Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 810

serving very tasty Thai standards, starting with chicken
fried rice for B100. Daily 10am-8pm.
Patcharee Bakery On the main alley running east from
the pier. This place and Pee Pee Bakery square up to each
other across the narrow alley, vying for trade. Croissants -
plain, chocolate (B30), almond or savoury - are the thing
here, washed down with espresso, but it also does
delicious grilled baguettes with mozzarella, tomato and
ham (B80), as well as rice and noodle dishes. Daily
7am-8pm (closes 5pm in low season).

motorbikes (B250). Most beaches have
some facilities, but to be sure of getting
what you want, head to the commercial
centre and port at the north end of the
island, Ban Sala Dan , which is jammed full
of clothing stalls, banks, restaurants, travel
agents, and arts and crafts shops.

10 Hat Khlong Dao and Ao Phra-Ae

(Long Beach)
Ko Lanta's most developed beach, Hat
Khlong Dao , is broad and nice, but no
longer has any decent budget accommo-
dation. A couple of kilometres south of
Khlong Dao, Ao Phra-Ae (also known as
Long Beach ) boasts a beautiful long strip
of white sand and an enjoyably youthful
ambience. Traveller-oriented bamboo
huts are fairly plentiful here, as are
beach-shack bars with mats on the sand.

NIGHTLIFE
Ko Phi Phi is a major party island. In high season, Ao Ton
Sai and Ao Loh Dolum teem with young Westerners out
for a good time.
Reggae Bar East of the pier in Ao Ton Sai, on the main
route heading towards The Rock . A Phi Phi institution in
the heart of the village that's been running for years in
various incarnations. These days it arranges regular
amateur muay thai bouts in its boxing ring at around
9.30pm - “beat up your friend and win free buckets” - and
has pool tables and a bar around the sides. Daily roughly
8.30am-2am.
Slinky Towards the east end of Loh Dalum, where the left
fork just before The Rock hits the beach. The messy,
throbbing heart of Phi Phi nightlife, with a booming sound
system, fire shows, and buckets and buckets of booze.
Daily roughly 9pm-2am.
Stones Bar On the beach at the east end of Loh Dalum.
One of the bars of the moment, with dozens of nifty red,
gold and green axe cushions scattered on the beach and on
platforms under the trees, and a DJ station in a treehouse.
Claims to be open 24hr.

Hat Khlong Khong, Hat Khlong Nin
and Ao Kantiang
he lovely long beach at Hat Khlong
Khong , south of Ao Phra-Ae, is peppered
with rocks and you can only really swim
at high tide. here are lots of beautiful
places to stay and a number of colourful
beachfront bars that host regular parties.
About 4km south of Hat Khlong
Khong, the road forks, with the
left-hand, east-bound arm running across
to Ko Lanta Yai's east coast, via ham
Mai Kaew caves and Viewpoint Hill, and
the right-hand fork running south to
long, sandy, laidback Hat Khlong Nin , a
great spot for swimming. About 8km
further south, Ao Kantiang has a lovely
beach in a sheltered bay, where swimming
is possible year-round.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
Bungalow touts meet the boats at Ban Sala Dan and will
usually transport you to the beach of your choice. If you
need to use the motorbike sidecar taxi or white songthaew
services instead, be warned that drivers will try and charge
arrivals way over the normal fares; walk 250m from the
pier head to the main road to get a ride at more reasonable
rates. For the a/c minibuses listed below, the price often
depends on how far south on Ko Lanta you want to go.
From Krabi Ferries run from Krabi Passenger Port
(roughly mid-Nov to mid-April 1-2 daily; 2hr 30min;
B400). There are also year-round a/c minibuses from Krabi
bus station (hourly; 2hr 30min-4hr; B250-350). On

KO LANTA
At 25km long, Ko Lanta (actually two
islands, Ko Lanta Yai and adjacent,
untouristed Ko Lanta Noi) offers plenty
of fine sandy beaches all along its west
coast and is a deservedly popular
destination. It's also within easy
day-tripping distance of the stunning
beaches and reefs of Ko Rok Nai and Ko
Rok Nok, 47km south (B1200 through
any tour agent).
hough Lanta has plenty of boat
connections, its main form of access is by
air-conditioned minibus on two short car
ferry routes from the mainland; a bridge
between Ko Lanta Noi and Ko Lanta Yai is
planned. A road runs the entire length of
Ko Lanta's west coast, serviced by plenty of
tuk-tuks; many bungalows rent out