Krabi CNY getaway 2011

Sawasdee! We had chosen Krabi for this year CNY getaway holidays. Due to tight schedule, as Juan will be going back to Kuching, Xin to Singapore  and Vvy to Nilai on Sunday, we opted for a 3D2N short holiday at Krabi.

Krabi is a small beach town at the southern part of Thailand.  If you are looking for a quiet and peaceful holiday,  Krabi is definitely a good choice!

We arrived at Krabi International Airport at 1.35 pm local time and were greeted by the Ananta Burin Resort staff and after a 30 minute drive we finally reached and  checked in the  Resort at Ao Nang Beach. A one way taxi costs 500 THB and bus fare is 150THB.

 

Night view of it!

Without delay, we hailed a mini pick up truck taxi to Tiger Cave. It cost us 1200THB two ways. This mode of transport is very common in Krabi.  Some of them have even equipped with blasting sound system, like this one:

This  cave  has a  Buddhist temple  with  more  than a  thousand  years   history 1237  steps  up  the  mountain.   Alas the three of us,  Juan,  Vvy  and  me  only managed  to reach  460 steps.

Some  part of  the  steps   were  steep  along the way.   Xin and mummy  were waiting for us at the foot of the mountain.   So we missed  the  panoramic  view  of the  Krabi town at  the  top  of  the  mountain. Entrance to the temple is free of charge.

 

 

 

 

On the way back, we stopped at the market to buy some fruits.  See what is this small gadget?

 

The Thais are very innovative. They use this tool to scrap coconut flesh. Unlike in Malaysia, we use spoon to try to scrap the flesh after drinking the coconut juice.

 

 

As our package included one dinner. So our first dinner was at the hotel. It was a surprise that the dinner was beyond our expectation! There was a choice of 2 set dinner for two at 380THB with 5 dishes, with Tom Yum Khung the most spectacular and appetizing! It’s a must try if you choose to stay in this resort.

After dinner we took a stroll down the Ao Nang Beach shopping area.  A lot of shops selling souvenirs, clothes, bags and eatery outlets are found at this famous beach front. Massage parlors are everywhere.  The price of massage here is very much cheaper compared with Malaysia.  It costs between 200THB to 300THB for foot and body massage per hour.  Mummy and Xin went for manicure which cost 300THB for both finger and toe nails. Walking down the street, we had a feeling that we were  are in an European country as 98% of the tourists are Europeans!

 

As we were too tired to walk back to the hotel, we took a motor  tuk-tuk back as walking back would take around 20 minutes.  It cost 20THB per pax. However it was a good experience as the tuk-tuk sped with the cool sea breeze  blowing up our hair! In less than 5 minutes, we were back at the hotel. Some motor tuk-tuk are also installed with blasting sound system, but the fare will be 100THB per tuk-tuk.

 

Day 2. We woke up at 6.30 am and breakfast was at the hotel cafeteria. There was no complain as the breakfast was a continental with the usual fried rice, egg and bacon, noodles, salad, corn flakes and bread.

 

At around 9.00 am, we arrived at the Ao Nang Pier ready to go to Phi Phi Island by speed boat. Our island tour leader was Michelle. Vvy said ‘she’ pronounced ‘her’ name wrongly.  It should be Michael! ‘She’ spoke with broken English. ‘Her’ famous phrase was ‘X-kiss me’ whenever ‘she’ wanted us to pay attention to her.

 

There were altogether 18 of us including 8 Europeans in this speed boat. The boat trip  was 45 minutes from Ao Nang to Phi Phi Island.

However we stopped at Bamboo Island and the Viking Cave for sightseeing and phototaking. Actually we had been here some 20 years ago when we visited Phuket Islands. But  that time, Vvy was not born yet.

The scenery looked quite similar to Halong Bay in North Vietnam. Phi Phi Island has transformed into a very commercialized island with lots of shops and resorts catering for the large influx of tourists, mostly Europeans.

I still remember 20 years ago, it was just a small village with a restaurant and a small motel. The villagers were selling handicrafts and paintings to the tourists. We had buffet lunch at one of the restaurants in Phi Phi Island.

From this island, one can choose to go to other islands for snorkeling or diving. Like this Similan Island. Of course we didn’t go to this  ’si-mi-lan’ island. If you are a Hokkien, you should know what does it mean by this word!

 

After lunch we went to Monkey Bay for snorkeling activities.  Compared to Pulau Redang or Pulau Tioman, I would say the corals in Malaysia look more beautiful and are more abundant. Quite a large area of corals were dead already, largely due to the booming tourism in Phi Phi Island.

 

We were back at Ao Nang Beach again at around 4.20 pm. A day trip to Phi Phi Island costs 1800THB for an adult and 1200THB for child with snorkeling equipment and life jacket including lunch.

We were completely knocked out after a day outing under the hot sun. After taking bath, we went for a traditional foot and body massage at the hotel. The massage was carried out in an open place next to the swimming pool. It was really relaxing and rejuvenating after the massage.  It was much better than the ones I tried in Hanoi, Chiang Mai and Bali. An one hour massage costs 300TB.

For dinner, we took a motor tuk-tuk to Ao Nang Beach. Of course we did not try this Sabai Restaurant simply not because of the name as we were recommended by friends to try the authentic Thai cuisine at the Aree Ba Ba restaurant. (Not Ali Baba, haha…). The owner is a European.

 

We ordered chicken satay, pineapple fried rice with prawn and another one with squids, Ban Thai, steamed fish, papaya salad, sea food tom yum  and fruit juice.  The satay gravy was different from the satay in Malaysia. The meat was not as soft and juicy. However it tasted good. The bill came up to 1219THB. Actually the food in Krabi is not pricey, quite reasonable and the people there are honest, they dont simply ‘slaughter’  you because you are a foreigner.

Day 3. Woke up fresh in the morning. Looking out the sliding door, I saw only one hotel guest swimming in the pool. So I decided to take a dip in the pool. After changing, I straight away jumped into the pool. Wah, how nice to have the whole pool to yourself! After swimming for 20 laps (25m pool) I noticed the sign board saying that pool is open from 10.00 am – 6.30 pm and swim at your own risk , no lifeguard available. Shit, luckily no hotel guest or staff came to chase me out of the pool!

However after 10.00 am, you could see the ang mohs coming out for sun bathing.

 

We checked out at 11.30 am, and on the way to the airport we stopped at a souvenir shop to buy some Thai cookies and of course Tom Yum paste extracts hoping to make our own Tom Yum  soup back home!

Note:

A 3D2N package in a  deluxe room is 3876THB  per pax (10THB ~ RM 1) inclusive of :

- 2B, 1L & 1D

- a day snorkeling trip with equipments  to Phi Phi Island

- an one hour massage

- 2 hours free WIFI per room

- air port transfer

Ananta Burin Resort is 15 minutes walk to the Ao Nang Beach & 5 minutes walk to Nopparata Beach. There are many other resorts right in front of the Ao Nang Beach.

 

Photographer: LWJ