Last Night in Krabi

Day 17 (30/11/2010):

Today, my travelling target was only to reach Krabi from Phuket. I decided to visit Thai Mueng, Ton Prai Waterfall and Lampi Waterfall because they were recommended by many people.

The Thai Mueng Beach, just north of Phuket, was rated 5 stars by the Tourist Beach Index Assessment, highest it can go. The Beach Index Assessment is done by the Pollution Control Department in Thailand. Criteria includes environmental management, tourism management, beach nourishment (level of erosion or deposition), aquatic environmental quality. It is a nice and quiet beach. Just one other couple were there when I arrived. If you like a quiet time on the beach with your love ones, this might be a good choice.

Both the Ton Prai and Lampi waterfalls are pretty nice. For the Ton Prai waterfall, you will need to take a short hike from the entrance while the Lampi waterfall is just at the entrance. As both the waterfalls belong to the Khao Lampi Hat Thai Mueng National Park, I have to buy the 100bath ticket to enter. The ticket allows you to enter any areas that belong to the national park within the day.


Ton Prai Waterfall


Lampi Waterfall

That evening, I had dinner with Ire and Annkht at the Steak Ta-Tor.


Ire, Annkht and I

Mud spring waterfall

Day 11 (24112010):

I got back to Krabi from Koh Phi Phi today and wanted to check out Saphan Yung hot spring waterfall. Just wanted to relax and enjoy the hot spring today. However, got caught by the rain which lasted for about 2 hours. When I reached the hot spring waterfall, there wasn't much of a hot spring, more of a mud spring waterfall. The pool wasn't hot and saturated with mud.



Haiz. I was so disappointed and headed back to Krabi. In the evening, I met up with Ire and Annkht again for dinner at the local night market. I had the damn nice Thai fried rice with everything (at least that's what they claim). Highly recommended by Paul.

Loi Krathong

Day 8 (21112010):

Tonight, it will be my 1st time celebrating Loi Krathong. It is a festival celebrated on the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai calender. This year it falls on 21st Nov. Loi means float and Krathong is a vessel made from banana tree trunk which allows it to float, banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense sticks. The Thais float their Krathong into the river to give thanks to the river godess for giving life to them and their crops. Annkht is sweet enough to help me make a Krathong. Check out my beautiful personal Krathong courtesy of Annkht. This is like the most beautiful gift anyone handmade for me.



The evening was pouring yet it did not dampen our determination to float our Krathongs onto the Krabi river. After some efforts, we managed to light the candles on our Krathongs and sent them floating off into the Krabi river.


Ire and Annkht releasing their Krathong.


My Krathong on the Krabi river.

Lethal Lagoon

Day 8 (21112010):

If you think what I have done so far was dangerous, you haven't seen anything yet. This was probably the most dangerous day of my trip so far.

I started the day with a fairly safe ride to Ao Nang, strolled along the Ao Nang beach through the monkey trail to Phai Plong bay. The reason the trail is called monkey trail is because you have to share the trail with monkeys. The monkeys there ain't afraid of humans. They will walk pass you on that narrow trail if they have to and occasionally greet you.



After the stroll, I took the long-tailed boat to Railay beach. Only then, I learnt that long-tailed boat gets its name from the long propellor which seems like a tail behind the boat.



On the Walking Street on Railay, I finally get to eat the real Thai pancake I was recommended. I ended up eating that for both brunch and lunch.



On the other side of Railay, I found some people doing rock climbing which I was pretty interested in but decided I didn't have enough time for it.



I decided to take a hike on the trails to the viewpoint and lagoon instead. The start of the trails was pretty steep but still manageable as there were reachable steps with occasional need for hands. After awhile, it got steeper and hands were needed for most parts.



After some climb, there came a T-junction where left turn for the viewpoint and right turn for the lagoon. Fellow hikers along the way recommended I go viewpoint 1st as it is a easier hike so I did. I was able to see most of Railay from the viewpoint.



At the viewpoint, besides the trail I came from, there was another trail which leads to somewhere else. After advising some hikers that the lagoon is the same way we came from, I stupidly decided to go against my own advise and went on the other trail out of the viewpoint. After a few minutes on that trail, it became increasing weirdly challenging. I had to climb on all fours on the limestones. It wasn't really difficult to climb, just dangerous. At some points, slipping could mean dropping off the cliff onto the beach. What made it worse was that I was wearing slippers and have no more water.



It got even more dangerous when the trail got muddier and less limestones that I could grip on. The further I went, the more reluctant I was to turn back and the more determined I was to continue. However, at one point where I couldn't go any further because there wasn't anything to step or grip on and sliding off the mud could mean a long fall. At that time, it was already 40 mins since I left the viewpoint. I backtracked for awhile and then, went on another trail branching off. After 15 mins of climbing and trekking, I managed to reach back to the viewpoint. Such a relief, I though I was going to spend hours getting lost.

