ENG -- Thailand - Krabi - Railay Peninsula

From Ao Nang Beach, where our hotel was, we were able to get quite often to Railay Beach and Phra Nang Beach, where the beaches are more spectacular. There we even saw little fishes swimming in the water. Even though we were in full tourist season, in December, none of the beaches we visited were very crowded.

From Ao Nang you can go by long-tail boat to Tonsai Beach, (West) Railay Beach or Phra Nang (Cave) Beach. To give you an idea, we added below the picture with the prices for the long-tail, but also for other trips that had Ao Nang Beach as a starting point.

The beach on which long-tail boats stop, called Railay Beach, is located in the western part of the Railay Peninsula, and is also known as Railay West. Another area, less touristy but at least as spectacular, is the eastern part (Railay East). The simplest way to get from one side of the peninsula to the other is to follow one of the marked paths, for which there are information panels, such as the one to which we took the picture that we added below.

We were charmed of the scenery and we missed the trail shortly after we started walking on it, but we were not upset because we took a longer walk in which we discovered other wonderful areas of that part of Thailand.

Thus, on our way to Railay East we discovered a cave: Phra Nang Nai Cave - Diamond Cave.

In Railay there is also a view point that promises spectacular views, but which we did not climb. We searched the internet for pictures at home, it seemed difficult to climb, both at home and also on the spot, so we preferred to enjoy what we could see from the ground level.

Below we have posted for you some pictures of the mangroves from Railay East.

We continued our walk exploring the area and we also discovered a bar that offers you the possibility to enjoy your favorite drink not sitting on a chair, but in a tree. What a wonderful view!

At the end of a day of walking and relaxing in Railay East, we followed another path to return to the western part of the peninsula, on another beach, Phra Nang Beach, from where we took the long-tail boat back to Ao Nang Beach. On this beach we returned one of the following days.

Phra Nang Cave or Princess Cave is a cave full of wooden penises of different sizes and colors. One of the local legends says that they are gifts left by local fishermen in order to be safe at sea. Another legend says that the sea brings to the princess from the cave all the wooden penises thrown into the water in that area.

From Phra Nang Beach you can walk to one of the nearby islands, when the sea recedes its waves or you can swim the rest of the time.

Also, from Phra Nang Beach or when you swim you can admire other islands in the area, most of them being formed by rocks rising directly from the water.

While relaxing on one of beaches in Railay, in the shade of a tree, you may be visited by probably the cutest monkeys we've ever seen in Asia.

Thank you for reaching the end of the article. In order to be informed when we publish new articles on this site, but also to see posts that are only on facebook, we invite you to like our facebook page by accessing this link : Doi plimbareti.

You can also read about our first impressions about Thailand, or about Krabi - Ao Nang Beach and soon we will post more articles about our holidays in Thailand. 

ENG -- Thailand - Krabi - Ao Nang Beach

The next stop after Bangkok was Krabi. Given that we wanted to visit an area as representative for Thailand, it wasn't easy at all for us to decide between Krabi and Phuket. We didn't want to get to an area that was too touristy, too hectic; we were looking for quiet, relaxation and those specific landscapes of Thailand that you can find in a simple search on Google. 

Arriving in Krabi, we discovered that the landscapes are much more spectacular than we could capture them in the photos taken with a phone camera or even comparing with those in the images edited by others.

From Bangkok we booked a flight to Krabi. Domestic flights are operated from the small airport in Bangkok - Don Mueang. At that time there were many flights per day, with prices around 30-40 euros / one way. We chose to fly with Air Asia and everything went smoothly. For checked baggages we had to pay a rather small fee, but which included the chosen of the seats, and also the food on the plane.

In Krabi we found beaches with rocks and greenery, with palm trees and other tropical trees in the shade of which you could hide from the hot sun during the day, traditional "long-tail" boats with which you can go to other beaches in the area, tasty and good price food (which we will write about in other articles).
Long-tail, as the name say, are boats that were originally built to be used with oars, but to which engines have been attached to the end of long metal bars / "tails", bars with which the locals are leading the boats.

