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.

Unusual Day in Penang

Day 3 (16/10/2010):

I have a pretty unusual day in Penang.

It started pretty usual though. I wanted to go on a trail in the Penang National Park. Started the hike at 9am after registering.



Took the trail towards the meromictic lake. It is one of the 19 lakes in the world that has salt and fresh river separated by layers. It took me about one and half hour to get there.



I was expecting to see a beautiful lake. However, there wasn't much of a lake when I reach there. You could imagine how disappointed I was.



So I stayed on the beach and pier for awhile before my one and half hour hike back.

So what did I do after that was unusual?
I followed behind a bus on bike through Penang. Met a kung fu practicer from a chinese temple. Visited a home for the disabled. Followed a Malaysian bike across George Town. Met a couple from Europe who cycled from Singapore to Penang and continuing up Thailand after that. Learnt Taiji at a Malaysian's place. Gave a lift to a Slovenian girl back to her guesthouse.
Try to piece how all those happened in the same day. Maybe you will find some clues from my photos.

Couchsurfing

Day 2 (15/10/2010):

This is a new thing I'm experimenting on this trip. Couchsurfing.



It is a network which connects travelers and locals from all over the world allowing them to exchange cultural experiences and friendship. Someone can either be a host providing hospitality travelers letting them stay in your place or just meet them for a drink or bring them around your town. Or you can be a surfer receiving the hospitality provided by the hosts and participating in local activities. http://www.couchsurfing.org/home.html
A couple of days ago, I found a very nice host who stayed in a condo in Penang.

Today, I started off for Penang at around 12pm. A couple of drizzle didn't stop me along the way. The heat and petrol did though.





At long last, I reached Penang around 5pm. The view on the bridge to Penang is pretty amazing.





On the way to my host's place, I got stopped by some police who asked for my driving license and said something in malay which I don't understand. Something about hotel or insurances or something and a couple of times held out his hand as if wanting something from me. I just acted blur and keep saying I don't understand him. After awhile, he got frustrated and let me continued.

After awhile, I managed to find the condo which my host lives in. Then, settled in and had dinner with fellow couchsurfers. Getting late. Til tomorrow.