Thai Air has spectacular customer service. It is almost impossible to stay happy and content on a 9.5-hour flight, yet they manage it. Ours is an afternoon/evening flight, leaving Brissie at 3:20 and arriving in Bangkok at 9:30 (3 hour time change). There were two Ozzies who were “well into the piss” during the flight, and in general were acting like a couple of pre-pubescent grommets. The flight attendants cut them off about halfway through the flight. A number of people from our section of plane commented strongly during the deplaning that those types of blokes are the ones that ruin it for all Ozzies in SE Asia. We were just happy that we weren’t apologizing for some rude Canadian.
The new BKK international airport, Suvarnabhumi, has many similarities to the Denver airport: Millions of Baht in graft and corruption during planning and construction, an airport 30 minutes from anything- including lodging, built for political expediency rather than any incredible increase in quality and convenience, and its opening last fall (September 2006) was a fiasco of biblical proportions- misdirected flights, lost and destroyed luggage, ticketing computers fried, conflicting signage and airport staff with no clue, immigration control short staffed and uninformed, and a few hundred thousand really pissed off passengers.
All this being said, the internal logistics have been handled extremely well by the time we arrived. We breeze through immigration, customs is a smile and a wave, and the metered taxi area was well marked. The “near airport” hotels are still a 30-minute (minimum) taxi ride away. We try to
reserve the first nights lodging anywhere in advance, especially if we expect a late arrival. This time it was at the Yamato Hotel (“near the new airport”…). We jump in a taxi about 10:15pm local time. A handy trick is to have a printout of your hotel address in Thai script, and a picture if possible. Unfortunately the web site we booked through was in Roman script. Our very friendly taxi driver had to physically call the hotel to figure out where it was.Bangkok is constructing an extension to the Skytrain (their elevated train system) that will run into the district of the hotel. It was mid-day full-on peak hour traffic at 10:30 at night. It was almost an hour for our 30-minute trip. The hotel staff was incredibly gracious, even after 11:00. (A very Thai thing by the way- it is “The Land of Smiles”, more on that in a bit) The room is clean and serviceable, the mattress welcoming. Tomorrow we figure out how we are getting south.
A brief constitutional was in order after a typical “American” breakfast Thai-style: A unique poached/fried egg, ham(?) slice, toast, tea, and a truly mystery-meat “sausage”. (Normally we have “Asian breakfast”- spiced rice soup with chicken and veggies, this hotel just assumed farang would want farang food) The sun is already heating the blast furnace that is Bangkok. Stepping outside the hotel caused an immediate and full opening of every single pore and sweat gland in the body. If you watch carefully you can see little tiny geysers erupting all along any exposed surface. Shirts
and shorts are immediately drenched. It turns out the hotel is in the middle of a local’s neighborhood. We are the whitest (and tallest) bodies for blocks. Traffic is already stopped for kilometers due to the skytrain construction zone. The primary Thai mode of transport is the scooter. Traffic rules are more like suggestions, and pretty much anything goes. It is mostly an English drive country, unless at any given moment it is more expedient to be American drive. It is also the living embodiment of the expression “If you don’t like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk”. Scooters and smaller cars don’t hesitate to use the sidewalk, either with or against traffic.Bangkok is the largest population center we have been in for months. Almost 15 million people call it home: Just under 4 times the entire population of New Zealand, and three-quarters the population of Oz. Thailand itself has a population of roughly 65 million. Bangkok is built on a very large lower river delta (read: swamp) and has a permanent blue haze. This haze is a heady blend of exhaust (both two and four stroke), humidity (rarely less than 80%), garbage (food based and other), and the truly organic smell of shallow drain septic. The effect keeps many of the five senses fighting to not be first up- each one trying to push the other senses to the front of consciousness. As with all sensory inputs, you get used to it all eventually. It is not our plan to be here (Bangkok) long enough to find how long eventually really is. That being said, even in the insane press of humanity that is Bangkok, Thailand has a certain feel of “ease” that is pleasant to just relax and experience.
Just so travelers don’t become complacent and think things are too easy, the old airport, Don Muang, is still used by three of four airlines for some domestic flights. For example, Thai Air, our preferred carrier, operates morning and evening domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi, but mid-day flights all use Don Muang. Some international flights into BKK have transfers to domestic flights in Don Muang. The US East coast/West coast best examples I can give are these: Arrive in Kennedy then catch a shuttle to Newark, or arrive in LAX and shuttle to Orange County (John Wayne). It is very important to know exactly which airport you are flying out of. It can take as little as 45 minutes to shuttle between airports, but you really should allow almost two hours…
Krabi is today’s destination. We want an early afternoon flight, so we need to get to Don Muang. It is not close to the hotel… Our driver had no English, but JD’s smattering of Thai (with suitable horrible accent we’re sure) and the help of the hotel staff still got us where we needed to be.
