Ao Nang

Ao Nang (Thai: อ่าวนาง) is a small resort town and subdistrict in Thailand.

Geography

Ao Nang is a central point of the coastal province of Krabi, Thailand. The town consists chiefly of a main street, which is dominated by restaurants, pubs, shops and other commerce aimed at tourists. The main beach is used by sunbathers to a certain extent, but there are a large number of longtail boats which offer access to other beaches on the mainland and on nearby islands.

Attractions

Scuba diving

There are a number of scuba diving centers in Ao Nang, offering dive course from basic up to instructor level. The "local" islands in Ao Nang Bay are relatively easy to access and uncrowded compared to many of the diving sites around Phi Phi Island. Other options include Shark Point Marine sanctuary and the King Cruiser wreck which is suitable for intermediate divers, and mini safaris to Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and the Ko Ha Yai Islands for experienced or deep qualified divers.

Rock climbing

Ao Nang was originally put on the travel map by backpackers, many of whom who came for the excellent climbing that Krabi's karst rock formations offer, and rock climbing is still widely available through centers in Ao Nang, although most of the climbs are in the areas around Railay, Tonsai, and Phra Nang beaches.

Thailand

Coordinates: 15°24′N 101°18′E / 15.4°N 101.3°E / 15.4; 101.3

Thailand (/ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/ TY-lənd;Thai: ประเทศไทย, rtgs: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, rtgs: Ratcha-anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰá.ʔāː.nāː.tɕàk tʰāj]), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; rtgs: Sayam), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Thailand is governed by the National Council for Peace and Order that took power in the May 2014 coup d'état.Its monarchy is headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has reigned since 1946 as Rama IX, as he is the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. He is currently the world's longest-serving head of state and the country's longest-reigning monarch; he has reigned for 7009219907440000000♠69 years, 250 days.

Krabi

Krabi Town (Thai: กระบี่) is the main town in the province of Krabi (thesaban mueang) on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phang Nga Bay. As of 2010 the town had a population of 52,867. The town is the capital of Krabi Province and Krabi District. Tourism is an important industry. Krabi is 783 km south of Bangkok by road.

Administration

The town covers the tambon Paknam and Krabi Yai of Krabi district, and is subdivided into 10 communities (chumchon).

Location

Krabi is a southern province on Thailand's Andaman seaboard with perhaps the country's oldest history of continued settlement. After dating stone tools, ancient colored pictures, beads, pottery, and skeletal remains found in the province's many cliffs and caves, it is thought that Krabi has been home to Homo sapiens since c. 25,000–35,000 BCE. In recorded times it was called the "Ban Thai Samor", and was one of twelve towns that used, before people were widely literate, the monkey for their standard. At that time, c. 1200 CE, Krabi was tributary to the Kingdom of Ligor, a city on the Kra Peninsula's east coast better known today as Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Phi Phi Islands

The Phi Phi Islands (Thai: หมู่เกาะพีพี, Thai pronunciation: [pʰīː pʰīː]) are in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the west Strait of Malacca coast of the mainland. The islands are administratively part of Krabi province. Ko Phi Phi Don ("ko" (Thai: เกาะ) meaning "island" in the Thai language) is the largest island of the group, and is the most populated island of the group, although the beaches of the second largest island, Ko Phi Phi Lee (or "Ko Phi Phi Leh"), are visited by many people as well. The rest of the islands in the group, including Bida Nok, Bida Noi, and Bamboo Island (Ko Mai Phai), are not much more than large limestone rocks jutting out of the sea. The Islands are reachable by speedboats or Long-tail boats most often from Krabi Town or from various piers in Phuket Province.

Phi Phi Don was initially populated by Muslim fishermen during the late-1940s, and later became a coconut plantation. The Thai population of Phi Phi Don remains more than 80% Muslim. The actual population however, if counting laborers, especially from the north-east, is much more Buddhist these days. The population is between 2,000 to 3,000 people (2013).

Thai cuisine

Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Balance, detail, and variety are of paramount significance to Thai chefs. In his book The Principles of Thai Cookery, celebrity chef, writer, and authority on Thai cuisine McDang wrote:

"What is Thai food? Every country in the world has its own food profile. It reflects its culture, environment, ingenuity and values. In the case of Thailand, these words come to mind: intricacy; attention to detail; texture; color; taste; and the use of ingredients with medicinal benefits, as well as good flavor.

Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. It is known for its complex interplay of at least three and up to four or five fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy. Australian chef David Thompson, a prolific chef and expert on Thai food, observed that unlike many other cuisines:

Thai cuisine (อาหารไทย : Ar-Han-Thai) is one of the most popular cuisine in the world. In 2011, seven of Thailand's popular dishes made it to the list of the "World's 50 Most Delicious Foods (Readers' Pick)"— a worldwide online poll of 35,000 people by CNN Travel. Thailand had more dishes on the list than any other country. They were tom yam goong (4th), pad Thai (5th), som tam (6th), massaman curry (10th), green curry (19th), Thai fried rice (24th) and moo nam tok (36th).