After a serene and extremely relaxing 4 nights on the southwestern coast of Thailand in Thai Mueang, watching stunning sunsets every night over the Andaman Sea, my two girlfriends and I got a ride over to Krabi province, to the small village of Klong Muang. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the main beach town of Ao Nang, and we were hoping that our restful state wouldn’t be too disrupted by the change of pace. I hadn’t been to Klong Muang before but knew that it was less touristy than other areas of Krabi I’d returned to in the past, and was curious to find out what it would be like, especially as we were set to stay for a full week there.

We had an enjoyable 2.5 hour drive, where we stopped for pictures here and there, and saw the landscape change as we made our way through the towering limestone karsts that started to show up within the Phang Nga province. With our late afternoon arrival, we quickly dropped our bags off at our simple accommodations and then headed down to the beach and see what it was all about. We started by walking through the Beyond Resort across the street, to check out their restaurant and beachfront area and see if it was a place we’d want to eat. Since it was our first stop, we decided to go further afield and head east along the sand and around the corner to the main Klong Muang strip, which was covered side by side with local restaurants. We all found it a bit overwhelming – the tide was low, it was overcast and looked like rain was imminent, and there were lots of rocks and boats jutting out of the ground. Loud music was playing on bad speakers from every direction with sound carrying across the water, and we’d seen more tourists sitting at one place than we had in the entire last 4 days!

It was almost like we were brought back to reality, and it took a bit of an adjustment after our blissful time within the quiet National Park of Thai Mueang.  It reminded me of a time around 10 years ago when I spent a week on the Big Island of Hawaii, surrounded by the quiet of nature, and then headed to a wedding straight in the material mass production of Disneyland in LA – definitely had to deal with a bit of culture shock then as well!

We were hungry, so went for the shadiest available eatery on the beach to grab a snack and and rehydrate. Shortly after we sat down, the rain started to pour down everywhere around us (and we found that this became a recurring theme almost every time we found cover and found a place for a meal that week).  It was interesting to feel the difference in the atmosphere here – the local staff didn’t appear happy to be working, the tourists were loud and obnoxious, and the music was loud and overwhelming. We were no longer in our peaceful bubble we’d constructed around ourselves.

The other difference at our new locale was our accommodations – we couldn’t quite find something that was located right on the beach so we could stay together, so we booked 3 individual rooms at a small and new bed and breakfast style hotel just across the road. After a good night’s sleep, we had the chance to really look into what options were available in the area, and ended up shifting our mindset to the area and having a spectacular week.

We ended up enjoying many delicious local finds and great spots to explore, so I wanted to share them. If you want to pull up the travel map on Google directly, you can also see it all right here!

