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Klong Muong - Happiness Is A Warm Sun January, 2008

Hopping on a local bus (songthaew), we caught a ride to Klong Muong, about 30 minutes north of Krabi - this is a small local village on the Andaman Sea, still relatively undeveloped other than the Sheraton and a Sofitel resort. As usual we got an upgraded executive suite - it's kind of embarrassing to get these upgrades when we're only paying $30/night. This is probably the prettiest property we've been to so far. Because of it's location it is sheltered by Phuket Island, and it managed to avoid much of the tsunami damage. So for six nights we'll call this home. One day we were sitting poolside and an elephant came up the beach. This is the famous RaRa, a female elephant adopted by the Sheraton five years ago. Quite friendly and very smart, she's a big hit with the people here especially when everyone goes swimming with her in the afternoon. Marge is very keen on feeding her cucumbers every morning. We went over to Rai Leh beach one day - a day trip that demonstrates how we use local transport - songthaew to tuk tuk to longtail boat - maybe one hour in duration for about $4. Rai Leh beach is too popular and not large enough to support the throngs of tourists who flock there during the day. Not to mention the long tail boats - I did not believe that in my lifetime I would come across something more obnoxious than a Harley, but I have! These longtail boats are powered by unmuffled car engines - and there are scores of them that go back and forth dropping people off and picking people up - it really distracts from the tranquility of the beach. Marge and I both bought new swimming suits and are now trying to blend in the old tan lines so are now concentrating on expanded beach time. Moreover, did I mention that the people here are very friendly? We're trying to pick up useful phrases, but Thai pronunciation is a little difficult to get at first - and pronunciation is everything - unless you pronounce Klong Muong exactly right, the bus driver thinks you want a ride to Mars. Difficult to understand why they cannot extrapolate what I am trying to communicate. More on this later...

If You Go: Getting There: We a three dollar bemo from Krabi to Klung Muong. Sleeping Sheraton Krabi, Klung Muong - Wonderful property on a great stretch of beach, along with their adopted elephant RaRa. Dining: Charming town right outside the resort, with a great pub directly across the street. On the veach is a favorite outdoor cafe that serves wonderful food. More Information: Thailand beaches at their best, we just hung out, enjoyed the warm waters, pools and sand. Hard to do better than that. There are many, many islands and resorts in this part of the world. You can spend days finding the perfect place, or just choose one, and make it your perfect place.

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