On the east coast of southern Thailand lies the town of Nakhon Si Thammarat. It is one of the oldest cities around and offers the usual mix of temples, beaches and a national park. Yet for some reason it sees few tourists and that made it even more interesting for me. This morning I took the trusty old Songthaew for a more than uncomfortable ride out to the bus station. Tickets to Nakhon were not for sale at the station and were only sold on the bus itself.

Between Krabi and Ao Nang is a peninsula commonly referred to as Rai Leh and commonly described as a mighty fine piece of beach. The whole peninsula is cut off the mainland by a series of rocks/mountains that make any road impossible and boats the only way of access. From Krabi the boat costs a mere 150 Baht but the waiting time can be considerable as the boat man wants to have 7-8 passengers to make enough money off the ride.

I started my day early with a visit to the local market. They have a speciality here that I wanted to try (Kaow Yum, rice with herbs) and apparently it’s more of a breakfast dish. The market is located centrally in town and just a short drive from where I’m staying. After making my way through the veggies department and the fish merchants I reached the ‘food court’ area. Before I could hunt down Kaow Yum the market stopped for a minute while the national anthem played.

For most tourists and travellers, Krabi is just a stop-over on the way to the islands or surrounding beaches. The town itself doesn’t have much of a beach (a small stretch of sand near the river) and thus is lacking what tourists are looking for in this area. The touristy part of town seems to be quite small and just around the corner from my guest house is a Thai neighbourhood with a nice little Thai restaurant.

Hired a scooter, drove around, took pictures. Beach near Ao Nang, half an hour from Krabi At the Sai Thai Pier It was the Year 2004… The local Landscape That is one big Squid Local Politician?

After more than two splendid weeks, it was time to say goodbye to Malaysia. The country is a fierce contender for a top spot on my list of favourite countries. It is easy to travel in but is significantly less touristy than Thailand (at least concerning western tourists). The locals have been open and friendly and the food was as diverse as good. I wanted to spend the second half of my trip in Thailand and my stay in George Town was meant to be just a stop-over on the way there.