This would be the second or third detailed review or sharing I will be doing from my trip. And I’ll be more than glad to let everyone in the world to know how beautiful this place is, Krabi. Located at the south-west of Thailand, just south-east of Phuket, Thailand, this small place provides you wonders and mysteries that will always astound you again and again. Be it the people, the food and the surroundings. You’ll just keeping humming the ”I’m lovin’ it”. However before I begin I must really thank my girl for arranging this trip for me. It’s suppose to be a suprise birthday gift and indeed, a really suprising one, and memorable one.
It’s started with the promotion few months back from Air Asia, giving free seats away around the different locations in South East Asia, including the ever popular Bali, Indonesia. What attracts her most is the price that made the decision to book Krabi, without knowing what is where it is. And of course, for the first timer like me, I had no freaking idea that place even exists in the first place!
Cut to the chase, this will be a 3 Part sharing which will go through the trip that lasted approximately 4 days 3 night in Krabi, Thailand. And to keep you excitied, few years ago, remember there is a movie by the name The Beach? starred by Leonardo Di Caprio? It was filmed in one of the most beautiful island in the world named Phi Phi Island.
Before moving, you’ll really need to remember to bring a travelling plug!!
Picture : Aurum Bangkok
Upon reaching the LCC Terminal near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), we are suppose to check-in 1 hour before the flight which it will be 12 in the afternoon. We were shocked to know that we will arrive on 12.15p.m! And we kept wondering if we are travelling at speed of light! After few minutes of pondering I finally came to a conclusion that I realized Thailand is on a different timezone, it was +7GMT instead of the usual +8GMT in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We had a good laugh at that. And that means travelling to Krabi will take approximately 1 hour to arrive.
Inside the plane.
Piles of clouds appearing on our country’s skyline.
And as we approaching the destination, the cloud gets fluffier! Feels like going out and sleep on top of it. And as I was reading from the internet, generally the weather in Krabi would be cloudly to almost no sun at most time where the temperature is average at 30 Celcius or below throughout the whole year, sounds real good for a tropical place.
And of course, we will have to fill up the embarkation card. Note that there is 2 side to fill up, the departure and arrival of the card. And it has to be intact in the same sheet, because they are sharing the same index number on the paper. In case you messed up on one side of the paper, you will have to get a new one from the stewardess.
Krabi International Airport
And here we are, inside the airport. Upon landing, of course at first impression, we were not impressed by the surroundings that seems bare…with only trees. But on the other hand I’m impressed by how clean the airport is. And it’s still looking new, from what I read, it’s only operational back from year 99.
We’re happy to be greeted by our driver upon arriving, which he’s known as Sat. He’s a real friendly man and suppose to bring us to our pre-booked accomodation near Ao Nang beach, the main attraction in Krabi.
Upon closer inspection, we reached to a conclusion again that it’ll be quite hard for people to not know that they are speeding. The size of the tachometer inside the car is humongous.
Along the highway.
Stalls along the road.
And eventually we went through some weird pathways before reaching Ao Nang, which took us approximately 45 minutes from the airport.
Hello Ao Nang!
And this is where we stayed, it’s suppose to be a guest house, but we didn’t put much expectation into it because it’s quite a far distance from the hot-spot, but not too far until we can’t enjoy anything. Howeever, we are very delighted with their service and friendliness and had no complain with it. Baantaveesri is run by Jaeb and Charlie where you’ll be able to make bookings online. I will update later in the last post with all the resources, including on where you can find accomodations online, and as well compare in between them.
Another guest house near where we stayed. It is located at a small alley along the main road to Ao Nang beach known as Leela Valley (The locals pronounced it as Lee-lah-Vay-Leh).
After checked-in, we decided to have a stroll down the hill towards the main beach, Ao Nang beach and see what we can find in the afternoon. And we stumbled across this stall that seem to have bunch of fruits that looks like Rojak from Malaysia.
Note the big bowl on the right side of the picture? It is used to create one of the local delicacies there known as Som Tum. More will be revealed on the later part of the sharing. We never knew it’s something that is…so interesting and tasty.
Good Food??
If you were to ask us if what would be the best stall to recommend you on the local foods? I would say, we made decision based as-if we are blind folded on then walked around the street by smelling. Really. And that is how we came across this freaking fantastic local food stall, by the name Ao Nang Boat Noodle. I was so sad that I never had the chance to try their Boat Noodle, seems to be their specialty, since the first time of our visit, we ordered dishes and rice.
