Krabi Travelogue 1

Fluffy Clouds Blue Skies @ Ban Bhor Thor, Krabi !!

Posted By : Weehoong

Located in the district of Ao Luk of Krabi Province, Bann Bor Thor is a small village located north of Phang Nga Bay. Bann Bor Thor is also home to mangrove forest, with amazing limestone caves rich in archaeology. Our visit here takes us 45 minutes from Ao Nang, Krabi to district of Ao Luk via ever so popular Toyota Hilux pickups that you can see almost everywhere in Krabi and Thailand.

A panoramic view of Bor Thor to start off with. We were blessed with wonderful blue skies and fluffy white clouds during our trip. It was July (low season) raining season when we traveled to Krabi. To see a sunny day with blue skies like this is a blessing, said our guide.

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Koh Ngai Fantasy Resort.

Welcome to the real paradise of Andaman Sea, “The Fantasy Resort” Koh Ngai or Koh Hai, an island drenched in tropical sunshine with golden beaches lapped by the warm crystal clear water of the Andaman Sea.

The rustling of palm fronds in the ocean breeze, hilltop vistas of lush rain forest, And the almost surreal beauty of the cozy Andaman Horizon.
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Krabi Traditional Boat Race

Traditional Boat of Reu Hua Tong

The crews of 12 paddlers in long boats competed along the river passing the Khanaab Nam pier in Krabi town. They entered the annual Krabi Traditional Boat Races competition racing for a trophy donated by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. It was such a spectacular scene amidst natural beauty, as it has a beautiful mountain as back drop. The Khanaab Nam Mountain is Krabi’s tourism logo. Keeratisak Phukawluan, Krabi Mayor, said: “The traditional boat of Reu Hua Tong became part of Krabi tourism. Today the logo of the boat is all over local tourist sites. The boat race event brings out local wisdom under the cooperation of all parties, especially local government. We proudly present the special type of boats which has long been present in these waters.” The cooperative determination of each crew is contributed in rhythms and unity moving the boats forwards, with a pointed head on the bow or front. The high front part of these type of boats is locally called Reu Hua Tong, said to be a special character as it mobilizse well amidst waves and glides the boat to its destination or in this case the finish line. The Leader of the Singsompop team said: “During the race we control the rhythm by sound. If one misses a beat or shout, it can cause disruption so either 10 or 20 of us must shout at the same time. Its like the power to control and mobilize the boat, slower or quicker.” The Hua Thong boat is originated in Krabi. Its made of wood with a main purpose for fishing.. They competed for a trophy donated by HRH Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn. People say the boat signifies local wisdom as it can be a tool for daily routine careers and become a local identity. The boats today are preserved and maintained to use in the tourism industry. The long boats can be found even though some are adapted by adding engines to replace the paddlers to serve todays transport. The Krabi Mayor added: “Locally the boat is recognized as the legend which lives along with the locality and tourism. We link the boats with local studies into classrooms to revitalize the local wisdom. This enables the younger generation to get to know and maintain the tradition for a long time to come.” The annual boat race event hence, not only promote local water sports, but it plays vital part in keeping alive the local tradition and show off local identity to visitors to Krabi as well.

TEXT SOURCE : Andaman News NBT TV
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Krabi Fauna & Flora Display @ Krabi Night Plaza

Southern Thailand Indigenous Garden Produce

On 14 and 15 July 2010, a number of local gardeners from Southern Thailand provinces have been invited and is participating in the Krabi Fauna & Flora Display. The event is on-going at Krabi Night Plaza for two days and attended by the Governor of Krabi this morning. Delegates and representatives from the various southern provinces gather and present their organic produce and seminars at Viengthong Hotel from 10am to 4pm. Dr. Supoj Wuongyai from Faculty of Oriental Medicine – Rangsit University will also do a presentation on ancient wisdom of Thai herbs. A grand opening is schedule at 5.30 pm and the invited Guest of Honour is the Minister of Health for Thailand. Read more

