**Please note that for those of you who are adrenaline junkies, I recommend you to go to other websites as this blog post here won't be the right one for you, but thanks for stopping by =D
-------------------------------------First Day---------
Here is a map of Krabi. I went there on 17/12/2015 until 20/12/2015. It's about 5 to 8 hours by car, depending on your speed and whether or not the officials on the Malaysian borders are hard-working on that particular day. My family and I drove from Alor Setar around 5.30 in the morning and arrived at Krabi at about 11.00, not bad as they felt lazy that day and opened only ONE counter. It's not hard driving to Thailand via the Alor Setar borders.
**note that there are some other borders as options. We drove through the Bukit Kayu Hitam border, the others that I know of are Padang Besar, and Kangar, which are in Perlis. There are other options, feel free to click >>here<< and ctrl+f the word "border crossings" to know more about the borders of Thailand and Malaysia. =)
We arrived at our hotel, Ancora Blu Hotel (click the words for booking on the Agoda website). It is brand new, very clean and the theme, which means "the blue anchor hotel", is beloved by me, as I'm a fan of the colours blue and white. Free WiFi and breakfast is available! Hallelujah! We spent some time settling down our belongings and headed out for lunch. There's some eateries near the hotel (walking distance, of course), and we ended up at an eatery that has a garden-like set-up. Unfortunately, the food was not up to standards, the Tom Yam lacked spiciness and it was too sour. I recommend all of you who want lunch to keep on going if you want great quality food.
After our tummies are reasonably satisfied, we went back to the hotel for a nap. (well, my parents took a nap while I read a book by John Green. My sister ended up surfing on the internet.)
a view of my "Ancora Blu" room shared with my sister. =)
We took a Tuk Tuk to the Ao Nang beach, which is quite near the hotel, considered walking distance if you're a walker =)
Ao Nang beach. White sands and clear sea water with no trash in sight, a significant difference than the beaches in some parts of Malaysia. I love how clean the whole beach is, despite the fact that they're preparing for the Ao Nang Beach Festival at our first day in Krabi (what perfect timing on our part! heeheehee ^^ ) We got to the beach and I waded into deeper water while my dad and my sister hunted for seashells on the shoreline. My mum sat in the shade as she said she couldn't afford to get tanned. A lot of Westerners, as I've noticed, love sunbathing while us Asians hide from the sun! Shows how climates affect people from different regions!
Here's some photos taken on our first day at the Ao Nang beach =)
A beautiful view of the sunset at Ao Nang beach =)
Gazing at the golden sunset with an indescribable feeling......
Mum, sis, and me at the back with a long boat~ (not to mention someone's butt =P )
My loyalty is to the sea.... =)
A gorgeous end to a beautiful day. =)
We went walking by the beach and ended up eating dinner at a romantic spot by the beach. It is called The Last Fisherman Bar (click to see the reviews). It is located at the end of the beach and overlooks the sea. Sitting under the trees, with soft lights and candles illuminating the whole place, enjoying a glass of wine or a bottle of Chang beer and have scrumptious Thai food while the cool ocean breeze caresses you, it is truly a relaxing experience and a romantic end to the evening, perfect for relaxation. =)
------------------------------Second Day----------
We had breakfast at the Ancora Blu hotel, but the taste of their American breakfasts were neither tasty nor in an American size, so that's a bummer.
We switched hotels on this day, as we wanted somewhere closer to the beach, so we picked Phra Nang Inn (click the name to book on Agoda.). It is smacked right in front of the beach, and in front of all the hubbub and activity, so it's bustling about any time of the day and night. No photos were taken as my phone had problems at that time so I'll just tell all of you about the places near here. The beach is just a few steps away, night markets and stores are opened just on the left of the corner, you can just walk and immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle.
We rested in the afternoon and headed to the beach as usual in the evening. We stopped by a stall selling pancakes for 30 baht (vaguely, the easy way to calculate is RM3) and had honey, banana and egg pancakes. (The stall owner misinterpreted and thought we wanted all three of these flavours mixed into a pancake LOL, it ended up tasting very peculiar. Language barriers are a big issue there.)
** I recommend honey pancakes and banana pancakes, but make sure you express how you want them to be clearly (lol).
We sat on our 'tikar' and ate the pancakes while enjoying the panoramic view of the beach.
