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I had been to Krabi in March of 2000, but only for one night. My parents and I had been traveling the country for about three weeks and I was very run down when we were in the area. It was low season, raining and I ended up reading a book for most of the day. Since that time I heard so many rave reviews about the area, I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to return and do some serious research (life is tough in this business).
Well, the phone call came. Two of my friends are opening a bar in Krabi and were loading up a pickup truck to take a load of stuff down to Krabi and they wanted someone to share the driving. As luck would have it, I had a week’s worth of free time, packed my bag, oiled the mountain bike and threw my stuff in the truck.
Eight hundred and forty kilometers later of me driving, we were there. It was late October; the end of the rainy season, but the sky was still pouring more than shining. Eager to get out and explore, I jumped on my bike and was instantly blown away. Krabi is home to limestone cliffs that pop up as if they exploded out of the ground. Mist from the rain hung in the air and I was instantly in utopia. I made my way to the main beach in the area, Ao Nang, and couldn’t resist a swim in the ocean. As it had been storming for quite some time, waves pelted the beach and two Thai guys were riding a sea kayak in the surf. They offered me a go, so I hoped on without giving it a thought – how hard could it be? Strangely enough, I managed to paddle out into the waves and ride a fair sized one back to the beach like a seasoned pro (or so I envisioned). The Thais seemed duly impressed and told me to ride another. I paddled out once again and just as I thought, “this isn’t so hard”, I got shellacked. A wave scooped me and my boat up and left me feeling like I had been body slammed by Hulk Hogan. One moment I was a Baywatch legend, and just as quickly, returned to being a beer-bellied chump. I thanked the Thai guys, vowed to return the next day, got on my bike and spent the rest of the evening looking for my pride.
The next afternoon my friend and I rented kayaks and battled the waves again, this time fairing much better. After a couple of hours we managed to get the hang of it and received four blisters on my hands for my efforts.
As my hands were sore from blisters, I spent the next two days riding longtail boats to several nearby beaches. Boats are the main form of transportation from beach to beach in this area and many of the beaches such as Hat Rai Leh, a mecca for rock climbers, are only accessible by watercraft. Sheer limestone cliffs come right out of the water and tower hundreds of feet above with climbers dangling overhead.
After running into a friend from Bangkok by accident on Hat Rai Leh, we decided to embark upon a hike to a hidden lagoon. I had read that this hike involved a few steep pitches with ropes to aid you, but had no idea what we were getting into. Steep – and I mean steep. I am not overly keen about heights and quickly found myself navigating small overhangs and sections that required climbing 15 foot faces with nothing more than a well-worn rope, loosely tied to a tree, to aid. With palms sweating and my heart pounding, we managed the ‘hike’ and felt like Indiana Jones after he gets chased by that giant rolling ball, only we didn’t have a golden treasure for our efforts, but a cold celebratory beer on the beach filled the void nicely.
An afternoon kayaking to nearby islands and an exploratory ride through rubber plantations on my bike quickly filled my last two days and left me with a massive bruise on my left hip from a wipeout in the trees.
As I drove the 840km back to Bangkok, adjusting the position of my butt on the seat every two minutes because of my sore hip, I realized Krabi is truly world-class. The scenery is legendary and you can do it all there - rock climbing, scuba diving, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking and catching sun on incredible beaches. “This is Smiling Albino material,” I thought!
Ten of us are heading back for New Years and watch for a new ‘Krabi Adventure’ on our website in the New Year!
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