Collecting Clams in Ao Nang

Nopparat Thara is a better place for seashells, but Ao Nang is a better place to find clams. We learned that on one gorgeous evening while wandering on the beach, waiting for the sun to hide behind the mountains.

Ao Nang in warm sunset light

Ao Nang at sunset

Ao Nang at sunset

There was a group of local people looking for something in the water and we were curious to know what was it that they were looking for. One of the woman must have seen our puzzled faces and she came to us to show us the contents of her bucket: clams! She also kindly showed us how to look for the clams and encouraged us to look for them too.

Local people looking for clams at Ao Nang

A bucket full of clams

While the parents were looking for clams, the kids were playing in the water

At first we weren't too good at it, but then the beginner's luck stroke and we managed to find many quite sizable clams without any effort. Since we wouldn't be able to cook them, we handed them back to the local woman who encouraged us to look for them. She was quite surprised how many we found and she even asked us where we found them, saying she would go there the following night :)

We found some clams too!

And here is a rare picture of a clam on the move - usually when they sense human presence their immediately hide and close their shells tight