Krabi Travelogue Part 1

As some of you may have known or found out, I went to Krabi for the 2nd time this year for a week's holiday. The first time was in Feb and this recent trip was in early May.


Now ppl always ask me, why go back there again? Really so many things to do ar?


Well, to me yes. The stuff i do may not appeal to some people, but I'm sure they do for most of us.


Well here is a brief Travelogue:


Day 1


Arrived in Krabi in the afternoon. Took a 600baht taxi ride to Aonang (the main beach area for Krabi). Checked into the Royal Nakara Hotel. Price in low season is 1,200 baht a night. They gave us a free room upgrade to a deluxe seaview room, right at the rooftop.


Went out to town to look for food and check out the price for the day trips to local attractions. Paid 450 baht per person for a 4 Island Full day trip for the next day. Had lunch at one of the roadside stalls and the food was quite decent. Walked some more and looked at more stuff to buy (survey the price 1st). Trekked over a hill thru a little jungle to reach Centara Resort. It has its own private beach and the place looked really nice. Then it took us another 15 minutes trek back to Aonang beach strip. Had dinner before going back to our hotel, which is about 400-500m from the main beach strip. It was a very tiring day, having walked all day. Slept in at about 10pm after i took a little solo stroll along the street of Nopparat Thara beach, which is also 500m away.


Day 2


Woke up at 7am before taking a shower. Breakfast started at about 7.30 so we had an early breakfast. Then went back to our room to do our "business", if any because for our 4 island day trip, none of the islands has a toilet.


Tuk Tuk picked us up from our hotel at about 8.45 and we headed towards the Nopparat thara beach for our day trip. Climbed into the long tail boat and we headed towards Poda Island. Soft fine sand, crystal clear waters.... what more could you ask for. Then we headed towards Koh Kai (Chicken Island) to see an island with the rock formation which looks like a chickens head. Did some snorkelling around there before heading to Tup Island. This place is my fave as we could see fishes swimming around us eventhough the waters were only knee deep. Totally syok!!


The last place we visited was Phranang Beach / Phranang Cave (Princess Cave/beach). The sand was fine and waters were clear. But by then i was already tired from soaking in salt water all day. So i just lounged by the beach until it was time to get back.


We got back to our hotel at about 4pm. Took a quick shower and went out for early dinner cause we were super hungry. Had some mediocre dinner then walked around to shop some more. I was looking around, checking out the tailors to make my shirts. On our way back, we bought more day trips from this company called Starlight tours, which was just 100m from our hotel. The owner, Ching, was very friendly and provided us with lots of information. She also had a very cute daughter, who was a mix of thai and caucasian as Ching's husband is Caucasian. Cute kid. We then went back and I think I crashed at about 8pm. Never in my life have i slept so early but i was dead exhausted.


Day 3


WOke up around the same time again but this time we took our time to have breakfast. Today's day trip is to the famous Phi Phi Island.


The trip is by speedboat because it only take 45 minutes. Longtail boats take about 2 hours. The boat ride was super freaky for me as we sat right at the front of the boat. Due to the choppy seas, i almost shat in my pants as we bounced up and down without life vests (U know lah, I cant swim mar...). I had to hang on to the sides of the boat for my dear life.


I thanked my lucky stars when we arrived in Bamboo island half an hour later.


This picture says it all


Spent some time snorkelling here before heading off to Phi Phi Lay, the smaller of the 2 Phi Phi Islands. Stopped by the Viking Cave as well as the Loh Dalum Bay before heading towards the famed Maya Beach. Maya beach was the location for the movie, The Beach, starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Yup, this is how Maya Beach looked like:





Spent some time swimming and lazing before going off to Phi Phi Don (main island) for lunch. But before that we had a quick stopover at Monkey bay to feed the monkeys that can swim in the ocean! Lunch was in a restaurant and the food served wasnt bad at all. Stuffed silly from lunch, we had some time to wander around Phi Phi Don. Managed to take a picture of the place where we docked:





After that, we headed towards shark bay for more snorkelling before going back to Aonang. After cleaning up and taking a short break in the hotel, we headed out for early dinner yet again. This time around, I went to a tailor to made a shirt and a pair of pants. Took some time to choose the materials and the design. It would take 3 days for them to get it completed, so that was fine with me anyway.

