Sunset Snorkeling

The next day we decided that in order to be closer to the beach, we’d relocate to Ao Nang – so we packed up, caught a local bus, and checked into the first suitable place with a vacancy.

Due to its “resorty” appeal, Ao Nang easily costs triple Krabi Town, but with just a couple days until Herb’s departure no time could be wasted. And luckily, although 90% of the restaurants actually do charge American prices, we did manage find a single spot with all the Thai favorites. It was the source of nearly all our Ao Nang meals 🙂

It also sported a most hilarious menu. Some particularly memorable gems:

• Fried trick noodles with soya sauce
• Thai herp soup with chicken
• The falling meat
• Larb
• Cellophane noodles barked with prawns
• Pancake Nu Therapeutics
• Pancake ball head

After boating our way over to Railay once again, we were initially planning a day of rock climbing – but ultimately decided on a snorkeling trip instead.

The bio-luminescent algae is supposed to be spectacular, and on a hot sunny day, few things seem more appealing than a dip in some crystal-clear waters.

Unfortunately the conditions were very choppy so it was far from “crystal-clear”…but great fun nevertheless.

We met a cool pair of travelers from San Francisco as our boat carried us from reef to cave to reef.

Then with the daytime swims completed, we were taken to a totally isolated beach-island for a great seafood BBQ before jumping in to swim with the algae.

Amazing. The water literally sparkles all around you. It’s almost magical, like something straight out of Fantasia.

Too bad it got so cold after dark; some of the people didn’t even want to go in, but I can tell you definitively, cold or not it’s well worth any chills you might experience 😉

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As Herb’s flight home was just 2 days away, after a bit of deliberation we decided he should probably head back to Bangkok in the morning, just to be safe. This was to be our last night traveling together, so we treated ourselves to a nice Indian dinner and wandered over to the bars in Ao Nang.

(On the boat ride home the previous day, we’d happened across an American diver – also named Justin – who told us that Ao Nang is far more lively than Krabi…our other reason for deciding to move 😉 )

In all honestly, we didn’t find it to be lively at all. The bar area was a TINY patch with little going on, and by 2am nearly everyone had left. “Reggae Street,” the only other spot in town, was more like a small alley they’d modeled after Bangla; a series of wall-to-wall hooker bars with streetfront workers tugging your arm as you walk by.

So we had a few beers, met a few people, then called it an early night. Herb had a long day of travel ahead of him anyway, as just 48 hours later he’d be on a plane somewhere over the Pacific.

At last, our big trip together had come to an end – and I was traveling solo once again.