By Jaclyn Tan • Urbanwire   
• email reporter • email story • printer friendly version

Krabi

Beautiful beaches, delicious seafood, hot guys and adventure were on my mind when I planned a 5-day beach vacation in Thailand with my best friend. However, we experienced much more than we bargained for.

Due to budget constraints of about $400 each, it took us a tedious 20 hours just to get there. The journey started aboard a luxury coach to Hat Yai, and then continued to Krabi in a cramped van, it was an uncomfortable, bumpy and sickeningly hot ride.

We chose Krabi, however, because compared to the conventional Thai beach destinations of Phuket, Pattaya or Koh Samui, this was at least $100 cheaper and nearer to get to from Singapore (which was obviously the most important factor for us at least). Apart from that, we wanted someplace less touristy, where there was room to explore the place without being crushed by the masses. Plus the pictures on various guidebooks we consulted partially misled us to think it was a backpacker's paradise. Krabi itself, we were to discover, wasn't that much of a beach resort, but the 4 islands around it were really nice.

For those who want a more comfortable journey, Silkair offers 3D2N free and easy packages to Krabi starting from $358. Tour agencies such as Holiday Bagus Travel may organise day tours along with the package. Leon Poh, manager of Holiday Bagus Travel , has some advice for tourists, "The optional tours are conveniently available at most major hotels, I would encourage customers to take the free and easy, so that they can plan their own half-day trip."

In Krabi

Ao Nang is the touristy beach at Krabi half an hour away from its town by bus. It takes no more than 15 minutes to walk from one end of Ao Nang to the other, but we got lost anyway. Hotels, shops, pubs, tour agencies and small banks lined the area. No one seemed to know where Penny's Guesthouse (our motel) was, and in typically polite Thai fashion, everyone pointed in different directions. We finally managed to figure it out from our hand-drawn map.

The clean room at Penny's was such a relief. The same can't be said for the toilet though, which had sand, hair, and a very large beetle on the floor, mosquitoes and great big lizards we didn'tt discover until my companion started screaming for help in the shower. But at $40 a night, for 2 during the peak period, we're not complaining. Of course there are backpacker huts at about $8, which have no aircon and offer shared toilets, but we were on holiday and wanted a reliable place. Penny's also 1 of the cheaper places that allows you to book online.

Says Noel Ong, who went there with his wife last year, "From my experience, … you sure can find a lot of bargains if you look around, in terms of room rates, just walk around." The 30-year-old teacher had stayed there for a week, drawn by the many outdoor activities he heard Krabi offered.

Bliss

Railey Beach taken from a boat

Near the beach, boatmen would yell out offers to places to tourists, we heard quite a fair number of them calling "Railey Beach! Railey Beach!" although we hadn't a clue what it was. We later found out that it was a beautiful beach 10 mins away from Ao Nang, Krabi's most expensive resort, the Rayavadee Resort occupies almost the entire beach, but other tourists are welcome to land there. We were quite disappointed however, to find that the waters in Ao Nang looked about as pristine as that back in Singapore.

Kayaks at 1 end of the beach went for rent at about 100 baht ($4) an hour. We rented 1 and the boatman tied our belongings in a big waterproof rubbish bag and dumped it at the back of the kayak.

Maneuvering the vessel was a bit tricky but we got it right after a while and paddled towards a cliff at the end of the beach. A small isolated cove with a nice stretch of sand came into view soon. Excited, we approached the cove and discovered that we could see the sand through the water. We felt a little better at this moment.

Kayaking along Krab

Ong, who enjoyed kayaking the most describes his experience, "We get to go into those 'hong' (roomy) areas, a lot of limestone islands, with huge internal walls which you can weave through."

When we docked on the sand, my companion ran for the beach and decided to sunbathe. On impulse I waded into the warm and luxurious water and took my first shot of paradise from there.

My first shot of paradise

After we were done with the sunbathing and my fascination with the water, we aimed for a tricky pathway of rocks and tried to weave our way through. The water became dirtier as we could make out pieces of fungi floating around. Suddenly, little silvery schools of fish jumped out of the water like dolphins, very quickly and gracefully. It was really a marvel, as they were leaping around us every few minutes. We watched them in awe, before rowing back slowly, arms aching.

