We’re now in Ao Nang, in the province of Krabi, Thailand. This marks the start of our southern Thailand chapter. We’ll be here for seven days, which feels like the perfect amount of time to actually do stuff and also do nothing sometimes.
On our first night, we headed down to the main drag and beach area to catch the sunset. First impression: Ao Nang is busy. Like, very busy. Super touristy, lots of bars, lots of noise, and definitely a party vibe. Not necessarily bad, just… a lot.
On day two, we decided to do some groceries so we could make our own lunches and snacks and not eat at restaurants every single day. I step outside the hotel and try to order a Grab (basically Uber). No luck. I try again. Still nothing. I check taxis and they’re stupidly expensive just to get to the nearest grocery store. Walking would take over an hour.
Then I notice a sign that says scooter rental: 250 baht for 24 hours. That’s about $11 CAD, and roughly half the price of the taxi. Sold.
So I rent a scooter and head to the grocery store. And honestly, this is kind of where Thailand finally clicked for me. The freedom of being able to go wherever you want, whenever you want, completely changes everything. Completely changed my mindset.
Now, there is a catch. You need a valid motorcycle licence to ride a scooter in Thailand. I’m the only one who can legally drive it (they do roadside checks... and I got stopped at one), and I can only take one passenger at a time. We do see families of four on a single scooter sometimes, but they’re locals and I’m not about to test my luck like that. We’ll have to figure out logistics, but the scooter is cheap, fun, and absolutely worth it. I’ll be using it as much as possible.
We also went to Railay Beach, which is about a 15-minute longtail boat ride from Ao Nang. Even though it’s not technically an island, there are no roads, so the only way to get there is by boat. We actually considered staying a few nights, but it was way too expensive. I imagine it’s magical early in the morning and after the last boat leaves. During the day though? Packed. Absolutely slammed. Damn tourists!!
We did spot two Asian water monitors while we were there. These are massive lizards with creepy snake-like tongues. Apparently they’re the second largest lizard in the world, after the Komodo dragon, which is also a monitor lizard. The more you know 🌈
Another day, we did a “four islands” tour around Ao Nang. Honestly, it should have been called the three islands tour, because one of the stops wasn’t even an island. It was Phra Nang Beach, right next to Railay, which we had already visited. The tour itself felt rushed and kind of meh. Lunch was also terrible. One chicken wing and some rice. That’s it. Usually I can eat 75 chicken wings.
One memorable part of the tour, though, involved five guys. No, not burgers and fries. Five actual guys. They all looked identical and showed up about 20 minutes late, yet somehow we were waiting for them. When they arrived, they didn’t seem to understand how boats work. They were wearing tight jeans and fancy shoes. For a boat, beach, and snorkeling tour.
They rolled up their jeans as high as they could, took off their shoes, and then started doing photo shoots of each other all over the boat, even after the guide told them to sit down. They were swapping sunglasses and designer purses. Gucci and friends. Loud. Very loud. Eventually the guide told them to shut up and sit down because they were annoying literally everyone.
At the first beach, we discovered they hadn’t brought bathing suits. Of course. So they swam in their underwear. For snorkeling, they got into the water with life vests and clung to the rope like their lives depended on it. Near the end of the tour, one of them pulled a hairbrush out of his purse and they all started fixing their hair. So yes, they remembered a hairbrush, but forgot bathing suits on a snorkeling tour. I had to laugh.
Back to the scooter. When I rented one on the first day, I tried to keep it a secret from the kids because I knew exactly what would happen. Sure enough, they found out and immediately wanted to go for a ride. So I rented a second scooter.
I rode motorcycles from age five to nineteen and figured I’d be rusty, but nope. It’s like I never stopped riding. Like riding a bike. I took Teddy out first and he loved it. The next day, I took Emma and she loved it too. The only downside is that I can’t really take Mylène for a ride without leaving the kids behind. I think she’s a little jealous.
On our second-to-last day, we ate at a restaurant less than a one-minute walk from our hotel. It looked pretty shitty, not gonna lie, but it turned out to be the best Thai food we’ve had so far. Everything was amazing. Finally. It was so good we went back the next day.
And then I caught a glimpse of the kitchen. Filthy. At least we didn’t get sick.
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