Advertisement
Published: April 10th 2011
Kia Ora Blokes and Blokettes
Time for an update (and for me to record our travels before I forget!) and this time is our February 2011 holiday in Krabi.
Having explored and loved Northern Thailand last year (Chiang Mai and surrounds) this time we wanted to check out the South we had heard so much about and with names like Phuket, Ko Samui, Krabi et al, - how could we resist.
Jumping on the internet, reading blogs and talking to friends who have travelled this way before resulted in a bit of brain overload – TOO many choices – the thing is, I reckon, there aren’t any really bad ones.
My Sis Chris from NZ was joining us, so we planned on meeting at Bangkok and spending a few days there first. I wasn’t that fussed on the idea of Bangkok based on what I had heard about the thronging crowds, traffic etc etc – but I loved it – it’s great!
We found it is everything we could want in a city – vibrant, easy to get around, cheap to get around, great food, plenty of bars etc, good value and shopping is great, with
just a nice touch of sleaze! (Thai massage Sir?)
An ice cold Chang lager was around 100 Baht a large bottle in a bar – (23 Baht to $NZ1),but much cheaper in smaller village settings down South
It was great to see Chrissy again as we hooked up at Bangkok airport, then grabbed a cab. You could be forgiven for thinking Bangkok airport itself would be daunting – but it was a cinch, easy peasy. We had an hour or 2 to kill til Chris arrived from NZ, so had a meal and a wander around – it’s not that huge, easy to find your way around – very user friendly.
Taxi’s, plus the Tuktuks in the city, are CHEAP AS – common sense prevails of course, if there is no meter, haggle the price up front and pay as you alight from the cab (that means get out). However there is a well administered Taxi Rank at the airport where you are asked your destination by the Supervisor, then given a chit with the Drivers details – which you retain should you have a complaint –a good safeguard. Airport taxi’s (probably ALL taxi’s) are metered, cheap,
Another day on the road brought us to...
.... Suratthani where we visited a few Hotels before settling on a 4 star huge Hotel called Wang Tai Hotel and grateful for the business.
The 1st cab we got – from the airport- was a crack-up, a VERY old Toyota with a Driver in his 70’s singing at the top of his voice to block out the transmission whine, lol, still 40km/hr was quite relaxing – and no problem finding our hotel.
We stayed at Citadines Sukhumvit 11 and booked on the net, cost was around $NZ80 a night and they are very handy, clean and quiet.
Price included a pleasant cooked brekkie either in the dining room (Temples Restaurant), or (our choice) the Terrace overlooking the street activity. There is an Irish Bar in-house, tho we tended to buy a few bottles at the Seven-11 and congregate in our rooms.
The area is great (Friends who coincidentally stayed here earlier agree totally). Nice and safe for a stroll, 6 minutes walk to the “Sky train” – Mono rail service, which is worth a ride in itself as it’s elevated position gives a great view. We bought a day pass for around $5NZ or so and could ride all day, and saves worrying about change etc
Plenty of beaut restaurants close by (as in
everywhere!), bars aplenty – including Irish and Aussie Bars!! (what the…?) plus plenty of Seven – Elevens nearby – they sell everything from Beer to bread, “How convenient”
While in the “big smoke” we ventured out for a River cruise – disregarding the touts (handy that they are all smaller than us Kiwi’s) we just took the Ferry the locals use – follow the local crowd - – up the river for ½ an hour I guess, then return – for around $NZ4.20 each way with commentary – versus the $NZ120.00 “hire the boat” option, which although fun looking (fast) – you couldn’t hear a thing or talk over the crazy revving motor.
Remember as you explore a city like this, don’t worry about getting lost – if you have no where you have to be, you can’t get lost – everything you see is an adventure, just soak it up.
After a(nother) scrummy Thai lunch on the riverside we wandered amongst street markets, making our way to the Kings Palace – lots of action here but we needed longer pants to be allowed in – oh well, his loss, so, ready to relax we grabbed a
Cab heading home. This was fun – we had come across the deal before so it wasn’t a biggy – the Cabbie offered 2 prices, one was straight home, full fare, the other was “stop and look at a Gem Factory/store” and way less than ½ price = Why not – Chris hadn’t seen one.
The Taxi Drivers get a 5 litre petrol voucher for each fare they take there. If we had bought something, he would get another 5 litres! SO a ten minute stroll thru the fancy gem factory, enjoying their AC, toilets and cold drinks and we were off, LOL.
After three nights and far too many delicious dinners and lunches in Bangkok, we were off heading South –we chose a rental car as a way of having independence and enjoying a road trip plus quite economical with 3 of us. We picked it up from the airport, and followed their easy instructions to get on the (excellent) freeways.
Driving was easy, the Drivers are considerate and generally drove really well, - Boy did we see some sights on the road, and loved it! The utes and trucks were SO overloaded it was a
scream!
There were a couple of toll gates we passed thru (Pepper corn charges)where I wondered if the trucks would fit thru, but they are well practised and non plussed about it.
