Feb 16 - There is no rush to leave Krabi early, as I expect the songthaew to Ao Nang will be less than an hour. We leave about noon to downtown Krabi, then straight to the transport onward, with our backpacks strapped to the back of the vehicle. The road weaves through near-vertical hillocks of limestone. We estimate the best spot along the main road of Ao Nang and haul our gear down a side road to the place we are staying.
The hotel provides a free shuttle service to the beach, as it is about a 20 minute walk. Basically the whole road, from the hotel to the coast, is dedicated to servicing tourists. It is just a long line of restaurants, bars, massage parlors, and convenience stores. Thailand legalized marijuana last year, so cannabis shops have opened up (some offering free delivery), echoing what we saw in California years ago. The streets are full of tourists, probably constituting 80% of the people we see while walking around. This is something we haven’t had to deal with since Croatia.