Krabi is the capital of Krabi province, south of the Gulf of Thailand and on the Andaman Sea. It is a market town. That means lots of the provincial merchants trade amongst themselves here. It is an
access gateway to most of the recreation opportunities it this part of the Andaman Sea: diving, climbing, sightseeing, resort islands, undeveloped islands, etc. Ao Nang [“Oh-Nong” or “Ow-Nong”] is the road accessible town near Railay Beach. During our last visit, pre-tsunami (PT) it was a developing town with a decent infrastructure. It is the cusp of the “low season”, some lodging is on low season rates, and others will be converting next week. We had researched a few reasonable looking places, and had an idea what price range to start negotiations.The trip from the airport to Ao Nang was the first real issue of tonal inflection subtlety… Thai, like many Asian languages, depends more upon inflection and tone of a word to define its meaning. There are five tonal intonations- rising, falling, low flat, mid flat, and high flat. An example often referred to is the sentence “Mai mai mai mai mai.” The translation is “Wet wood doesn’t burn” each “mai” has a different inflection… there are also no consistent rules concerning the Romanisation of Thai words. Even Thais themselves can have a multitude of “English” spellings of the same word or phrase (“Thank you” for a male is spoken “Kawp Khun Krahb” which you may see written as Gawg Khun Kawp, Kwap Kum Krawp, Khawb Khun Khawp, or any number of additional variations. They are all still pronounced exactly the same way! Westerners, for example, will often indicate a question by a rising intonations. This does not role over to Thai at all… Additionally there are distinct southern, central, and northern dialects. A common issue is a Western businessman learning his Thai from a bargirl (A young lady of negotiable affection…typically originally from the very impoverished northeast) and then trying to impress a local central Thai corporate head with is command of the language. He will think he is saying something like “Mr. Thaksin, your business is most impressive. I feel it would be beneficial for both of our companies to find a way to work together.” When he is actually saying, “Hey Big Man Thaksin, you have pretty store. We make good love each other. Happy meeting”. This example is not as extreme as it sounds…
JD had the name, address and phone number of Phra Nang Place (pronounced [“prahnyahng ply”] written out in English, exactly as it was on the website. We hired a fixed rate car at the airport. JD handed him the address, and confirmed it was “Pranyahng Place”. He and the driver threw the words back and forth a few times, JD trying to be consistent in pronunciation and the driver trying to understand… The driver handed us a tourist map, which luckily had a Phra Nang Place ad. (Of course it was written Phranang Place, but the address did match.) The driver still didn’t get it, as the ad did not have the Thai script name either. He called his dispatch and had an extensive conversation… Dispatch called him back in a few minutes. He turned to JD, and in what JD swore was the exact way he had been saying it, said, “You go Prahnyahng Ply?” to which we smiled and agreed. JD figures initially he was probably saying “fried pepper sand” or some such ridiculous word grouping. Thankfully Thais are infinitely patient if you are making the effort, and most importantly, staying calm while doing it. (To really confuse things, in this region there is also Phra Nang town, a Phra Nang beach on Railay, Pha Ngan Island
The hotel was clean and well appointed. A newer building, less than two years old, and with all the amenities: high speed internet, cable, mini bar, A/C, hot water showers, and great little balconies overlooking the street action. We managed to negotiate to just more than half the posted rate for a weeks stay. It is a half-mile walk or so to the beach and longtails, and there are a number of restaurants and food stalls in the immediate area. The evening thunderstorms began in earnest,
with a warm tropical deluge and light show for our entertainment. The condenser in the rooms A/C decided it had had enough. There was a dripping sound, and it wasn’t coming from the outside, it began to sound like the shower was running… A small waterfall had issued from the a/c vent and was splashing merrily onto the floor. Our own private water feature. Very Feng Shui. The staff had already shifted to night crew; a younger lady with very little English. She happily moved us to the room next door, while not really understanding why. (We know this because the next morning an Ozzie couple ended up in the same room, with the same issue- they moved as well.)The weather cleared enough to find an early evening snack. It is food stall territory. For those who
