When you visit Krabi area and crave for some beaches (and who doesn’t at times) you most likely end up the popular Lonely Planet ones like Ao Nang, the adjacent around the corner Nopparathara beach, or just a longtail boat trip further away postcard darling Railay and his little, even prettier sister Phranang beach. Cool, let’s go popular beach, please do, you’ll enjoy it. My favorite one though is Klong Muang beach, another long stretch of sand and water with, and this is his charm, just the accidental (lost, rich and probably bored) tourist to compare your tan to.

First encounter

“For the umpteenth time a beach is a beach is just a beach.”

It was something along these lines I excused myself being MIA on my own deserted stretch of coconut trees and rocky surf. I was visiting Thailand, escaped Bangkok (I was different person those days and therefor hated it – more proof I was silly and presumptuous back then) after first buying me hammock and some suntan on KSR (hated that too, it figures), and as it happened, quite by chance, crashed on the first Krabi beach I set eyes on, not to leave it for six weeks. The name of that beach, Ao Siew, the ugly side of Klong Muang cause yeah, why bother to look around when already perfectly happy.

“I mean, look at this. Blue fluffy clouds patched skies, check. Blue, well blueish water, check. A sweet line of coconut trees, check. Dry and jump out of bed midnight thumb of coconut falling, check. Sandy beach with (broken) seashells (beach made bracelets for the family at home!), driftwood (smokey campfire or H.E.L.P for planes passing by!) and a zillion tiny crabs to keep the stray dogs busy, check. Me with a price winning no desire to move my butt big smirk… check.”

___”You look sweaty though. Care for a swim?”

And so it was, cause of a sudden urge to splash in deep water I finally left my hammock at Pine Bungalow, slouched a 50 meter of muddy and rocky low tide beach, took a corner right climbing some more rocks, waded through a foot deep stream and, “sorry Ao Siew, no beach is perfect…” had a first walk and low tide swim in weeks at ‘the nice side‘ of Klong Muang Beach.

Ten years later

Thailand, especially the coastline, has a nasty thing to make the present look like a badly painted dragdown memory. Too many gorgeous beaches (think Ko Lanta, think Ko lipe, think Ko Phi Phi, etc etc.. yeah, the only solution is a juvenile yet true ‘may mankind vanish from the world!’) just got ruined by the sun creamed dollar sign.

Klong Muang beach though, somehow it is just as it was. Sure, things changed, but not necessarily for the worst. No doom scenario here. Yet. The fisher boats anchored at shore are gone. The shanty fisher town is gone too. So yeah no more surreal walks in-between a patchwork hundreds of tiny dead fish eyes glistering like proper gems. Or getting long lost seafood appetite meandering through ramshackle frameworks full with to be dried squid. And yeah, there is a Sheraton where there was some forest wasteland before the beach is man enough to absorb those few slightly off place visitors going for there pre or post dinner stroll.

Yeah, it’s deserted as ever. There is still a perfect swim even at low tide. The walks are still kinda pristine and authentic – it definetely kept the sentimental tosser in me at bay. And those fish eyes gone, well, it’s easier being the beach hunk from the old days, solo driven without thinking to mind your step. There are still no restaurants (well some at one of the two main roads crossing the town but well out of sight), no bars, no 1-hour-300 baaht massage ladies, no ‘look at me with my backpacker hairdo and throw n the air fire thingies’ just before or after sunset scenery – nothing like that.

Klong Muang Beach, is well, nothing special, but it’s as I like it, almost authentic, especially when I squint my eyes and replace some chances with memories gone. And I will keep returning as long as possible, as long I am not shunned away by mass tourist terror.

___”Well done boy.”

View to the south, with in the far end a slice of Ao Siew and the forbidden – watch out for young man with machine guns hidden in the mangrove forest – Queens Palace on top of the hill.

View to the north, and yes, there is more beach beauty around the corner too (with slippery boulders)!

The shady, mostly quite deserted ‘lounge lawn’ of Sheraton resort if you are that kinda thing.