Once we got off the freeways, the read signs were ‘sans English’ which added to the adventure (right Girls? LOL) we ended up on a dirt road a couple of times – but, hey, we got to see sugar cane harvests and rice paddies and a myriad of tiny settlements as Chris said, ‘where everyone is just trying to make a buck.’
When we next hit a ‘town’, - at the traffic lights we saw an old Thai man selling lucky floral charms – so for a few Baht, once we had one of those hanging from the rear vision mirror, our navigating worries were over! We had declined the offer of renting a GPS from Budget, but a compass just to tell us what direction we were going would have been handy, as the the peninsula would be fairly easy to navigate, if we knew what direction we were going – if that makes sense.
We came quite close to the Myanmar border
at one stage, lol but hey, this was a road-trip!
Looking for a lunch stop was a challenge plenty of local restaurants and eateries to choose from, but we had set a minimum benchmark of an Engrish Menu – which wasn’t forthcoming, and a quick scan of their food display reinforced our choice, with the cabinets looking more like an insect display in some cases.
We ended up stopping at a huge “Mega Mart” grocery wholesaler where we bought fresh rolls and cheese and drinks for an in-car picnic!
After a day’s wandering South ( and a few other directions, whoops) we started looking for a good value motel, settling on the “Front Beach Motel” in God Knows Where but further south than Bangkok, so that was a good start - (Not the Beach Front, it was the Front Beach lol) for around $NZ33 a night a room, with AC, TV, wifi, ensuite etc. Quite basic, but near new, very clean and comfy enough, though the basin plumbing was a bit rudimentary – pull the plug out and feel the water flow past your feet to the wet shower lol!
Like most accommodation in Thailand, they
offered a nice sitting/dining/bar area and the weather was sensational, (early 30’s C) – so we enjoyed catchin up on wifi news from home, while enjoying some ice cold Chang Lagers (And Chrissy her Pepsi Max!) We later ducked down the road a few hundred metres for an exquisite Thai meal in yet another stunning restaurant at a very reasonable cost.
Another day o the road brought us to Suratthani where we visited a few Hotels before settling on a 4 star huge Hotel called Wang Tai Hotel which offered all the comforts of home including AC, wifi, cable TV, pool, restaurant, gym(Yeah right) AND ELECTRICITY Chrissy lol etc etc for around NZ$29 a night!
Once settled in, the first thing we usually did was fire up the computer, check mail from home etc.
After checking mail, I popped next door to Chrissy’s room…”I can’t get online” she says. Umm, Sis, why is it so dark in here? “Oh, I suppose I should put the key card in the slot for power, giggle” DOH. (I wouldn’t have mentioned it if it was a one-off Sis, LOL)
The Hotel was huge, where Europeans made up about 1% of
the Guests but the service and food was fine. Beers were cold, check. A bonus was from here we knew our turn off was just 100 metres away as we had seen it upon arrival – so any morning navigation stresses were dispelled in advance!
Last day of our road trip STARTED by buying another lucky floral charm and south we charged towards the Krabi region. The roads are fantastic, huge long straights beautifully paved and very much separated from the oncoming lanes, very safe. Although there were posted speed limits, no one complied, with traffic often flowing nicely at 130km/hr quite safely.
We tumbled into Krabi Town, Jude sought directions and we jumped in to a Pizzeria for lunch, well thru the door anyway.
Equipped with directions, we soon found our pre booked Hotel, the Thip Residence Boutique Hotel, (Try saying that after 5 lagers) where we were spending around $NZ 46 a night, including free cooked or continental breakfast and wifi in-room, plus I haggled one night free (We were booking 10 nights )
The Thip Residence has won a TravelAdvisor Award and we can see why – beautifully presented in Thai style,
clean, good facilities, personable staff, great pool and sunbathing areas, and the food was brilliant. The coast is across the road, but not a swimming beach – tho the wharf for trips to the likes the spectacular Railay Bay, James Bond Island etc is right there.
We had the car for one extra day (kept a day up our sleeves ) so we had an outing to nearby (160km) Phuket for a butchers and lunch. We had never been there before and heard so much about it. Great road trip, saw all sorts of interesting traffic and roadside stuff, including a cop on a Kawasaki Concours 1400 chasing a couple of bike bikes ridden by Euro’s – yee har!
We had a lovely lunch upstairs overlooking the beach, took a stroll thru the beach stalls then headed back to our hotel.
Next day we dropped off the car and started chilling out…
Without boring you with our 10 day’s activities …..we……swam, sunbathed, dined, sipped nice wine and Chang beers by the pool, enjoyed Maitai’s, dined, read, shopped, were massaged, took boat trips, patronised local bars both rustic (100 baht for 2 large beers) and
swish, scooted to stunning nearby beaches, and did it all over again! The beaches, villages and cafes just go on and on...
We opted to hire a couple of scooters – 125 Yammies from the Hotel at the standard price of $NZ8 a day. They are available everywhere and are THE way to get around.
Chris and I on one, Jude on the other, we ventured all over the place – in to Krabi Town (about 15km’s) and to distant beautiful white sanded beaches to sun and bathe and to gorgeous beach side restaurants for a late lunch and beer on the way home.
