An eve at the beach by the Andaman Sea, in Krabi

Took my second trip to Thailand in May 2026 and like the last time, this trip, too, was a revelation about oft-misunderstood nation.

The first leg of my trip began in Krabi, down south, on the Andaman Sea. The seaside town — the capital of its namesake province — is beautiful, cliffs and hills dotting its landscape, making for a unique juxtaposition against the waves hitting the beach.

My itinerary had allotted me three days in the locale and I was prepared to explore it to the fullest — specifically, the beach front. At the same time, I was also determined to avoid the tourist traps. This was also the reason why I decided against taking the famed island-hopping journey, covering four islands in one day, either on a yacht or on a long-tailed boat.

This decision paid off as I was able to see the simple-yet-majestic beauty of the Ao Nang beach, with Krabi’s cliffs adding value to the scenery, in the backdrop.

Those in the know — the seasoned tourists — talk about a fire-show put up by a local group at sunset on the beach. The timing of the said show is always up for discussion, with some saying 7:30 PM and others saying 10:30 PM. I guess it’s one of those things that gets lost in translation somewhere, somehow.

I, however, was fortuitous and was able to see the show — and all the fuss surrounding it — without much ado, at 6:30 PM.

Put up largely by a bunch of kids, the theatrics of fire blowing and billowing drew a large number of people onto the beach front. The locals manning their shops on the other side of the road went about their business — I suppose they were used to the spectacle — while the tourists gasped, gaped and gushed at how the young lads were controlling their fire-spewing apparatuses while also maintaining their rhythm and choreography, all throughout.

Thirty minutes later, as the show wound down and the group members came up to the gathered crowd with their tip boxes, the evening sky began its own fire-show with the setting sun as its source of fuel.

Orange, red, purple, blue and green — the plane above was a panoply of hues; the closest I’d come to seeing an aurora, despite not being anywhere near the poles.

As night entered as the perfect segue to this riotous end of the day and as the crowd at Ao Nang beach thinned, all that remained was to make the walk back to my hotel room along with the memories of this short time that was much more beautiful than what I’d imagined, before embarking on my trip.