Doing Life Away From Life


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Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Krabi
May 23rd 2019
Published: May 24th 2019
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This was a totally unplanned, impromptu travel that brought me sheer joy! I was both thrilled that I had a good deal and a little worried that my OCD will kick in and I will plan the whole trip out even before getting to the destination. However, all is well that ends well and true to that saying, I did minimal research and made the usual mistakes. So here's my guide to doing life away from life, especially if you are travelling alone (applicable even with family)

1. Getting the best deal - Air Asia

OK so I am not promoting AA nor am I being paid to speak highly of them in any way, but my experience was awesome. After deciding on my destination, I went on to Air Asia's website and chose the Flight+Hotel option. Now here's the thing about what is written on the reviews. Do Not Believe them (well not all of it). I selected a hotel in Ko Lanta and went ahead to book it only to find later on that it will cost me nearly THB3,000! Which is nearly RM400 one way by taxi! That's nearly the full amount of my flight plus hotel! I knew I made a mistake and quickly called Air Asia Customer Service and they took the time and effort to look for a hotel in Ao Nang that would be the same price as the one I paid. The CS lady found one which was 15 minutes walk to the beach and I took it. It was iCheck Inn Hotel, nice name! LOL

2. Getting the App

I am now conscious of unnecessary printing and waste of paper, so it was truly great that the AirAsia app was super user friendly. All my details were there and the online check in worked wonderfully. I off course had no luggage to check in, only a back pack that held just 3 change of clothes and my toiletries. Check in at the airport was a breeze and I was assigned Hot Seat even though I did not book that. What a great start to the holiday! The best part is, flying from Kuala Lumpur, the flight time passed by in a blink of an eye and two shakes of the goats tail!

3. Getting to your destination

All the information available on the internet pointed to the fact that your best option is to get a private car if you can afford it or the public bus that would take longer. I was even tempted to make my bookings online just for convenience sake. But STOP... do not rush. Truth is simpler than Google! Just arrive at the airport and you will soon come to a very friendly lady who speaks amazing Bahasa and English. The cost of my trip to Ao Nang right up to my hotel was only a mere THB150 which is RM20 and in a van that fits around 13 people comfortably.

4. Getting settled in

I took the early morning flight that arrived at 10 Thailand time, and by the time I got to the hotel (around 30 to 35 mins considering the various stops to drop off other travelers) it was still early for check in so I was given a 15% discount on food and beverage to be used while I waited for the room to be ready. The hotel was cosy, with a nice pool that was smack in the center between two blocks of rooms. The rooms had balcony that looked over to the pool which I thought was nice. When my room was ready, I was pleasantly surprised at the size, and I had a balcony that looked out to the hills instead of the pool which was a REALLY good thing as I found out much later the noise of kids and adults from the pool would last right up to 9PM when the pool closes! The hotel is listed as iCheck In Krabi but it's actually Glow Ao Nang Hotel.. go figure! Glow hotels are a chain of hotels and this one was comfortable with the usual big bed, free coffee/tea and water. However, the only downside was the fact that the shower was a mere trickle and the TV had nothing but Thai language shows! That did not put a damper on my holiday as I was not planning on hiding in my hotel room!

5. First Day

I did not want to rush and book any island hoping or activities as I wanted a truly relaxing trip. There are hundreds of individual travel companies offering you the same stuff... and most of them share the same price so it does not matter if you booked from one or the other. I was interested in the bio luminescent plankton sunset trip that included dinner and dive with beautiful blue plankton, but STOP!!!! luckily the lady selling these tours outside my hotel was kind enough to advice me against it as it is not 100% guaranteed that you'd have any plankton at all! So I headed off to the beach, which was a nice 15 minutes walk and away from the main road! I checked out the shops along Ao Nang beach and stopped at one of the cafe's to have my coffee fix. By the time I was done it was around 6PM and I was ready to head down to the beach and walked right to the end where I sat and hyperlapse videoed the sunset. A 1.5 hour shot that was hyperlapsed into a 1 minute video! It was all well worth it! But I had to get out of there when it became dark as mozzies started attacking! I settled at a Halal Restaurant aptly called Masakan Melayu! I ordered Nasi Goreng Tomyam (Tom Yam Fried Rice) but found that it lacked in that tom yam flavor which was sad as here I am in Thailand the land that gave the world Tom Yam! Next was foot reflexology to end the night with! Now this is a must in your To Do list if you are ever in Thailand!

6. Day Two

So Saturday was here and I woke up late as I had intended to! Sunshine was bright with cloudy skies that added to the magic of being there. I took a walk to Ao Nang again and this time it so happened that my colleague and her fiancee was there holidaying! I had lunch at the beach side cafe along Ao Nang beach. I had Tom Yam and the flavor was good, just lacked the heat that is so common with Tom Yam. I figured then like an Eureka moment that food here is catered to Western taste bud! Another disappointing food experience! I caught up with my colleague and her beau for a spot of coffee and The Coffee Club and we headed off for foot reflexology again, this time it was so called 'happy hour' where almost all the side walk reflexology shops offered 1 hour foot massage at a mere THB200 which is RM40!! By the time we finished it was almost 6PM so we parted and I headed over to the pier where they were selling longboat tickets to Railay Beach. I had read about the beauty of the beach and the awesome sunset so decided to head over there for one night. There is a map posted up right next to the ticket office with information on the hotels. More on this below.

