Craving for Krabi

The soft sand crumbles beneath your toes as the sun beams down upon you. A cool breeze blows softly, and you tuck your hair behind your ear with a flower. With a glass of freshly squeezed juice in your hand, you look across the expanse of the ocean and sigh contently. All is well.

That was how it was for the both WJ and I in Krabi. Which is also why we went back for the past three consecutive years, bar 2014.

Ao Nang, Krabi – where rest and relaxation is key, with good food all around and no busy city life to be found.

Accommodation

The first place we stayed at was Haleeva Sunshine, a cosy guesthouse. It was cheap at around $50 a night, but a bit too far from the beach and main cafes and restaurants. Luckily they provided a free buffet breakfast (though the selection was very limited)! I still remember the last day when we wanted to take a last walk around before heading to the airport for our flight back. We walked about 10 minutes towards the beach in the scorching heat, then turned back halfway to bathe again. I’m not even kidding when I say my underwear was soaked!

The next year, we were smarter and knew to choose a hotel closer to the main area. We stayed at J Hotel, another guesthouse at under $40 a night. It was right in the centre of all the glorious food, but still quiet. The rooms are nothing to boast about, but at that price and with such a good location, I’m not complaining!

On our third trip to Krabi, we decided to try a more ‘comfortable’ hotel. Read – more expensive. We decided on Krabi Heritage Hotel. It was just a few minutes walk to the beach, and also close by all the food stalls. But going at about $90 a night, it was weird that there were no safes in the room itself. There were only safes at the reception. If you like lounging by the pool even though there’s an expansive beach nearby, the hotel has a smallish pool too!

Food

Hello, my favourite duck with lychee in red curry!

I can’t even take food that’s too spicy (yes, even though I’m a Singaporean). But this curry is sweeter than it’s spicy, and it’s delicious! A pity I can’t remember the name of the beach-facing restaurant!

We also patronised Family Restaurant up the short hill quite frequently. Good food at cheap prices! You can expect to get a plate of Pad Thai for about 40 to 50 baht (about SGD$2)!

Beachfront restaurants tend to be on the more expensive side, with Thai curries going from about 250 baht (SGD$10.50) onwards.

Dotted along the pavement towards the beach are some street stalls selling pancakes, food on sticks and Thai food. There was also a stall selling delicious wanton mee in tiny portions.

WJ always cultivates his beer belly whenever we go to Krabi. Why? Because at about 25 to 45 baht (SGD$1 – $2), the beer is cheap! But according to Thai law, you can’t buy beer from convenience shops from 2 to 5pm, and from midnight to 11am. They literally put chains around the fridges and lock them during those hours. No lie! But if you feel thirsty during those hours, not to worry. You can still drink at the bars and restaurants!

Unless you’re going to be binging on the more expensive ocean-facing restaurants for all your meals, $20 a day on food will be more than enough! You can probably budget about $10 a day on food if this is going to be a budget trip.

Activities

Think Ao Nang is just a beach with nothing to do? Well, think again!

There’s white water rafting, rock climbing, parasailing, bungee jumping, plenty of tours to the nearby islands, taking a dip in a hotspring (in the heat), go-karting, riding ATVs, horse riding. And all these are within an hour’s reach from Ao Nang!

Tour agencies are aplenty in the streets, and you can easily compare their prices!

And of course, there are massages galore. Head towards the left side of the beach past ‘The Last Fisherman’ and you can spot many massage mattresses and tents. Expect to be asked if you’d like a massage by all of them! You can also try the fish spa, but frankly, the size of their massive fishes scare me. They look as if they’d be chomping on your feet!

There’s also the weekend night market at Krabi Town, but it’s nothing spectacular. I’d skip it if I only had a couple of days in Krabi.

Transport

The first two trips, we took a taxi from Krabi Airport to Ao Nang. It was 600 baht (about SGD$25) per transfer and the journey took slightly over half an hour. On our 2nd trip, the taxi stopped halfway through the journey at a tour agency where they asked us to buy some packages. The prices were reasonable, so we did. Plus, they even served us some banana fritters! It might sound really rash and dangerous, but I didn’t get the ‘shady business’ vibe from them.

We decided to try the bus from the airport to Ao Nang on our last trip there. At 150 baht (SGD$6.30) per person, that worked out to be half the price we paid for a taxi. The bus stops at Krabi Town first, then continues to Ao Nang. The journey took about an hour.

In Ao Nang itself, we walked. The main area is quite small so you can reach everywhere by foot easily.

Flights

We took Tiger Airways for all three trips. The average prices for our return tickets were around $150 each. It’s a direct flight and takes slightly under 2 hours. The return journey used to be in the mid afternoon, but sadly, they’ve changed it to the morning.

At such a short distance away, Krabi is the perfect getaway for a long weekend. But personally, I’d need 5 days at the least!