Wooden shelters were situated behind the beach offering massage services at low prices of about 300baht ($12) an hour, guests laid on mats on wooden platforms where masseuses served them. We eyed the huts with interest and made up our minds to try it another day while walking back for dinner.

Food

David Baptista, a 32-year-old technical writer, advises that travellers leave their inhibitions at home, "Go and explore everything! Try all the pancake thingys."
Pancake thingys? "It's like prata [a hand-tossed Indian flaky crepe] but it's got fruits inside," he explains, "and they also put all the condensed milk on top, they have fillings like chocolate, banana, mango, and cheese."

Although we never got to try those pancakes (40 cents), we did see many roadside carts making and selling them. What turned us off was how sweet (read fattening) they were.

On hindsight we were glad to have saved our appetites for dinner, which was cheap and good. We had a coconut each and fresh seafood from a renowned seaside restaurant called Salat Thai, just at the end of the Ao Nang stretch. Even at tourist prices, the lobster baked in pineapple, green curry and mixed vegetables accompanied by some fragrant rice were a steal at only $20 for 2.

Other ways to spend your baht

The shops around Krabi have some really nice wooden ware such as sleek vases, plates, chalices, cups, bowls and placemats on display. Beachwear, artwork and many other accessories were available. These are not typical tourist souvenirs, okay maybe they are, but there are lots of really interesting things to look at. These include imitation pop art paintings that make a mockery of the originals, star-shaped knives with sharp edges that look like something Batman might use, necklaces and bracelets made of stones and wooden ornaments and intricately-carved and coloured flower-shaped soap that look too good to use. It would be rare to see these in the typical night markets in the more urban areas like Bangkok and Hat Yai. And there are no pirated VCDs here.

What about nightlife? We did see a few pubs with loud music and lots of Caucasians, and some Asian girls hanging around looking desperate. We sat down at 1 such place and left within an hour. It was too noisy, and there was nothing much to see.

"Night entertainment is definitely out of the question," warns Angela Tan, tour manager of Travel Holidays, who stresses that Krabi is not a place for night activities and more of a beach. According to her, visitors "have to be prepared that it (Krabi) is a quiet place."

That's not really a problem, judging from the majority of holidaying couples around Krabi, there are more than enough ways in which they can entertain themselves at night.

Four Islands Tour Day 2

Four Islands Tours are tours that bring tourists to, yes, 4 islands around the shores of Krabi, namely Poda Island, Taloo Island, Chicken Island and Phra Nang Cave. These tours can be found offered by tour agents around Krabi for about 300 baht ($12). For that paltry sum, they throw in lunch, water and snorkeling equipment for a trip that lasts from morning till late afternoon.

We were picked up early in the morning by a private songtao (a converted passenger pickup) and taken to the beach where a boat was waiting with about 15 other tourists.

Taloo Island coastline

Taloo Island was our first stop. The waters were much clearer than anything I've ever seen, and the island was just 1 long sand dune. We were given an hour or so to explore. Trying to avoid the glare of the sun, I walked along the sand, on which were scattered shells and rather sharp rocks. The waters were very shallow and stretched for miles, making the sea glitter in the sun. In other words, it was picture perfect. Snorkeling, however, was a disaster, I had trouble with the mask, and didn't know which direction I was going most of the time, I ended up bumping into rocks and swallowing a lot of seawater.

Chicken Island

We didn't stop at Chicken Island, but the boatman pointed to cliffs on the island, which formed the shape of a hen's head. We were amused. As usual everyone started snapping pictures at the oddity, including me.

Poda Island was next. We stopped in the waters near the island and were told to go snorkeling. Hesitantly, I climbed into the water with my snorkel equipment following the others. The boatman produced a piece of bread and started throwing pieces of it into the water. Within seconds, the water was teeming with a spectrum of small yellow-striped Tiger fishes. I managed to get hold of a piece of bread and, within minutes, was feeding the fish underwater myself. I was nipped a bit but it didn't really hurt much.

