Krabi – Seafood, Snorkeling, Massages

Located approximately 814 kilometers from Bangkok is Krabi Province, one of most attractive destinations in southern Thailand. Krabi is an ideal getaway destination teeming with natural attractions including white sandy beaches, fascinating coral reefs, numerous large and small islands and verdant forests with caves and waterfalls.

There are two legends concerning the origin of the name “Krabi”.The first is that villagers presented a large ancient sword (or krabi) that was discovered by chance to the governor. Later when a smaller, on discovering a smaller one, it was also presented to the governor. Regarded as sacred and auspicious, the governor decided to keep them in the province. As the process for the establishment of the province was still in progress, the swords were placed crossing each other in Khao Khanap Nam cave. Since then, the crossed swords have remained a part of the provincial seal.

The second legend is that “Krabi” was derived from the name of a local tree known as “Lumphi”. The Malay and Chinese merchants mispronunciation of the name to “Ka-lu-bi” or “Kho-lo-bi” finally resulted in “Krabi” (or monkey).

Day One
We touched down in krabi town just after noon, and we stopped by the Thai Duck Noodle Soup Restaurant for lunch. very yummy – tastes a little like vietnamese noodles.

After lunch, we headed to the only department store in Krabi town (Vogue Shopping Center) Jack and I went shopping on the streets and bought a nice bikini for 150 bhat, a tank top for 100 bhat, and a pair of beach shorts for 90 bhat. What a steal!

After our arrival at golden beach resort on Ao Nang beach, we went for a walk along the beach and can’t help but spot a puffer fish (all inflated and very much dead) along the beach. There were washed up jellyfish all along the waterline as well. we decided against swimming in that water! Instead, we took a walk along the shops and headed to the pool for a swim.

BTW, there are lots of stray dogs in krabi and they are treated very well by the locals (unlike in singapore where dogs have to be on the alert at all times).

We had dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant called Tantas.

Day Two
Our second day in Krabi started with an American breakfast buffet at the hotel. the weather is excellent today and the water looks much better than yesterday. But we still chose to go in the water for fear of more pufferfish and jellyfish lurking around. We traded it off with a banana and singha beer in the jacuzzi – heavenly!

In the afternoon, we got a full body oil massage for only 300 bhat per hour. we also got a foot scrub for only 200 bhat. All relaxed, we took a walk out to the beach and couldn’t help but notice numerous topless women getting a tan.

all that walking got us hungry and we stopped by Nana Restaurant for an authentic thai lunch of green curry, glass noodles salad with prawns, and a traditional raw salad (long beans, long eggplant, round eggplant, cucumber, chinese cabbage) with spicy prawn paste. lunch was absolutely fantastic!

The hotel bell boy told us that this restaurant called Kruathara has very good local food so we headed there by tuk tuk – it’s only five minutes away. The food was authentic and the price very reasonable – our bill came up to 450 bhat – not bad for five dishes. we had fresh oysters, fried crab in yellow curry, gong gong, thai squid salad, and horse-shoe crab. all in all, dinner was very satisfying…

Day Three
Our day started early with a trip to the Hong Islands. First stop in the tour was Hong Island’s Lagoon – it’s like a sea lake. “HONG” Is the Thai word for Room. These hones are inland open-air tidal lagoons surrounded by sheer cliffs up to 1000 feet high. The only way in-out through the tidal window on the certain days. These windows may only be open for 15-20 minutes a day.

Next stop was Hong Island bay which included swimming in crystal clear waters and fish feeding by hand. we also had lunch and krabi cake there. This large pond-like bay is on the back of Hong Island , opposite Lao Pi Leh Bay.

Third stop is Pakbia Island – it is interesting to see how the sea waves have eroded the rocks and dug hotes like caves through them.

Last but not least was Lading Island, where the hills are used for collecting swallows nest and made into bird’s nest soup. they have lots of fish and a dead coral reef. Up until a few years ago tourists were not allowed on Lading Island. Instead it was left for the people who collected swallow nests and lived there. Today it is sometimes called Paradise Island, and a trip here is like going back in time.

In the evening, it was raining cats, dogs, and monkeys in Krabi. The sky looked like a scene from “war of the worlds”. After two hour, the rain finally stopped, and we went out to the massage parlour for a traditional thai massage.

Day Four
It’s a quick breakfast of bacon, pancakes, and a tomato omelet at the hotel woke up and went for breakfast. Then headed for the beach for a quick massage before checking out of the hotel and leaving for the airport.