Tiger Airways Increases Flights To Krabi

Tiger Airways Increases Flights to Thailand

• Flights to Krabi and Hat Yai doubled to daily, from 4 and 3 per week
• New midday weekend flights to Phuket
• Growing demand driven by low, low fares; Grab them on www.tigerairways.com

Starting from 20 April 2010
Tiger Airways Singapore today announced that it will fly to Thailand more frequently to serve growing demand.  Tiger Airways will fly daily from Singapore to Krabi and Hat Yai. This is double the current frequency – four per week to Krabi and three per week to Hat Yai. Phuket, a popular weekend destination, will have new midday flights on Friday and Sunday, in addition to morning and evening flights. This brings the total weekly frequency to 14 flights starting from 20 April. Bangkok, another popular destination, will remain at 20 flights per week. Rosalynn Tay, Managing Director of Tiger Airways Singapore, said, “Within Southeast Asia, our Thailand routes have been getting so popular that we have decided to double our flights to Krabi and Hat Yai, and serve Phuket more often on weekends. We are happy that our famous low, low fares have helped people travel more often, and boost tourism in both Thailand and Singapore.”
Seats for these additional flights are now on sale. Pounce on them at www.tigerairways.com.

Hoi Chak Teen

‘ FEET PULLING SHELLS ‘

Known as “Hoi Chak Teen” in Thai or as a type of wing-shell that belongs to the Strombus Canxarium family. It looks like a conch but is smaller and brown in color. Its special characteristic is its dark brown walking legs which are referred to as “feet” or “teen” (in informal Thai). It is also known to the Indonesian in Riau Archipelagos as ” Gong Gong.” This local seashell  is recognize as a seafood  delicacy in Krabi. It is commonly found at the river mouth near sandy  banks such as areas around Koh Jum and Koh Siboya. Harvesting is only done by the local fishermen twice a month during the receding spring tide. To prepare the dish, the wing shell is soaked in salty water for about half an hour. A few crushed chilies are added to the water to make it spicy. The wing shell then begins to move, pushing its feet out and expelling the mud from inside. It is rinsed several times and then put in to a pot of cold water. The pot is then put on the stove to boil and when the water gets warm, the wing shell pushes its feet out. As soon as it is cooked, it is ready to be served. To eat the morsel, you pull the feet and the mollusk will come out. You can also use a toothpick to reach into the shell and pull all the meat out of the shell in one go. It is eaten with a dip made of garlic, chilies, sugar, lime juice and fish sauce. The shells are also made into decorative items for the home or sold as souvenirs.
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Money Exchange, Credit & Debit Cards and ATMs

Exchanging Money and Restrictions

CIMB Bank In Krabi Town

There is no black market exchange rate, so you should only exchange money at a bank or similar foreign exchange facility, which give the best rates. (Of course, hotels give bad rates.) The international airport in Bangkok has currency exchange facilities. Traveller’s cheques are widely accepted in many major Bangkok establishments, though you should convert them into the local Thai baht at a bank or similar foreign exchange facility. There is not a large difference in value between traveller’s cheques and regular money, and you can get a slightly higher rate for traveller’s cheques. Large denominations of money (e.g., $100) get you a better exchange rate than small denominations (e.g., $20). Most of the major European and Asian currencies are accepted, though some are not. For example, it seems nobody will exchange Chinese Yuan/RMB or Indian rupees. If you’re not sure, then bring U.S. dollars. There’s no limit to the amount of money you can bring into Thailand. However, you can’t leave with more than 50,000 baht per person unless you have special authorization (this exact amount seems to change from time to time). You can carry out any amount of foreign currency, but there are restrictions at banks on how much Thai baht you can convert into foreign currency at one time, and for large amounts you will need to show your airplane ticket and passport, and maybe provide an explanation for very large amounts. (These restrictions are mainly the result of currency speculation surrounding the 1997 currency crisis, and again in 2007 due to “capital controls” which were discontinued in 2008.

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Thailand Currency

Thailand’s currency is the Baht. Bills come in denominations of 1000, 500, 100, 50 and 20 Baht. Thai Coinage are 10, 5, 2, 1-Baht. 50 and 25-Satang pieces. Satangs are very small brass-colored coins with a value equivalent of 100-Satang = 1 Baht.

