5 days in Krabi

Day 1

We arrived at Krabi airport around 8am and our pre-arranged airport transfer to the villa was already waiting for us at the arrivals. Our villa offered us 1,000 THB round trip for airport transfer (huge van) which was a good deal since most taxis charge a minimum of 600 THB per trip. Before heading out the airport, we stopped by the counter to purchase the local sim card. There were 2 options: 200 THB for unlimited data or 300TH for data + calls. There are also many tour offices at the airport but, it is best to get it at Ao Nang area.

The journey from the airport to Lux Family Villas was about 45 mins. Since we all didn't get much sleep the night before (woke up at 3am to head to the airport), all of us decided to get some rest in the morning. The villa we stayed at had kitchen amenities and we were welcomed with some freshly cut fruits that was placed in the fridge.

We went to Ao Nang Beach around 1pm after getting some sleep. Our villa is about 15 mins drive away from the main street which is quite far away. We chose to stay at Lux Family Villas because they provide FREE drop-off and pick-up from Ao Nang Beach. Of course, our stay at the villa was nice as well.

Once we arrived at the drop-off point, we took a tuk-tuk to Ao Nang Boat Noodle. We did not realize that the restaurant was way before the main beach street and it would take us 20-30 mins to walk back up again. It wasn't crowded in the restaurant which I was quite surprised about, since the reviews about this place was quite good. Perhaps it was a weekday or slightly after lunch hour. The food came and we were excited to dig in. It was alright, not as good as I hoped it would be based on the reviews seen on other websites.

After lunch, we walked down the street to survey tour packages offered by the shops. We checked out about 5-6 shops and in the end we chose to purchase from Sleep Inn Tour as the packaged they offered us the packages that was the lowest out of all that we surveyed. Since it was the end of monsoon season (we went during second week of Nov), it was still raining from time to time so we got to bargain more.

We had a couple of hours to kill before dinner time so we chilled at a cafe. On the way, we passed by this street food area which we made a mental note to definitely check out the place. We ended up at the street food area as the restaurant we wanted to go is closed on Monday.

The street food is located at Klong Hang Road, opposite PK Minimart. It was pretty packed with tourist as they have very little seating space. There are 2 stalls which serve an array of dishes and the other stalls were mainly snacks. Since the first stall was pack to the brim, we decided to check out the second stall instead.

We waited for about 45 minutes as there were many other orders as well but with few cooks. I However, it was worth the wait as the food was good and the price was decent! We had steam crabs (200THB for 3 pieces), Tom Yam (150THB), Mango Salad (50THB) and fresh coconut. The tom yam soup had additional 2 pcs of crabs in it! Since our meal came pretty late, we decided to pack up the leftover to bring it back to our villa for supper by utilising the kitchen amenities.

Before heading back to the villa, we went back to the main beach street to get a massage and also drop by 7-Eleven and Family Mart to get some breakfast for the next day.

Day 2

The tour agency (Sun San) picked us up from our villa and there was a specific waiting time that we suppose to be ready for but they were late. We got the villa receptionist to call the agency and they said they were on the way. They also picked up other guest from other hotel before us and a few other stops after picking us up. After getting everyone, we were then dropped off to the waiting area at the pier. Once the briefing session was done, we all walked to the boat.

First stop of the Phi Phi Don tour was Maya Bay, which was pretty crowded as we walked around the island. We also walked to Lo Sa Ma Bay viewpoint. The waves were pretty strong and it looked dangerous to be swimming there as there were rocks nearby. The Maya beachfront was pretty much crowded with tour boats except a small area for snorkeling.

After spending about 30 mins in Maya Bay, we then move on to Lohsamah Bay where the water was much calmer and suitable for snorkeling. It was a beautiful lagoon and there were some fishes around. This was my favourite destination out of the Phi Phi Don tour.

The boat slowed down at Viking Cave so that we could get some photos. Just passing by~

Also passing by Monkey Bay just to spot some monkeys which was honestly quite mundane.