don’t know our love and attachment to food stalls, a brief catch-up: Thais are consummate grazers. They eat all day. Little snacks, meals, treats, and drinks are spontaneous deeds throughout the day. Enterprising Thais have custom sidecars on their scooters with burners, ice chests, small canopies, and whatever specialty implements are needed for their specific foodstuff. In the evening, when main stores close, they pull up on the sidewalk. During the day, some will always be found just parked somewhere. Some are “semi-permanent” with little tables and a son/nephew/cousin waiter. (In almost all cases, women own, run, and handle all the cash in the stall). Just like diners in the States, look for the busy ones. There will be a Pad Thai specialist (or two…), a fried rice stall, a crispy roasted and fried things stall, Things We Haven’t Figured Out Yet stalls, and the Interestingly Prepared Seafood stall. We are suffering form sticker shock… the last time we were here, you could get a fresh plate of chicken Phad Thai for THB 25 (about $0.60 US). Due to market forces, the same plate of Phad Thai now costs THB 30 (about $0.87 at current exchange rates). We will need to seriously analyze our food budget…Railay [Rye-lay] Beach is only accessible by boat. It is part of the mainland, however the approach terrain is rugged, and it is not economically viable to tunnel. Not to mention it would totally destroy
the appeal of the place anyway. It, Ton Sai [Tone-Sigh], and Phra Nang beaches access the premier climbing walls in Thailand. All were hit by the Tsunami, though none had the same level of destruction as Phuket and Phi Phi. Longtail boat taxis provide the transport service for everything from people to pre-cast cement septic pipes. Before (PT) a partially organized “pack” of longtail drivers would tout you as you walked towards the beach. If 
you wanted a boat, they sat you down until there was a minimum of eight people and off you went. At the end of the trip you handed the driver 50 Baht per person. Done. Easy, efficient, effective. The unstoppable march of progress has added a level of bureaucracy to the process. Now, you walk up to the ticket booth, and for 60 Baht (120 with return) buy tickets. THEN you walk to the staging area and sit and wait for at least eight people to load a boat and travel. All the drivers have blue and gold shirts identifying 
them as the Ao Nang Longtail Drivers Club. It works, and I’m sure it wouldn’t stay this way if the drivers weren’t keen on it. We both liked the old way better.Railay still has just a few scars from the wave. A few piles of rubble mark the locations where buildings were not rebuilt. Otherwise development has been keeping pace with progress… More than a few new “resorts” have implanted themselves into the surrounding hillsides. They look nice, and do seem to work with the surrounding jungle. King Climbers (Railay.com), our primary climbing shop had moved within the YaYa Resort complex and there were now six or seven additional other shops instead of three. We picked up the latest climbing guide and had a bit of a walk-about. After a pair of icy-cold big beers we started the return-to-Ao-Nang process. The blue & gold shirted drivers could be found huddled together over a three-card poker game. Lots of Baht flying around. We said “Ao Nang! -Ao Nang!”, the secret words of travel. Two of the group smiled and indicated a spot of shade and replied, “wait”. Two English blokes were there, and had apparently been waiting a while. We had not prepared… No books, No beach mat, no swimsuits. It is indeed the low season. We wait just under an hour when a group of Japanese tourists are ready to leave. Lesson learned: Pack time-occupying stuff. For the record, our longest wait will end up being just less than three hours. We were well prepared for that one.
It is the actual seasonal cusp as well and has left many climbing walls of our skill level exposed to direct sun throughout the day. This particular direct sun beats straight down upon our 9 degrees
north latitude with very little concern for our northern European roots. Reaching for the next bolt/sling results in a small torrent of sweat that begins at the finger joint and results in a visibly moving stream by the armpit. Gross? Yes. A hindrance? Yes. A motivator to get to the rock really early? Absolutely. Kimberly observed an actual sweat cataract gushing along JD’s spine by the second move of a moderate climb. “Ewwwwww” is the word of the day. The smell of the day too…We made it a point to be on one of the first longtails over to Railay the next morning. We arrived at the wall about 8:30. If we could get to the beach at 7:00, we might make the next earlier boat. Not likely to happen, but it’s a thought. The first climb of the day is a moderate 5 (5.8 Yosemite). 12 meters, not technical, but a fun climb nonetheless. JD has more mass than KK. Enough so he can lift her easily with a lead fall, and often times, just coming over a shelf while descending. She will often sit with her feet against the wall to minimize this. The heat, humidity and sand combined to cause an exceptional amount of heat to be generated in her belay device. A new combination of rope friction and equipment heat prevented her from controlling his decent speed… JD got to drop the last ten to twelve feet of his belay (luckily into the sand of the beach.) He was not happy. KK was, if you could imagine, less happy. Beside herself with guilt and worry, she was in quite the state. She, for all intensive purposes, dropped her hubby off a cliff. Adding to the issue, two or three climbing classes were at the rock. At least a dozen brand new climbers and their instructors saw someone dropped on belay. JD had a minor ankle tweak and a small knee glitch. He was functional, but not feeling overly forgiving at the moment. Maintaining a Thai attitude of Jai Ren (Cool Heart), he did not lose his mind. The instructors, in a very Thai fashion, where concerned, but could not offer assistance unless asked. We quietly packed up our gear and moved to a different wall. Two climbs just to demonstrate we could and it was time to relax and assess.
