Princess Bay, Krabi

Ao Nang, Phra Nang and Railay

Elephants, now beaches! 

Ao Nang's main part of town lies close to the beach, along the major road.  This is where you'll find most of the restaurants, bars, travel tour booth and shops.  Along the beachfront there are bigger resorts and hotels.  The beach is nice, although the ocean water is quite warm.  I was anticipating some cool ocean water to refresh me from the heat, but the water was as warm as a bath.  On the left side of the waterfront, past all the resorts, is a place called The Last Fisherman where you can get some food, a massage or manicure.  I had lunch at the restaurant (a Thai pork omelet and rice for 70 baht) and bought a mango rum daiquiri (90 baht).  

Evening Fire Show At One of the Bars

Ao Nang

Longtail Boat

Thieving Monkeys

The following day we took a long tail boat to a couple nearby beaches--Phra Nang and West Railay.  These beaches are part of Thailand's mainland, however are blocked in by mangroves and cliffs, making it only accessible by boat.  We bought out tickets at the ticket booth down the road, near where most of the longtails dock.  Tickets were 200 baht roundtrip.  We boarded the long tail which dropped us off at Phra Nang.  Phra Nang is a peaceful white sand beach surrounded by limestone cliffs.  Of the 3 mainland beaches we visited, Phra Nang was most enjoyable.  The water at the beach is still warm but slightly cooler and much clearer than Ao Nang and even West Railay.  There was a nice isolated feeling on the beach that seems like you're on a separate island rather than part of the mainland.  There is also a sand path that extends from the shoreline to a floating limestone rock just off the coast.  It is easy to walk or swim to the rock opposite the beach.  If you're looking for some food, there are also several long tail boat restaurants that serve hot food and beverages for a reasonable price. I bought seafood phad thai and a mango shake for 100 baht from a long tail food stall. 

Phra Nang

In addition to the relaxing beach, Phra Nang also has an interesting cave.  According to the sign, the villagers believe that the spirit of Phranang, Princess Goddess, lives in the cave.  Before going out, fisherman would wish for good luck from Phranang by offering gifts.  Common offerings are flowers and incense, however usually villagers offer special lingam gifts in hopes for fertility and prosperity to the whole earth and mankind. 

It is also possible to walk from Phra Nang to West Railay via the mangrove-filled East Railay area.  The walk is very easy--we just followed the paved road through all the resorts and it only took about 10 mins.  However, watch out for the thieving monkeys along the way.    West Railay is a bit more populated since there are resorts right on the beachfront.  Unfortunately, the water wasn't very nice either, compared to Phra Nang.  So I made use of Railay Bay Resort's spa happy hour and opted to get the best 90 minute massage for 594 baht.  Chai was my masseur and he started by washing my feet with lemon water.  While I was enjoying the rinse off they gave me a floral infused fruit tea--very refreshing.  The massage room was an open air area overlooking the beach and the resort's pool.  The fan in the room and the enjoyable ocean breeze from outside had me relaxed in no time.  It was the best massage I received during my trip.  We took the boat back from West Railay to Ao Nang before sunset. 

Krabi Sunset