Graduation Trip Part 2: Krabi

Date of Travel: 14 Aug 2012 - 17 Aug 2012

After 4 days and 3 nights in hectic and ever busy Bangkok, we headed for Krabi to just relax the rest of our vacation away.

Click here to access my itinerary for Bangkok & Krabi! As you know, I did not strictly follow my itinerary, and I just did what we all throught was suitable and convenient, and that's how travel should be! Flexible and convenient!

DAY 4

Phra Nang Inn

Phra Nang Inn

Address: 119 Mu 2 Ao Nang, Krabi 81000, Thailand 
Map for Phra Nang Inn
Tel: +66 7 563 71303
Website: http://www.phrananghotels.com/phrananginn/index.html

We arrived at Krabi Domestic Airport at about 4pm. I arranged with the hotel for airport transfer. Phra Nang Inn offers airport transfer at 300 bhat per person for shared van, or 800 bhat for a private van. Since there were 6 of us, obviously I took the private van! It was spacious enough with all the luggages at the back. 

Phra Nang Airport Transfer!

Phra Nang Inn Reception & Rooms

Anyway, 1 of our friend flew in from Singapore and met us in Krabi, making the total group to about 7 persons. When we checked in however, they insisted the odd person had to pay an extra of about 1,800 bhat total for 3 nights as they will put in an extra bed for her. We also insisted that we don't need an extra bed and we can share the bedding just nice. They refused to barge and we relented anyway. :(

I've stayed at this hotel previously and stayed at the Deluxe rooms. This time round, we stayed at the Superior rooms. I must say that the Deluxe rooms are more spacious (even though the Deluxe rooms doesn't have a bathtub and the Superior room does.) The Deluxe room has a makeshift sofa which can be turned into a bed by just changing the covers into bed sheets. My friend still shared the bed with us in the end, because the bed looks rather dirty and it's right at the corner.

The reason(s) why we stayed here the previous time, and also this time round was because the resort is just a stone's throw away from Ao Nang beach (literally). It's so near I can roll across the small pavement and I'm on the beach! The staff are polite and friendly and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay!

Wang Sai Seafood Restaurant

Wang Sai Seafood Restaurant

Address: 98 Moo.3 Ao Nang, Muang Krabi 81000, Thailand
Map for Wang Sai Seafood Restaurant
Tel: +66 7 563 8128
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wang-Sai-Seafood/184961214850554
Opens:  Mon - Tue: 11:00 - 22:00; Wed - Sat: 13:00 - 22:00; Sun: 09:00 - 00:00
Price: About 2800bhat for 7 persons.

After we checked in, settled down and rested for a little, we took a tut tut over to Wang Sai. It's actually walking distance from Phra Nang Inn, but it was such a hot and humid day and we were tired from traveling. We paid 40 bhat per person for the tut tut over.

Beautiful sunset by the beach!

So beautiful!

Wang Sai not only sells seafood and other mouth water dishes, the view of the sun set and the beach is such a beautiful sight! Though at certain positions located in the restaurants, the glare from the sun can be rather irritating, but it's worth the wait to look at the sun set!

Menu for Wang Sai

Wang Sai have a variety of dishes for you to choose from, all rather affordable. However, the previous visit about a year ago, and this visit, we were unable to eat Mud Crabs. It was always sold out (or rather, they just don't carry it), but they served flower crabs instead. Personally, I don't really fancy flower crabs because it's just so small and not juicy and meaty enough. But we had to satisfy our cravings for crabs, so we just ordered 1kg steamed and 1kg BBQ flower crabs.

Dinner at Wang Sai Seafood Restaurant.

For dinner, we had Tom Yum soup, Sitr fried Morning Glory, Omelette with onions, 2kg of Crabs, Prawns, Steamed Fish, and the very awesome Fried Chicken with Salted Egg. You MUST try the Chicken with Salted Egg as it's very different from what the normal Thais used to serve in their restaurant. It's naturally salty and with the chicken, it's to-die-for.

Happy people!

Sukhothai Massage & Beauty Salon 

Sukhothai Massage & Beauty Salon

Location: Just opposite Phra Nang Inn
Opens: 9am - 11pm
Price: Thai Massage (1hr) - 200 bhat; Foot Massage/Reflexology (1 hr) - 250 bhat; Hair braiding - 200 bhat for 4 strands.

We came here everyday for either foot massage or Thai massage. I even braided 1 side of my hair! Depending on who is providing you your massage, the quality varies. Sadly to say, they do not practice quality control. Amanda's masseur was following Shining's masseur and even missed out on her left arm! But other than that, they were all friendly people and provided good foot reflexology and massages.

Hair Braids!

DAY 5 

Ao Nang Orchid Resort & Speed Boat
Address: 141 Moo 2 Ao Nang, Muang, Krabi 81000 Thailand
Tel: +66 7563 7116
Website: aonangorchid-speedboat.com
Price: 600 bhat per person (negotiable if you have a big group and depending on seasonality)

We took the 4 ISLANDS package and booked through a local tour agency along the beach the day before. The 4 Islands package includes Tup Island, Chicken Island, Poda Island and Phranang Cave. On the morning of the tour, we were picked up at about 8.45am and we headed a short 5 mins drive to the pier.

Waiting by the pier.

