Before leaving Bangkok, we decided to squeeze in a few more last minute sights. The Royal Barge Museum would have been really interesting, but we couldn't get close to the boats because the river's water levels were too high. We also saw the Jim Thompson House (traditional Thai architecture transformed by an American architect and silk trader). It was very well done, but a little too touristy for my tastes. From there we wandered through the streets and back alleys of Chinatown.
At 7:30pm last night, we boarded an overnight train from Bangkok to Surat Thani. The 10 hour ride was decent, except for the air conditioning on full blast. I never thought I'd be cold here in Thailand. In Surat Thani, we took a 3 hour bus to the Krabi "bus terminal" AKA a parking lot where the bus company forced you to pay for another private taxi. We ended up finding our own transport into town and saving about 200 bht.
Our place here is on Napparat Thara beach, a ways outside of Krabi and the main beaches. It's nice and quiet with a few bars and tourist restaurants. There's a bit of a storm passing and afternoon thunderstorms predicted for the next couple of days. If the weather holds out, we'll venture by longboat and bikes to Railey Beach. I can't wait to explore the huge limestone outcroppings.
