Date of Trip : 9 Jan 2014, Thursday to 14 Jan 2014, Tuesday
Flight
To : Air Asia 2321, 9 Jan 2014, Thursday, 1.20pm – 1.55pm
Return : Air Asia 2320, 14 Jan 2014, Tuesday, 10.15am – 12.55pm
Cost of Flight : SGD 129 (No check-in)
Accommodation
Ao Nang Beach Resort
5 nights, Standard Twin Room : SGD 474.45 ~ SGD 94.90 per night (MW & SH)
2 nights,Standard Twin Room : SGD 189.78 ~ SGD 94.90 per night (DN & CH)
3 nights, Mini Suite : SGD 374.79 + THB 3000 (SGD116.10) ~ SGD 163.63 per night (DN, CH, EL)
A trip to Krabi 2 years ago during the off-season left me with unforgettable memories of the fury storm, errant travel agent at the airport and the rude and unfriendly shop owners in Ao Nang shopping district. Despite the much unhappiness, I did enjoy the shopping street. It was lively and full of vibrancy even till midnight. We visited Krabi town as well and had one of the cheapest and yummiest street food that we had during that trip.
Heavy downpour at 6am during my previous trip.
Fast forward to 2014 and a sheer chance of fate got me going back to Krabi again. This time, I’ll be visiting during the peak season in January and was really looking forward to the snorkelling and blopping in the clear blue waters which I missed the last time round.
Looking forward to the snorkelling and blopping in the clear blue waters which I missed the last time round.
Excited, May, Darren, Chee Hong and myself met up at the airport at 11.30am for a quick lunch before our 1.20pm flight. We got to Krabi in slightly more than 1.5 hours. The shuttle bus to Ao Nang beach area costs THB 150 per pax and a cab costs THB 600. As such, we didn’t hesitate to get a cab since it costs the same for our group of 4.
Shuttle bus to Ao Nang beach area = THB 150 per pax. Cab = THB 600 per cab (4 paxs)
Krabi is a fast growing town on the west coast of southern Thailand offering an idyllic beach life for snorkelling, diving and kayaking. The central point of the coastal province of Krabi lies Ao Nang. The town is made up of a long sandy beach and shopping street, peppered by restaurants, saloons, pubs and nightlife. From my previous experience, Ao Nang area was much livelier as compared to Krabi town. And I had hence booked our accommodation at Ao Nang area instead.
Sunset in Krabi, Ao Nang beach
Our cab brought us direct to our accommodation ~ Ao Nang Beach Resort. There are more than 300 accommodations in Ao Nang but I chose Ao Nang Beach Resort as it was located right smack in the middle of Ao Nang Shopping Street. Costing about SGD 95 for a standard twin room per night, it was a hefty price to pay for, for the location and convenience of the hotel as apart from its excellent location, there really wasn’t any much else the hotel could offer.
Our accommodation ~ Ao Nang Beach Resort. Right smacked in the middle of the Ao Nang shopping street. Fantastic location, but that was all it had.
The trip didn’t start off on the best note after a slew of emails with the hotel, in which they wanted to charge me a THB 1800 for the third pax in the mini suite when they originally quoted me THB 1000. After some negotiations, they finally relented to honour their original quote.
Our rooms on the left. First door : 906 (DN & CH). Second door : 905 (MW & SH).
We checked into our rooms 905 (May & myself) and 906 (Darren & Chee Hong). Our room (905)’s floor was perpetually wet with the air-con condensation all the time. The bathroom floor was wet all the time too, with one of the walls or pipes contributing to the leakage. The cistern kept flowing non-stop after it has been flushed. The bathroom towels were horrendously thin, worn out, and some torn.
Had a different towel character every day.
WIFI was intermittent and slow. Toiletries / Drinking water were not replenished consistently. Some days, there were drinking water, some days there were not. Some days, there were no shampoo, but had two body baths instead. Best of all, you may have guests visiting and sleeping with you; i.e. Mozzies, Lizards etc. One of the lights in my friend’s room (906) popped and the two guys had such a ‘nice, romantic time’. Unlike our bathroom toilet which was perpetually wet, their bathroom toilet was consistently hot…. So hot that when water was sprayed onto the floor, there was steam vaporizing off it.
Leaking bathroom in 905 and Sauna bathroom in 906.
For Room 212, we were told that there would be sea view in all mini suites. Sadly, there wasn’t any as the sea view was largely blocked by the trees in front of the hotel and at the beach.
Baan Lay Thai Kitchen
We had our first meal in Krabi at Baan Lay Thai Kitchen. It was located by the beach and scored a 10 on its ambience, but that’s also where it ends. When the food came, there was no ‘wow’ factor, the food was cold and the service staffs were rude, impolite and sneered at my friend for his very mediocre efforts at speaking Thai.
Nice sea view at Baan Lay Thai Kitchen, but food wise… … Dun bang on it…
Trip to Krabi Town
The night was young and we decided to make a trip to Krabi town for its night-market. We caught a Song Theaw at THB 60 per pax. After a 30 minutes ride, we arrived at Krabi town. It looked familiar yet distant in this darkness.
We asked for directions to the Night Market and many kind passerbys pointed us the way. When we got to the market, it was very much a wet market selling fruits and vegetables. We thought to ourselves, “Was this the night market that was mentioned in the travel books?” It sure didn’t look any ‘touristy’ for a touristy location like Krabi. Nevertheless, we left hurriedly trying to catch the last Song Theaw at 9pm.
Krabi (Fruits & Vegetables) Night Market
We got on board the Song Theaw at 9pm. There were 4 of us plus 2 others. We waited. 5 minutes had passed, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20, 25, and 30 minutes…. By now, I was boiling inside. I have little / no tolerance when it comes to waiting, regardless of who, where or when it was. Are they moving or not ?!
Caught the last song theaw at 9pm which refused to move off even after a 30 minutes wait. Got me really pissed and lost it…
When the driver came at 9.15pm, he mentioned that they would move off in another 5 minutes. 15 minutes had passed and he was still Not moving off. Hence, I asked them what time are they going to move off. He kept saying, “Ok”, “Ok” but went on his own business. May told them “If you no go, we go”. With that, I added on, “If you no go, we go take cab”. The driver stared at me, furious and unhappy and taunted, “I no care, you go. You go take cab.” I was shocked and in for a surprise with the taunt. He did not think we would get off as it was the last Song Theaw back to Ao Nang beach area and that was why he had confidently challenged us. When he repeated the same statement again, my emotions got the better of me and I went into a hissy fits and pulled three of my group mates off the Song Theaw. As we stepped out of the Song Theaw, he yelled for us to get back as they were now unable to move off the Song Theaw with only 2 paxs. Undeterred, we got off and went for our dinner.
Chicken Soup for the Soul
There was no more “Song Theaw service” by the time we ended dinner and we took a ‘cab’ service back to Ao Nang beach area in a Song Theaw at THB 100 per pax! What an irony isn’t it ?! We can call it a rip off, but we didn’t have a choice. There were no other ‘cabs’ or alternative modes of transport available by then. So much for Day 1… Was this going to be another crappy Krabi trip ? It doesn’t seem like I have much luck here in Krabi. I wonder what other exciting adventures lies ahead for us tomorrow….
霞女之旅 
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