As usual, we went to sit by the front of the boat where we could enjoy all the sun and beautiful scenery.

We sat at the front of the boat.

First stop, we went to Phranang Cave. Now, locals usually come and visit this temple in a cave for fertility and children. We just wandered around and at the entrance of the cave as obviously, we don't want any children yet. On this beach, there are several cliff walls where rock climbers enthusiast would love to climb! The guides would climb and set up the course for you, and all you have to do is just climb!

Phranang Cave

We headed to Chicken Island for snorkeling. I must say, the waters around the Islands of this package is MUCH MUCH clearer as compared to the waters around the Phi Phi Island package I went for the year before. We used Dong's Olympus camera where it's waterproof and proved to be very handy!

Snorkeling.

We than went to Tup Islands which are well known for their sandbanks linking the islands together. We had packed lunch there as well. The lunch provided had minced chicken with long beans and chili, egg and cucumbers.

Tup Islands

The final stop was on Poda Island. It's a quiet beach with several drink stalls selling cold beer and ice cream. We didn't stop for any ice cream or beer but just headed straight to the waters! We were splashing around and enjoying ourselves when several tourists made a lot of commotion and ran out of the waters. We looked at them quizzically and they shouted at us to get out of the water as well. Apparently, a lone jellyfish was floating our way. It was the size of my head no less. No wonder everyone freaked out!

Poda Island

After Poda Island, we headed back for Ao Nang beach. :( I felt that this package was so much better in terms of quality of the waters and beaches as well as there are not a lot of tourists around, so we could have our own spot on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Jeseao Restaurant and Pizzeria
Address: 273 Moo 2 Tambol Ao-nang, Muang, Krabi 81000
Map for Jeseao Restaurant and Pizzeria
Tel: +66 8181 21082, +66 7569 5497
Price: 2,420 bhat for 7 persons

Jeseao Restaurant and Pizzeria

Just like any other restaurants, there's a man at the entrance of the restaurant trying to persuade tourists to dine inside. Since we've been there before as well, we decided to dine there for tonight. The pizza are all going at 150 bhat and cocktails at 100 bhat! The pizza is thin crust, my favorite type of pizza, and there's a WIDE selection of pizza to choose from. The pizza is tasty and though I felt that they could have put a little bit more ingredients onto the pizza, we couldn't ask for more with the price of the pizza being 150 bhat!

Street Food

YOU HAVE TO TRY THE STREET FOOD ALONG THE ROADS.

Street food/road side stalls.

Almost everyday, we'll buy a chicken leg or pancake or fruit shake or chicken meat on stick... OR ALL. Coming all the way to Krabi (or even Bangkok), you have to try their local flavors and delights. The BBQ chicken fillet and leg are just too juicy to be missed. The pancake is something similar to roti prata (in Singapore), but instead of the savory or salty taste, this roti prata is sweet and spreading Nutella and bananas on it - HEAVENLY!

DAY 6

True Leisure Tour and Travel

Price: 450 bhat per person ( for group of 5. I believe the price could go lower.)

We booked a half day tour in the morning for kayaking at Ao Thalene. It is about 30 mins drive from Ao Nang beach. So, as per usual, the transport arrived at 8.30am picked us up, and dropped us at the pier for kayaking.

Kayaking!

The entire route is about 7km, kayaking through mangrove, cliffs and the sea. The 2 of us are considered beginner kayak-ers with 3 of them never kayaking before. I wasn't too worried as I knew we were kayaking through mangroves and there won't be any current or waves in mangroves. We kayaked over mangrove roots, under caves, between trees and even under monkeys!

Kayaking in mangroves.

Kayaking in Mangrove is just 1/3 of the journey. The other 2/3 consisted of kayaking between cliffs/canyons and in the open sea. I have never kayaked in mangrove before and this was such an excellent educational trip! I learnt more about how the mangrove sustained itself as well as the sea.

Kayaking between canyons and in the open sea.

Jamai Restaurant

Location: Opposite Phra Nang Inn

Jamai Restaurant

We came here for lunch and ordered Phad Thai, Tom Yum Soup, Fishcake (which was damn spicy), minced meat chicken and some other chicken dish. This is a very cozy place to dine because it's rather cramped and small. A few Muslim ladies were cooking our dishes and the kitchen is a rather open concept where you can see and know what is going on. We ordered pancakes for dessert as well.

Potjawan Thai and Seafood Restaurant

Location: Mid point between Wang Sai and Phra Nang Inn. 

Potjawan Restaurant

Had dinner at this restaurant which is mid way between Wang Sai and Phra Nang Inn. I must say, the food here is cheaper and MUCT BETTER than Wang Sai. They have mud crabs for one. We ordered Vimicelli Crabs, Butter Crabs, Morning Glory, Garlic Prawns, Coconut soup, Tomyum Soup and TWO pineapple fried rice, just because it was soooooo tasty!

It's easy to find this restaurant as you walk towards Wang Sai, you'll notice a few open concept restaurants up several steps on the right. There are about 2-3 restaurants there, and this restaurant is on the extreme left.

END

I've come to the end of the Krabi post and I will update this post over the next few days, adding in what may have slipped my mind or improving the quality of the post. It was a fun and exciting trip and I thoroughly enjoyed myself immensely.

Till next time..

Bye bye Krabi!