I had planned for this trip since September as this year’s birthday present for good mate, Elle, in return for her and Peach’s birthday present to me last year. Elle’s birthday is in February but we agreed that end-March would be a better date to travel.
Friday, 27 March 2009
While I do plan for my trips way in advance, I don’t however pack well in advance. So I was frantically packing (and also doing laundry) this morning. Was running late and left micasa after 0915. Met up with Elle at KL Sentral and took the SkyBus to LCCT. We arrived just in time to check in. Flight took off on time at 1205 but we landed about 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. Even though we didn’t check in our bags (I’d never packed that light before!), the bus we took from the airport waited for all the other passengers so it was some time before we finally left. The bus passed Krabi town on its way to Ao Phra Nang (more commonly referred to as Ao Nang) and we were dropped off right in front of our hotel some 45 minutes later.
After checking in, we stepped out into the hot afternoon sun to find our late lunch. There is a significant Muslim community in Krabi province (in fact, there is a mosque being built about ten metres from our hotel) so finding halal food was not a problem at all. There are many eateries that will cater to your taste-bud – from restaurants and stalls selling local and international food to mobile hawkers selling fried pad thai and pancakes (with all types of fillings and tops!) and fruit shakes and juices. Trust me, you will not get hungry there.
Our meal was all right (not too great) but enough to re-energise us. We then walked down the street to the beach. There were other tourists getting off their respective boats back from their respective tours; there were tourists tanning themselves (I spied some sunbathing topless!); there were some local people promoting their respective establishment’s spa services; and of course there were those just walking around just as we were doing. We walked leisurely along the Phai Plong beach to the south-end of the Nopparat Thara beach where we hung around watching the daily life before heading back. We didn’t return directly to the hotel but walked further to find some fruit stalls we saw earlier while on the bus (no durians though). By the way, there were so many accommodations on offer along the road and the beachfront that it would be hard to imagine being homeless there. Oh and boy, do they have the cutest, furriest cats there in Ao Nang.
Back at our room, we discussed where to go the next day and having made up our minds, we asked the hotel to help make bookings for us. Dinner was had from one of the sidewalk stalls – this time the pad thai was delicious.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
We had booked a ‘Four Islands tour’ today and we were picked up just before 0900. It was a fine bright morning (contrary to the BBC Weather forecast that predicted it would rain the whole duration we were there) and by 0945, we were already in our speedboat heading out into the Andaman Sea. Our first stop was at Koh Tup (Tup Island) sand banks where the sand banks that form during low tide enable you to walk from one island to another. We stayed until about 1030 when the sand banks started disappearing under the high tide. Our boat then passed Koh Hua Khwan or Chicken Island – so-called because there was this rock formation jutting out that resembles a head of a chicken (though it looked more like a turkey head to me). Next we stopped at a nearby island for snorkelling. I was a bit disappointed as I had expected to see corals and more fish/marine life as when I snorkelled in Tioman and Redang Islands in Malaysia. Oh well...
After 30 minutes or so, we boarded the boat back and went to Koh Poda (Poda Island). We stopped here to relax, have lunch and swim. Elle swam; I didn’t though. Instead I was content to laze on the mat (you need a mat here because of the fallen cones from the trees) until it was time to leave at 1300.
Our final stop was at Hat Tham Phra Nang (Phra Nang Cave Beach). I liked this beach better than the beach at Poda Island because of its fine-grained white sand and crystalline water shadowed at some areas by the tall overhanging magnificent cliffs. There were also some caves and one of it is said to be home of a mythical princess. Local fishermen place carved wooden phalli in the cave as offerings to the princess so that she will provide plenty of fish for them. Hmm, a very interesting and intriguing concept indeed (by the way, did you read about the bloke who painted a phallus on his parents’ mansion? They were not amused of course). The water was pleasant though I was surprised to note how deep it was after only a few feet in (I thought I could wade around). If you’re adventurous enough, you could swim to one end and climbed up to the cliff and jump off into the sea from there. Unfortunately, we could only stay there for 30 minutes.
We returned back to the boat reluctantly for our journey back to the mainland. We reached the hotel at 1430 and after showering, we rested and napped – until dark!
We decided not to book any more tour for the next day but instead explore the town of Krabi on our own. Dinner was had at a halal restaurant (no curried crab though). We then walked down to the beachfront before returning back to the hotel.
Sunday, 29 March 2009
This morning, we went out for a walk along the beach. We sighted a wooden bridge that led to some steps and decided to follow it. Sun, our friendly hotel staff, had earlier told us that there was a hotel on the side of the cliff facing our hotel and that it was not very easily accessible. Due to its location, this hotel also had a private beach. And true enough, after huffing and puffing (I’m so unfit), we reached the Centara Grand Beach Resort and Villas. We walked along the ‘jetty’ and sat there for a while before heading back the same way we came. We also stopped for some pancakes and fruit shakes on our way back (banana and peanut butter pancake for me, coconut and chocolate pancake for Elle). Yummy!!!