After returning back to the 1st T-junction, I decided I had spare time before I needed to return back to Krabi so I went on the trail towards the lagoon. I got really dirty and muddy at this point so I wasn't taking much photos. The trail towards the lagoon was on another level of difficulty and just as dangerous. It started off with slippery muddy slopes with only ropes and tree roots as support and after that, a muddy trail which I could only overcome barefooted.



Next, were 3 4-5metres vertical drops with a rope each and some places to grip or place your foot along the way. A loose grip is a fall onto the sharp limestones on the bottom of each vertical drops. Reluctantly yet determined to overcome my fear of heights. I, somehow, managed to use both the ropes and the uneven surface on the wall to aid my climb down.

The lagoon was indeed an amazing place. It is surrounded by high limestone walls and vegetation which explains the difficult climb to reach the place.



The climb back up was much faster and easier. A little rushing for the last ferry from Railay back to Ao Nang, I quickily made my way back. I only recommend this trail to the lagoon for those who can really hold their weight with their arms and grips. Definitely not a trail for children or elderly which the locals failed to display at the start of the trail.

Phanom Bencha Adventures

Day 7 (20/11/2010):

Ire's girlfriend, Annkht, works for the TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) branch in Krabi. A new resort invited TAT to check out their place and Annkht invited Ire and I to join them as they also wanted some foreigners in their photos.

In the morning, Ire and I took a walk along the trail in the mangrove forest just behind Ire's apartment. I learnt that these mangrove forest could protect the inland from Tsunami, probably one of the reasons why Krabi wasn't badly hit by the 2004 Tsunami. They are also cultivating mangroves trees in attempt to enlarge the size of the mangrove forest.



After the walk, we headed over to TAT in Krabi where we set off towards Phanom Bencha national park. After driving through the muddy trails, we reached Phanom Bencha Adventure.



We were welcomed by the people working on the new adventure resort, which hasn't been completed yet. We learnt that they will provide day trips on elephants or ATVs up the Phanom Bencha trails to viewpoints or waterfalls. They also will have accommodations and a restaurant. The resort have a pretty good view of the landscape downhill. This will make a good getaway from our busy lives and the city noises.






After the nice lunch provided by the locals, we helped them to correct their introduction on their brochure written in english. Then, we took a hike for a couple of hours through their new forest trail which is not yet well established.



The tiring day ended with sumptuous dinner at a restaurant in Krabi town with nice ambience and delicious food called Ruen Mai Restaurant. The coconut soup and mango salad we had were just simply awesome. This is surely a place to check out for good food.

Day out with Ire

Day 6 (19/11/2010):

An Austrian named Ire I met on couchsurfing invited me for a morning market tour, tim sum breakfast and snorkeling at the Klong Muang beach.

The morning market is a huge local wet market selling everything you can expect a wet market to sell.





Something interesting about this morning market is that at 8am, they will play the Thai national anthem and when the anthem starts to play, everyone will stand still.



After the morning market tour, we went to the nearby tim sum place for breakfast.



The Thai way of serving tim sum is different from Singapore. They just give you a tray of everything and you take what you want to eat and only pay for those.



After breakfast, we took a half hour ride on his scooter to the Klong Muang beach.



It is a pretty awesome beach with hardly any people on it. However, there is a need to take note of the tides because at low tide the beach may be too shallow to swim or snorkel.



Snorkeling was pretty disappointing with dead corals everywhere. According to Ire, just 2 years ago, those coral reefs were still colourful with colourful fishes swimming among time. The added long-tail boat routes maybe the main cause. Such a pity. Coral reefs take tens of thousands of years to form yet human only need a few years to destroy them. I wonder what I can do to help to stop the destruction of our beautiful marine ecosystems.

At night, I went to a different night market called the Walking Street. It only opens in the weekends, Friday to Sunday from 5pm to 10pm.

Pak-Up Hostel

My accommodation in Krabi is the new Pak-Up Hostel. Just opened on 5th Nov 2010, less than 2 weeks b4 i arrived. It has a 24hr reception which was a lifesaver since I arrived in Krabi at 1:30am.



After staying here for a couple of days, I find this place pretty neat, that is if you don't mind dormitory-style accommodation. Basically, 8 - 10 people share a room. Having said that, it is perfect for a backpacker like myself. For 150baht a night, it got everything a backpacker ever dreamed of:
1) Nice cosy bed with clean sheets. Both air-con and fan in the room.
2) Hot showers.
3) Free wifi. If you don't have a laptop, there are desktops at the lobby.
4) Washing machine and sheltered laundry area so you don't have to worry about rushing back to the hostel to collect your clothes if it rains.
5) Rooftop bar, with a great view of Krabi streets, to chill out.

