The planning- Our first anniversary-22nd January 2019 was approaching and we wanted to make it special in every possible way. So we started researching for destinations which would fit both our budget and leaves from office. After spending quite some time on it, we narrowed down to Krabi. Without giving a second thought we booked our flights and started looking for good deals in hotels. Finally we got a decent deal in Agoda and booked Beyond Resorts Krabi, the Resort we had been eyeing for a while. We also had applied for visas beforehand ( Thailand was offering free visas during that period but we wanted to skip that long queue in the wee hours of the morning). Flights booked, Hotels booked, Visa done - we were all set for Krabi
The travel - With two small back packs ( cause we seriously believe in travelling light plus it was a very short trip and so did not want to pay those extra bucks for any baggages) and the travel documents, we booked an Uber and headed for the airport at 6pm ( considering Bangalore traffic). After munching on some light stuff at the airport, we finally boarded the Air Asia flight and it took off at 22.45 from Bangalore. Throughout the journey, I had to fan myself as the ACs were not working properly. Economy carrier as they call themselves, they stood by it. To quench my thirst at that hour of the night, I requested for a glass of water only to hear “Maam we serve only bottled water and it is chargeable- 40 Thai bahts”. Devastated and shattered, I bought 2 cans of coke for 100Bahts and gulped them down. After 3 hours of the most uncomfortable journey, we finally landed at Bangkok at 4:00 am. We really had a smooth transit at Bangkok. Hungry as hell, we were looking out for options and then KFCs zinger was a saviour. With stomach fully loaded, we sat for the final league of our journey- towards Krabi. This time the discomfort lasted only for an hour. Finally landed at our final destination at 9:00 am. Booking a shuttle to our resort from the airport, we waited for our turn to hop on it. It took almost 45 mins to reach Klong Muang. And when we finally reached , we were spellbound at the sight of our resort. It was heavenly. The icing on the cake was that the resort let us check in early. Without wasting much time we freshened up and headed to the beach restaurant of the resort to get rid of our hunger pangs.
The exploration- While having our food by the beach, we encountered a local guy who agreed to take us on a private long tail boat tour for 2500 Thai Baht. Listening to the 60’s English music in the boat (the guy played it) and holding our excitement, we sailed off. Amidst the blue and green sea, it was just us and that feeling was indeed special. Excited like small kids, we started cheering, splashing water at each other and posing to get clicked. So generous was the guy, he even served us some fresh pineapples on-board. After spending 3.5 hours in the sea, we got back to the resort and then headed off to explore the not so hyped place, Klong Muang. Apparently this place was not as loud as Ao Nang beach. But it was different in its own way. The road was surrounded by small cafe’s serving authentic Thai food. We chose a cafe with a scenic view and ordered a plate of pad Thai noodles and Thai green curry. Thai green curry is our personal favourite and we often cook it at home. But nothing could beat this. It was utterly delicious. After a satisfying meal, we explored a bit of Klong Muang and bought some stuff from a nearby 7/11 (7/11s are very frequent here) and then headed back to our resort ( we wanted to keep the first day short as a long day awaited us). We had pre-booked our day tour from Krabi to Phi Phi the next day via Klook. So that was a wrap of our first day at Krabi.
Off to Phi Phi and back - After loading ourselves with the breakfast at the hotel, we waited at the reception for the pick up ( the Phi Phi speed boat was scheduled to depart at 9am from Aonang Beach). Fastening our life jackets, we sat at the rear end of the boat (Little did we know that we would be the victims of the large splashes of water later on ). Our hearts bounced with joy as we heard the roaring of the motor. Slowly our speed boat gained speed and it went whoooosh. The waves just kept getting bigger and bigger as we kept going further from the shore . Large splashes of water gushed onto our faces. Aaahhhh!!! the cool breeze after the splash was so relaxing. The hospitality at the speed boat was amazing. They had unlimited stock of soft drinks, juices, snacks stocked for us. They even provided us with the snorkelling gears and took us to two snorkelling sites. Both of us are aquaphobic and so we could not enjoy the experience of snorkelling. Seeing the little kids jumping off the boat with the snorkelling gear and with such ease, all we could do was stand and stare and curse ourselves for not enrolling ourselves into swimming classes in our childhood. The “Maya Bay” ( where Leonardo shot for the movie The Bay) was closed for sightseeing, probably they were trying to preserve its beauty from human encroachment. Hopping on and off across multiple small islands, we finally reached Phi Phi after 2 hours. Our lunch at Phi Phi was taken care of by the service provider. After having lunch, grabbed one popular home made coconut ice cream and boarded our speedboat. On our way back we stopped at the Bamboo island and played in the crystal clear water. It was 4 pm by the time we got back to Aonang. Aonang Beach is one of the most happening places in Krabi. The entire street is lively throughout the day and it lightens up all the more at night. We started exploring many of the cafes by the sea. It was a delight to the eyes. To sit back and relax and have a meal by the sea - Priceless. The sun setting down by the Andaman Sea at Aonang Beach was a mesmerising sight to behold. Hopping on and off across multiple small joints by the sea, it was time to wrap up. And obviously no trip to Thailand is complete without a tuk tuk ride (actually preferable due to their affordability). So we got back to our resort on a tuk tuk. It was 10 pm already. It was a fun filled day and we were tired as hell. At the blink of an eye, both of us dozed off recalling what a beautiful day it was.
Pack up - We were already saddened by the thought of our vacation getting over. Bound by our work schedule,we had to keep it short. But we don’t regret it. My husband says you should always leave a place with the joy of visiting again. We had the same feeling. In such a short span of time, we explored as much as we could. With a heavy heart and a bagful of beautiful memories, we headed for the airport. And that was it. On our way back in the flight, we already started planning for our next trip.
