How did we get here? We had a driver take us from our hotel to the airport -- Chiang Mai International (CNX). This was gratis from Chiang Mai Expressdrive tour company since we booked four tours with them. We flew Air Asia to Krabi (KBV). We had 'upgraded' seats (2nd row) and was the closest to 'first class' that we could get. Not sure what it got us other than the 2nd row. My knees were in my chest and the seats were narrow. To top it off, the guy in the middle had nasty breath. Fortunately, it was a less than two hour flight. Our carry-ons needed to be less than 7 kg (15 lbs). Rob's was 8.5 and Sharon's was over 11 (imagine that). We took some things out and put them in our backpacks. Got mine down to 7.5 and Sharon 8.6. She let us slide or else we would have had to check our bags.
Upon leaving the airport, we were accosted by 10 women offering cabs, mini vans, etc. We already had an idea the cost so when they told us 600 baht for a 45 minute ride to Aonang, we were pleansantly surprised. We could have taken a sangtheaw for a lot less but no thanks! A private air conditioned taxi was perfect!
Where did we stay? BlueSotel SMART. This place is an adults only resort and a 'splurge' for us. $1260 USD for two weeks. Buffet breakfast included, three swimming pools (two rooftop infinity pools overlooking the Adaman Sea), bars, restaurant, etc. It's nice having a king size bed that looks out to mountains. We have a balcony and separate tub in the bathroom. It's nice but it's not really us. We like the mom 'n pop places better. It's a short walk to the beach and the 'action'.
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| Now you see me! |
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| Now you don't! |
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| Separate shower 🚿 |
What's it like in Aonang? We wanted a small beach town and we got it. The water isn't crystal clear but it's beautiful and warm. The limestone cliffs and karsts are breathtaking and everywhere. The sand isn't white powder and kind of non-existent. There isn't much street food although we've found a couple of night markets. It seems many of the stores, endless tailors and restaurants are Indian owned. They are aggressive and annoying at first but you quickly get used to it. One of the things I have loved about Thailand is the vendors leave you alone. No, "Cheaper than Walmart", "Almost free" like Mexico. And massage parlors? More ubiquitous than tailors. Bottomline: it's a tourist town. We love it and the food choices: including McDonalds, BK, KFC, etc are endless.
Where and what did we eat?
Jeseao's (Food is good and service is excellent)
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| Chicken Pad Thai |
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| Papaya Salad |
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| Tom Yum Soup |
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| Ceasar Salad |
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| Four Cheese Pizza |
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| Masaman Curry |
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| Fried Rice |
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| Penang Curry |
Thai Me Up (Food and service is great. This was our go-to lunch restaurant. )
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| Spring Rolls |
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| Papaya Salad (multiple orders) |
Friday Night Market (fish was delicious)
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| Steamed Fish |
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| Sushi |
Esan Food and Cooking (Best green curry). Mama knew the exact spice level I (Rob) liked.
Wanna's Place (Swedish restaurant)
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| Salad |
Tanta's
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| Chocolate shake |
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| Chicken Satay |
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| Spring Rolls |
Kiran Kitchen (someone recommended on Facebook, food was delicious, and service was excellent). They offer Indian food in addition to Thai.
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| Naan with garlic |
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| Tandoori Chicken |
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| Tiki Chicken Marsala |
The Last Fisherman Bar, was the closest restaurant to our hotel. The service and food were not very good on our second visit, very disappointing. Great place to watch the sunset.
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| Fried squid |
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| Pad-See-Siew with chicken |
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| Fried Seafood |
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| Seafood Stew |
What have we done! Lots and lots of walking 👣!
Spent considerable time at the Pools!
Monkey Trail 👣 a path through the jungle with wooden steps and rickety bridges. Great for spotting a monkey 🐒 🙈 🙊 or two. The trail leads to Pia Plong Beach.
Plenty of pampering! Multiple massages. The oil massages were the best!
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| Mani and a pedi |
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| Back waxing |
Boat rides! Our first trip was to Railay Beach. The only way to get there from Ao Nang is by long tail boat. We wanted to check it out before booking a hotel here.
Our next long tail boat trip was to Poda, Chicken and Tub Islands 🏝. We stopped in between and went snorkeling. At the beaches the fish 🐟 swam right over top of us. Absolutely beautiful 😍!
We had our favorite hang out spot, Black Moon Cafe, where we people watched, played Connect Four and shot pool 🎱. This alley had street food, several bars each playing their own music, and the girls trying to lure the customer's in. Bye-Me-Drinky bars.
We had the best bartender, An!
Of course there were sunsets.
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| Tailor made FU shirt |
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| The dog liked to watch the monkeys! |
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Lays Potato Chips - Crab fried rice, Chuna Wakame salad,
Heinz Ketchup, Hot chili squid, Sour cream and onion |
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| Coconut Christmas Tree |
Ao Nang was touristy, but it definitely grew on us and we enjoyed our two weeks here. It was a nice break from our first two weeks in Thailand. Looking forward to our next stop.
According to little Ms. Google, for the month of November, we traveled 1,207 miles. On November 16th we traveled more than any other day -- our tour to Chang Rai and the Golden Triangle. We flew 7,478 miles and boated 49 miles.
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travellers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Edward Theroux
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