Jaunted

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Phuket Hint: Aim For The Sand-less Bit In The Middle

Thailand... Are we nuts?! Nah: The airport trouble is over, and while politicians keep bickering in Bangkok, the rest of the country is ripe for exploration. Claire Duffett just spent two weeks in southwest Thailand sailing the Andaman Sea from Krabi to Phuket.

After Koh Phi Phi, we approached Phuket with trepidation. Surely, tourists literally spill into the ocean there, right? Well, not really, if you know where to go.

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Andaman Sea Field Trip / Islands / Tourists / → All Tags

Heaven, Hell Or A Little Of Both?

Thailand... Are we nuts?! Nah: The airport trouble is over, and while politicians keep bickering in Bangkok, the rest of the country is ripe for exploration. Claire Duffett just spent two weeks in southwest Thailand sailing the Andaman Sea from Krabi to Phuket.

When Leo DiCaprio agreed to star in the film adaptation of “The Beach”, we wonder if the environmental activist knew he was about to turn one of the world’s most beautiful islands into the Cancun of Thailand.

Although Phi Phi Lai, the actual island where the movie was filmed, remains a national park, the adjacent Phi Phi Don is now the definition of tourist hell. Thousands of drunken gap-year kids storm the town’s Irish pubs at night. During the day, they shuffle between the endless diving and snorkeling companies lining the impromptu town’s fake streets. Rickety longboats ferry tourists across rocky seas to the main attraction--Phi Phi Lai--every day.

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Andaman Sea Field Trip / Motos / → All Tags

Motoring Over Koh Lanta

Thailand... Are we nuts?! Nah: The airport trouble is over, and while politicians keep bickering in Bangkok, the rest of the country is ripe for exploration. Claire Duffett just spent two weeks in southwest Thailand sailing the Andaman Sea from Krabi to Phuket.

Koh Lanta offers the beauty of the Andaman Sea with fewer crowds because the large size of this island helps it absorb everyone. Head south through the national park and prepare to stabilize your breathing: The beaches down there are magnificent, as is the scenery along the winding, pothole-covered roads.

Here's the catch: None of this is within walking distance of the nearest towns, and even the resorts down in the more rustic areas of the island require motorized transport. The solution? Hire a moto driver, or, if you’re brave enough, rent one and navigate the island yourself.

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Andaman Sea Field Trip / Climbing / Islands / → All Tags

Rock Climbing Ton Sai

Thailand... Are we nuts?! Nah: The airport trouble is over, and while politicians keep bickering in Bangkok, the rest of the country is ripe for exploration. Claire Duffett just spent two weeks in southwest Thailand sailing the Andaman Sea from Krabi to Phuket.

Just a 20-minute boat ride from Krabi town is Railay, a peninsula surrounded by limestone cliffs with three distinctly different beaches. East Railay is perforated by mangroves, making swimming impossible and accommodations cheaper. Since it’s the site of the port, however, foot traffic and boat noise is heavy. Further along, gated, swanky resorts emerge, alongside honeymooners riding around in golf carts. A few too many tourists find this wide stretch of beach inviting, though the sand is powdery and white, the water turquoise and the accommodations luxe.

Where you really want to go is Ton Sai. Long-tail boats take travelers across the small bay for 50 Baht, or $1.50, and the minor difficulty in accessing this beach makes it that much better with fewer people, cheaper accommodations and clearer beaches. The sand is darker and the rooms a touch rougher, but the rock climbing here is unparalleled. Small pockets dot the vertical volcanic rocks, ready for hands and feet to wedge their ways in. Even novices can clamber up to perches offering impressive views of the bay.

Rock climbing is, however, the only strenuous activity available on Ton Sai. Other popular diversions include indulging in cheap massages, exploring the winding dirt roads, gazing at monkeys and eating. There’s even a delicious Indian restaurant that serves palak paneer to kill for. The place is called, quite simply, Ton Sai Indian. A plethora of signs lead to the restaurant, hidden down a long, bungalow-strewn dirt road. Of course there’s always the option to, ahem, indulge in appetite-inducing herbal hors d'oeuvres--but I saw "Brokedown Palace" at a far too impressionable age to get involved in any of that.

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· Andaman Sea Field Trip [Jaunted]

Andaman Sea Field Trip / Boats / AirAsia / → All Tags

Thailand's Andaman Sea: There And Away

Thailand... Are we nuts?! Nah: The airport trouble is over, and while politicians keep bickering in Bangkok, the rest of the country is ripe for exploration. Claire Duffett just spent two weeks in southwest Thailand sailing the Andaman Sea from Krabi to Phuket.

When protesters calling for the resignation of Thailand’s prime minister seized Bangkok’s airports for an entire week, I was planning to fly from Phuket to Bangkok then to the United States. Instead, I spent 24 hours riding double-decker buses spray-painted in fluorescent colors. The tension among passengers trying to get home made the rides feel even longer. Wrangling for good seats descended into expletive-laden arguments, and language barriers with the driver turned less gracious passengers into belligerent a-holes.

Still, the beauty of the Andaman’s islands exceeded the suckiness of the journey there. And for those lucky enough to visit the region when it’s not in a state of anarchy, here’s a rundown of how to get there and away:

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