krabi, thailand.
Ah, rainy rainy Krabi. A large province situated on the western coast of southern Thailand, Krabi includes lots of well known places like Railay Beach and Ao Nang. I was so excited to finally hit up the islands region.....but wasn't prepared for the rain. So. Much. Rain.
I parted ways with Bex and Scarlett and flew off the Krabi on my own -- solo travel for the first time in awhile. I was a bit nervous but of course it ended up fine! The first night I spent in Ao Nang in a very empty hostel, as low season was in full effect and the full moon party was taking place in Koh Phangan. It was bizarre to sleep in an empty dorm room and I was starting to feel weird. Add to that the fact that I had a very disturbing conversation with a bunch of old white foreign men who were perhaps the most racist/violent people I've ever met (I won't even go into it because I get too upset), I was so ready to leave Ao Nang and take the long tail boat to Tonsai Beach.
Tonsai and Railay are beaches on the mainland but they feel like islands -- huge limestone cliffs block them off from roads and so they're only accessible by boat. My plan was to stay in Tonsai and then move down to Railay, but I ended up spending all my time in Tonsai. The first morning I had some sun and managed to lie on the beach for a bit, but the rain quickly moved in and didn't stop for the rest of my five days there. Despite that, I fell in love with Tonsai and its people.
Every single person I met was kind and friendly and talkative. Not one person was unkind. I was shocked at this! It was so refreshing and I made some really wonderful friends in that short amount of time. The rain kept me from having too many beach days, but I spent my days getting Thai massages, playing with kittens at my bungalow, sitting in the cutest chai shop writing my book, taking naps, eating chicken burgers (the most amazing one ever, on Tonsai!), getting pummeled by waves as I tried to cross to Railay quite dangerously, and watching fire dancers at the bars. Again, I had to put myself out there as a solo traveler and met two really lovely women from Canada, the sweetest woman from Brazil who had been working in Australia, a great couple from New Zealand/England, and more. I felt so grateful to have made so many good friends in such a small place and in such a short amount of time.
After a bunch of days, the rain and clouds and my rustic bungalow started to run out of charm (plus the amount of mosquito bites were becoming a bit of a problem...), and I couldn't wait to head back to Ao Nang to meet up with Bex and Scarlett again. I felt like I was risking my life trying to get a boat out of Tonsai, but once I was on solid ground again I was so glad.
Onward to the islands!