We only left for town at almost 1 pm. The ‘bus’ (more like a song thaew) ride took about 40-45 minutes and cost THB50 until 6 pm after which it would cost THB60. Alas, Krabi town was a dead town on Sundays. We walked to the Khong Kha Pier and took a long-tail boat upriver along the mangrove forest to Khao Khanab Nam Cave. This cave is apparently regarded as the symbol of Krabi (don’t ask why). We climbed up the wooden staircase into a cave of stalactites and stalagmites. We also sighted some bats. Unfortunately, it had started to rain very heavily by then (so BBC Weather was right after all for today) so we were quite wet by the time we returned to the boat.
Next, the boat took us to a fisherman village at Koh Klang. It had stopped raining by the time we got there and we were given some demonstrations on how the locals use floating baskets to farm their fish. There were also two tortoiseshell turtles there. It started raining again just as the demonstrations ended so we sat out the rain in the fisherman’s hut before getting back on the boat.
We walked around the shops before sitting down for some beef noodle and the ‘fish paste’ (otak-otak) dishes that we had bought earlier (spicy!). Then we walked to the food market (the dominant traders here were Muslims) before we found a centre where we had our Thai and foot massages respectively. We then checked out the Night Market (the night market started at 5 and lasted until 10 pm) before boarding the bus back to Ao Nang.
We browsed at the shops first before dinner. I was happy to discover that the Nike store had the Fàbregas t-shirt I was eyeing at a higher price (there are things that are cheaper in KL after all!). After browsing at the shops, we browsed the restaurants for our dinner before we finally managed to locate one that sold curried crab. Yum yum!!!
Monday, 30 March 2009
As it was not a Manic Monday, we slept in and only woke up at almost 8. Oh and did I have lovely dreams. I dreamt of Clichy who was contemplating a move to Chelshit (not that lovely) and then I also dreamt of Cesc. Yes, CESC himself. I think this is the second time I’ve dreamt of him. I can’t wait to see him again this weekend after all these months.
There was some water shortage but it was restored quickly. After breakfast, we walked to get our last order of pancake and fruit shake. We hurried back to the hotel to check out and it was barely five minutes before the airport bus arrived to bring us to the airport.
We landed at LCCT at 3 pm. I told Elle I am beginning to like the idea of not checking in my luggage on my future trips as it takes so darn long to wait for your luggage (once I managed to buy instant noodles - and ate them all up and I ate them slowly too as I don’t like to eat piping hot food, called up my parents and visited the washroom twice before the bags even started making their appearance on the conveyor belt). We just about managed to board our respective 1530 buses back to our destinations.
Until our next escapade then!
Friday, 27 March 2009
While I do plan for my trips way in advance, I don’t however pack well in advance. So I was frantically packing (and also doing laundry) this morning. Was running late and left micasa after 0915. Met up with Elle at KL Sentral and took the SkyBus to LCCT. We arrived just in time to check in. Flight took off on time at 1205 but we landed about 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. Even though we didn’t check in our bags (I’d never packed that light before!), the bus we took from the airport waited for all the other passengers so it was some time before we finally left. The bus passed Krabi town on its way to Ao Phra Nang (more commonly referred to as Ao Nang) and we were dropped off right in front of our hotel some 45 minutes later.
After checking in, we stepped out into the hot afternoon sun to find our late lunch. There is a significant Muslim community in Krabi province (in fact, there is a mosque being built about ten metres from our hotel) so finding halal food was not a problem at all. There are many eateries that will cater to your taste-bud – from restaurants and stalls selling local and international food to mobile hawkers selling fried pad thai and pancakes (with all types of fillings and tops!) and fruit shakes and juices. Trust me, you will not get hungry there.
Our meal was all right (not too great) but enough to re-energise us. We then walked down the street to the beach. There were other tourists getting off their respective boats back from their respective tours; there were tourists tanning themselves (I spied some sunbathing topless!); there were some local people promoting their respective establishment’s spa services; and of course there were those just walking around just as we were doing. We walked leisurely along the Phai Plong beach to the south-end of the Nopparat Thara beach where we hung around watching the daily life before heading back. We didn’t return directly to the hotel but walked further to find some fruit stalls we saw earlier while on the bus (no durians though). By the way, there were so many accommodations on offer along the road and the beachfront that it would be hard to imagine being homeless there. Oh and boy, do they have the cutest, furriest cats there in Ao Nang.
Back at our room, we discussed where to go the next day and having made up our minds, we asked the hotel to help make bookings for us. Dinner was had from one of the sidewalk stalls – this time the pad thai was delicious.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
We had booked a ‘Four Islands tour’ today and we were picked up just before 0900. It was a fine bright morning (contrary to the BBC Weather forecast that predicted it would rain the whole duration we were there) and by 0945, we were already in our speedboat heading out into the Andaman Sea. Our first stop was at Koh Tup (Tup Island) sand banks where the sand banks that form during low tide enable you to walk from one island to another. We stayed until about 1030 when the sand banks started disappearing under the high tide. Our boat then passed Koh Hua Khwan or Chicken Island – so-called because there was this rock formation jutting out that resembles a head of a chicken (though it looked more like a turkey head to me). Next we stopped at a nearby island for snorkelling. I was a bit disappointed as I had expected to see corals and more fish/marine life as when I snorkelled in Tioman and Redang Islands in Malaysia. Oh well...
