Krabi

Krabi is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, at the shore of the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phang Nga, Surat Thani (Koh Samui) , Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang. The Phuket province to the west is also neighboring, but without any land boundary.

The province is located at the shore to the Andaman Sea. Most notable are the solitary limestone hills, both on the land and in the sea as islands. Rock climbers from all over the world travel to Railay Beach to climb. Of about 130 islands belonging to the province, Koh Phi Phi Ley is perhaps the most famous, as it was the set of the movie The Beach. Other islands include: Koh Phi Phi Don, part of the Phi Phi Islands.

Phuket

Located approximately 862 kilometers south of Bangkok is Phuket, Thailand's largest island, which is often dubbed as the pearl of the Andaman, or the pearl of the south. Its natural resources- rocky peninsular, limestone cliffs, white powdery beaches, tranquil broad bays and tropical in-land forests contribute to making it the South's wealthiest, busiest, most visited and most popular island and province.

Shopping

Thailand is a shopper's paradise and many visitors to Bangkok in particular end up spending much of their time in the countless markets and malls. Particularly good buys are clothing, both cheap locally produced streetwear and fancy Thai silk, and all sorts of handicraf

ts. Electronics and computer gear are also widely available, but prices are slightly higher than in Singapore, Hong Kong andKuala Lumpur.

A Thai speciality are the night markets found in almost every town, the largest

and best-known of which include Suan Lum Night Bazaar inBangkok and the Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai. Here a variety of vendors from designers to handicraft sellers have stalls selling goods which cannot normally be found in malls and day markets. Most night markets also have large open air food courts attached.
You can also find marvelously tacky modern clothing accessories. Witness pink sandals with clear plastic platform heels filled with fake flowers. Night markets along the main roads and Bangkok's Mahboonkrong (MBK) Mall, near the Siam skytrain stop, are particularly good sources.

Haggling is the norm and Thais will try to charge you as much as they think you can afford to pay. It's not uncommon to buy something, walk outside, and find somebody who bought the same item for half or one third what you paid (or even less). Try to figure out the item's rough value first — government-run fixed price shops and even hotel gift shops are a good starting point — and you'll find that prices drop drastically when the seller realizes you have some idea of what it costs.