Krabi Day 4 - Ao Nang Beach

It was our last full day in Krabi and we did not have any plans lined up. We wanted to sleep in, laze around, and take our time to stroll through Ao Nang street at our own leisurely pace. 

We left our resort around noon and wandered down to the main Ao Nang street in search of food. We finally decided to dine at Aining Restaurant because it looked pretty decent and we were hoping to have something other than Thai food that day.

The boyfriend ordered the beef burger and I ordered mushroom and ham pasta in cream sauce. His burger was enormous! The patty was amazingly thick and they were so generous with the ingredients. My mushroom and ham pasta in cream sauce was really good too. I'm not fond of pasta in cream sauce and I actually ordered this without knowing that it came with cream sauce. But I have to say I was so pleasantly surprised when I tasted this pasta! The sauce was light, tasty and not cloyingly creamy, and the spaghetti was done al dente. Wonderful. It was really reasonably priced too, and we were so happy after our lunch.

We proceeded to wander further away from the main Ao Nang street and went further, down the row of shop houses and far from the beach. This area is definitely way less touristy and much quieter, with less eateries and shops, and less activities as well. It was nice to just walk along the empty streets and explore.

It started to rain during our nice little walk, so we ducked into a nearby 7-11 and started shopping. It was a large 7-11 and we were having so much fun picking up drinks, snacks, sweets and all sorts of random stuff. The boyfriend noticed that they were selling some mini musical boxes with Winnie the Pooh and friends on it. You just have to wind it up, press the button, and the little figurine will start to spin to a tune! I was so fascinated with it, and we wanted to collect a set of 4. Sadly, after popping into every 7-11 along Ao Nang street, we only managed to purchase 3 musical boxes. But I'm still really happy!

It was dinner soon enough, and we decided to try Rialto because the guy at the door had been calling out to me every night we walked past with the same "Hello Miss Malaysia". Miss Malaysia?! Okay, never mind about that, I never got to know what he meant, but maybe he thought every Chinese was from Malaysia (which is weird). 

Business was good and every table was occupied. We ordered a Chicken Pizza and Aglio Olio Spaghetti to share. The pizza was very very good. Thick and fluffy, with lots of cheese and tender well-marinated chunks of chicken. The Aglio Olio Spaghetti was a disappointment though. It was so oily! Just look at that picture below. The bunch of spaghetti was sitting in a pool of oil! And it was so salty too, like the chef simply sprinkled some salt on the dish as a careless afterthought.

We wanted to go for some drinks and live music after dinner, so we went to Crazy Gringos which is behind Rialto. There is a row of pubs and bars at the back of the main street, most of which have pretty awesome live music. We settled for Crazy Gringos because they had incredible Happy Hour drinks and we could not resist SGD 4 cocktails.

The live band was very good! I love her deep soulful voice. We sat there enjoying the music, sipping our drinks, and just allowing time to go by. It was a lovely moment, so peaceful and serene that I often find myself going back to that particular night in that bar and feeling a deep sense of calm. I love such moments. 

And with that our Krabi Trip came to a nice lovely end. Read about Day 1, 2 and 3! 

Krabi Day 3 - Phi Phi Island Tour

We woke up bright and early to have breakfast and wait for the shuttle bus to take us to the pier for our Phi Phi Island Tour. We signed up for the tour with our hotel and the tour operator was Chokpaisan Andaman Sea. I did some research before heading to Krabi and learnt that some tour operators were horribly dishonest. They squeezed 50 people in one speedboat (some reviewers lamented that they were like cattle in a boat), and did not stop anywhere for very long but simply rushed through the entire tour. I was kind of disillusioned after reading those reviews and was quite cautious when considering whether to sign up with Chokpaisan. We did so eventually (mostly due to convenience) and we were so glad for our choice!

The shuttle bus arrived promptly, and took a small group of us to the pier. Chokpaisan arranged each bus to pick only a small group of tourists, so you need not sit in the bus and travel all around Ao Nang picking up other people. After picking us up, we were on our way to the Nopparat Thara Beach where the "pier" is.

It's honestly not much of a pier, and we still had to wade out into the sea before clambering into the speedboat. There were about 30 of us, and we were all pretty comfortable. Cold water was provided during the journey and it was such a relief from the hot sun outside!

