The last few weeks at work were to say the least - CRAZY. I know it's everybody's complaint, but for me it was the pits. I was quite unable to get myself psyched up for this long weekend which had been planned for quite a while (since January). I kind of woke up on the Tuesday before the weekend when N texted to ask if I was fine and in an attempt to get me ready for the trip. Truth be told, I did not even think about it till Friday night when I was having a last minute packing session and thankfully was able to get a ride to the airport in the morning (Tks Mom). The flight to Krabi was packed and first impressions of the city was that it was very quiet. We stayed at this hotel called Haleeva Sunshine which was a nice hotel - friendly staff, comfy beds, hot water showers, the works. The town is nothing like Phuket which is usually crowded with people. It was quiet and almost too quiet as we walked down to the main part of Ao Nang for lunch and some exploration. On the flip side, the quiet was good as it meant that we really got to have a relaxing time and there were not so many touts as one would expect at the other more populated islands.
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| Lunch - Glass noodle salad and Papaya salad. So happy to finally have a good dish of glass noodle salad. The spicyness really bites though. Bottom picture - Pad Thai and Crab bee hoon that we had at another seafood restaurant. Super cheap! 220 baht for the crab dish. |
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| Afternoon at the beach! Too bad it didn't last too long after I got stung by a Jellyfish midway while swimming in the sea. The best part was that it seemed that I was the only one who got stung despite having other people swimming on both sides of me. This warranted a quick trip to the pharmacy for some anti inflammatory cream. Thank god for positive attitude despite everything! |
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| Dinner at the Krabi beachfront. We chose to sit facing the beach to people watch ala classy girls. But in the end I think it kinda backfired on us because people started watching us as we ate. Ops. |
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| Our big big dinner. Wine (happy hour only cost us 100 baht a glass), curries, tom yum and traditional thai desserts) Cost us a cool 800 baht each and that turned out to be our most expensive meal of all in the entire trip. |
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| Our second day was a trip to Phi Phi islands and this was my favourite stop of the trip - Maya Bay. This was the place where they filmed the movie the Beach, and despite the hordes of people, it was easy to see why this was such a beautiful bay. The clear crystal waters and the clear sand just speak for itself. Despite the other beaches that we visited that day, this was by far the best beach in my opinion. |
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| Lunch at the main Phi phi island - found some interesting signs while exploring the island. The island has changed alot since the 2005 tsunami. Feels like a totally new island now. Quiet different from when I visited it in 2005. One thing that remains the same, are the bird nest caves that still exist and are still heavily guarded by the people who farm them. I swear that I had deja vu when the boat went past the caves |
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| The delights of street food. N was a bit apprehensive at first, but gradually she warmed up to the idea. I guess the price helped too - could eat three/four different plates of food for like 100 baht - totally great for pple on a budget. If anyone was worried about hygiene, we didn't get any food poisoning while there despite watching some suspicious acts that the hawkers were doing, but heck who cares when it tastes good :) |
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Must admit that despite the long weekend, my work was on work half the time. Thinking about work back home, checking emails every morning at breakfast, I'm not sure if I really really let go this holiday and I don't think I really did. Needless to say, I still appreciated the trip no matter how short it was. Touch down in Singapore saw N and I both exhausted and sleepy. D asked if I would go recommend Krabi, I suppose I would for the quietness of things and the prices that the town can offer. Go, I would say, before it becomes populated.
