Taking the longboat from shore to shore, almost

A primary mode of transportation in Krabi is the longboat, which is just what it sounds like. For about 100 Baht (~$3.30) per person, you can get a 10-15 minute ride to nearby locations, such as to Railay Beach from Ao Nang Beach, which is where we’ve gone for rock climbing. The entire longboat process is pretty fascinating. After buying tickets, you get matched to a driver who escorts you out to his boat once he has enough people (seems like they target eight heads). There is no explanation given, the longboat driver just hikes up his shorts and starts walking out into the ocean, expecting you to follow, where his boat could be anywhere from 20 feet to 200 feet from shore. We got matched to one boat that was so far out the water was sloshing up to my belly button by the time we got to it, and poor Keegan was practically swimming. For that particular ride, I was wearing shorts (not my swim trunks) and had things in my pockets (including cash) that got totally soaked. We’ve even seen people have to navigate this system with large suitcases!

The boats themselves seem a bit…under-engineered. The outsides are sturdy enough, which certainly is the most important part, but the floors are pretty dicey and consist of a bunch of wooden boards that are just laid down next to each other, but not fastened in any way so if you step on their edges they come up and pinch against each other, so the barefooted passengers are risking losing a toe. As I mentioned, the drivers often don’t say anything, but if the riders don’t happen to arrange themselves in a balanced fashion spreading the weight equally on the right and left sides, the boat has a very clear lean to it and the driver will yell “balance! balance!” It’s all part of the Thai experience and is helping create memories that should stick with us forever.