Krabi is a relaxing province filled with limestone towers shooting up from tiny islands amidst the crashing surf of the Andaman Sea. Compared to neighboring Phuket (a.k.a. beach party paradise), Krabi is less crowded, more geographically varied, and more spread out.
Krabi contains countless islands, many of which are modestly popular tourist destinations. The legendary Phi Phi Islands, however, are a top travel destination, where Cream used to live and work at a hotel. She has been longing to return and I still hadn’t been, so the Phi Phi’s seemed like the perfect spot for us to visit.
This time of year is hot and polluted in Chiang Mai, so after a few weeks of acclimatizing to Cream’s new remote job, we decided to get out of dodge for a bit, as many residents do each April. I also needed to do a “visa run” — meaning, leave Thailand and then come back with a fresh passport stamp — so Southern Thailand’s islands made the perfect stop en route to Singapore and Malaysia, which I’ve also been wanting to visit.
See all photos in my Krabi Photo Gallery.
COVID, Episode V: The ‘Vid Strikes Back
Cream and I planned to leave a week after Songkran, the Thai New Year. In retrospect, perhaps it was unwise to go out to a nightclub during the new year festivities.
Cream soon came down with the ‘vid, as a test revealed a few days before our departure. I continued to test negative somehow, despite our living together and spending most of every day at home. It became clear quickly that Cream wouldn’t be able to come to Krabi, at least for the first few days, so I flew down with my original ticket while she recovered. She joined me a few days later.
Stone Towers — Railay Beach
Each day there is only one direct flight from Chiang Mai to Krabi, departing around dawn and arriving by 8:30am. Groggy, I stepped off the plane and walked through the tiny three-gate airport.
Next to the exit, people shouted and held up big signs for Ao Nang and Ao Nammao piers. It’s easy to get to Railay from either pier. Krabi is a small international airport and a popular destination for foreigners and Thai people alike, so it’s no surprise that getting to the major tourist sites is extremely easy, even without speaking a word of Thai.
Railay is a tiny little tourist village located on a short stretch of beach with giant cliffs towering above it on either side. Even though it’s technically a peninsula off the mainland, the impregnable rock fortress makes it accessible only by sea, so it feels like an island. There are no cars in Railay, not even motorbikes or mopeds; it’s just a small maze of six-foot-wide pedestrian walkways. Motor vehicles would be superfluous anyway — a walk across town takes less than five minutes.
I spent the day strolling around and taking in the place for the first time. I was shocked by just how small it is. I started outside my hotel and walked along Railay West beach. This beach is iconic, sporting crystal clear water, smooth and pure sand, and giant rocks framing it on either side.
After enjoying Railay West and Railay East, I followed a snaking walkway under the limestone rocks towards Phra Nang beach, on the southern side of the island. Rock climbers scaled the vertical cliffs (this is one of the world’s top climbing destinations), and I waded through the warm water for another half kilometer of beach. More limestone spires stood straight out of the water offshore.
People had told me about a hidden gem in Railay – a lagoon, tucked inside one of the giant rocks – but had warned me that it would be very hard to get to. Naturally, I underestimated them, and soon found myself climbing a near-vertical pitch in my flip flops to the top of the rock. The viewpoint was totally worth the climb.
What I hadn’t expected was the climb down from the top, on the other side, to get to the lagoon, which sits in an enclave carved out of the rock. Here again was a near vertical pitch, steeper than the climb up, and to add to the challenge, it was extremely slippery. Even on flat ground, I was slipping around. When I saw one particularly treacherous vertical part, I decided to turn back. No hidden gem lagoon for me. But that’s okay – I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the beach and by the pool, enjoying the good life in this beautiful spot.
I sat on the beach to watch the sunset. A sizable group played an intense match of beach soccer in front of me. I’ve never been a big sports fan, but I was captivated. They were really quite good. Occasionally, someone kicked a ball a bit too hard, but somehow they always missed the spectators’ heads by a few narrow inches amidst a chorus of shouted warnings.
Railay has one short commercial street, conveniently located next to my hotel. I had some tasty Indian food there for dinner and enjoyed a banana-nutella roti for dessert. The waiters appreciated that I could speak to them in their native language in such a touristy place.
After dinner, I sat on the beach a bit longer in the darkness and listened to the waves. I went back to the hotel, swam a bit more, meditated, and turned in early for the night. It was a good day, and Railay was a cool place, but I’m glad I only spent one day there, since it’s tiny, expensive, and full of tourists.
But still — very nice beaches.
