Asian Current

Phuket & Krabi - Jewels of the South East

Phuket and Krabi together make the brightest jewels in South East Asia. Situated in Thailand on the banks of the Andaman Sea, these two provide some of the finest beaches in the world. But that is not all. Phuket and Krabi have coral reefs with exciting under water sea life making them a diver’s dream, great mountains from where the adjoining blue lagoons look lovely, hundreds of small islands in various shapes and sizes, and forests including marshy swamps.

Phuket is actually an island, actually the biggest in Thailand, and is 900 km south of the capital city of Bangkok. But the easier way to reach Phuket is by air - just take a flight to the Phuket International Airport which has seen a lot of foreign tourists in recent years. And these tourists have not been restricted to Asian countries only, who have known about the beauty of the place for decades, but from far away Europe, America and Australia as well.

Krabi on the other hand, though just a hop away from Phuket, has not enjoyed so much international acclaim as a tourist destination. Though Krabi has a long history of continued settlement - archeologists have dated skeleton and pottery remains back to the Stone Age, but the fact that Krabi is probably as beautiful if not more as Phuket was known to Thais only, until a few years back. But now things are beginning to change. An increasing number of tourists are visiting Krabi as well, and the tourist figures are rising - notwithstanding the Tsunami, which hit hard these twin jewels in the South East.

Among all other attractions at Phuket and Krabi what mesmerizes the tourists the most are the coral reefs and the impossibly sheer limestone outcrops that rise out of the sea particularly in the Phang Nga Bay. But there are other places as well like the Phi Phi Island, Racha Islands and the Similan Islands. Never miss out on the Phi Phi Islands while you are at Krabi as the islands have some exciting caves that contain prehistoric paintings of men, women and animals. Also see how the locals erect bamboo poles in stiff cliffs to get birds nest for the popular bird’s-nest soup. An accidental drop would mean sure death. Another great cave in a stiff cliff and surrounded by water and mangrove forests is the Hua Gah Lohk cave. Legend has it that this was home to a bigheaded ghost. Apart from the paintings, you will also find thousands of shells here, one on top of another. How they got here is a mystery. Did the ghost love shells?

Diving is a popular sport here. Actually the Similan Islands is among the top 10 dive spots in the world, and so divers from all over the world come to Phuket and Krabi to visit the abyss and be one with the corals and the marine life. Diving trips lasting up to weeks are also organized for the distant islands. Many of these islands are uninhabited and pristine.

Another activity that is picking up is rock climbing. The exotic limestone cliffs jutting out of the sea look awesome but are not without danger as well. And this is what attracts adventurers from across the world to try their skills.