If you are bored of spending too much time at the beach, you can take a very easy walking - Monkey Trail. Yes, they are monkeys on the route, that's why it's called a monkey trail, but they are not dangerous, they are really cute. However, it is better not to feed them, so as not to become aggressive and not to have the same expectations from future tourists. 

This is how the beach you reach after the route looks like. Before entering the beach, there is a person who asks you to write down your name and signature, we did not understand exactly why, probably because on this beach there is a large resort that occupies almost the entire area. However, the beaches are considered public spaces in Thailand, tourists access being allowed even on the beaches near private resorts.

And if you take the walk in the afternoon and stay to see the sunset, as we did, the route is lightened, so you can return without  any problem.

Probably one of the most visited and photographed / filmed tourist attractions in Thailand is Ko Khao Phing Kan (better known as James Bond Island), an island formed by a single rock spectacularly raised directly from the water, which became famous after one of the James Bond's movies was filmed there. The locals found out about the tourists' preferences and they use to organize day trips, both from Krabi and Phuket, at quite high prices, especially for Thailand, where you will spend most of your time in cars, on the road, and not on boat, as we imagined before arriving in Krabi.

Fortunately, this island is not unique, we discovered others at least as spectacular in Krabi, one of them being the one we reached from Ao Nang Beach, crossing the Monkey Trail, but also by kayak or long-tail boat.

If you want a trip on the water, you can rent a stand up paddle or a kayak from the beach. We chose a kayak ride for two, for which we paid 250 baht / hour, about 7 euro / 8 usd (it would have been 200 baht / hour for a single person in a kayak or even cheaper / hour for those who rent it for many hours. For stand up paddle the price was 200 baht / hour.

And because we had a day when the weather was not good for the beach, we took walk on the beach. We were undecided whether to go to Phuket by ferry or  by car, so we thought of taking a walk to Nopparat Thara Pier, the departure point of the boats. Even if there is some distance to travel (approx. 3.5 km), a walk on the beach is always pleasant, especially when on the route you can find from place to place a swing hanging in the tree or a viewpoint from where you can admire the shores of the Andaman Sea.

And at the end of a day or whenever you feel like it, you can relax on one of the swings hanging directly from the trees on the beach.

Thank you for reaching the end of the article. In order to be informed when we publish new articles on this site, but also to see posts that are only on facebook, we invite you to like our facebook page by accessing this link : Doi plimbareti.

You can also read about our first impressions about Thailand, and soon we will post more articles about our holidays in Thailand. 

Thailanda - Krabi - Ao Nang beach

Urmatoarea oprire dupa Bangkok a fost Krabi. Avand in vedere ca ne doream sa ajungem intr-o zona cat mai specifica Thailandei, nu ne-a fost deloc usor sa decidem intre Krabi si Phuket. Nu voiam sa ajungem intr-o zona prea turistica, prea agitata; cautam liniste, relaxare si peisajele acelea specifice ale Thailandei pe care le puteti gasi la un simplu search pe Google. 

Ajunsi in Krabi, am descoperit ca peisajele sunt mult mai spectaculoase decat le-am putut noi captura in fotografiile facute cu telefonul sau chiar si decat cele din imaginile editate de altii.

Din Bangkok am luat avionul pana in Krabi. Zborurile interne sunt operate de pe aeroportul mic din Bangkok - Don Mueang. In perioada aceea erau multe zboruri pe zi, cu preturi in jur de 30-40 euro / sens. Noi am ales sa zburam cu Air Asia si totul a decurs fara probleme. Pentru bagajele de cala a trebuit sa platim o taxa destul de mica, dar in care au fost incluse si alegerea locurilor, dar si mancarea din avion.

