Ao Nang & Tonsai Redemption (Thailand)
Ao Nang is a busy beach town on the mainland of the Krabi province that serves as the gateway to isolated beaches that can only be accessed by boat. It's only a 5-minute boat ride to and from Tonsai, where we had come from.
 |
| Long tail boat |
If you read my recent blog post about Tonsai, you know that the reason we found ourselves in Ao Nang is because we weren't able to follow through with our original plans to travel north to a national park due to illness. We needed time to rest and recover from a virus that wreaked havoc on our bodies. We knew we were traveling during peak tourist season, but that reality hit hard when we were searching for last minute accommodations. It's safe to book things 3 days out, but options become extremely limited when you're trying to find something 24 hours in advance. There was nothing available within our budget, so we had to ball out on a hotel the first night and then a private cottage the next night. Ideally we would've stayed at the same place because living out of backpack and constantly moving locations is exhausting, but we couldn't find a single place that had both nights available. We are so grateful for Rosanna and Carlos, my sister-in-law's parents and our generous hosts in Bangkok, for giving us a free place to stay for 8 nights during our Thailand trip because this made overspending on these hotels much more manageable.
We were blown away when we checked into our first hotel. We didn't realize we had booked a massive suite in a gigantic, historic resort hotel.
We spent our first day relaxing... I was feeling much better, but poor Atticus was still bedridden. Our hotel was only a couple minutes from the beach, so I went for a walk and a swim. I noticed that the beaches here were covered in seashells and I even found 2 starfish!
 |
| This was my first time seeing starfish in the wild and I didn't know they could be this color. At first I thought they were dead, but then I saw them move! Side note: Please don't ever purchase starfish decorations. They are killed and bleached :( |
The next day, I woke up exhausted after spending most of the night coughing. I was so congested and in full blown mouth-breather status if you know what I mean. I think the cold I was facing subsided for a couple days while my body was fighting off Norovirus, but then it came back with a vengeance. At this point, I had been dealing with symptoms for over a week so I decided to go to a clinic. Upon arriving, I was greeted by a group of very friendly nurses who asked what brought me in. When I told them, they actually turned me away and sent me to the pharmacy next door. At first I was frustrated, but after my experience in the pharmacy, I realized I was simply a western girl living in an eastern world. In our culture, we are taught to seek medical attention for things that don't necessarily require a doctor. The pharmacist asked me more questions than a doctor back home would have. He wanted to know exactly what was going on before suggesting a remedy. I'm someone who avoids medication as much as possible, but I'm more lenient when traveling and at this point, I was desperate for some relief after feeling bad for so long. I noticed that the pharmacy had more natural plant remedies than modern medicine available, something I've never seen back home.
Atticus was finally ready for his first meal after over 24 hours of not eating, so we went out for our favorite cuisine: Indian food. The butter chicken and garlic naan gave us the energy we needed to complete Ao Nang's famous "Monkey Trail," a walk through the jungle alongside wild monkeys that leads to Pai Plong Beach, a pristine beach that is home to only one resort making it less busy than other beaches in the Krabi province.
 |
| Shout out to Atticus for capturing all of the professional-looking photos featured on this blog! |
We swam until the sun began to set, then we headed back to explore Ao Nang's famous "Landmark Night Market." Here you can find a plethora of food, craft, and retail vendors as well as live music. It's a lively place, great for people watching. We ate so much delicious food: alligator tail, Thai-style baked potato, coconut ice cream, mochi and kebabs. One of the best parts of having a travel buddy is having someone to share food with, which has given us the opportunity to try so many new things. I'm lucky that Atticus is adventurous with food like me!
 |
| Very excited about my enoki mushroom kebab (and to be able to enjoy food again) |
For our second night in Ao Nang, we stayed at an adorable little cottage we found on Airbnb. The next morning, we said goodbye to Ao Nang and hopped on a long tail boat to head back to Tonsai for redemption!
We checked into the same place we ended up at when we were sick, Tonsai Bay Resort.
 |
| The view from our balcony |
We dropped off our bags and immediately set off to finish the adventures we started but never had a chance to finish. We ventured over to the neighboring beach, Railay, on a trail known as the jungle path, and began what was the best day yet.
Railay is a very popular destination in Krabi known for its picturesque views and pristine beaches. From Railay, you can easily walk to Phra Nang beach and cave. Phra Nang beach is home to monitor lizards and monkeys and watching them interact with each other as they both search for food was so interesting.
 |
| Phra Nang Beach |
 |
| Phra Nang Beach & Cave |
This beach had one of the most bizarre temples I've ever seen - a cave full of penises. It really makes you wonder, "What's the story here?" I found this blog post that explains it better than I can. You can find it here if you're interested: Phra Nang Penis Temple explained.
 |
| Princess Cave |
 |
Then we explored some caves and ended our Railay adventure by climbing high up into Bat Cave and watching the sunset. We stayed longer than we should've and had to make the journey home in the dark with our cell phone lights. The jungle comes to life at night and I honestly loved the thrill of walking through it after dark.
 |
| View of Phra Nang Beach from Bat Cave |
The next day we rented kayaks and went to another beach- this one was a small island not too far off the coast of Tonsai. We parked and ventured into the jungle to see what we could find. We crossed paths with the first Americans we have met on this trip! They were a couple from Kentucky and Maine who had found an incredible, private climbing spot. When we got back to the beach, we realized we had it all to ourselves and we soaked up the warm Andaman sea one last time before heading back to the mainland.
Tonsai is the most beautiful place I've ever been and I'm so glad we went back. Admiring the giant limestone cliffs jutting out of the turquoise sea never got old. We left feeling inspired, grateful, and healthy.
 |
| Inspiring Tonsai street art |
Links to accommodations:
Comments
Post a Comment