To help assuage her guilt pangs, KK needed an order of mango sticky rice. That, and a few beer
Changs can always assuage what ails you… KK had the rice, JD had the Changs. We where prepared for the Longtail wait this time. Books, beach mat, cash for the beach snack vendors, sun block. JD watched the card game for a while, trying to figure out how it was played. No luck. He figures another couple of months of Thai language and he might get it.A day off was in order. Ao Nang has an OK beach, a bit rougher than Railay. Visibility isn’t as good, and there are more issues with Longtail emissions. We found an excellent small restaurant (Big food stall). Perpetual Happy Man, a beverage vendor here during our last visit, still had affordable drinks, and was right next door to a great fruit shake/roti vendor. Some balcony time
watching the daily commuters on their scooters is always good for a chuckle. The scooter is the family sedan of Asia. Literally an entire family, plus the occassional pet, stacks up on a scooter and of they go. A couple of massages (Helga and Ingrid- the little Thai ladies can really fold you into different origami shapes…) rounded out the day.Back to the Wall of Shame. KK, while not completely keen on her belay device, manages to belay
her husband with the same solid technique she has displayed these last three years. A few climbs and it becomes HOT damn HOT. Off to the Longtail waiting area. We are totally ready for a long wait, and not disappointed. Almost three hours. It’s all good. Little Muslim boys selling beer out of coolers, pineapple vendors, snack vendors, even people willing to shave your feet for a few Baht. The longtail drivers recognize us by now. “Ao Nang Ao Nang” is the birdcall of the day.We have found a great DVD vendor. Some “real”, most pirate. You can’t buy a licensed DVD anywhere in Asia, even if you tried. THB 100 ($2.90 US) for ANY movie, in theaters or not… Buy five, get one free! This particular vendor has exceptional English. We use him as our personal Thai language instructor. Money well spent. We learn proper pronunciation of numbers, a few new greetings and departures, and he is in general a funny guy. (We picked up over three days, in no particular order: Blades of Glory, Constantine, The Departed, Over the Hedge, Little Miss Sunshine, Tom Yung Goong (The Protector), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, For Your Consideration, and Rocky Balboa.) The DVDS player in the laptop is very good.
Weather was iffy the next day. Another hang around Ao Nang day. A cute little tout for massage approached KK. We decided to see her deal. Turns out she was the actual owner of a beachfront massage platform in a beachfront massage platform zone. More or less about twenty different
massage “huts” on the Eastern edge of the Ao Nang beach. We both had a foot shave and scrub, as well as massage. It will never cease to amaze us what you can do with ten dollars here…Post massage was a new food stall with tables. Absolutely fabulous. Next to it was the “Volks Bar”, a streetside “bar” built from an old Volkswagen van. The top lifted, and the side windows opened. Three little tables, and the fullest cocktail menu ever seen. Good pours as well.We manage another day of climbing. We think it‘s time to move to Phi Phi (Pee-Pee) island. We’ll
shift locations the day after tomorrow.We have our ‘Best Day Ever” here. An early Longtail to Railay and then kayak rentals. We paddle
around to Phra Nang Beach: A loop around a few nearby karsts (The big limestone monoliths that pop up out of the sea), and cave explorations then onto the beach. This area is accessible by a hike over from Railay, but this is definitely the way to go. Princess cave and Tum Choee wall are a short walk from the end of the beach. We watch a few climbers, including an amputee who is missing the distal half of his right arm. We will never again complain about lacking holds during a climb. We paddle over to TonSai beach, home of the 6b+ to 8c overhang climbs ( 5.10d to 5.14). Some of the most challenging climbing on the planet. Lunch on the beach 
allows observation of a few highly skilled climbers working the routes.A delicious food stall dinner, a cocktail or two, and we prepare for the morning journey to Phi Phi Island. While Ao Nang has indeed changed, it is still an enjoyable stop on our journey.