Snorkeling at two locations first, before heading to the Viking Cave and Pileh Lagoon. I have to say, I was very impressed by Pileh Lagoon. It was calm, beautiful and I love how the limestone cliffs surrounded the clear waters. 

We continued on our way to the famous Maya Bay. This was where Leonardo Dicaprio filmed The Beach (when he was still hunky), and catapulted this place to fame. It would have been lovely, but I simply could not enjoy much of the place at all because it was just so crowded. The entire stretch of beach was lined with speedboats, tourists were everywhere, and I could not even take a picture in peace without a Chinese tourist stopping by to ask me to smile wider and taking a picture of me. The whole experience at Maya Bay was just really bizarre, and even though it was a pretty place, I felt a bit overwhelmed.

We were allowed to walk around Maya Bay for about half an hour before proceeding to Phi Phi Don for lunch. Lunch was buffet-styled and a modest affair. It was not anything fancy, but it did its job in keeping me full till dinner. We ate quickly before beginning to explore Phi Phi Don. I found my beloved spicy cuttlefish, and bought some souvenirs at the bustling Walking Street. Before we knew it, it's time to head to our next destination.

The last stop was Bamboo Island. This was different from the previous locations as the island was not surrounded by limestone cliffs. Instead it was just a small stretch of soft sand with an endless expanse of clear waters. I love this place. We were allowed to explore Bamboo Island for an hour and we took this opportunity to walk along the shore, chasing waves and relaxing on the sand. I was stupid enough to venture out into the sea (because I wanted to wash away the sand on my bum) but a large wave crashed into me and I was all wet.

We went back to Ao Nang at about 4pm and were divided into various songthaews for our ride back to our resort. We had a quick bath before leaving our resort for dinner. We had pork samurai burger (because I could not eat the beef samurai in Singapore haha!) and our final cups of Toffee Nut Latte for the season. I have officially tried Toffee Nut Latte in Singapore, Bangkok and Krabi. Goodbye to Toffee Nut Latte till end 2013!

It was a very relaxing and comfortable night with a slight balmy breeze along Ao Nang while we strolled back to our resort. 

Day 4 next! Read about Day 1 and Day 2. 

Krabi Day 2 - Railay Beach

The next morning we woke bright and early for our breakfast at the resort. Breakfast was simple, without much choices, but it was sufficient. The various dishes differed every day we were there, and the only repeated dish was the tray of bread at the side. The dining area was bright and airy, and there were more than enough seats around so everyone was comfortable. The only sad thing was that the food was not exactly delicious. It was decent, but I would not be eating there if breakfast was not included in my resort package.

We strolled to Ao Nang beach where we purchased tickets for the longtail boat to Phra Nang Beach. You can choose whether to alight at Railay West or Phra Nang beach, and honestly it did not make much of a difference because you could walk along the paths to explore Railay. But we decided to stop at Phra Nang first to check out Phra Nang cave.

Phra Nang beach is quiet, isolated and without many tourists around. It was generally very peaceful and a good place to curl up with a book under the warm sun. I love the fact that for a good long stretch of the beach, I could pretend that we were the only two people around and attempt to shut out the world.

If you are at Phra Nang beach, you must check out Phra Nang cave. It's right at the end, near the trail to Railay East, and has a temple within. The waters are also really shallow here, so you could wade out into the waters and enter the curve of the rocks.

Thereafter, you could find the trail that leads you to Railay East. The trails are such that you could walk from Phra Nang to Railay East then Railay West, which was the course we took. The trail from Phra Nang to Railay East is amazing. It was lined with awesome limestone rocks with caves within, and if you are lucky, you might spot a whole family of monkeys jumping around from tree to tree.

Railay East was slightly more disappointing. The beach gradually gave way to a raised platform where the eateries and bars were located. A large portion of the beach was quite polluted, with murky waters and black pipes hitting the shore. I guess most of the guests staying in resorts along Railay East simply take the short walk over to Railay West for the larger part of the day.

We were beginning to feel hungry, so we stopped at a small modest eatery called Mom's Kitchen for lunch. We then proceeded to have the worst meal we had in Krabi. We ordered stir fried vegetables and chicken fried with basil leaves. Both dishes were horribly salty, without any flavour, and was just so disappointing. It was so disappointing, I did not even remember or bother to take a picture of the place.