After 30 minutes or so, we boarded the boat back and went to Koh Poda (Poda Island). We stopped here to relax, have lunch and swim. Elle swam; I didn’t though. Instead I was content to laze on the mat (you need a mat here because of the fallen cones from the trees) until it was time to leave at 1300.
Our final stop was at Hat Tham Phra Nang (Phra Nang Cave Beach). I liked this beach better than the beach at Poda Island because of its fine-grained white sand and crystalline water shadowed at some areas by the tall overhanging magnificent cliffs. There were also some caves and one of it is said to be home of a mythical princess. Local fishermen place carved wooden phalli in the cave as offerings to the princess so that she will provide plenty of fish for them. Hmm, a very interesting and intriguing concept indeed (by the way, did you read about the bloke who painted a phallus on his parents’ mansion? They were not amused of course). The water was pleasant though I was surprised to note how deep it was after only a few feet in (I thought I could wade around). If you’re adventurous enough, you could swim to one end and climbed up to the cliff and jump off into the sea from there. Unfortunately, we could only stay there for 30 minutes.
We returned back to the boat reluctantly for our journey back to the mainland. We reached the hotel at 1430 and after showering, we rested and napped – until dark!
We decided not to book any more tour for the next day but instead explore the town of Krabi on our own. Dinner was had at a halal restaurant (no curried crab though). We then walked down to the beachfront before returning back to the hotel.
Sunday, 29 March 2009
This morning, we went out for a walk along the beach. We sighted a wooden bridge that led to some steps and decided to follow it. Sun, our friendly hotel staff, had earlier told us that there was a hotel on the side of the cliff facing our hotel and that it was not very easily accessible. Due to its location, this hotel also had a private beach. And true enough, after huffing and puffing (I’m so unfit), we reached the Centara Grand Beach Resort and Villas. We walked along the ‘jetty’ and sat there for a while before heading back the same way we came. We also stopped for some pancakes and fruit shakes on our way back (banana and peanut butter pancake for me, coconut and chocolate pancake for Elle). Yummy!!!
We only left for town at almost 1 pm. The ‘bus’ (more like a song thaew) ride took about 40-45 minutes and cost THB50 until 6 pm after which it would cost THB60. Alas, Krabi town was a dead town on Sundays. We walked to the Khong Kha Pier and took a long-tail boat upriver along the mangrove forest to Khao Khanab Nam Cave. This cave is apparently regarded as the symbol of Krabi (don’t ask why). We climbed up the wooden staircase into a cave of stalactites and stalagmites. We also sighted some bats. Unfortunately, it had started to rain very heavily by then (so BBC Weather was right after all for today) so we were quite wet by the time we returned to the boat.
Next, the boat took us to a fisherman village at Koh Klang. It had stopped raining by the time we got there and we were given some demonstrations on how the locals use floating baskets to farm their fish. There were also two tortoiseshell turtles there. It started raining again just as the demonstrations ended so we sat out the rain in the fisherman’s hut before getting back on the boat.
We walked around the shops before sitting down for some beef noodle and the ‘fish paste’ (otak-otak) dishes that we had bought earlier (spicy!). Then we walked to the food market (the dominant traders here were Muslims) before we found a centre where we had our Thai and foot massages respectively. We then checked out the Night Market (the night market started at 5 and lasted until 10 pm) before boarding the bus back to Ao Nang.
We browsed at the shops first before dinner. I was happy to discover that the Nike store had the Fàbregas t-shirt I was eyeing at a higher price (there are things that are cheaper in KL after all!). After browsing at the shops, we browsed the restaurants for our dinner before we finally managed to locate one that sold curried crab. Yum yum!!!
Monday, 30 March 2009
As it was not a Manic Monday, we slept in and only woke up at almost 8. Oh and did I have lovely dreams. I dreamt of Clichy who was contemplating a move to Chelshit (not that lovely) and then I also dreamt of Cesc. Yes, CESC himself. I think this is the second time I’ve dreamt of him. I can’t wait to see him again this weekend after all these months.
There was some water shortage but it was restored quickly. After breakfast, we walked to get our last order of pancake and fruit shake. We hurried back to the hotel to check out and it was barely five minutes before the airport bus arrived to bring us to the airport.
We landed at LCCT at 3 pm. I told Elle I am beginning to like the idea of not checking in my luggage on my future trips as it takes so darn long to wait for your luggage (once I managed to buy instant noodles - and ate them all up and I ate them slowly too as I don’t like to eat piping hot food, called up my parents and visited the washroom twice before the bags even started making their appearance on the conveyor belt). We just about managed to board our respective 1530 buses back to our destinations.
Until our next escapade then!
