Krabi

A charming local town and provincial capital, Krabi town still manages to retain its identity in the face of developing tourism.

As the main commercial and transit point for the province, the town plays less attention to tourism. Just as in years gone by, the river still provides the hub of activity with fishing boats and river taxis ferrying both locals and visitors to the coast and islands.

Using Krabi as a central base there are dozens of interesting places to visit. It's the place to catch your taxi boat for beaches around Railay or Ao Nang to the west and for islands further away like Ko Lanta and Koh Phi Phi.

It's an interesting place to get a glimpse of local life and as a base for visiting the outlying areas, but there's not too much to do in the town itself. Wander around, visit the market, sample some local food and take a boat out around the surrounding places of interest.

Krabi town is still a scenic little backwater town but what it lacks in size it makes up for in the number of great places to eat. The night market in Krabi, with its great seafood at low prices and a host of Thai dessert venders, has a great selection of fresh and well cooked food.

Local vendors seem to pop out of nowhere with mobile kitchens serving excellent noodles, chicken and rice accompanied by lime juice shakes or local beer. Krabi's speciality - fresh seafood is also evident. Lobster, crab, squid and a variety of fish come straight from the Andaman and on to your plate.

Nightlife, is pretty low key and geared to the local clientele, with a few bars Thai style nightclubs and Karaoke bars. For more a more western style, head for Ao Nang.