<<< Day Three
- Aonang Beach
- The Monkey-Themed Bus Stops
- Diver´s Inn Steak House
- Departure Hall of Krabi International Airport
- Eyes in The Sky at Krabi
Four days passed so quickly and we are now on the last day of our Krabi trip that took place in November last year. We kick started the day with breakfast (covered in our accommodation) at BlueSotel. Frankly, our stay at BlueSotel was extremely comfortable; for review, click here.
Alex was still keen to laze around in the hotel room whereas i was gearing to hit the street so as to make full use of my remaining time in Krabi!
Mother Marche; not to be confused with the Marche restaurants in Singapore, this is a pretty high class grocery store near BlueSotel where you can get fresh produce, and a larger variety of local snacks (e.g. dried mangoes) to bring back for your family and friends back home.
Although the signboard along the road indicated 24-hours, its actual operating hours were from 10.00 am till midnight. You don't see Mother Marche in other parts of Thailand as its five branches are all within the Krabi province.
I think i mentioned before that the former Ao Nang Walking Street has been converted into a food centre. On Day One, i walked in and found the place relatively dead with only a few groups of Chinese tourists dining there.
With such a spectacular backdrop, i think the area did better as a weekend market where carnival games and rides accompanied food and retail stores.
It was on purpose that i took the route to the right of BlueSotel as Aonang Beach was on the hotel's left; my younger sister would be visiting Krabi the following week and i was showing her where her hotel (Sea Seeker Krabi Resort) was.
Mural of an art gallery; i was wondering why the artist would draw something that came out from the nostril and realized shortly that it was part of the model's hair. =_=
Time to venture towards the beach!
Spotted non-air-conditioned pick up lorries once again; as mentioned in my blog post on Krabi's famous 4-Island tour, it's an inexpensive mode of transport to bring visitors to the nearby piers for the numerous island tours.
Street scenes! I also took the time to purchase our transport back to the airport this afternoon for our flight back to Singapore. Price is fixed at 150 baht per person.
At first glance, 100 baht might seem really cheap but at about S$4.00 per item, it's actually more expensive than our S$2.00 per item Daiso; things sold within are kitschy and absolutely nothing attracted my attention.
Strongly recommended would be the Decare Pharmacy & Organic Living; with only two branches in Thailand (both at Aonang), you can find popular souvenirs for facial, healthcare, aromatherapy, spa, snacks etc at reasonable pricing.
Notice the gold and silver boxes? They contained face masks that are highly sought after by the Chinese tourists; i did a bit of price comparison and Decare Pharmacy & Organic Living was the cheapest without even the need to bargain! When i was in Bangkok earlier this year, i checked with quite a number of outlets selling the masks and none was as cheap as Decare .
I have been talking about stepping into a rifle range in Thailand to try my shooting skills but Alex wasn't too keen for reasons unknown to me; maybe because he gets jumpy around loud noises?
For the past few days, i kept thinking where there were monkey statues along the road. It was only on the last day that it dawned on me; they were bus stops! Click here to read more.
Aonang Beach - stretching about 1.41 kilometers end to end, it doesn't boast of white, powdery sand. However, it's a great place to catch the sunset and you can also take photos with the landmark sailfish sculpture!
The stretch of retail stores and restaurants alongside Aonang Beach. Back in 2011, the street was quieter with construction work, and definitely not as vibrant as now.
I still remember buying our first waterproof bag from one of the stores there. It is durable and we actually continue to bring it along on vacations for which snorkeling is expected.
Blue Marlin restaurant - i initially thought the landmark sculpture was sponsored by the restaurant until i read further about it! Furthermore, marlins are different from sailfishes / swordfishes.
Upkeep to the flora by the roadside; in Singapore, this was done regularly so as to keep our reputation as a garden city. With the circuit breaker, wildflowers and weeds have blossomed in the past two months and i am actually loving the more rustic, natural feel.
The many tour counters in Aonang; as advised previously, always compare prices, remember to bargain (except for transport back to airport / night market) and ask if the entrance fees / marine park fees are included in the price.
View of Sea Seeker Krabi Resort from BlueSotel. With a bit of time to spare before checking out, i decided to take a relaxing swim at BlueSotel's swimming pool. So shiok!
Lunch at Diver´s Inn Steak House; my Australian Black Angus Grain Fed Ribeye Steak was pretty decent and i am way more impressed with the English Breakfast that Alex had! Shall revisit the next time i am in Krabi.
Transport arrived on time and appeared similar to the mini van shuttle we took from Krabi International Airport to Aonang. Do note that this is a shared shuttle and you may have other travellers joining you for the ride.
Taking a photo of the driver details; main reason is because i am careless and should the need arise for me to get in touch with the driver due to lost items, having the details would be helpful.
Photographs taken while on the shuttle; including a stopover at Ao Nam Mao beach where two more customers were picked up. I didn't even know the existence of this place and had to google for more information; those who dislike crowded, touristy towns like Aonang can consider Ao Nam Mao which also have accommodations for travellers.
Reaching Krabi International Airport!
Quickly cleared immigration as there's nothing around the airport and it would be better to be stuck in the departure hall where air-conditioning would be our saviour in the hot weather. Thankfully, there were stores within the hall and that helped to curb some of my boredom.
TR687 - scheduled to depart at 3.50 pm but there was a slight delay and it was rescheduled to 4.20 pm which wasn't that much of an inconvenience.
Plane on the tarmac!
Boarding time; this is something we don't get to do often in Singapore and in the rare occasion we do, taking photos are not allowed due to security reason. In other countries so far (that i have travelled to), i have never been stopped from taking photos though.
Krabi International Airport - the international terminal was built in 2006 with the capacity to handle three million customers, which had exceeded by more than a million in 2017. Good news is that there are plans to expand the capacity to eight million in the near future!
Every airport would have fire engines on standby in case of aviation incidents.
Preparing for takeoff!
As it was still daylight and there wasn't that many clouds at the initial altitude, i thought the view beneath was spectacular, to the extent of even magical with the setting sun. For more photos, visit the Eyes in The Sky at Krabi!
Progressively more cloudy underneath us.
Advantage of having a window seat facing the west at sunset; you would be mesmerized by the beauty. Disadvantage of having a window seat facing the west at sunset; it can be darn glaring and your neighbours might not appreciate that the shade is up throughout.
Secretly indulging in the pocky (strawberry). Actually i am not too sure about the policy in budget airlines; can i bring my own food and snacks? Maybe i should recheck their flight terms and conditions again.
Hm.... i didn't recognize this terrain and we were actually quite close to landing at Changi International Airport. My directions are not bad and it didn't feel that we were in Malaysia.
High probability the plane had flown over Batam Island, Indonesia.
Container ships; once you see a lot, you would know we would be landing super soon. The sight of container ships 'parked' around Singapore is quite common all year round; hence, it was a surprise when a celebrity posted on instagram that the ships were disallowed from entering Singapore due to COVID-19.
Home sweet home!
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