1000 Baht Denomination

Front: Portrait of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the reigning monarch, in the uniform of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Back: Portrait of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej while performing royal activities & the drawing depicting the Pa Sak Jolasid Dam.
Security Thread: Metallic color security thread.
Watermark: Portrait of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej & the classical Thai design “Phum Khow Bin.”
Ink Color: Dark brown printed on a orange & violet-pink background and on multicolour elaborate design.
Size: width 7.2 cm x length 16.2 cm
Special Features
1, Silver hologram foil stripe with the Royal Garuda Emblem and the numbers “1000″ in Thai and Arabic, which will be seen in different reflecting colors and in various dimensions when viewed at different angles as the note is flipped back and forth.
2, Intaglio latent image “1000″, hidden inside the Thai art design which becomes visible when the note is viewed from the lower left corner toward the middle part of the note.
3, The Arabic denomination numerals “1000″, printed with optically variable intaglio ink (OVI), change from greenish gold and green into green when the lower edge of the note is flipped.
4, The “Lotus” floral design which is printed on both sides, becomes completely formed when viewing the note against a light source.

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Krabi Tesco Lotus

On 31 August 2007, Tesco Lotus opened its door in Krabi with jam packed traffic stretching down to Talaat Kao way past Tiger Cave junction. At that time, the local people has not experienced local shopping sensation  like this before. Established in 1998, Tesco Lotus is a hypermarket chain in Thailand. Tesco Lotus stores stock groceries (western and local products) as well as a selection of stationery, school supplies, clothing, shoes, electrical equipment and many other non-food products at very competitive prices that the small 7-Eleven, family-based and similar small traditional provision shop cannot match. They also contain a bakery as well as a chemist or druggist section. Temperatures are kept at a relatively cool 27C. The stores are often set in Malls and have food courts and many other shops such as AllZ, Body Glove, Top Charoen, Black Canyon Coffee, MK, KFC, Dairy Queen , electronic, jewellery vendors  and several local banks as well as a large car park buit in. For leisure time, there is also a Major Multiplex cinema showing Thai movies and often with English subtitles. Read more

Krabi ATV.

Thrills on 4 wheels

The ATV certified and enthusiastic instructor for the day was Mr. Prompong Janjaem or in short, Pong. The wild and exciting scenery of the ATV base camp is located in the beautiful nature of Ton Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Phang Nga Province – just a short drive from the Krabi Province. The group joining the expedition consisted of a diverse group of people from Malaysia, Singapore, Germany and Thailand. The transfer from the Rafting base camp, where we had just finished a thrilling 5 km rafting experience, to the ATV base camp for the second part of the tour – riding an All Terrain Vehicle or Quad – took few minutes. Upon reaching the pick up point the ATV staff members were already waiting for us under aggressive rain… We were explained the basic theory of ATV riding by Pong: one needed to pull and push the steering; going uphill one had to lean forward and downhill backward; in a curve one had to tighten the knees around the vehicle’s main body and lean on to the curving direction, right for right and left for left; the use of the gears, on the contrary of other motor-vehicles, was by pushing the foot gear pedal up; the brakes one on the right foot level and the other one on the right hand level of the steer; The accelerator consisted of a thumb throttle instead of the typical motorcycle twist grip; the automatic start button was situated on the right hand and needed to be pressed together with one of the brakes; safety measures included wearing helmet, using extreme common sense and caution and of course, a group of watchful assistant instructors. The squad started the march heading out to the first ATV training circuit, where we would have the chance to warm up our newly learned skills. I, despite the heavy rain and a muddy terrain, had swiftly decided to take along my SLR camera ready for some photographic action. To an onlooker the view of fifteen heavy and roaring quads parading in rough weather and wild surroundings could have easily been mistaken for an USA platoon on a mission of some kind. The 400 cc quads painted in a desert camouflage style and the centaurs wearing helmets and outdoor clothing – perhaps – reinforced this picture.

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