Beachcombing — Koh Lanta
The next day I woke up, had a tasty breakfast, and set out for the day. Organizing a work-cation, Cream and I planned to spend the majority of our time in Koh Lanta, a larger, chiller island. We found a nice, spacious Airbnb up on a hill with a great view of the sea. I arrived and met the hosts, a friendly German man and his Thai wife, who rented me a motorbike and immediately gave me dozens of recommendations for things to check out, places to eat, and even scenic roads to drive on throughout the island.
I arrived fairly late in the day, so I sipped a coffee while watching the waves on nearby Long Beach, which is, indeed, a long beach. It was fairly empty, since April is the shoulder season before the monsoons arrive.
The next day I took my motorbike out for a spin to the southwest corner of the island. The road gets a little narrower and more rugged halfway down. Cliffs are broken up by gorgeous beach after gorgeous beach, which are all mostly (or entirely) empty. I drove for a while and eventually came to the southern tip of the island. I entered Koh Lanta National Park and climbed the hill there to the battered lighthouse.
I relaxed in the national park on another crystal clear, too-beautiful-to-be-real beach, which I had all to myself, again. I swam in the calm sea and walked around, eventually stopping by the viewpoint pier while monkeys crowded around in nearby trees.
Thoroughly relaxed, I made my way back up the coast, stopping at a few more sublime and eerily deserted beaches along the way. Something about these empty, pristine beaches drops me headfirst into a trance, and I remain in a state of awe, completely mesmerized by their beauty. I sat in the sand a little longer and calmly watched the gentle waves roll in before moving on to the next beach, slowly making my way back towards town, dinner, and bed.
Lanta Diver — Scuba Diving In Koh Lanta
Last Christmas, my brother, an experienced scuba diver, told me to go diving in Thailand, and as a gift, he gave me some cash to be dedicated toward this end. Now that I had a few days in laid-back Lanta — one of the world’s top scuba paradises — I decided to take an Open Water Diver certification course, which is the first, most basic course.
While many scuba shops had closed in anticipation of the low season, I eventually came across Lanta Diver, where I would be able to complete my certification course over the next three days. The people at the shop gave me some study materials and told me to come back for pool training the next morning.
The next day, I met my instructor, Rich, a tall British man with a good sense of humor who’s been living on Koh Lanta for over a decade. We went over the study materials together before heading to the pool. On the way, he pointed out some more great recommendations — a tasty restaurant and a “secret” beach to check out.
We did our pool training, going through various exercises like putting together the gear, putting it on and taking it off in the water, breathing through the regulator, and — my favorite — taking my mask off and putting it back on, then clearing it, underwater. While it’s easy enough to just breathe through the regulator in your mouth, even without a mask, there’s something oddly terrifying about having bubbles go up your nose as you exhale underwater. Eventually though, I passed all the tests.
I finished my training by the afternoon, just as Cream arrived on the island. We went out to lunch and dinner and relaxed for the rest of the day.
The next day, I went out on the scuba boat for some real open water diving while Cream explored Koh Lanta along a similar route to the one I’d taken. The boat made its way to Koh Bida, just south of the Phi Phi Islands, for a few dives.
Rich and I started each dive practicing the same skills from the pool and then swam around for about 40 minutes. Repeating the fill-your-mask-with-water-and-clear-it exercise under 20 feet of water was a bit more terrifying, but somehow I managed it (though I certainly needed a minute to calm down afterwards). Then we’d swim around and check out some of the incredible native marine life.
The tropics, as I’m told, have the best diving. The warm water is a fertile breeding ground for coral and hosts an abundance of colorful fish. Swimming around was beautiful, and with each dive, I became more comfortable with the sensations and gear. We saw lionfish, scorpionfish, parrotfish, clownfish, triggerfish, barracuda, pufferfish, moray eels, a stingray, and more. We even saw a lobster on a giant underwater cliffside, reaching into the abyss. Rich also coaxed a huge mantis shrimp out of its little sand-hole home. During the dives, I got into the habit of checking my air, my depth (and “no-stop time” — ask me about it sometime if you’re curious), and equalizing my ears often.
Diving is quite fascinating, in part, because of how easy it is. When Jerry Garcia was in a total downward spiral during the early 90s, he fell in love with it. The silence of the ocean was his only escape from a fame so giant that it would later kill him. (Well, diving and heroin too, I guess; presumably not at the same time.)
The fishes are always chilling and they have no fear of humans whatsoever, swimming right up to you. They can be awfully friendly, coming within an arm’s reach. If you were to extend a hand, though, they’d quickly duck away, impossible to catch.
The lungs and body adapt to changes in depth and pressure remarkably well. Whether you’re three meters underwater or 30, you can behave quite normally. It’s only uncomfortable when it’s unfamiliar; once you get used to it, it’s so easy.
