Nights lazing away at the Grand Inn. ©2010 Derek Henry Flood
Ao Nang- My time here in Krabi Province has been closer to Cast Away than The Beach, two movies that hit theaters a decade ago about being stranded on beaches. Rather than a sultry latin Virginie Ledoyen (né Fernandez) sauntering out of the tide with a boss techno track blasting,
Not quite
it’s closer to Wilson the Volleyball. I’ve found some coconuts on the beach that I have befriended that act as a combination bowling/basket/football to play with in the surf. They also act as floatation devices when I get lazy. I’m here at the quietest time of year and was told by a Dutch bar owner who’s establishment I’ve been frequenting in the evenings that in the winter (aka high season), direct charter flights from the Nordic countries to Krabi (ie bypassing BKK) arrive here and this place becomes mobbed with Swedish and Finnish families pushing strollers and Kroner and Euros and prices skyrocket. Now it’s a bit lonely here which suits me just fine for the time being.
More like it
It’s hard to say whether the best part of being here is the food or the foot reflexology I’m undergoing. Either way it’s going to be tough to leave to Malaysia when the moment comes (when my 30 days are up on my tourist stamp). Ao Nang is being very lightly hit by the monsoon which I find refreshing. That same monsoon that has apparently killed hundreds (up to 800 at present) in flooding in the decidedly non-party zone of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province. Here all it does is keep the tourists out of the bay and leaves me to swim by myself amongst the anchored long tail boats in the quiet of dusk and read a book on NATO geopolitics on a virtually deserted beach.