Andaman Sea

A very late post about our time in South West Thailand. Apart from are urban and nature adventures we had, we also wanted to get some time in on the beach and Thailand is famous for the many beautiful islands in the Andaman Sea. Everyone talks about Phuket,  but after doing some research, we discovered that Phuket isn't really recommended for visiting and staying. It's too touristy and there other places you can stay that are cheaper, smaller, more cultural, and where you can still easily get to the islands.         

So we booked a hotel in Krabi and that was our central point for 5 days. We used the numerous little travel agencies that help you book trips to all the islands to organize our time there. To visit most of the islands you have to take a speed boat. For about 20 euros for the day they come and pick you up at your hotel and take you to the "port." You're loaded into a speed boat with about 20 other people and you stop to go snorkeling, stop at at least 2 islands, and lunch is provided. Unfortunately this is really the only way to see these islands without spending a ton of money on a private boat. These days were really stressful. The boats were over crowded and there was enough time to actually relax and enjoy the island. It was just enough time to get some photos. 

 

Our first day in Krabi we found a private boat that was going to Railay. We waited for 4 more people to join our boat and we went over together. Railay was the absolute best part of our trip. It was quiet, slow paced, beautiful, and relaxing. If we had known, we would have booked a hotel at Railay and stayed there much longer. In fact we went there the first day and we didn't know what to do the last day in Krabi so we decided to go back. 

In Railay we had a small adventure. There was a high point where there was supposedly a good view of the island. However to get there we had to climb up this hill. It had a big rope running down the hill to help you climb up. It was very deceptive and thought it was just first bit up hill and then there would be a path. But we were wrong. The further we went up the more vertical it became. It was a very exhausting difficult climb. It was slippery and we were both wearing flip flops.  Going up was thing and going down was even more difficult. 

View at the top of the difficult, muddy, slippery climb

The other days we visited the Phi Phi Islands and Hong Islands along with the spot where they filmed The Beach and some other places that I honestly don't remember the name of. 

This was a nice change from the bustling city and constant van rides. However, spending more than 5 days would be difficult unless you chose just one island to relax on and not move around. So this was definitely a good way to end our time in Thailand before heading into Malaysia.