thailand: the stunning beaches of krabi

for most countries, the lonely planet company gives you a book. thailand gets 2: 'lonely planet - thailand' and 'lonely planet: 'islands and beaches of thailand.' thailand has so many world class beaches (and islands, which also have beaches) that it would take a lifetime to properly explore them all.

there are lots of famous ones like phuket, phiphi, pattaya...many people told us that krabi was an excellent choice - big enough to be accessible but not too big that it would be inundated with tourists. the little town is named krabi and the nearby beach is ao nang.

immediately we arrived we hit the beach, and just caught a beautiful sun setting into the andaman sea. the andaman sea is part of the indian ocean, and its waters seem to possess a beautiful and unique blue-green color.

of course, if one gets tired of the ocean there is the hotel pool. if any of you are considering need-greating, thailand should be one of your options (after kenya, obviously!). thailand is extremely affordable. if cheapskate musa could afford to stay in a hotel, then really anyone can.

thailand has a huge variety of transport. these boats are called 'longtail' boats. they have a full 4 cylinder car engine mounted seemingly precariously on the stern. the only thing missing is a radiator, because, well the sea. there is just a little tube sucking in water that cools the engine and pumps it back out into the ocean. for a fee, these boats will take you anywhere you wish at a rapid clip.

another highlight, or so i was told, of thailand is their famous massages. the thais view a massage as a birthright. they are generally about 5$ for an hour and supposedly really good. after much begging and persuasion, sandi got me to try one and apparently i got the one evil masseur in the entire country. evidently when i said 'i'll have a massage, thank you' he understood 'kick me in the spine repeatedly then pummel me with your rock hard fists'. 

so for a bit of relief i joined the kingdom hall build. the little congregation in krabi were building a hall and it was great to have a small share. a couple of weeks after this it was dedicated. i couldn't communicate too much, but they have one deaf sister in the cong, so we had a great old time comparing sign languages. the deaf are amazing - they can communicate with anyone.

one day as i was wandering around the neighbourhood early morning i discovered this little path up the mountain....it took me on a half hour hike around the mountain up a steep cliff. thailand is quite humid and i was soon drenched. but what a pleasant walk. after ascending maybe 200m, it started to descend again and soon i was at this pretty beach...

this area is known for its limestone karsts. these are formed because limestone is soluble in water, so over many years of erosion, the limestone is dissolved leaving these towers and sharp cliffs all over. it leads to a very dramatic landscape.

another form of transport is the 'songthaew' - a pickup with a roof and benches in the back. this is what it looks like from the inside. they are very cheap - about 0.20$ and usually the people are very friendly - everyone sits facing each other so not much choice really!

i leave you with the fascinating story of how krabi became an important place in the thailand. in the late 1800s the capital had now been established in bangkok, and one governer established an elephant kraal in krabi. he sent his vizier to ensure that a regular supply of elephants would emanate from krabi. eventually this grew into krabi the town. the moral being, i guess, that you can never be too careful where you set up your elephant kraals as you never know what they will develop into!