Final stop was at Bamboo Island which was also packed with tourists. There were not many fishes or nice corals either. Water is still murky as the monsoon season has not ended yet. Once we returned to the pier, the tour company sent us all back to our respective accommodation.

After searching through Foursquare and Trip Advisor for some food recommendations, we settled for dinner at Ton Ma Yom. It was a pretty highly rated restaurant and a popular one as well. As it was not located at the main beach street in Ao Nang, our villa kindly dropped us off to the restaurant as it was quite far inside main road.

We waited for about 10 mins before getting a table. Those who came later around 7 or 8 had to wait longer as it is not a huge restaurant. Food was pretty pricey and taste was decent, not as amazing as expected. I think we were all spoilt by the amazing street food on Day 1 and the rest was pretty much incomparable. Haha...

We walked around Ao Nang street mainly for their 7-Eleven and Family Mart to purchase breakfast for the next morning before ending our night with Thai Massage.

Day 3

A different tour agency picked us up from our villa and the journey was about 1 hour as it was situated near Krabi Town. Fell asleep during the entire journey.

We were dropped off at the main entrance and had to walk about 10 mins to get to the hot spring waterfall. Sad to say it was pretty disappointing as the water was lukewarm. The hot springs that I went to during my Taiwan trip and also back here in Malaysia is way hotter than this. Since the hot spring area was pretty small, the area soon became overcrowded once other tours started coming in, and some people just stood around without dipping in the hot spring as it was packed.

Second stop was the Emerald Pool and it was gorgeous. The walk to the Emerald Pool took about 20 mins as we took the longer route, but it was a cemented path as compared to the 800m dirt path. I forgot to bring my googles so I just swam around. There are some fishes in the pool. We didn't go to check out the Blue Pool as it was further inside where no swimming was allowed. It was pure bliss just swimming and chilling around the Emerald Pool.

We started heading out around 11.30am as we need to be at the restaurant for lunch at 12pm.

The last stop was Tiger Cave Temple. I didn't get to the temple grounds as my aim was to hike up to the viewpoint. At this temple, the knees will have to be covered or you can rent the temple scarf for about 20THB (non-refundable). Since I already have a towel on hand, I just used it to cover up. Water is essential as the hike is very taxing.

Although the signboard says 1237 steps to the top, it definitely seem more than that as quite a number of stairs were pretty steep, almost at a 90 degrees angle. Not all of us went for the hike as 2 of my friends decided to just explore the temple grounds and have some coconut ice cream. Another of my friend went all the way up without stopping for any rest. Whereas, I took my time as I needed to take a break in between so I reached the top pretty late.

It was almost 3pm when I arrived the top and we needed to be back at the tour van by 3.20pm. Enjoyed the view and also took some photos before heading back down at 3.10pm. My friend and I literally ran down the stairs and we were about 10 mins late to the van but the guide was fine with it since it was the last stop. My legs ached for one week after that.

We were drenched in sweat going up to the viewpoint and running back down. How I wish that the Emerald Pool was the last stop instead so we could have a dip to wash away the tiredness.

Cheap Cheap Restaurant was the worst dining experience we had during oue entire trip. The BBQ fish was alright since it was a separated cooking area at the front of the shop and we ate it happily. The other dishes we ordered however, took extremely long to arrive during dinner time. We waited almost one hour for the first dish to arrive and that was it.

We still had to wait for the other dishes to arrive which took more than 30 mins each and we were hangry by then. It was very odd since they had about 3 cooks there. Some other customers who arrived later got their food presented to them especially those who ordered the more expensive dishes while we were there sadly waiting for the dish to come out one by one. We didn't want to make a big fuss out of it, so we just ate the rest of the dishes and paid.

We consoled ourselves with an awesome Thai massage session.

