Ao Nang, Thailand

AO NANG - Where Your Stress Melts Away and So Does Your Pale, Ghostly Pale Flesh That Hasn't Seen the Sun for Five Months


We officially found paradise: Long Beach Krabi Villas in Ao Nang, Thailand.

We had our own private stretch of beach, our bamboo bungalows were 157 meters from the ocean, and Mama Da (the cook / head honchita) fed us Thai food that I still dream about. Matt and I stayed here 7 nights and it cost a whopping $50; although we did sleep in a tent on the beach for the last 3 nights, but I prefer having the surf lullaby me to sleep anyway.

We would wake up late - no plan, no agenda, no deadlines, no stress, no shirt, no shoes, no worries, no problem. It was a great way to peal back layers of stress and layers of seared flesh.

The little town of Ao Nang was about an hour hike away - walk along the beach for a mile then catch a long boat across a channel then hoof it along the beach another mile and you're there. This is where we:

1. Scarfed down countless Thai pancakes - fried cakes of greasy glory with anything you want on / in them: Nutella, freshly shaved coconut, tuna salad, Johnsonville brat (ok, maybe not the last one, but they were addicting).

2. Went to a Super Bowl Eve all-you-can-eat buffet called, "The Fish." Well, I think we got the better deal. My goal was to eat 10 plates of food, but only made it to 8. I was finally full. I adore Thai food, but usually the portions are the size of my fist and my colon was not a happy fella. There was a man and woman serenading us as we gorged. The guy looked like a Thai Santana. Becca requested, "My Heart Will Go On," and as any devout Lutheran knows, you need leverage when requesting a Celine Dion song. So she said that it was my birthday. Well, when that little lady said into the mic, "And this next song goes out to a very special person in the tank top. Happy Birthday!" The other people erupted in applause and cheering. They were yelling at me to stand up and accept, so I blew the naive tourists kisses and took my bow as I was laughing like a Scandanavian school girl. That was rather memorable.

3. We watched the Green and Gold achieve immortality at O'Malley's Irish Pub at 6:25am (for a more detailed and emotional retelling, patiently await: Pilgramage of a Packer).

4. Probably the highlight of the bungalow week was eating with my fisherman friend Mohamed Ali. To catch a glimpse of Thai hospitality, check out an older post, "Mohamed Ali."

Here's to you Ao Nang...
- m -