Continued our stroll to Railay West. The beach here is awesome. Clean clear waters and limestone cliffs, a row of sea-facing resorts, and a small walking street. There is evidently more people along this beach, and more longtail boats to cater to the tourists returning to Ao Nang, so you do not have to be afraid about not being able to head back.

We were hugely dissatisfied with our pathetic lunch at Mom's Kitchen, so we went into the restaurant at Railay Bay Resort and Spa for a couple of beers and a mushroom pizza. It was so relaxing to sit in a large oak chair, and look out into the sea with a large bottle of beer in hand. And the pizza was amazing! I loved it. They were so generous with the ingredients and the pizza was thick and fluffy.

Took the longtail boat back to Ao Nang, where we had a quick shower and a short nap before heading out for dinner. We decided to have dinner at Swiss Chalet which is right beside our resort as it was reasonably crowded for the isolated location is it in. They serve Swiss and Thai food, and we ordered Thai. We had a bowl of tom yum goong, pineapple fried rice, and omelette with minced pork. The food was so good! I especially loved the tom yum goong which was nice and sour, and the omelette with minced pork as it was slightly spicy and sweet. Such a nice dinner!

Day 3 up next where we took the day tour to Phi Phi Islands! Read about Day 1 and Day 4 too!

Krabi Day 1 - Ao Nang

So I was all prepared to start 2013 with a melancholic post detailing all the ups and downs of 2012, and listing down all the aspirations and promises I have for myself for 2013. But then, I packed and went away for 5 days. When I returned, I decided there was nothing more boring than dwelling in the past, so the first 2013 post sharing my Krabi trip was a definitely a better way to start the ball rolling!

I've always always wanted to visit Krabi, with its clear blue waters and majestic limestone cliffs. But there was always something that stopped me from going, so this time I was super determined that I would make this trip.

We reached Krabi Airport close to 3pm, cleared immigration and emerged at the arrival hall. We proceeded to the shuttle bus counter to purchase two tickets for the shuttle bus to Ao Nang. The tickets were really affordable at 150 baht each, which is about SGD 6. After getting the tickets, we walked to the exit where the bus driver stood waiting and he brought us to the bus.

We had to wait for more passengers to board the bus before the bus moved off. Apparently the day we arrived was not a popular day as there were only about 8 passengers on board. We spied the same bus over the weekend at Ao Nang and it was completely full!

The journey to Ao Nang took about an hour, most likely because the bus driver was travelling really slowly. While the lady at the counter promised us that the bus would drop us in front of our resort, the bus actually dropped us along the main road and we had to walk down a side lane to reach our hotel. I guess it really depends on the bus driver as we saw the bus alighting guests right in front of our hotel on other days.

We stayed at Apasari Krabi, which was a distance from the main Ao Nang street and Ao Nang beach. It was situated right inside a side lane, which meant that the area was dark and quiet at night. Safety was not an issue though, and we were away from the noisy crowds at main Ao Nang street and the shops. However, the distance also meant that we had to walk 10-15 minutes everyday to the main Ao Nang Street and Ao Nang beach and back. 

We had the superior room which was spacious and comfortable for two. Sadly our mountain view became a view of the construction site beside our hotel instead. The workers were at work throughout the day, but we were hardly around so the noise did not bother us much. The room had the basic necessities like a safe, hair dryer, and a small television. The bottled water was not free though, unlike many other hotels I have visited. 

After settling our stuff in the room, we set out to explore Ao Nang. We took a nice long walk to the beach and the main street facing the beach with its row of cafes and restaurants. We were just in time to catch the sunset, which was the most awesome sunset in the 5 days I was there. It was so peaceful, serene and took my breath away. 

We continued our walk down the main Ao Nang street and decided to settle for dinner at Taj Palace. We went in because the signboard showed that it served pastas, pizzas, and Indian food so we thought some fusion food might be interesting. But once seated, we studied the menu and realized that it was all Indian food! And I was still battling a sore throat then. So we ordered a plate of mixed fried rice and chicken tawa (which was their specialty) to share. The plan was that we could just go somewhere else for something more suitable afterwards.

The chicken tawa was good and the juicy chunks of chicken soaked up the curry sauce splendidly. However, the mixed fried rice was disappointing. It was bland, tasteless and tasted like it was left to air for a really long time before serving. But the portions were generous and we were full after the meal, much to our surprise. So we did not have a round 2. Went back to the hotel, plugged in his Mac and curled up for Ted before drifting off to sleep.

Read about Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 as well!