After India, I spent a few months in Vietnam, mostly stayed in Saigon, and in the beginning of February 2024, I flew to Krabi to meet with my parents who were spending 2 months there to escape the Canadian winter.
Here are some drone shots, I flew from Ao Nang, the beach town near Krabi city and could see parts of Railay Beach.
2-3 or days after I got there the sky got really hazy, making photography quite challenging.
This is Ao Nang.
Another angle of Railay Beach at sunset.
This area of Thailand is famous to limestone hills.
Another area near Ao Nang.
Railay beach again, I was just having fun with the drone every other day, I actually flew 6km away on this day, and the wind almost got me on the way back, I landed with 1% battery left.
Railay beach is not an island, but it’s only accessible by boat.
This other time I rode the motorbike to this point, and flew the drone from here.
The landscape around here is really beautiful.
After droning all around I remembered I had a camera, 😉 I went down to Ao Nang beach and took some photos at sunset.
Not the most beautiful beach in Thailand but can’t really complain either.
That time of the year, it’s jelly fish season in the area, be careful.
After a few weeks in Ao Nang, I took a trip down to Koh Lanta.
Pretty nice place, much better than Ao Nang, more quiet, better beaches and chill vibes.
The southern tip of the island is a national park and some of the nicer and quieter beaches.
The bigger beach in the north-west of the island, Pra-Ae Beach.
The owner of the room I was staying in Ao Nang also had a hotel in Koh Lanta and offered me a room for free, which I gladly took advantage off.
The place is called Lanta Harbour Hotel and is on the “bay” side. There are no beaches on this side, you really need a scooter to go to the beach from here but the hotel is really nice and the bay is beautiful, the Old Lanta city is also on this side which is a cute little village.
The hotel is one of these buildings on the water, pretty cool.
This is another beach on the west side of the island.
Back in Ao Nang, I explored other areas.
At low tide, the water recedes very far away from the shore, quite cool.
Checked out the stupid tourists messing around with the monkeys at Ao Nang beach.
And another Ao Nang beach sunset.
If you go there at sunset, look up in the sky once the sun has set, you’ll probably see thousands of bats flying above you.
After the first month I decided to go on a little road trip down south to Malaysia instead of just doing a visa extension.
You can ride 5 hours south down to Tammalang Pier and take a ferry to Langkawi from there. A Malay island.
It was ok, but nothing super exciting. This is Tanjung Rhu Beach.
The famous man-made attraction on the island is the Langkawi Sky Bridge.
This was under construction/maintenance.
The cable car is quite impressive actually, it is really a big drop.
These are the secondary cable cars up to the bridge.
After this I took the ferry back to Thailand, had a bit of an issue with the Thai immigration, I had to show how much money I had with me and travel plan paperwork, but they did let me back in.
I then rode to Pak Bara Pier, and from there I took a fast boat to another famous island in Thailand, Koh Lipe. A very beautiful place, but sadly ruined by overtourism.
I also visited Phi-Phi island a few weeks before, and in both places, it felt like I was 30 years late to the party.
Even under the clouds you can see the beauty of the water.
When the sky opened up the water got so much more blue.
Took an island hopping tour. Again very beautiful but also very crowded.
From the sky, the water is even more colorful and impressive.
But also you can see how many hotels and rooms there is on this tiny island.
Well, it is what it is.
Back on the mainland, in the Ao Nang area, for a few days.
I visited Khao Lak city on the seaside, also pretty ok, but I didn’t take any photos.
Then I rode to Khao Sok National Park to check out the Cheow Lan Lake, it’s an artificial lake made to feed a dam, they flooded a beautiful area full of limestone hills, making the whole scenery very dramatic.
You can stay in these cabanas on the lake, pretty cool, you can jump in the lake right from your door.
As soon as the sun goes above the hills, visibility gets really bad at that time of the year, sadly.
Very cool lake.
South of Thailand is very crowded with tourists, but there’s a reason it’s so crowded, the nature is very beautiful.
If you want to get to know South East Asia, this is a great, easy place to start your travels in the region.