Seems to be the child of the owner.
And this is where we sat. Inside a hut.
This is the local’s soda water. I’d strongly recommend you to try one of these if you’re inside Thailand, and especially if you are dealing with Tom Yum. It will be the best chilling elixir for you. It feels like drinking Coke, but without the sweet flavour.
And here it comes, the dishes and rice. Which it would be, the Seafood Tom Yum, Chicken with lime and sour, spicy? (Couldn’t remember the name correctly) and Sambal Spinach ? (some sort of vegetable cooked with chillis)
This dish tastes fantastic, literally. And the first ever thing you will notice is the different in the meat texture itself, because instead of the usual one we eat at cities where the chicken are breed differently, this is the village chicken that will give you a different and more solid chewy sensation. Phew, I had no idea what I am talking about. You just have to try it yourself.
The stall from the outside. It will be easily recognizable, due to it’s smell of the foods.
Going Around
If you decide to go around the main attractions in Ao Nang, the best bet is to rent a motorcycle or a car, but motorcycle seems to be the best and most popular choice there. However, we decided to take on a different approach and get a bicycle instead to roam around the places. It’s price is roughly around 150-250 bath per day.
Right at the end of the Nopparat Thara Beach, we came across this memorial which built for the tsunami victims.
And the area surrounding it is beautiful.
The walkway towards the sculpture.
Inside the sculpture.
The exterior of the sculpture.
STOP!
Towards the end of the Nopparat Thara beach. Here if you are patience enough, you will be able to catch sunset here.
Snack Time!
Though at times we are aware that we are supposed to be in a different country for a vacation, subconciously we still feel right at home in Malaysia, probably due to the fact there is a significant amount of locals here is Muslim in general, however, most of them will only be able to interact in Thai language. That is some weird yet interesting findings you will get.
This is the stall where they are selling pancakes, which for us known as Roti Canai, pronounced as Roh-Tee in their native language. Looks almost the same, but tastes different, in a much better way!
If you do remember that I did mention about Som Tum previously, this is another stall that is selling that. It is basically a snack that is made up of several fruits and lime extract that tastes somewhere in between a jeruk + rojak + plum. It might not be appeal towards everyone, but my girlfriend loves it.
What about the drinks? Note. The one on the right is NOT coke. It‘s Teh-O-Ais (Iced Tea)! And the other one is Teh-Ais (Iced Milk Tea). Shocked? You should, because the first gulp really almost choked me, with a very high level amount of milk or sugar inside, it’s really packed with lots of strong flavour indeed, perhaps we are too used to toned-down and watery type of Teh Ais in Malaysia. How much for each?? 10Baht.
This is Som Tum. And it’s also known as Salad in western teminology. Mango Salad to be exact. There’s other variation as well, such as Papaya salad, chicken salad and more.
The stall.
Some local brewery. Tastes…different.
Walking Night
What is really up at night in Ao Nang? All the stalls along the main road will open at night where you can stroll down the road for window shopping.
Lots of interesting stuff that you can get as souvenirs, however you may want to consider negotiate prices with them before purchasing because if you are unsure, most of them might markup their price higher than the original one more than 200%!! Of course, do not be surprised that 3 or 5 stalls are selling the same thing. This is because most of them are getting stocks of these from Bangkok primarily.
And if have long hair, you might be interested in hair braiding as well! Usually costs around 500-1200 Baht. It’s usually negotiable as well.
A look at the streets at night.
The main road heading towards the Ao Nang beach.
Loy Khrathong?
And as some of us might ask what would be the best period to visit this place? It would be the period of November towards April which the weathers are good for either outdoor activities. Other months from that are the “cold period” where especially during the month of October, rain falls quite frequently. And just right this time around in November, we missed their mega-event which known as Loy Khrathong. It falls on 12th of November this year.
From wikipedia :
“Loi” means “to float”. “Krathong” is a raft about a handspan in diameter traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk (although modern-day versions use specially made bread ‘flowers’ and may use styrofoam), decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks etc.
I guess some of us back in Penang, Malaysia might known of this festival though.
You’ll able to send this flying with your wishes.
The one on the top left is the thing we sent flying, the right one is the moon.
That is now for the first part! Had to get some sleep to work tomorrow, will continue with different part of the trip. Hope you enjoy this and do visit it next time! Really! And in part 2 and 3 you will know why. The beach is absolutely stunning.
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Amazing pictures, Merv! You must have had a wonderful time with her
I’m so happy for you!