In case you were wondering the weird name for the hostel, Pak is the young and pretty lady owner of the hostel. She is just one year older than I am and already owns a hostel. Up is short for Unchana Property, which is a company that owned by her family. She told me that it took a year to build from what was an old primary school to this stylish and modern hostel. From monitoring the progress of the renovation to choosing the banches for the reception, she had to do everything herself. I can tell she really put her heart into this hostel to make it what it is currently. Below are some photos of the hostel.


Front View


Lobby Stairs


My Room


My Bed.


Top-Up Bar

My photos probably don't give the hostel enough credit it deserve though. Probably I will put up better ones later on.

Breathtaking

Day 5 (18/11/2010):

Today, I woke up pretty late due to last night's late entry. Took a walk around town to check out the place and what might be available. Afternoon, I decided to go to Wat Thum Suea, also known as the tiger cave temple, recommended and challenged by Xunmao.



Here is the challenge.



So here we go. Start time: 2:53pm. My Ipod Touch time is SG time.



I was pretty confident at the start. I meant how hard can it be? Hoho. I realised I was very wrong when I barely reached the 300th step and I was panting pretty hard. At 500th step, sweat were already dripping from my head onto the steps. I can feel the Red Bull I drank earlier giving the extra energy to continue. Had to stop a dozen times to catch my breathe while taking the opportunity to take some photos. At 800th step, I had to engage my marathon runner perseverance to keep me going. At 1000th step, I was taking my time to conquer each step. And, finally, at the 1237th step, I reached the top.



Wat Thum Suea 1237 Steps Climbing Personal Best: 24mins.

The climb wasn't the only thing that took my breathe. The panoramic view of southern Thailand, Krabi province took just as many breathes. Pity I don't have a camera that can really capture the view.





The climb down was easier but still sweaty and breathtaking. Back at ground level, I saw many monkeys playing around the temple.



I went to the provision shop beside the temple to get a drink. Big mistake. A monkey sneak attacked me from behind and tried to grab my drink. It failed but they were persistant. A couple of them stalked me and attempted to jump me. Eventually, their persistance paid off and one of them made it off with my empty bottle.



I spent the rest of the day resting at the hostel and went to the night market later at night.



Thanks to Xunmao who recommended me the Thai pancake. I wasn't sure what it was at first so I ended up eating almost everything that looks like pancake. There was also a stall selling fried insects, maggots, grasshoppers etc. Not gonna try those. Ever. There was also a guy promoting his album. The guy in the MTV is actually him. However, he don't seem too popular in Krabi though.

Wandering Spirit

Day 4 (17/11/2010):

Today, I spend over 12 hours on the road. I set off for Krabi at 11:30am after saying goodbye to my host. Hit the Malaysian/Thailand border at around 3pm.



It's my 1st time going through it and I was pretty amazed at how unorganized the Thailand part of the border is. I could have just went into Thailand without getting my passport checked and stamped if I wanted to and none of the Thai custom officers would have stopped me.

Traveling on Malaysian and Thailand road were totally different experience. Malaysia expressway is pretty much like Singapore's. You can go on non-stop until you reached an exit closest to your destination. However, Thailand's highway pretty much go through every single town along the way. So to get to Krabi, I have to go through Hat Yai, Phatthalung, Trang and Huat Yoi and I was just naming the bigger towns not mentioning the many more smaller villages along the road. On a Malaysian expressway, you probably can ride 120km/h constantly non-stop for hours. You can't really do that on Thailand's and you really have to concentrate on the road. If you don't, one of the following may happen: 1) Hit a jaywalker. 2) Beat the red light. 3) Ride off the cliff. 4) Hit by a oncoming bike on your lane.

I reached Hat Yai at 4pm and only managed to get out at 6pm. I pretty much got screwed by a round-about and exited it the wrong way. Luckily , I found a visitor centre and they pointed me to the right direction.



It was around 9pm when I reach Trang and wanted to find a hotel and call it a day. However, I couldn't find any hotel. Checked my map and realized there really isn't any hotel in Trang. So no choice, have to continue my way. I couldn't find any place to stay in the next town Huat Yoi either and Krabi is just over 100km from Huat Yoi so I mustered all the energy and focus I have left and cheong all the way to Krabi. It was just over 1am when I reached Krabi.



At 1:30am, there were still activities going on in Krabi. There were still people at the night market. Bikes speeding around. People drinking, talking and laughing at pubs. However, I couldn't find any hotel reception that was opened except for one: Pak-Up Hostel, a new addition to Krabi's accommodation for backpackers. I will talk more about the hostel later when I get more photos. Time to get my laundry from the washing machine.