Ao Nang beach and town was only 5 minutes away by scooter, with untold shops and dining choices, Post Office, fast food, beach side restaurants etc – the place was really a buzz both day and night – we were quite pleased to be only 5 minutes away but nice and quiet without the hustle. Taxis are cheap and easy too.
We met a cool Brit Couple, also saying at the Thip who are on an extended holiday zipping all over the place including NZ and Aussie (Hi Guys) – Tina and
Dave were great company and we shared a few drinks and teamed up on their last night for a nice dinner at a nearby resort complex that Dave had found on his scootering adventures. So we rocked up on the night, to be greeted by friendly – and seemingly surprised Staff. We were curious to look at the accommodation units which had (mostly) just been finished.
We settled in the beautiful warm evening by the impressive infinity pool, with the sea in the background, enjoying a few drinks while the staff raced around trying to cater for their only, and unexpected Guests - us!
Dinner was such a schamozzle, no one received what they ordered, they all were served at different times for each of us, with poor Dave, who was served last and by that time was virtually anorexic, getting a dish principally comprising of toast that someone else ordered! (I think that was mine Mate but yours tasted great, Cheers) The thing was, the food we did get was great, the Staff were so lovely and the beers and wines were constant, as was the laughter – so it was a neat, crazy night!
One
other highlight was a boat trip to very close by Railay Bay, - 15 minutes by boat for a modest fare. Dave had met an American Girl who described it as the best beach she had seen in the world - pretty heavy praise I thought, - but having now been there, I would have to concede she was spot on. It was a jaw dropper.
Accessible only by boat, and with hotel accommodation and dining options on the spot, the small Bay caters for rock climbing geeks plus those of us who were happy to wander the paths, find the beach, pick a spot, sunbathe and read, then cool off in the stunning crystal blue water. All the time watching a myriad of bathing suits (and not) from around the globe. I didn’t make much progress on my book that day.
Departing the island on our dhow shaped boats, the hotel/package tour Guests were ferried out to the boats on stylish trailers, and boarded without getting their feet wet, - whereas we were led out across the mud flats on a slippery path until we were knee deep in water trying to wrestle ourselves over the edge
of the boat which seemed to vary between chest height and shoulder height – looking awfully undignified, landing inside wet and laughing, - oh well, nobody knows us ! The Girls cackled most of the ride home.
The other beach we visited on more than one occasion was Klong Muang Beach. Virtually deserted and pristine, there are no shops here but there are plenty a few minutes away by scoot, as opposed to Ao Nang where the beach shops and restaurants/bars are at the beach edge.
Once again postcard quality, we are guessing the beach is in a National Park area or similar, - what a find, no crowds – in fact maybe only 2 other people, pure white sand, crystal blue water , a(nother) good book– LOVE IT.
At the risk of repeating myself from previous blog entries, I never fail to be impressed by the fun and efficiency of the wee Jap Scooters we were using. Chris and I are both in remission from anorexia, but two up we were zipping along at good speed, often 100 km/hr, up hill down dale, all on the smell of an oily rag, powered by a piston smaller
than a sausage roll.
I could sense that Chrissy was dying for a go on the scoot, so I sent her off up the road as my heart leapt, - however she returned in one piece, with a big smile on her face.
Another longer pootle another day in a quiet location and she had the hang of it and I believe, is hooked.
On one occasion while exploring Krabi Town solo, I suffered a flat rear tyre. Bugger. As I was pushing the Scoot a few 100 metres to where I was told there was a garage, a Boy pulled up on another Scoot and in perfect English said “How can I help you?” Told him what I was doing – he replied the garage across the road could help, and calling out in Thai to the Proprietor arranged for him to race over and push the bike for me! 30 Baht ($NZ 1.20) and 10 minutes later I was on my way having shaken their hands and tipped accordingly! You will hear this a lot in Thailand Blogs, but the Thai people are so gracious, we could certainly learn a lot from them.
Friends who
lease a house nearer Chiang Mai all year round as their ‘holiday home’ (Similar price than the storage of their furniture in New Zealand!) explained that the Thai mantra on things is a.) Will it be ok?, ie no danger and b.) Will it be FUN? – sounds like a pretty good outlook on life to me….
The ten days in Krabi was delightful, it didn’t race by, it was just excellent. We departed Krabi via Phuket Airport to Bangkok, where we farewelled Chrissy back to NZ (Great trip huh Sis?), then jetted back to Bahrain the next day….
Thailand is probably my most favourite destination in the world at the mo – New Zealand is tops of course, but Thailand as a holiday/extended holiday/chill out for a few months, would be extremely hard to beat. The biggest cost is getting there, but once there it is a land of value.
While sipping a cold cocktail and beer at a beachside/roadside cafe over lunch one day, I mooted to Jude, “What we could do is just land here with a day pack each and just scoot from bay to bay for months….”
I think that idea is germinating……
Advertisement
Tot: 0.207s; Tpl: 0.032s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0911s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.2mb
Terry Connolly
non-member comment
Carchup
Hi Pete and Jude,great to read your latest Blog and to hear of all your wonderful times you are having.It was also just nice to hear that you well and having fun.Cheers, Terry