Commercial AO NANG

As hinted by the journal description, I wasn't exactly enchanted by Krabi--specifically Ao Nang, tourist center and cultural wasteland. My first glimpse of town included a large, dazzling sign for "Harry Potter Thai Massage/Beauty Parlor," lightning bolt and all. Welcome to Thailand?!

Ok, so I wasn’t an enormous fan, BUT Krabi definitely serves its purposes. After a couple weeks in bungalows, a hotel room with A/C, bathtub, and pool provided a nice little interlude. (Though needing to cross a paved road to access the beach is not something to which one should be accustomed to in Thailand.)

Decent Western food can be found in Krabi if cravings are emerging — we had pizza and pasta and sandwiches. Although my favorite food in Krabi came from the various food carts. I discovered Thai pancakes here in Krabi, which I highly recommend.

Kayak excursions to rock formations, elephant trekking, scuba or snorkeling trips, and other such activities are all possible and easy from town. There is also a culinary school called Krabi Cookery School that was so wonderful and such a highlight that it actually justified an extra day's stay in Krabi for my brother and I while the rest of our group went on.

Quick Tips:

If you plan to stay in Krabi, explore areas outside of Ao Nang. For a party atmosphere, Tonsai Beach has a fun reputation. And a more authentic Thai experience can reportedly be found inland around Krabi Town, and certainly in points beyond.

Also, this and Bangkok were the two places for which I'd recommend making lodging reservations. We spent a lot of money on lodging in large part because we arrived late in the evening with no reservations in the center of Ao Nang. I'm convinced there are good deals to be had and cool places to stay, we just weren't that lucky or motivated to do better.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you're staying in Ao Nang, you can walk anywhere you need to go. Taxis, tuk-tuks, longtail boats and buses are available, too. And excursions such as the Krabi Cookery School usually seem to include tranfer to and from hotel.

Wanna''s Place is an extremely odd mix of Thai and Swiss influence. The adjoining restaurant serves mostly Thai and Swiss dishes. And not surpringly, given the Swiss connection, you can hear one of over a dozen languages spoken around the pool or restaurant.

Right across the street from a boat-strewn beach, Wanna''s Place is convenient, clean, friendly, and not much more.

Rooms are a little sterile but are comfortable and bug-free with the powerful oscilating A/C. A friendly staff comes daily to clean (meticuliously, I might add). Satellite TV, phone, and nice bathroom make the room a good hang-out and break from the Ao Nang scene.

The front desk is generally staffed by the owner, who take great pride in their place and are very helpful. I required a doctor during my stay, and they immediately had a name for me. They''ll arrange taxi service, and ask them about internet service on premises.

The first professional massage I've ever had in my life was at Harry Potter Thai Massage. I still giggle at the sheer absurdity of such a place.

Why did we go to Harry Potter Thai Massage? Maybe for the kitsch value. Maybe just to say we did it. Or maybe because we didn't really stop to think this through.

Brian and I both opted for the so-called foot massages, which seemed like a good introductory experience. We were brought to a dark room in the back of the salon with an oscilatting fan, pillows, and floor mats.

Laying a foot or so apart, we were placed on neighboring mats, and our two massage therapists got to work on our feet. Trying to be polite, we asked our massage team if they liked Harry Potter. They looked at one another, obviously not having understood, and then one answered, "No, we don't know Mary."

About a minute went by, and then Brian and I began to get the giggles. Everything became funny. And our laughter control only decreased as the foot massage became a more-intimate-than-expected leg massage, which turned into a head massage, followed by arm and hands!

While I'm certain this would have felt fine, I spent all of my energy trying not to laugh, and I did not enjoy nor benefit at all from this particular massage. I went on to enjoy other massages in Ko Phi Phi, and I can highly recommend Thai massage.

But I do not recommend a visit to Harry Potter, as the atmosphere is just a little too ridiculous for massage. If, like us, you feel you must go there, get a pedicure!

I come from a foodie family. We all love food, exotic and local, fancy and ultra-basic alike. Our favorites through the years, though, were always Indian, Mexican, and Thai.

And in recent years, our collective interests in cooking have exploded from my dad's new interest in soups and stews to my brother's virtuosity on the grill to my mom's native talents coupled with her collection of cookbooks (she has hundreds). Being busy Manhattanites, my husband and I don't often cook, but FoodTV is always on our television.

When I decided to join my brother on his trip to Thailand, there was little we knew we had to do, but a cooking class was a definite MUST.

We booked a day at Krabi Cookery School through a tourist office in Ao Nang, and were picked up and dropped off at our hotel. Chef Chonlaya Laotong known as "Ya" and her staff gave us without question one of my favorite experiences during my almost-month in Thailand.

For the extremely reasonable price of 1000 Baht per person for the day, we learned how to prepare 9 delicious Thai dishes from a charming woman who was also the first female to graduate from her culinary school. Ya will regale you with fascinating stories of her career and some of the extraordinary places its brought her, both for the good and bad. And she has a pet monkey named Billie, so what more could you want?

Well, how about a shaded, open-air classroom that smells of delicious ingredients as well as flowers from Ya's garden. The one standing wall has photographs of beautifully-carved Thai fruits and vegetables - a national tradition highly valued by the Thai culture.

After choosing the nine dishes we wanted to learn and cook, we began with the initial steps. We worked during all stages of preparation. Except for clean-up, we did it all! We chopped, peeled, and diced things like galangal root, tiny eggplant, chiles, and bamboo on little round wooden blocks. We crushed and pounded garlic, spices, and pastes in a large mortor with pestle. Then we sautéed, combined, stirred and flipped our various dishes under the watchful eye and expert instruction of Chef Ya.

Our final product? Four different curries (red, green, masaman, and my favorite, penang), two soups(coconut and a lemon grass-based soup), fish cakes and dipping sauce, a coconut chicken dish, and the perenial staple in the States, pad thai were on our menu. This was accompanied, of course, by steamed rice, water and tea, and lovely local fruit. Delicious.

A walk in Ya's neighborhood to see deer mice and a rubber tree grove completed what was already a fabulous day. We learned Ya's Thai recipes and invaluable techniques and tricks, we ate a phenomenal meal we'd prepared ourselves, and we met Chef Ya, a fascinating, impressive, and generous woman.

While dining wasn't a highlight of this area per se, it was rife with some tasty places to grab a snack nonetheless. It was in Krabi that I first learned the Thai art of eating only from local food carts. It's just a matter of looking for the locals and trying to figure out where they're eating in the Ao Nang area overrun with pizza restaurants and other attempts (some good ones) at Western food.

Some of the 'grab it and go' food we enjoyed included lots of fresh fruit: pinapple, lychee fruit, melons, bananas. There are stands all over the main roads. At certain corners you'll find women making pancakes, which are crepe-like little fried treats filled with your choice of fresh fruit and/or chocolate usually drizzled with a tiny touch of sweetened condensed milk. These are so delicious. Also yummy are the sandwich stands, which make really unique and wonderful little sandwiches. Later in the night some spring roll carts start appearing with a variety of fried finger foods. All of these are delicious!