The only catch is that you have to watch out for nitrogen bubbles forming under your skin. That only happens, though, if you ascend too fast. As long as you take your time, you should be fine. Besides the save-your-life techniques like replacing your mask or regulator underwater, learning about decompression sickness is actually one of the biggest units of the open water course, which, as it turns out, is equally important for safety.
I had three wonderful dives on the first day at Koh Bida, and Cream came with the boat for the second day. More people crowded around the dive boat this time as it made its two-hour journey to Koh Haa (literal translation — Five Islands), southwest of Koh Lanta.
One guy introduced himself as the photographer. As we chatted, he told me that Rich, my dive instructor, is probably the most experienced instructor in all of Thailand; in fact, Rich is the guy who trains the other instructors. Somehow this detail had yet to come up. I felt grateful and fortunate to work so closely with such an experienced teacher. Reflecting back, I realized yeah, this guy really knows his stuff and as his student, I probably couldn’t drown even if I tried.
Rich and I finished our skills review on the first dive of the day. This time, I took a few moments to calm myself before taking the mask all the way off and putting it back on and clearing it underwater. As I readied myself, I considered, for a moment, saying “screw this” and swimming for the surface (that’s how uncomfortable it is).
I took another few deep breaths and after an eternity, I calmly felt the water rush over my face as I intentionally welcomed it in. I pulled the mask off, continued slowly breathing through the regulator, then put it back on and forced the water out by exhaling a few times through my nose. Rich gave me some underwater applause and a handshake. It’s an unpleasant exercise, but an important one. Hopefully I never have to use it in a scenario other than training, but I’m much more prepared and confident now that I could do it if I needed to.
We swam around and saw more beautiful fish and coral, this time descending to 18 meters (60 feet) below the surface. To my surprise, I hardly even noticed the difference between 12 and 18 meters; it felt the same to me, the surroundings were just a little darker. I felt even more comfortable and really enjoyed myself.
When we climbed back aboard the boat, it was announced that we’d only be doing two dives instead of the anticipated three, since there was a problem with the engine. So, for the second dive, Cream and I dove with Rich and explored more reefs together. Cream isn’t a certified diver, but she’s dove around 10 times before, back when she used to live in the Phi Phi Islands.
Rich and another instructor commented on how good Cream’s technique was, saying she should come back to get certified. She replied that she’d love to become an instructor someday. Cream loves animals — including underwater ones — more than anyone else I’ve ever met. She already felt totally comfortable underwater and was giddy over the different fishes we saw.
On this last dive, some guys got very lucky and saw a huge whale shark. It’s more likely to see one during the calmer shoulder and low seasons, but still incredibly rare. Our trio missed it by about two minutes, but alas. We can still say we were in the water with a whale shark, I guess.
Eventually, we made our way back to shore and had dinner. We relaxed and I caught up on work. Our “work-cation” on Koh Lanta ended up being more of a “scuba-cation” since Cream was still out sick from work and my hours are flexible.
We watched the sunset on the “secret beach” and got ready to leave the next morning.
Lucky Day — Phi Phi Islands
We boarded a speedboat from Koh Lanta directly to the Phi Phi islands in the morning – about a 30 minute ride.
There are two Phi Phi islands, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh. The former has a small, flat stretch surrounded by giant rocks, which is where they built all the hotels and businesses. It’s like Railay but slightly larger. Phi Phi Leh, on the other hand, is smaller and uninhabited, but can easily be visited from Phi Phi Don. Phi Phi Leh is the home of The Beach — the one and only, apparently — and some other natural wonders.
Cream was returning to the Phi Phi’s for the first time in two years, after the pandemic temporarily shut down the hotel she worked at, forcing her to move home to Chiang Mai. She missed the islands so much — not just her friends there, but also the dazzling blue water, the giant cliffs, and the always-hot weather. I reminded her that the weather is also always-humid, to an extent that I found rather uncomfortable. She laughed and shrugged. “It’s paradise,” she said.
Upon arriving on Phi Phi Don, we checked into our hotel and immediately went over to her friend’s family restaurant where we had some lunch and caught up for a while, sharing many laughs and smiles. We would eat there three times in two days, stopping by to say hello again and again. I think it’s a cultural thing, perhaps not just in Thailand, to support your friends’ businesses whenever you’re in town.
After lunch, we made our way over to hire a longtail boat and take a day trip to Phi Phi Leh. We met a boat driver through our hotel and boarded his small vessel, the Chok Wan Dee — literal translation: “Lucky Day” — and started towards Phi Phi Leh.
A most auspicious name, and it turned out to be our lucky day indeed. Halfway between the islands, our captain stopped the boat and started saying something quickly in Thai, to which Cream immediately perked up in excitement.
“Dolphins!” she said. Sure enough, four dolphins circled the boat, popping up to the surface every few seconds. Despite the straight between the two islands being full of dozens of boats, I’m almost certain that ours was the only boat to see the dolphins. Did I mention it was our lucky day?
