Family Trip to Krabi, Thailand, 21-24 February, 2008

My school had a four-day weekend in February, so the family decided to get out of town and head to Krabi, on the Andaman coast.  It's only about an hour and fifteen minutes by plane, so we left Thursday morning and got to our hotel by about 1:30 PM.  After lunch, I headed to my dive shop to check in and Devin and David played in the pool.  (Well, truthfully, David played in the pool, Devin relaxed in a beach chair beside the pool.)  We enjoyed a fantastic dinner on the first night at a local seafood restaurant with some friends from school.  We traveled to Krabi (actually we stayed in Ao Nang) with our friends Michael and Elizabeth.  And for dinner we met another colleague, Jez, and his parents.  We had a great dinner, then headed to Black Canyon Coffee for dessert.  Life is good.

The second day, I headed off for a day of diving (Link to the dive pictures here).  Devin and David went to the local beach to play.  Since I had the camera for the day, there weren't any pictures from this beach day.  But on Saturday, our third day, Devin got a "spa day" while Lowell and David headed to West Railay beach for some fun in the sun.  Our original plan was to take a half-day rock climbing class, but we scrapped those plans and decided on a day of playing in the sand instead.  Railay is incredibly beautiful, with the picturesque limestone cliffs right nearby.  About lunch time, we ran out of sunscreen, so rather than risking huge sunburn we headed back to relax at our hotel and get some dinner.

Sunday we woke up, had breakfast and then caught a taxi to the airport.  Vacation finished. 

It all seems so short, I'm not sure what to write.  But we stayed in Ao Nang, near the beach, rather than in Krabi town.  It was very touristy, with lots of Europeans around, but there was lots of Thai flavor.  The longtail boats are quite a hoot to ride, with a giant motor spinning a prop on the end of a long "extension."  As with Pattaya where we live, there were lots of folks hawking "cheap" goods, and massages everywhere.  The whole family ended up with a pedicure by the end of the trip.  David was incredibly excited to get his toes painted!  Overall, I feel like we barely scratched the surface of what could be a fantastic vacation spot.  This is one place I feel we'll have to come back to visit.

Some pictures are included below.  Click on the image to see a larger version.

Devin and David starting the morning at the airport with Starbucks.	David relaxing in style on the luggage cart.  This seems to be a ritual on all of our travels.	The seafood offered for the night at a local restaurant.  If you're wondering, I had sweet and sour chicken.	The whole dinner crew on Thursday night.
Michael laughing at something David said at dessert.	Check out that coffee.  it's huge!	The beach at Ao Nang near where we stayed.	Looking the other way along the beach.
David putting on the sunscreen to get ready for the day.	Lowell heading out of the hotel.  Picture by David.	The row of longtail boats on the beach.	David playing in the water as we walk to our longtail boat.
A view of some rock climbers near Ton Sai beach.	Ton Sai beach.  Our longtail boat stopped here on the way to Railay.	David playing in the sand with a vendor behind him.  Lots of things were being sold, including soft drinks, pineapple (very good, by the way), corn on the cob and beer.	The view of the limestone cliffs of Railay.
A view up the beach.	Of all the places we can eat in Ao Nang, David chose Burger King.	And dessert this night was particularly tasty for David, the double-fisted eater.	David getting a pedicure.  Cost:  70 Baht, or just over $2.
The family toes after we all got a pedicure.  Total cost:  About $10.	The family picture at the end of the trip.  Luckily we're all still smiling.