Day 4

Since most of the tour agencies picked us up pretty late for the first 3 days, we decided to take our time and chill. But then, this tour agency (Krabi Trips Thailand) arrived earlier than the said waiting time and off we go! We were brought to the pier again and waited for a long time as the tour agency had to pick other guests as well. We were the earliest....could have lazed around longer at the villa during this duration #firstworldproblems

The first stop was suppose to be Daeng Island but since the tide was very low, we went to the opposite beach. There were many stones around and the sea water was only slightly above my ankle, so we just chilled around. We could have walked to Daeng Island since the tide was low but there were tour boats moving around and our guide said it is quite risky.

After that, we were brought over to Lading Island for lunch. We didn't snorkel there as there were many boats at the beachfront and it was only a small area for swimming. There wasn't much time allocated in this island anyway.

Finally, we were brought to Hong Island after our lunch. We got to kayak for about 1 hour since we purchased the additional kayak package. It wasn't a kayak around the whole island thing but we went managed to enter the Hong Lagoon via kayak as again, the tide was extremely low. My arms was already aching after 5 mins into the kayak! Haha...

It was a lovely lagoon area surrounded by limestone cliffs. However, there are also a number of irresponsible tour groups and long tail boats who just blatantly enter the lagoon, causing harm to the seabed as the water level was very low.

We tried to snorkel around Hong Beach after kayaking, but the water was very murky and the current was very strong as well. One part of the beach area had many dead corals lying around in the water but it was easy for us to move around since we had our diving boots on.

I was glad that we took the kayak package as we got to see more of the island and also spotted some jellyfish and fishes swimming around as compared to being at the beach area which had nothing much to offer snorkeling wise. Crowd wise, Hong Island is definitely less crowded than Phi Phi.

Unfortunately, our boat malfunctioned halfway while heading back and we had to wait for a rescue boat. Another tour boat was dragging us along slowly since the motor isn't that powerful. We arrived at the pier after 5pm.

Since it was our last night in Krabi, we went to Tesco to purchase snacks to be brought back to KL. Tesco items are quite pricey compared to 7 Eleven but they have some items that are sold in packs instead of individually.

We stopped by the street food area again for takeaway as we wanted to go for massage before heading back to the villa. We all went for a 2 hour massage (Coconut Oil + Thai Massage) and it was awesome! Since my shoulders are pretty stiff, the masseuse tackled that area thoroughly as she was literally using her elbow to do a deep massage to loosen up the stiff area. 

Day 5

The initial plan was to go for rock climbing at Railey beach or a kayaking tour for half day, but I ultimately decided against it the night before as we were all so tired and my legs were still aching. We all slept in until 10am and then started packing as it was our last day.

Headed out at 12pm for lunch at Jungle Kitchen and some last minute souvenir shopping at Ao Nang Beach before heading back to the villa around 2.30pm. Jungle Kitchen is also another highly rated restaurant in Ao Nang and it is always packed during dinner time according to reviews. When we went during lunch time, there was only about 1-2 tables occupied. Food was not bad.

Checked out the villa at 3pm and arrive at the airport around 4pm to check in our luggages. Ultimately, our  Air Asia flight was delayed which they announced 30 mins before our boarding time.

Overall, it was a fun getaway. I won't say I am greatly disappointed as I have learnt not to put a high expectation on commercialized Thai island especially since my Koh Samui trip last year (which I hadn't blog about). Snorkeling wise, most of the corals are dead and there were not many fishes at the snorkeling spots since it was almost the end of the monsoon season. I still enjoyed the beautiful nature that these island have to offer and the best of all, the Thai massage :)

Tips:
1. Bring along a diving boot. If you don't have one purchase it and it will be worth your investment as many of these island have a lot of dead corals and rocks which you might cut your feet at sharp edges if you are not too careful.
2. When purchasing tour packages, double check with the agency if it includes the National Park fee. It is 300-400 THB each for Phi Phi and Hong Island. If it is not included, then make sure to bring cash to pay on the spot at the island. Your tour agency will tell you where to pay.