We then went for a massage on the Beach front of the Golden beach Resort. Only 200 baht for 1 hours massage. Dirt cheap!! Got a great massage while listening to the sound of the sea waves.
Ahhh... This is the life!

Had dinner at one of the roadside stalls near Krabi Resort but the food isn't anything to shout about. Then walked some more around the streets. My friend was totally crazy over 2 things to buy in Krabi. Cushion covers and Soap carvings. Hahaha! Dont ask me, I'm not all that crazy over them.


However, what i did next was to go to another tailor to make more shirts. This time around, with a more refined bargaining skill, i managed to get 4 shirts and 1 pants for 3,200 baht. Dirt cheap!


For my shirts, the material i chose was Egyptian cotton which my Pants were made of Cashmere wool. High end stuff, custom made for rock bottom price. Hehehe...



Day 4


Went for the Hong Islands tour (aka 5 islands trip). Left at about 9am and we reached Red Island 1st. Didnt snorkel in the open sea due to my fear of the water. Then we headed towards the famous Hong Lagoon, which was a pretty amazing sight.

Inside the Hong Lagoon

The water inside the lagoon was quite shallow, about 8 feet during high tide, which is really cool considering that its in the middle of the ocean.

The next spot was a little island called Paradise island, or Lading Island. It has a very small beach and there were very little people on it. At most there were about 30 plus people on that Island. It was great as we felt that we had a private island finally. Most of the islands we visited had a much larger crowd, but the Hong archipelago was just serene. THis wa salso where we had our picnic lunch. Food was decent as well.



Our next stop was to a little islet called Pakbia Island. THe key feature to this island is that it has a sandbar that connects it to another islet. Nothing fancy about the beach though, full of stones and broken coral.



The last stop for the day is of course, Hong island itself. We spent about 2 hours here. Its the biggest island among those we have visited for the day. The great thing about this island that it has 2 bays. 1 of them is used as a place for boats to dock, while the other is for the visitors to enjoy. I enjoyed spending time just lazing around the island as there were very few people.




The Hong Island


When we left, i was pretty reluctant to leave this island as i could really just see myself spending 2-3 days of just waking up to this view and doing nothing the whole day. OK, maybe i can live here. I can "work from home" after all right? All i need is my laptop and and internet connection, then i'm set. Hehehe....



When we got back to our hotel, we were very tired, having spent the most amount of time swimming (in my case, attempting to swim). Took a nap then went out to see my tailors for a inital fitting. Got them to make some adjustments. We then had Northern Indian food for dinner. We always walked past the place when we are heading out to the streets so we decided to give it a try. Food was really good. The Papadum was toasted, which tasted really good. the cicken masal and the aloo tikka we had was delicious, as was our garlic naan. This place has got to serve one of the best Indian food i have ever tasted. The service from one of the managers was also good. he hung around and chatted with us, keeping us entertained. We even talked about our favourite Bollywood actor and actresses. The downside was that dinner was very expensive. It cost us about 900 baht for 2 ppl. A big ouch, but we would recommend the place if you have a few spare dollars and want some really good indian food.


I guess, this is where Part 1 ends. Will continue part 2 in another post.




Boodyboy, Out!!

Is Gateway back after a hiatus?

Was flipping thru The Star newspaper just now.

Saw a Gateway advertisement in the In Tech section of the newspaper.
Looks like they are back in the market again after leaving this country a couple of years back.
However, the full specs were not shown.

I wonder if people will support this brand again after them pulling out of the market despite being in it for a short period only.

Boodyboy, out!

