Ao Nang

Finally, finally, finally, we are in Thailand!  After a 7 hour, highly air conditioned, layover in Bangkok, (during which we finally got an email from Lauren, so we didn't have to turn our vacation into a missing persons search party), we arrived in Krabi!  One surprisingly seamless 20 minute bus ride to Ao Nang later we arrived at the Somkiet Buri Hotel, changed into our bathing suits and headed for the beach!

It is so amazingly beautiful- it feels like you're standing on the cover of a guidebook.  I still can't believe I'm here. We met up with Nina, who Lauren befriended on the plane from Bangkok.  She had been teaching English in a small Thai town for 5 months and now is doing some traveling.  She had been to Ao Nang a couple times before, so between that & her knowledge just from living in the country, she was so helpful!  We lounged on the beach for a couple hours chatting, then decided to rent kayaks & take them along the shoreline.  There were gigantic limestone towers rising up out of the ocean and all kinds of little caverns and bridges.  We paddled  about 45 minutes to another beach, where we waited for our arms to regain feeling, and then back.

Back at the main beach we went for lunch & I had my first thai food in Thailand- of course I went with my favorite- Pad See Ew, delicious!  I can't wait to try it 100 different places!

Then we walked to the massage section of the beach where they just have long open huts with rows of cushions to lay on to get an amazing hour massage for $6- unreal, I might get one everyday....maybe two or three.  It was great because we didn't go to sleep the night before & I had been running on a series of plane naps, so I passed right out.  When I woke up it was time for our free pedicures, sitting in the chairs next to the beach so we could watch the sun set & people watch.

Back at the hotel we showered and regrouped and went outside to check out all the little carts that had appeared on the sidewalks with food & things to buy.  I picked up a roasted ear of corn and something they call a rotee- which is almost like a crepe, but made with dough and instead of batter, grilled with butter, filled with anything off a huge list of ingredients and topped with condensed milk- I went with banana and nutella and it was heaven. Not bad for day 1.