Journey to the province of Krabi

We spent a night in Bangkok to break up the long trip between Koh Chang and the province of Krabi. We didn't mind at all though since we all grown a love for Bangkok. Personally I feel better when I'm in the cities. Don't get me wrong... I do love the peaceful beaches, but something about the noise of the city has always been comforting to me for some reason. We spent the night hanging around the Rumbuttri area... You guessed it... Drinking buckets.

The following evening we boarded an overnight train that would take us to Surat Thani. We considered flying but the train was only $30 and felt like it needed to be part of the adventure. Besides it was overnight and didn't really waste time. The overall experience was entertaining. Everything from the lady who sells beers on the train trying to get everyone hammered, to these weird friend guys playing drinking games, to the snobby hipster dude with a ridiculous mustache. We drank a few beers and watched Talladega Nights on my iPad before passing out for the night. The beds were kinda cool. A dude would come through each car and convert the seats to sleepers. It was a tight fit but kinda cozy as well.

My sleeping quarters for the night.

The next morning we were woken up by the yell of the guy who reminds people that their stops are coming up. We had preordered breakfast the night before so we all got up to eat. I really wish I just slept in because the food was disgusting. My fault though. I wouldn't eat pre-packaged food at home, so I'm not sure why I thought it would be good here. We arrived at the Surat Thani train station shortly after and were herded onto "VIP Buses". The travel agents here have a different definition of VIP then what you would expect. The buses were something in between a city bus and a greyhound. Stuffy, cramped and frequently picking up/dropping off locals. If this was VIP, I'd hate to see what the regular buses look like.

Images appear much nicer when taking on my iPhone

The bus trips aren't that bad I guess. However I could do without the constant transfer from bus to tuk tuk. I'm always paranoid I'll lose my bag during the switch. The last transfer was to our hotel in the beach town of Ao Nang. As we drove it you could tell it was a tourist hub. The streets were very clean and lined with hotels. We arrived at the ascot hotel and were greeted by Apple. She was awesome, as was Sun and the other girl who didn't have a cool name. Erin and I settled in quickly and headed to the beach.

The beach was beautiful. It was very clean and had a ridiculous mountain backdrop. We spent quite a few hours there and at least a few sunsets.

The rest of the time was spent hanging out at the night spots, eating street food or the day trip to Railay Beach. Actually we did take a speedboat tour to the Phi Phi islands, but I didn't have my iPhone. We have some crazy snorkeling pictures but they're on a digital camera right now. I'll upload those once I get home.

I must have eaten 10 chickens and 20 shrimp 3 days.

Longboat to Railay Beach

Everything looks like a postcard here.

Railay Beach at sunset

We were only going to spend 3 nights in Ao Nang but extended it because it was so nice. We lucked out actually. The place was pretty much booked solid but we managed to keep our room. Our nest stop after Ao Nang would be Koh Lanta.