Food & Drink

The Nest Beach Club Krabi	Tired of Thai food? Need a little more of a high end treat? Check out Nest Beach Club if you need a break and want some pizza or western food. There are pink bean bag chairs down by the water, or sit up top in a covered area and watch the sun go down, even if it’s raining out. Enjoy happy hour cocktails or a full meal.
JA’s Coffee	Every morning, we enjoyed a coffee at this great place. We sat outside on the high top tables and looked over the peek-a-boo ocean views. Every coffee came with a small cookie and water. We also ordered breakfast to go when we wanted to head out on a day trip on a longtail boat, and weren’t sure what access to food we’d have elsewhere. Friendly, accommodating staff and open fairly early compared to other local shops and restaurants, at 8 am daily!
Lante Oi Restaurant	We LOVED this really local, rustic restaurant. Right on the beach, with a view into an old, broken-down pier, the food had soooo much flavour and was the best we found in Krabi during this visit. English isn’t spoken here, but there are lots of pictures, and everything we ordered was delicious. Enjoy the sunset, sit back, and relaxing on their broken down chairs in the sand. This food was definitely cooked with love, but you’ll have to take a tuk tuk or find your way their on a scooter as it’s a little out of the way, halfway in between Klong Muang and Tub Kaek Beach.
TonPai Restaurant	While we wanted to try this restaurant, it never seemed to be open while we were in Klong Muang. I’ll leave it on this list for anyone willing to give it a try and when I come back – let me know how it goes!
Local Fruit Stand	A lovely family sold fruit here on a regular basis. They had the best, sweetest fruit in the area and a reasonable price compared to others nearby. We’d have a laugh as there was a crib out front, and the adults would sit in it and relax with the kids, watching as we put in our fruit orders. If you want it to go and don’t have a way to prepare it, they’ll cut it up for you so you have an easy way to eat it. Awesome mangos here!
Local Streetside Restaurant	Right next to our modest accommodations, we would often be really hungry in the morning and not sure where to go. This modest food vendor was open early (not even sure what time, but it was always open by the time we left Z Talay), and we’d have our Thai breakfasts there – from various stirfrys, to veggies, to rice soup. An inexpensive and local option – use hand signals and pictures to order.
Klong Muang Sunday Market	Sundays until late afternoon, there was a local market where locals were selling their specialties – fruit, hot meals to go, and various Thai treats. There weren’t a lot of tourists here, and you may need a bit of bravery to try something when you don’t know what to expect, but this place had some delicious options, like pork rib spicy soup (Tom Saap Gradook Moo ต้มยํากระดูกหมู), which sold out quite quickly. There are also some vendors selling clothing and other supplies – take a stroll and check out what’s on offer – no one here will be on your case to buy things as they will be busy selling to locals and will be curious at what you’re interested in.
Coffee Club, Krabi	One day, on our search for “good” coffee, which can be difficult in Thailand, we came across Coffee Club and found really expensive hot drink options. Later on, after seeing all the signage about how good the food is there, we decided to come back for dinner. Coffee club was very busy (unfortunately you can smoke on the outdoor seating area, which is quite enclosed and can be a bit much), and after a few minutes of a wait we were seated. We enjoyed their yellow curry powder crab and other options and would’ve eaten there more if we’d been there earlier on in the week.

Accommodations

Sites & Activities

Tubkaek Beach	About a 10 minute drive by tuk tuk from Klong Muang, this beautiful beach has amazing soft white sand, trees to provide shade, and quite a few resorts and restaurants lining the shore if you want the amenities. The view from the beach is stunning, where you can see the limestone karsts in the distance and beautiful Ko Hong Islands. If all the resorts weren’t already booked up, we would’ve happily stayed on this beach. Note that the resorts trend towards higher end in this area.
Tubkaek Hang Nak Nature Trail	Although we were too lazy to actually make it up this hiking trail, I will definitely do it next time. The views from the pictures I’ve seen are quite beautiful, and it’s a good way to stay active and in shape while on vacation or a trip.
Koh Hong	Although we never docked on the main boat entrance side of Ko Hong, we went by local longtail all around the nearby islands and the opposite end of it on the beaches. One morning, on our second visit to the area by yacht a couple days later, we docked nearby offshore and woke up to the serene surroundings of the limestone karsts when no one else was around. Pure bliss.
Beachfront in Klong Muang	We found that the best area to head to the beach in Klong Muang was to go near the corner where you could see a small island (or walk to it, when the tides were low) and then to the right were all the beautiful limestone karsts in the distance. If you went too far northwest, there were so many restaurants that played loud music for tourists, and if you went further southeast, you’d find a lot more quiet, shade in the trees, and a massage place on the beach. Right in the middle seemed just right – with a beach stall selling some coconuts and other refreshments nearby a giant swing on a tree.
Buddhist Temple	As we hadn’t made it to a single temple on our entire visit so far, and both my friends were curious to see one, we found one that was within walking distance of our accommodations and went there one afternoon. Although it was very small and doesn’t compare to any of the more exotic, larger and well-frequented temples, it gave insight to what a simple Buddhist temple in Thailand has to offer and had a view over the valley below.

After our time in the Klong Mueang area, towards the end of our week, we ended up spending a lot of time on boats on the water and nearby islands, having a beautiful ending to our time in the south of Thailand.