wow! gana balitaw an hat pranang. the sands color comparable to that of siargao. pero bagan mas gana ra gihapon an boracay (though i havent been there) based on the photos ive seen and on the recommendations made by travel magazines.

pero marajaw gajud.

kawadjan said...

hi jun! yeah, i should've checked boracay no? but i'd probably do that soon enough. :-)

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