Music to my ears

This link was sent to me by my sister. Now I'm sharing it with you.

Great piece. Enjoy it here!!

Its a cross between Love Story by Taylor Swift and Viva la Vida by Coldplay. Only 2 instruments are used here, the piano and cello.

Boodyboy, out!!

Why I'm Here on Earth

Its been a very long time since I wondered about the reason why I'm here on Earth.

I used to think about it all the time, when i was much younger. Am I brought to this world for a reason? Or am I here just to continue the existence of my kind? Well, back then I would spend countless hours on my bed, pondering upon this question till I fell asleep. But I never knew the answer.

And after such a long time, this question just popped into my mind a couple of days back.

And I was surprised, with what I thought the answer could be, today. Maybe time has changed my a lot more than I had thought. Life has taught me so much since when I was a kid.

I guess studying in University and working for almost 2 years had changed me a lot. I was so busy i had no time to think of questioning my existance and other "trivial" matters (although it was going thru my mind quite often when i was younger).

Well, going back to the question of, "Why I'm here on Earth?".

I guess there won't be a right answer. After all, my cameo appearance on earth would be at most 85 years. The universe has been here for millions / billions of years and many lives has come and gone since life began here on this planet.

I guess the reason I was born is because I am the by product of my parents wish to have a kid. To continue my family lineage. To ensure the survival of my species. To be there to take care of my family when age has caught up with them.

Well, looking at my given answers, it doesn't really make me really motivated to be an achiever in life. I mean, if my answer to why i'm here today is right, then I guess I would be disappointed.

But if I ask myself: What do I want in my short stint in this planet?

The answer would be to impact as many people's lives as possible in a good way. While being born a Chinese makes me think about practicality and money, I always tell myself there has to be a way for me to balance all these together.

When I ask myself, today, How much have I done to make this world a better place?

My answer would be a disappointing one. I don't think that I have helped as much people as I would have liked. Even my younger, more idealistic self would agree.

I've been to busy with satisfying myself with trying to find more money (work), spending them, and literally just enjoying myself way more than helping others. I have splurged on myself more often than not on food and material goods. I've neglected saving for my own future. I've just been selfish.

I can get defensive and always just tell myself, it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to feel good spending you own money.

However, being in pursuit for more money has made me compromise on what I plan to achieve here on Earth. I've probably just wasted 3-4 years just being selfish. But if i don't enjoy now, I would leave this life regretting the fact that I've passed up on so many opportunities to have fun.

On the other hand, would I be satisfied with myself, on my deathbed, to think that throughout my life, I've only served to make myself happy?

The dilemma's of living life.

At most, the only people I have had a chance to help were my friends. Although my social circle has expanded, I doubt that I have made much of an impact in their lives.

Have i helped my family enough? No. The answer is very obvious. In fact, once i became more independant (making my own money), i feel that I have neglected them more than I have ever done in my life. I told myself it's okay to be a little selfish. There were times when my both my parents would be frustrated at the fact that I wasn't at home long enough for me to hold a decent conversation with them. Sometimes, i would come home so late that they would be alseep. And we all go our seperate ways when we leave for work the next day. While that doesn't make me feel proud, I still do my part when it comes to household chores.

And again, you see what human nature does to us? We always try to comfort ourselves by giving us excuses. We tell ourselves it okay to do/not do .... , because ....

But this a topic for another day.

I guess, I should make an effort to try and help as many people as possible. Beginning with my own social circle. I shall start offering help to my family and friends whenever I can. After all, charity begins at home, no?

For those who have managed to read till this part of my post, I thank you. Take a little time tonight, before you sleep and ponder, Why I'm here on Earth? and What are the things that would make me proud when i look back at life when I'm 80?

When you have found the answer, work towards them. And live life to the fullest.

Boodyboy, out!!!

P.s. for those who need a place to start, try reading Rick Warren's Best Seller, Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For (I have the book, if ever you guys need to read it, I'd be glad to lend it to you)