Road Trip – Krabi, Thailand!
Road Trip – Krabi, Thailand.
Posted By : Ina Mohd
Destination – Krabi, Thailand. Distance to destination – 850Km. Departure point – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Total cars in convoy – 4. Stopover – overnight at Hat Yai, Thailand.
It was a 5-day trip. 4 of them were spent on the road. That leaves us with only one full day to enjoy Krabi. 11 of my family members occupied 2 cars, while 2 of our friends in the other 2 with their families. The journey to Hat Yai itself was an 8 hour drive. Thank god I’m wasn’t driving! …or so I thought. My dad had fever on that day so I took over the wheel. Poor thing was coughing nastily throughout the whole drive.
We stayed at the beautiful AoNang Villa Resort. Gosh. Felt like I was in one of those Travel Channel show reviewing hotels (think Samantha Brown’s Passport to …Asia?).
Sa Wat Dee Kaa, Krabi!
We stayed at the beautiful AoNang Villa Resort. Gosh. Felt like I was in one of those Travel Channel show reviewing hotels (think Samantha Brown’s Passport to …Asia?).
The pool view from the balcony of my room. We could have gotten the ocean view, but with a gorgeous limestone hill to gape at, we ain’t complaining! The Garden area. Aonang Villa offers rooms with view of the greens as well.
The Bakery cum Souvenir shop. The chairs are made to face the beach. The next space near the yellow & red umbrella (left) is where you can lie right down and have your body massaged at a price too unbelievably good to mention. If you’re sitting outside Paradiso restaurant (2 photos above), this is what you see.
Eat, drink Thai food and be merry.
A tip to the best mango pancake in the world. If you walk into the street from Aonang Villa Resort, to the right, in front of Starbucks and 7Eleven, there are a couple of food stalls. A burger stall (above) and pancake stall on the left. If you’re in Krabi, hunt for this very stall and taste the mango pancake. You’ll thank me for it! This is where we had dinner, my dad’s recommendation. It’s a minute moped-ride further up the street and the food is as authentic as Thai food can be. I say this because there are restaurants that cater for tourists less spicier tongue. Here, we got the original spice and heat.
So, what can you do in Krabi?
You can wake up at 8am, have breakfast, then wait at the lobby entrance… Let a tuk-tuk whisk you away towards the beach… …and jump into a speedboat for a little snorkeling and Phi Phi Island hopping! A popular stop. We watched enviously at them as our boat had to abort the plan of snorkeling here. There were too many boats crowding the area.
Krabi Town Food Market
Luscious Thai mangoes, good to eat with sticky rice, bathed in coconut milk… Um-umm. Perfect take-away for the long drive back.
Goodbye Krabi. Hello again, road.
Thai citizens revere their King. I know a friend who said she’ll die for her King with tears welled up in her eyes.
Once my dad decided not to fly but drive us instead to Krabi, groans were coming out from most of our mouths, mine included. But I thought, hey I’m not driving, I’ll chill in the backseat reading Confucius from the Heart, snap some photos from the car window. But it was a good thing that I had to take the wheel. I paid attention on the roads and the way Thai people drive. I saw the trees and gigantic statues of Buddhas and the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin, popping out now and then, as if to bless our journey the whole way. And whenever I signaled prior to cut on the windy road, cars in front would drive closer to the side to give you way. It was absorbing Thailand in a different experience, one that is hard to describe. This trip reignited a sense of adventure in me that childhood once held. I’m seeing roadtrips in a new light. There are some regrets about this trip, it was a long drive to Krabi to spend way too short of a time there. Wish I had more time to photograph and do justice to those beautiful islands and limestone rocks jutting out of the sea. Wish I could rock climb the limestone hills and explore the town area. On a brighter note though, it makes me want to come back for more. I only drove half the journey, which the other half my dad took back the wheel. But, would I drive 1,700Km to and fro just to see Krabi again?
Without the slightest hesitation, ABSOLUTELY!
Korp Kun Kaa…
With kind permission, article from : http://inamoments.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/roadtrip-krabi-thailand