Carla Chua, 28, a private teacher who went there with her boyfriend last year, who had been fascinated by the staggering variety of marine life while snorkeling, suggests, "Don't stay put on 1 beach, jump from beach to beach." Exactly what we were doing.

Feeding the fishes at Poda Island

Phra Nang Beach was our last stop and it was a very touristed beach with nice soft sand and a cave (Phra Nang Cave) at the end. The locals call this Princess Cave, naming it after a princess who apparently died there many years ago. Many fishermen pay respects to her at a small altar inside the cave for a safe journey out to sea. The hallowed cave gave the impression that it was very deep and rocky, but as it turned out, it only went as far as 5 metres at the most.

Princess or Phra Nang Cave from inside

Tired out from the island hopping, I decided that I just wanted to lie down and do nothing. So after the cave, I found a nice shady spot, laid my batik wrap on the sand and lay there. My sun-crazed companion did the same thing, only in the sun.

Ironically, despite my efforts at protection, I suffered a horrible case of sunburn when I got back to Ao Nang, while my girl friend wasn't even affected.

Day Excursions

There are various side trips you can take in Krabi besides the usual island hopping. For example, Holiday Bagus Travel offers nature tours to the Giant Fish Farm or even to see a 75 million-year-old fossil in Su-saan Hoi shell cemetery.

Says Baptista, who went to Krabi with his girlfriend Valeria Tay, "We climbed up the tiger cave temple, I think it's 1,237 steps. Basically it's a temple on top of a hill, there's a huge Buddha statue there, and the view from there is quite amazing."

Krabi has many agencies around that offer tours to places such as the Tiger cave or Shell cemetery. You could enquire at these agencies, if you were trying to get there yourself, but they will more likely to try to sell you tours than offer directions. A good idea would be to ask the locals or hotel staff for directions to these places. Most of them are quite near and will not take you long to get there.

Away from Krabi

Following our last night in Ao Nang, we spent the next 3 nights in Phi Phi islands, Koh Lanta, and Hatyai, (please check our Friends section if you want to read more about that)and dragged our weary selves home to Singapore where we were truly happy to return to. But given a chance, I would definitely go back to Krabi again, and this time, I'll bring my other half.

Call Holiday Bagus travel at 6339 9032 for packages on Krabi.

Travel Tips for Krabi >>>
Side Trips from Krabi >>>

Travel Tips for Krabi:

• Sun rays are most dangerous from 11am to 3pm, even if you apply SPF 30 sunblock. Try to avoid going out at this time.
  
• Drink only bottled water as tap water isn't safe.

Holiday Bagus Travel manager Leon Poh advises that the end of the year is a very good time to go. However prices of hotels, boat transfers and tours are usually slashed to almost half their usual prices during the monsoon season from May to October, when the crowd diminishes, if you don't mind a little rain, you could be getting a very good deal.

Than Bokkharani National Park

This consists of a number of pools and waterfalls shaded by a cool forest, making it ideal for swimming or picnicking. Located between Krabi and Phang Nga, about 3km away from Ao Nang.

Tham Sua or "Tiger Cave"

The cave reputedly has tiger paw prints embedded in the stone. 5km away from Krabi Town. There is also a temple (Tiger Cave Temple) built into 1 of the many surrounding caves, which can be explored at leisure.

Khao Phra - Bang Kram Wildlife Sanctuary (Khao Nor Chuchi)

A lowland forest area where you can find some extremely rare species of flora and fauna such as the Black-breasted Pitta or Chestnut-collared Kingfishers. Located near Krabi's Khlong Thom district.

Susaan Hoi (Shell Cemetery)

Fossilised snail shells, millions of years old lie along the shoreline of Cape Laem Poh, 20km from Krabi Town. You can either pick up your own shells from the beach or purchase nicer pieces from the souvenir shops.

For more information, check out http://www.krabi-hotels.com/seedo/attractions.htm, but don't count on this site for your accommodations, they tend to be too pricey.