In Krabi am gasit plaje cu stanci si cu verdeata, cu palmieri si alti copaci tropicali la umbra carora te puteai ascunde de soarele puternic din timpul zilei, barcute traditionale "long-tail" cu care te poti plimba catre alte plaje din zona, mancare buna si ieftina (despre care vom scrie in alte articole).
Long-tail, sau varianta in romana "coada lunga" sunt barcile care la origine fusesera construite pentru a fi folosite cu vasle, dar carora li s-au atasat motoare la capatul unor bare/"cozi" metalice lungi, bare cu ajutorul carora sunt conduse de catre barcagii.

Daca v-ati plictisit de prea mult stat la plaja, puteti parcurge un traseu foarte usor - Monkey Trail. Da, sunt maimute pe traseu, de aceea se numeste monkey trail, dar nu sunt periculoase, sunt chiar simpatice. Totusi, este mai bine sa nu le hraniti, pentru a nu deveni agresive si pentru a nu avea aceleasi asteptari de la viitori turisti. 

Asa arata plaja pe care ajungeti dupa parcurgerea traseului. Inainte de a intra pe plaja, este o persoana care te roaga sa iti notezi numele si semnatura, n-am inteles exact de ce, probabil pentru ca pe aceasta plaja este un mare resort care ocupa aproape toata zona. Plajele sunt considerate spatii publice in Thailanda, accesul turistilor fiind permis chiar si pe plajele din dreptul resorturilor private.

Iar daca faceti plimbarea dupa-amiaza si ramaneti sa vedeti apusul, cum am facut noi, traseul este luminat, deci va puteti intoarce fara probleme.

Probabil una dintre cel mai vizitate si fotografiate/filmate atractii turistice din Thailanda este Ko Khao Phing Kan (cunoscuta mai degraba sub denumirea de James Bond Island), o insula formata dintr-o singura stanca inaltata spectaculos direct din apa, devenita celebra dupa ce unul dintre filmele din seria James Bond a fost filmat acolo. Localnicii au aflat despre preferintele turistilor si organizeaza excursii de o zi, atat din Krabi cat si din Phuket, la preturi destul de mari, mai ales pentru Thailanda, din care mare parte a timpului o veti petrece in masini, pe drum, si nu pe barca, asa cum ne imaginam si noi inainte de a ajunge in Krabi.

Din fericire, aceasta insula nu este unicat, am descoperit altele cel putin la fel de spectaculoase in Krabi, una dintre ele fiind cea la care am ajuns din Ao Nang Beach, strabatand Monkey Trail, dar si cu caiacul sau cu barca long-tail.

Daca doriti o plimbare pe apa, puteti inchiria de pe plaja stand up paddle sau caiac. Noi am ales o plimbare in doi cu caiacul, pentru care am platit 250 baht/ora, aproximativ 30-35 ron (ar fi fost 200 baht/ora pentru o singura persoana in caiac sau chiar mai ieftin/ora pentru cei care il inchiriau pe un timp mai lung. Pentru stand up paddle pretul era de 200 baht/ora.

Si pentru ca am prins si o zi in care vremea nu a fost buna de plaja, am pornit la o plimbare pe malul marii. Eram indecisi daca sa plecam spre Phuket cu feribotul sau cu masina, asa ca ne-am gandit sa facem o plimbare pana la Nopparat Thara Pier, locul de plecare al barcilor. Chiar daca e ceva distanta de parcurs (aprox. 3,5 km), o plimbare pe plaja e intotdeauna placuta, mai ales cand pe traseu gasesti din loc in loc cate un leagan agatat in copac sau cate un view-point de unde poti admira tarmul Marii Andaman.

Iar la sfarsitul unei zile sau oricand aveti chef, va puteti relaxa pe unul din leaganele atarnate direct de copacii de pe plaja.

Va multumim ca ati ajuns pana la finalul articolului. Pentru a fi informati cand publicam noi articole pe acest site, dar si pentru a vedea postarile care sunt doar pe facebook, va invitam sa dati like paginii noastre de facebook accesand linkul : Doi plimbareti.

Puteti citi si despre primele noastre impresii despre Thailanda, iar in curand vom posta si alte articole despre vacanta noastra in Thailanda.