Krabi

TS and I have just returned from a week in Krabi, Thailand. If you're as ignorant as me (unlikely), you think Krabi is where middle-aged Caucasian men go to seek nubile Asian women. Yes, we saw a few couples that made us wonder if that was true, but I'll be the first to admit that I WAS WRONG.
Krabi is a province in Southern Thailand, on the Andaman coast. Phuket is 3 hours away by car, but the tourists are flocking to Krabi as it is (not for long) less developed and commercial. We flew into Krabi airport on Tiger Airways, a budget flight from Singapore. The trip was unremarkable, just note that no outside food may be consumed on the plane, and you have to walk from the terminal to the plane which may be a problem if it rains.
We stayed the Central Krabi Bay Resort, it's located in Ao Nang province, a half hour ride from the airport and Krabi town. There are many resorts, restaurants and shops along the Ao Nang Beach area, but Central can only be accessed via a 10 min boat ride, or a 15 min walk across the limestone cliffs. The walk is steep, but if it's not raining or dark it's quite pleasant and pretty. This secluded location makes the stretch of beach in front of the hotel much quieter that Ao Nang beach. The hotels along Railay Beach (a famous place for rock-climbing) share this exclusivity, but may only be reached by sea which makes the seclusion quite inconvenient.
Our first day was perfect beach-holiday weather. Blue skies, bright sunshine, perfect for the day-tour to Phi-Phi island (where The Beach) was filmed that we had booked. We snorkled in Maya Bay, marveled at the sun-worshipping behaviour of angmoh tourists while hiding in the shade, and had lunch in the new hotel that has been rebuilt after the devastation of the 2004 Tsunami. Unfortunately we accidentally deleted all the photos taken on this day, and I also developed a very itchy rash from the sun (despite SPF 50 sunblock applied every 2 hours).
SUNSET ON THE FIRST EVENING

Since this holiday was meant for RELAXING, we left a free day in between each of our "adventure" days. So after our island-hopping tour, we took the next day easy, had a morning swim in the beautiful hotel pool, then walked over the "mountain" again and went off to the Shell Cemetery.
Shell cemetery, Sussan Hoi, or Gastropod fossil beach, is 75 million years old, and was formed by blocks of thousands of shells stuck together to form a solid mass about 200 meters wide and 50 meters thick. We took a songtaew (local bus) from Ao Nang beach (for 30baht or US$1 per person) and it was a scenic half hour drive at 20% what we would have had to pay for a tuk-tuk (local taxi). The beach itself is not immediately impressive for what it is, but it's very pretty and with the brilliant weather that day we got some lovely shots. More importantly (for me), it's where pearls from the Andaman sea can be bought by the bagful at a fraction of the price sold elsewhere, and it was the perfect opportunity for me to practice my bargaining skills (TS said when i finally sealed the deal I actually looked a little deflated that the whole exercise was over).
MORE SUNSETS FROM AONANG BEACH

Day three was spent on a tour to the natural hot springs, crystal pool and elephant camp.
The hot springs originate deep underground in volcanic chambers, and naturally hollowed-out 'bathtubs' have formed in the stone as the water runs down to the stream, creating the perfect place to sit and chill out. Except that it was filled with people. But TS got some great shots of the local kids enjoying themselves.
The crystal pool is an amazing natural pool 800m into the rainforest at Khao Phra Bang Khram Nature Reserve. The water is clean and warm spring water, and it's really like a swimming pool in the middle of the jungle.
TS was most excited because the Reserve is the only place left in the world where the rare "Gurney's Pitta" bird survives, but unfortunately we didn't see one. We did see a Land Hermit Crab though.
Elephant trekking is how the elephants that used to work in logging camps now earn their keep. The forests are no longer logged and without the tourist dollar these animals would be let back into the wild where they would perish after being brought up in captivity. Our ride kept wandering off the track to have a snack in the bushes, but it was a very nice hour that we spent in the quiet jungle, surrounded by really spectacular limestone cliffs.
Day 4 was a washout, literally. We attempted to go to Railay Beach for the famous sunset, but it rained the moment we set foot on the island, and it was a good thing we even made it back to our resort in on piece. TS's PDA did not survive the journey so well, and I still have a nasty bruise on my foot where I slipped on the wet boat.
Day 5 almost didn't happen, I was having a nasty sunrash and a battered foot, but since we couldn't cancel our tour we went ahead at the last minute. It turned out to be a fantastic day out kayaking in the mangroves, visiting caves with drawings supposedly 3000 years old (I sound sceptical because some of them really look pretty new, but I wouldn't get into an argument about it), and having a lovely swim in a natural spring at Ta Pom.
TS really enjoyed himself here and was SO cute swimming up and down the stream wearing his goggles and chasing the fish.
Thankfully my rash didn't get any worse with that day out, and we didn't have any regrets at all.
Our flight only left at 7pm the next day, so we had massages by the beach (200 baht an hour!) and foot scrubs (they INSIST on showing you the muck they scrape off your foot, YUCK), then took our own cab to the airport instead of the hotel transfer (500 baht vs. 1200 baht!) and felt very pleased with ourselves (yes, typical Singaporeans).
All in all another great holiday. Oh yes, we ate at Sala Bua Restaurant on Ao Nang Beach 5 nights out of 6, and the only reason it wasn't 100% was that we couldn't get out of the hotel the night it rained. The food, both Thai and Italian, was very very good, and very very reasonable, please try it if you get to Krabi.
I've been thrown headfirst into work already (had a BAD first call), and TS starts tomorrow, already we're planning our next trip, can't wait.