
The modern incarnation of Phra Nang fascinates me on so many levels that I could write a book on this one single beach. Phra Nang is stunning, preposterous, perfect, horrifically flawed, a sham, a jewel, a white-powder contradiction. It’s also a rather unique achievement.
At some point in the second millennium, I strolled across a flawless, deserted version of Phra Nang that was truly deserving of the word perfect.
The beach was so perfect that humanity decided to carve into the jungle which backed the beach and construct the Rayavadee Hotel, a luxury resort designed to cater to exclusive individuals who like their decadence sitting in the middle of what was once a pristine natural location. Marketing hyperbole swirled, travel magazines swarmed, and Phra Nang was declared the most beautiful beach in Thailand. As of this posting, Rayavadee lists its rates between $750 and $5,300 per night, depending on just how much decadence you require. Ouch, that beats our $11 room in Krabi town.

Now, I know what everyone is expecting, yet another lecture on how humanity is destroying nature – oops, I just did that – too late.
No, the focus of this post is on something far more mundane, yet strangely fabulous. And that is the fact that Continue…