We made our way along the coast of Phi Phi Leh, marveling at the sheer stone cliff walls. First stop: The Beach.
Specifically, The Beach is a cove called Maya Bay. It’s the famous beach from the movie, The Beach, where Leonardo Di Caprio and friends escape their 9-to-5’s and seek a world of pleasure and partying in Thailand. Eventually, I think they got chased away by cannibals or something — I haven’t seen the movie, and I’ve heard it was pretty weird. Anyway, The Beach came out somewhere around 20 years ago, and in a lot of ways, it put Thailand on the map. It absolutely put the Phi Phi Islands, in particular, on the map. Ever since, people have been coming to the one and only, The beach.
So many people came that in 2018, they had to close it. There was too much trash and the coral were dying. The Beach lay dormant for a few years, only glimpsed over water through the cracks in the rocks by boat. No more brewskis with the bois for Leo Di Cap.
Thanks to this successful restoration effort, however, Maya Bay finally reopened to visitors in 2022. The Beach is definitely the nicest beach I’ve been to. The grains of sand are the tiniest, softest little snowflakes I’ve ever seen, and the views are second to none. (Fun fact about Thailand: the sand is made of fish poop!) The only downside is the fact that you can’t swim or stay more than an hour.
Next, we went to the famous Pi Leh Lagoon. We snorkeled at the entrance for a bit before taking our boat for a short drive into the lagoon and taking some photos. It was jam packed with other touring boats, though, so we didn’t stay long.
On the way back to Phi Phi Don, we drove by Viking Cave, a giant alcove in the rock just above the water with interesting geological formations. It’s also a major harvesting location for edible birds nests, to be made into the Chinese delicacy birds nest soup.
We anchored offshore at Monkey Beach for a while, watching the monkeys crowd around the sand, glaring at the boats and their humans, waiting for something edible to be thrown. From what I’ve heard, these monkeys have, unfortunately, become dependent on their human benefactors and are extremely aggressive. If you go ashore, they will ruthlessly attack you. We even saw monkeys swimming out to the boats. One even climbed aboard the boat next to us, only to be pushed off by a long pole. It was nice to see more monkeys, but places like these can leave a bad taste in your mouth, so to speak.
Back at Phi Phi Don we swam in the pool, had some Indian food for dinner, and made our way through the narrow streets back to Cream’s friend’s restaurant for dessert. The scenery was as good as they say, and it was a lovely, lucky day.
The next morning we boarded a boat headed to Krabi town located on the mainland. Cream made a promise to herself to return once a year. I would gladly return to such a magical place.
Paradise indeed!
Onward From Krabi
Krabi town is a small village on the shores of Thailand’s southern peninsula, on the mainland. We stopped by some markets and got some food, having dinner with another one of Cream’s friends who lives here. It was a nice, calm evening to close out the trip.
The next morning, we made our way back to the tiny airport. Cream was heading back to Chiang Mai, and my flight to Singapore would leave half an hour later. We waited at the gate together until I watched her vanish into the catwalk, waving and smiling at each other until she finally left. Immediately after she disappeared, I felt a wave of silence rush over me, suddenly feeling so completely alone, despite being surrounded by people. I was excited to continue my trip, but I already missed her.
Half an hour later, I boarded my flight. I would visit Singapore for five days, then Malaysia for another six, before returning to Chiang Mai for a week and a half; then I’d go to Bangkok for a few days where I’d catch my flight home to New York to attend some friends’ weddings, a vipassana course, and a college reunion. Then Cream and I will meet up in Vietnam in mid-June after I stay a few more days at home with my family. After that? No plans yet. I suppose I’ll probably visit Cambodia for a few days, just for good measure.
All these places. Travel can be so disorienting, and when I look at a paragraph like the last, it’s not hard to see why. I’ll be departing for the next place as soon as I get over the jetlag from the previous one. Yet much like scuba diving, the more time I spend living and working remotely in Asia, the more comfortable and better it feels to be here. I feel perfectly comfortable, assimilated, and at-home in the extremely different world of Southeast Asia.
It is so unique and such a far cry from anything I’ve ever known, yet it is so full of beauty. The people are friendly and love to smile. The food is delicious (and spicy!). It’s barely an exaggeration to say that every place you step foot in is safer than the safest neighborhood in the entire western hemisphere (and not just for white males, for the record). Even when it’s “cold” it’s still hot.
There’s nothing at all to worry about here.
Just enjoyment.
See you in the next country,
Andrew
P.S. Subscribe to the email list with the form at the bottom of this page for stories and photos from more unique, beautiful places!
One thought on “Island Hopping in Southern Thailand – The Krabi Patty Party”