LIFES A BEACH!

Hello My Friends. Welcome Back! This week Michelle and I took a break from sightseeing and decided it was time for some rest and relaxation. We departed Krabi Town and made our way to Ao Nang Beach. This area is over flooded with Western style restaurants, souvenir carts, and pricey resorts. It took us 30 minutes to actually find a bungalow that was in our budget. It took us even longer to find cheap Thai food. We didn't travel half way across the globe to eat pepperoni pizza, haha! The beach was absolutely beautiful and with the weather hitting the mid 90s and the humidity at 100%, water is a very welcoming sight.

 

The beaches off Krabi are lined with limestone rock faces, which make it one of the most popular climbing destinations in the world. The top of the Ao Nang Beach is lined with massage tents and 5 star restaurants.

Michelle catching some sun rays

Smile!

 Catching a sunset while enjoying a Chang's beer, brewed and distributed throughout Thailand.

This is the view from our balcony at the Forest Park Bungalows. We decided to leave Ao Nang and head to Ton Sai Beach. This beach was underdeveloped but it felt comfortable. Oddly enough, we ran into several Americans and even some of them hailed from Oregon. 

 

As you can see, Michelle feels at home! This tree house like structure is supported by stilts and includes its own mosquito net and bathroom. (400 BAHT/ night) 

For all those that think a trip to Thailand is all peaches and cream take a look at our bathroom/ shower. South east Asian countries rarely have western style bathrooms. That black bucket has a bowl that you use to scoop water and force flush "your business" down the drain. This is not the case in all hostels and hotels but it made me think twice about taking a shower or using the restroom. Michelle didn't bat an eye... she's a keeper!

Another item both of us noticed was that Ton Sai was full of reggae bars and hippies. Marijuana sometimes caked the air as we passed certain areas. As you can see from the signage they were not shy about their lifestyle despite Thailand having one of the most strict drug legislation (deportation, jail, or even death). On a side note, Ton Sai is definitely the place to be if you enjoy rock climbing. They have courses for all skill levels.    

For all the slow ones, Peace Cake means cake with marijuana in it. And it was delic... just kidding!

 When low tide hits you can see all the rocks emerge from the sand

 View from our kayak around a rock island

 The water level is about waist high even around 100 yards from the beach. We had to avoid snorkelers as we paddled.

We kayaked to Railay Beach (west). A friendly passerby-er took a pic of us as we arrived  Railay Beach (east) is full of mangroves and is not a place you want to swim.

 Don't forget to wear sunscreen!

"Please hurry and take this photo, all this flexing is straining my arms " - Jason

 

Nice form

 And after about 5 days and 4 nights, we took a long tail boat back to Krabi Town. This is one the symbols of the towns, go figure! Krabi actually gets its name due to when the city was discovered ancient swords were found in the earth. Regardless it is a great place to stay en route to other destinations. So tomorrow, December 3rd, we are off to Phuket!

 And for anyone who thinks I am going to get rusty on the PS3 sticks, THINK AGAIN!?! They got FIFA in every Testcos and mall. Bring IT!!!

Toodles...