- 4-Island Tour (Speedboat)
- Phra Nang Beach
- The Penis Shrine at Phranang (Princess) Cave
- Tup Island
- Snorkeling at Chicken Island
- Poda Island
- Washing Your Feet at Nopparat Thara Pier
- Krabi Walking Street
- Barbecued Pork Ribs
- Thai Style Omelette Rice with Spring Roll
- Thai Pancake
- Egg-wrapped Pad Thai
- Charcoal Grilled Squid
- Cheese Toast
- 25 Baht Bubble Milk Tea
- The Betta (Fighting Fish) Shop
All ready for our official first tour in Krabi; the four-island tour which didn't manage to sign up for back in 2011. Boy was i looking forward to it although i didn't expect to be ferried by this non-air-conditioned pickup truck.
Arrival at Nopharat Thara Beach less than 10 minutes later; after registration, we were kept waiting for about 40 minutes which was an utter waste of time. Don't get me started on the allocation of vessels as it's another major screw up! You can read more about it here.
Anyway, happier times ahead; our first stop was Phra Nang Beach. It captivated us with the iconic Ko Rang Nok, long row of long-tailed boats that provided a postcard-perfect backdrop and the high cliffs used for natural rock climbing. However, it's most recognized by a unique shrine.
One that's filled with hundreds of phallic objects; quite a sight to be honest! To get to the penis shrine, just walk all the way to the right after you disembark from the boat.
Leaving for our next stop.
Second stop - Tup Island. If you could, try to visit when it's low tide so that the sand bank leading to Chicken Island would appear. Should you go when it's high tide, just relax by the beach. p.s. be careful with sharp barnacles / limpets covering the stones and boulders!
Third stop - Chicken Island; named due to the chicken head lookalike rock jutting out from the island. Our main objective at this stop was snorkeling and i wasn't disappointed!
Fourth stop - Poda Island. The place for lunch (provided as part of the tour), relaxation by the beach and more snorkeling! Highlights include starfishes and sea cucumbers!
Back to Nopharat Thara Beach. Your feet are likely to feel sandy and you would need to wash them before you wear back your shoes. Get them cleaned up using the water in gigantic blue tubs BEHIND the washrooms.
Street scenes along Aonang.
We got a wider truck this time and this allowed an additional plank of wood to be placed in the middle to accommodate more people. Frankly, it's an accident waiting to happen. For more details on the 4-Island Tour (Speedboat) tour, click here!
Time to take a badly needed shower back in BlueSotel Krabi AoNang Beach.
Less than half an hour later, we hopped onto a Grab taxi for our next destination at Krabi Town! There were other cheaper options to travel there but we needed the comfort and convenience.
Sights along the way which included the Masjid Aonang Al-Munuawarah and the cliffs found all over Krabi. Maybe next time we can consider renting a car for ease of travelling.
Once you see the interesting traffic lights appearing in front of you, you would know you have arrived at Krabi Town. With a population of just over 50,000 people, i must make it a point to stay there in my next visit to Krabi.
More on the one-of-a-kind traffic lights which featured cavemen. According to this blog here, "Krabi lays claim to having the longest history of continuous settlement anywhere in Thailand" and it goes back to 30,000 B.C!
Vogue Shopping Center - think this is the only decent mall in town. More on the shopping centre later as our main aim for this visit was the street next to it.
It's the site of Krabi's notable night market; Krabi Walking Street! Click here for the main post which has almost a hundred photographs! We also ate a lot for dinner; barbecued pork ribs, Thai style omelette rice with spring roll, Thai pancake, egg-wrapped pad thai, charcoal grilled squid, cheese toast and bubble milk tea!
Checking out the local supermarket at Vogue Shopping Center! You can find souvenirs too; to help, there's even a clear-pocket file stating top-ten most popular cosmetic, medicinal products souvenirs to buy back to your home country!
Alex started laughing at this and i didn't draw the association until he mentioned "isn't Jif the cream that we used to clean the sink?" Oh ya hor! But Jif peanut butter is actually quite popular and was ranked first on the taste test conducted here.
1,290 baht for a pair of Adidas? Alex loved the pattern, the colour and the price. And with all three factors met, he proceeded to purchase not one, but two pairs of the same pattern and colour.
Daiso within Vogue Shopping Center - as Alex needed to use the washroom, i decided to browse. Unlike the big stores in Singapore, this one is kid-sized.
Prices were also more expensive than Singapore with items costing 60 baht each which is about S$2.60. I don't have the intention to buy anything yet something caught my attention.
The battery operated rolling lint remover that i have been searching for so long in Singapore! There are others in the market but their pricing was more than 10 times the one i bought in Daiso Singapore.
And there were more colours! I bought two.
Grabbing back to BlueSotel Krabi AoNang Beach at about 8.00 pm. If i were to sign up for the local transport to the night market via the tour agent in Aonang, i would have to wait till about 9.30 pm before i can leave.
After throwing our shopping back in our room at BlueSotel, we ventured out again in seek of another tour counter for us to book our next day trip as we were not happy with the way things were conducted for the 4-Island Tour (Speedboat).
There were so many tour counters and to be frank, it's really a matter of hits and misses. We chanced upon a nice, Muslim lady by the name of Neeny at Krabi Artemise Travel and the vibe was just right. You need to ask the right questions too; for example, what does the tour include, would there be cases where we would need to pay extra money (e.g. entrance fees, photos, national park fee).
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We opted for S3 full day tour to emerald pool, hot spring waterfall and tiger cave temple with Aonang Safari, Listed price on pamphlet was 1,700 baht per person and we got it for just 800 baht; more than 50% discount!
Counter is located under the signboard "Me Mee Place & Tour". For more popular landmark, just note it's opposite Aonang Buffet Restaurant.
Strolling along the street as it's the appropriate time for a relaxing session.
Massage at All Day Massage And Sea; reviews on TripAdvisor were pretty decent at 4.0 and i was looking forward to a therapeutic Thai body massage.
Price list as above.
It was bad in my opinion; my feet was washed with cold water, i was served cold drinks and the massage failed to relax my muscles. How did it manage to get such a high rating?! Maybe i bad luck; got the wrong masseur.
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