Krabi City is where the airport is, where you will find a Big C, car dealerships and most of what you will find in a medium sized city and which gives the area its name.  that can range from renting a motorbike, to snorkeling, diving, bicycling, hiking and rock climbing.  There's even a McDonalds in Ao Nang which is something you are not going to find at Railey or Phi Phi.  And it's Ao Nang where I rented a Honda 150 CBR just to see what this popular little sport bike will do which is something i never could have done at either Railey or Phi Phi.  As to that pretty little sport bike I rented, those who want to know a little about biking in motor biking in Krabi or why a little 150 might be the best all around motorcycle in Thailand, click here. 

There's so many hotels and resorts to choose from at Ao Nang that cover the entire price spectrum from the inexpensive to the more than 5000 baht a night Centara Hotel which you will find off the beaten path with its own secluded Bay.   My favorite of favorites and this goes for Phi Phi, Railey, Koh Samet, Koh Samui, Koh Chang, and Pattaya is the Somkiet Buri which is peerless for the price.  I wound up paying 2700 baht for each of the two nights we stayed at Somkiet Buri.  That price goes to about half during the low season.  This time I wanted to avoid the low season since when I had come here before it had rained everyday for a solid week.  That's not the ideal situation for all the snorkeling we planned on doing, taking pictures for still another outstanding wall decoration for my Pattaya condo's walls, or getting around the nearby islands on a ferry or dive boat that might or might not venture out due to the vagaries of the weather.  But next time we will probably be going during the low season and if it rains everyday, so be it.  The Somkiet Buri doesn't even have its own beach and is a quarter mile walk to the Ao Nang Beach.  But who cares.   It's a wonderland of its own with its spectacular gardens, frog pond, thatched roof outdoor restaurant, and wooden walkways and little garden bridges throughout this self contained little paradise. 

Ao Nang is an excellent base to hole up in because one can get a boat that will take you to wherever you want to go.  So if you want to go snorkeling or scuba diving to some fantastic locations just hook up with a diving company such as Scuba Addicts.   A dive boat can get you to some great dive spots where the visibility can be up to sixty feet in a couple of hours.  If you want to go to Phi Phi just take the ferry which is only an hour and a half away.  There are speed boat tours that will take you to as many as four or five islands where you will see some of the prettiest beaches you have ever seen.  And there's the long tailed boats island excursions which won't set you back nearly as much.  And if it's Railey where you want to spend the day, just walk down to the Beach where you can buy a ticket for a couple of bucks and jump on the first long tailed boat to wherever you want to go at Railey which is only fifteen minutes away.

I'm not going to say a lot more about the Somkiet Buri here which I've already covered in a previous issue of "The Looking Glass" other than to say it's just an all around great place to stay that provides excellent service where you can book just about any kind of tour in the Krabi area you want and that I will not want to stay anywhere else at Ao Nang so long as Somkiet Buri still has rooms to rent.  Having said that, my second choice would be the Krabi Resort which is a little pricier than Somkiet Buri but it does have its own beach while offering almost as much as the far more expensive Centara Hotel for a fraction of its price.  Don't get me wrong, Centara is absolutely magnficent, but I can still get 90 % of its splendor for a third as much money at either the Somkiet Buri or Krabi Resort.  The beauty of Ao Nang is there's so many other places I can't even comment on that I'm sure would offer you an unforgettable stay.    But now it's time to move onto Railey.