I Need To Tell : The World From My Perspective: Day 1 : To Krabi

Big hat. Check.
Big sunglasses. Check.
Swim suit. Check.
Sunblock. Check.

It's time to go for a short holiday getaway, and this time, S and I were going to enjoy the sun and sea at the coastal town of Krabi. We booked the trip pretty last minute but were glad that we got a good deal.

That morning, we started our journey early. MH2505 to Kuala Lumpur was scheduled to depart at 7.15 a.m. It being the holiday season, we met so many people we knew at the airport - colleagues, students and even acquaintances. Before long, we boarded and were well on our way. We sat near the rear of the plane and by the time we were served our meal, the nasi lemak had all been distributed. What's left was only roti putar ...

No more choice of breakfast ...

Roti putar with dhal curry, and a piece of sponge chocolate cake

Roti Putar is essentially the canai pasty, encasing spiced minced chicken filling; it's flavourful enough to eat on its own, but one could also eat it dipped with the dhal curry; I found the dhal curry to be quite delicious, perhaps because it was served piping hot.

Coffee ....

By the time I got coffee, it was already cold ....

And my sachet of sugar granules and creamer did not dissolve properly .... eew ...

We reached KLIA with a few hours to spare .... so we took our sweet time exiting the airport and caught the ERL to KLIA 2. With no bags to check in, we could actually proceed straight through the immigration and thereafter to the departure gate.

But we decided to eat lunch at KLIA 2. We were of course, spoilt with choices where F & B was concerned. A new outlet which I had not seen previously, was Johnny Rockets. So S and I decided to eat there.

I had the chicken club sandwich ...

Chicken Club Sandwich

The portion was big! 3 thick slices of toasted bread, which became dry very quickly; I did not like the chicken which I found to be tasteless, and the bacon was not really bacon ... more like bad quality ham ... hmn ... I did not quite enjoy the meal in the end.

We departed via gate P17 ...

Krabi, here we come!

The flight was but 1 hour and 15 minutes .... so near was Krabi!!

Krabi International Airport

We got out of the arrival hall .... and immediately were greeted by sales people, selling mobile phone plans for travellers. I wanted to purchase a data plan for 4 days. Unfortunately my iPhone IOS of the moment did not recognise the SIM. After many tries activating it, I gave up buying and got my refund back.

At the airport, we could start shopping for tour arrangements to the islands and also to other attractions around Krabi. We surveyed with a few tour agents .... and finally, we managed to book an island tour for THB1200. We were happy that was settled.

We were staying at the Ao Nang district, where tourism was centred around, and Ao Nang was about 27km away from the Krabi Airport. From Krabi Airport, we could either get a shuttle or a taxi to our hotel. We opted for a taxi. We paid THB600 for the trip and proceeded outside to catch our ride.

The taxi driver saw our receipt and pointed to the series of numbers there. "77," he said, indicating the number of his car plate. "Lucky," he said. Lol.

"Which hotel?" he asked.

"Ibis," I replied.

"Nice hotel," he supplied.

And I was glad that I made the right choice. I had screened through reviews of Tripadvisor before making my booking, where most travellers had mentioned that it was a brand new hotel which was within walking distance to the beach.

About half an hour later, we reached our hotel, the Ibis Styles Ao Nang. Checking in was a breeze, and we were assigned room number 532.

Home for the next 3 nights ...

The room was really small. There were no tables and chairs inside. We could only sit on our beds. There was a dresser, which doubled as a hanger with a rail fixed above it. Coffee and tea making facilities were available, and a flat screen TV was mounted on the wall.

The bathroom and toilet

What's really important was that the room was clean, and there was WIFI in the room! Yayy! Staying connected was really a top priority for me.

We freshened up a bit and then decided to go exploring!

The hotel provided free shuttle to the beach .... we decided to catch the 5.00 p.m. shuttle

Meanwhile, we looked around this hotel ....

The pool ....

The hotel's very own massage parlour ...

Internet area for guests. Loved the climbers!! So cute!

Guava juice and cold water for guests at the lobby area ...

The tuk tuk shuttle

We climbed aboard and it was a short drive to the beach ..... where we got down in the slight evening drizzle ....

Ao Nang Beach at dusk .....

It was a bit dark already since it was drizzling .....

The beach front street

There was only one main street .... and it was lined the shops selling souvenirs, clothes, bikinis, caftans, and also F & B outlets ....

We browsed a bit ..... and decided to have a Thai meal. We walked and walked and finally decided to eat at Aree Baba.

Interesting that the table and chairs were made from bamboo, and came with a roof!

Lemon green tea and hot ovaltine ...

Ordering was not difficult because the menu was in English, and the staff spoke a bit of English too. They were also used to serving a myriad of tourists from all over the world.

Papaya salad with pickled crab

Too fiery spicy and salty! But delicious!

Pineapple Fried Rice

Delicious! With lots of texture from the vegetables and the pineapple, chicken and cashew nuts. We both loved this and was enough to share between the two of us.