Ao Nang:

Undiscovered & untouched Thailand lies in Ao Nang. If I was to revisit, this place would fall first on my list so far. The lonely planet book isn't proving to be as useful for Thailand as is was for the east coast of Australia but without it we were pretty quick to stumble across the cheapest yet accommodation & navigate ourselves around the small town of Ao Nang without any problems.
Our first day was spent playing in the waves & baking under the glorious clear skies we'd been waiting for after our past few days in Phi Phi. The atmosphere cries tranquility with its easy going & friendly vibe. Already missing the little woman from our hotel that sat in her open book shop all day smiling, she was always quick to help us especially with our Thai; "sat wat dee caaaaaaa!"
Day two was absolute bliss, discovering the true island life of Thailand by "the Harley Davison's of the sea" on long tail boat with a small handful & variety of other tourists. These are the picture postcard places everyone dreams of, yet to be damaged by overcrowding tour companies, even the snorkel at Chicken Island was second to none. The amount of fish you came face to face or body to body to was unreal & the coral was some of the most beautiful reef I have ever seen! The entire trip including a fulfilling Thai lunch with the monkeys on the beach & discovering the tale of the princesses cave hands on was impeccably carried out, I couldn't have planned the day in any better way if I'd tried. For $15 each, four islands, unforgettable memories, you'd struggle not to be impressed.
If day two was island exploring, day three was mainland exploring. With an early start on the bikes we hit the road up to... with some Malaysian company from CJ, a lovely lonely traveller we got talking to whilst signing our lives away on the bike insurance form! I hope he took as much away from the day as we did, it was interesting to exchange stories whilst lounging in the hot waterfalls that almost looked too perfect to be natural! The crystal lagoon wasn't quite as spectacular but worth the short trip to make a full day of discovery. Slightly more expensive too but it was cool to be on such a spontaneous trip in such an adventurous, jungle type place. As random as it was we both had an awesome day, minus the burn on my leg from the bike exhaust & getting drenched from a down pour of rain, although that was arguably an experience that can be ticked of the list in itself!
This is how travelling should be; spontaneous, adventurous & memorable. Ao Nang has it all, your comfort is it its hands. It caters from anyone seeking a late night or a lady for the night in any of the ... strips, to a family with children like two beautiful toddlers that sat opposite us at dinner one night & were given wooden high chairs with elephant shaped pillows & kiddy Thai like crockery to dine from!
It's almost a shame we didn't stay a little longer, it would maybe have been nice to venture for a longer stay in Railey or Krabi town. But too little too late, our stay was still short & sweet.
Ao Nang is what you make it.