7. Day Three

Since the plankton thing was a let down, I decided to do a non beach activity. I checked out the deals for Hot Stream and Emerald pool package and almost all those selling this package had the same THB1400 for a half day trip and almost THB1800 for a full day. I decided to go online and came across Krabi Tours that offered half day at a mere THB1,095! I booked online and it was pretty easy to book and confirmation came with itinerary and hotel pick up! Their website is www.krabi-tours.net

The next morning by 8.30 the van had arrived at my hotel for pick up and the journey took around 40 minutes (as we had a few other pick ups along the way). We reached the hot stream and were given color coded wrist bands to identify the group. The folks managing this tour were amazingly well coordinated and gave us specific directions as to the hours we can spend and by when we were expected to gather for the next trip.

Now the hot stream is in the district of Klong Thom in the National Park. Therapeutic and soothing, the hot springs originate from deep rooted thermal springs located in volcanic chambers with water temperature averaging from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius. The waters are packed with natural mieral salts which is claimes to cure all manner of health complaints from rheumatism to sciatica. It was pure sensation to just sit there on the rocks like natural bath tub and enjoy the naturally warm waters massage away your aches and pains. The guide will tell you not to sit more than 25 minutes for fear of being half boiled! LOL.. but hey, I shower in waters hotter than this so I spent a good 40 minutes!

Just a 10 minute ride later we were at the Emerald Pool, situated in the Thung Teao Forest Natural Park. The tour guide gives specific instructions again as to which pool is accessible and which are not. I was amazed at how well controlled the entire park was. You are strictly not allowed to bring any food stuff and your bags will get checked. This is very important as food scraps will lead to rodents and that would lead to rat urine in the waters which in turn will lead to Leptospirosis!

As you enter the emerald pool you will notice kids pool and right behind is a smaller pool. Already from a distance you will see the turquoise blue water shimmering through the trees, that's where the main big pool is located. The emerald pool has crystal-clear-water, but with fish swimming around! The incredible beautiful colors is caused by the high limestone and mineral content of the lake. There are a couple of more pools that's forbidden to swim in as beneath these pools are actually quick sands. Normally you can venture further into the jungle but this time of the year, this part is strictly no entry as it was the season for the Pitta Gurney birds to mate. These birds were once thought to be extinct and are highly protected. All in all it was well worth the trip! Better still to avoid the crowds, go early!

Our ride back from the Emerald Pool was about an hour and I got down at the pier near the end of Ao Nang beach, paid THB200 for a return trip to Railay. Now this is REALLY important as you MUST get a return ticket. If you get a one way, you'd be in trouble as they do not sell boat tickets at Railay.

Railay Beach

Now the map showed several hotels and I thought the hotel at the East Railay was cheapest and away from tourists, however, having asked the ticket counter, I was informed that the long boats only go up till West Railay. So if you booked a hotel on the East, you'd have to take a 20 to 25 minute walk across to the other side. I quickly changed my booking and got the Railay Beach Resort and Spa hotel at RM200 per night. It was a good decision as the longtail boats pull up right in front of the hotel. The entire resort was truly magical as it look out into the bay with hills on both sides and a restaurant that is right on the beach. The rooms are chalet based and you can choose private villa with your own pool or as I did, just a normal room, and what a big room it was! You get the typical island feel as you walk past rows of scented Frangipani trees. It was rather quiet the time I checked in. The beauty of this place is, you can sit in the restaurant enjoying a cool bottle of local Singha beer as you watch the sun set. The skies just turn into a hue of colors that's so 'instagramable' I sat there with my Samsung Galaxy S9 set to hyperlapse to record the sun as it sets. I was staying there for just one night. As I was walking back to my room, I thought I'd take a walk right to the end of the lane where I was and lo and behold, right at the end was a big swimming pool that had no one in it! Surrounded by coconut tree and a view of the huge rock cliff in the background was just amazing! To take a dip in the pool as the moon was above you, and you are there all by yourself! MAGIC!

My room included breakfast, and this was a disappointment. The hotel served the usual continental breakfast with bread and omelettes but the open food area had flies! So i settled for made to order omelettes, toasted bread and had their fired noodles (which was covered in food warmer).

It was an amazing breakfast nonetheless as the tide was high and it was just merely 10 steps away from the restaurant. I checked out at 11 and waited for the boat ride back to Ao Nang. Landing at Ao Nang beach, I did a quick shopping and bought some stuff along with the compulsory fridge magnet to commemorate my trip.

8. Day Four - See You Again Krabi!

My flight was at 8AM and so it was advisable to leave the hotel by 5AM. What I noticed was many tour companies set up along the roads and outside of the hotels were offering transport to the airport at THB150. This is the best deal. No matter what, do not book with your hotel as they charge THB700! My pick up arrived on time at 5AM and I arrived at the airport by 6AM just perfect for checking in and boarding by 7.30AM



All in all Krabi threw many surprises, good and not so good (in terms of food!) But, if you are there for a truly relaxing time, then do take your time reading about what is available, compare both online prices as well as those offered by tour companies (and trust me there are hundreds!). If you must do the island hoping, personally I would not as it is a waste of time and most of it is rushed and almost all the time packed with tourists! I noticed a trend among tourists from China, all dressed up as if they were attending a formal dinner..and all they want to do is take selfies i


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