Perfect timing on our part, the Ao Nang beach festival was held, so we got up when we heard loud, thumping music behind us. Well, well, well, the "she-males" are out! The icons of Thailand! They are more beautiful than us women! I'm so jealous of their perfect bodies!
Look at his perfect body shape, and then I gazed back at mine, and I felt..... a need to go to the gym for a workout SOON!
We squeezed our way through the crowds and crowds of people! I hated every moment as I'm a tad claustrophobic, I hate crowds! We tried some of the food from the stalls, but none of them strikes as delicious.
As usual, walking and playing burns off a lot of energy, so we went back to The Last Fisherman and had our dinner with the forever present bottle of Chang beer. The only thing that changed was an electricity shortage that plunged everything into shadows, making the atmosphere creepy and more romantic at the same time. (Everyone cheered and applauded when the electricity came back! )
After dinner, we went back to the inn, showered and changed into comfy clothes and proceeded to The Beach Bar (click the name for the Facebook page of the bar for reviews), where they serve delicious cocktails (mocktails for non-alcoholic drinkers!). We sat and enjoyed the ocean breeze with soothing music from the bar.
****take note! A lot of tourists notice the downstairs of the bar and tend to miss out the bar's balcony area! It is a quiet, beautiful place to sit and have a drink. There's a flight of stairs that'll take you up to the balcony. Go up the flight of stone steps and on the second floor you'll see a flight of wooden stairs and Phra Nang Inn's pool area, please keep on going until you reach the top! Tourists don't notice this area and it is a small part of heaven! You can look down below and there's the bar, enjoy people-watching and star-gazing! The ocean breeze is a delightful bonus! Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to enjoy!
--------------------Third Day----------------------
This day was spent by having breakfast at a small local eatery called the Number 1. Chinese and Thai food available for those who, too, had enough of American breakfasts in Thailand. It is run by an elderly woman and she serves the best Chinese and local dishes for us! A lot of tourists don't notice this place as it is quite secluded! You can try searching for it, it has a sign inside the eatery with the words “中国料理” (translation: Chinese cuisine). It is absolutely mouth-watering and served in huge portions! I recommend noodles with soup and pork. Try adding the spice flakes to spice things up! It is DELICIOUS!
***Take note!! Due to the overflow of Westerners, especially Americans, the prices of the food near the beach are more expensive and monotonous. (Western food everywhere!) If you want the ultimate Krabi experience for your taste buds, try getting a Tuk Tuk and do a little dinner-hunting away from the beach, you'll be surprised! =)
After breakfast, we drove until we got lost (intended lost~) and ended up at the Fossil Beach, which the admission fee is 200 baht for children and 300 baht for adults. It is a preserved site for fossils and we didn't enter.
.... We also ended up at a place just by the roadside where bamboo furniture are made! Handmade! My parents ordered a custom-made hanger for towels and bamboo chairs! (namely the bamboo place)
.....We took a trip to the dumpster of Krabi too =D (by mistake~ haha)
The day was spent the same way as the previous days, naps in the afternoon, pancakes and fun at the Ao Nang beach. The only difference was that we had dinner at another eatery right beside the Number 1! It serves delicious Thai food too! I recommend their Tom Yam Kung!
*** Take note! For Westerners who come to Asia and happened to stumble upon my blog, we don't eat like you guys =) Let's say for example, my family and I are a grand total of 4 people. We order 4 plates of rice and choose what we like to eat and SHARE it. A lot of Westerners that are first-timers think that each dish is supposed to be eaten separately, which is not the case. I saw two Americans order a plate of rice and a plate of steamed vegetables each. You can order what you like and share it, that's our style of eating =) Order a bowl of Tom Yam, steamed vegetables, throw in some oysters and voila! Share it around, you'll be eating the Asian way =)
We walked all the way back to the hotel and I shopped for some souvenirs for my friends =) The evening ended with a cocktail back at the Beach Bar. =)
------------------Last Day------------------
It's the last day and we drove off to the bamboo place to pick up our custom-made furniture, only to learn that they forgot. So we waited while the furniture were being made for about an hour.
A long car ride later, we arrived at the Malaysian border.
They were feeling quite lazy too, so the border was jammed.
We arrived home at about 8 in the evening. =)
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Well, this is the end of my relaxing journey in Krabi, hope you guys find the information and advice helpful! =DD If you have any questions, feel free to comment your question down below and check for my answers daily! Be happy, and stay safe ! Happy Holidays!! =DD
