This past week was e-learning week for my classes, which means class is not mandatory. Attendance was not taken and notes were all posted online, that meant only one thing.... travel time!! Kara and I got a great deal on a flight to Krabi Thailand so we headed out bright and early thursday morning. Although we allowed three hours to get the airport we somehow just made it. The flight departed from the budget terminal which is not connected to the actual Changi airport and requires a bus to get to. That slowed us down finding the bus and waiting for it. By the time we go there it was 45 minutes to the flight. Apparently 50 minutes before Tiger Airways closes the desk and shouldn't allow people through. We managed to plea/beg/cry to get on the plane. It was hilarious because security took 3 minutes and we got to the terminal and on the flight within three minutes of that. We then proceeded to sit on the plane for 30 minutes watching everyone else board. We made it there, and that is all that counts. We saw three fellow NTU friends on the plane and made planes to travel together. The flight was about 1.5 hours and due to the time change it is as if we traveled for a half hour. The next decision with the NTU boys was probably the worst of the trip. Instead of splurging 200 baht (about 6 dollars) for a direct cab we opted for the 100 baht bus to Ao Nang beach. Ughhh the bus did not have aircon and we had to wait until it was full. Then proceeded for over an hour to drop everyone off at their hotels. Of course we were the last stop.
Longest Bus Ride
After the madness we checked into our beautiful Vogue Resort. There was a fabulous deal on agoda.com and the hotel was not much more than a hostel. It was completely worth it, there was a TV (which we severely miss) Aircon, a porch, comfy bed, and a TUB! Little things that only girls would miss hahahah. Kara and I headed straight to pick up some pad thai and then to Ao Nang Beach. The beach was perfect we tanned, listened to music, and drank singha. There was a boy that walked up and down the beach with ice cold chang and singha and would ask us every three minutes if we wanted another. We finally had to just tell him we were done. We took a few laps in our beautiful hotel pool and showered. Then dinner with the NTU boys and our second pad thai meal.
Ao Nang Krabi
Vogue Resort
Ao Nang Beach
Dinner
We wandered around Ao Nang and went to a few bars, but they were pretty quiet for a thursday night. We ended up sitting on little stools on the sidewalk chatting with locals. The major form of transportation are tuk tuks (motor bikes with passenger carts attached). We experienced our first tuk tuk ride, and they are my new favorite form of transport. Ours was pretty awesome because it had speakers and was blasting some great hip hop for us.
Crazy Tuk Tuk
The next morning we woke up early and headed straight to Ao Nang beach to get a long tail boat. We had seen maps of the small islands off of Krabi and we desperately wanted to explore them. We got a longtail boat for a half day and our great driver took us out. The first stop was Koh Poda about twenty minutes from the beach. The island only has one small outbuilding and a bar. Although there were a lot of tourists we got there early and could stake out our spot on the beach. Most of the tourists on the island were asian and they tend to stay in the shadier areas so we had our own private beach for quite some time. The water was unbelievably clear and beautiful. It was probably the most gorgeous beach I have been to in all my travels. Around noon our private beach was starting to be invaded so we headed back to our longtail.
So Many Longtails
Private Beach- Koh Poda
Poda Island
Stunning Water
Heaven
The next stop was tub island about fifteen minutes away. Our driver brought us to a cave to watch the rock climbers over the water. Tub Island was gorgeous too, the water was about a foot deep for most of the area. This shallow waterway connected two small land masses each with only bars. We adventured down the beach for a little bit but then the intense Thailand sun got to us and we decided to return to the boat. We reluctantly headed back to Ao Nang beach for lunch.
Crazy Rock Climber
Tub Island
Our Great Driver
One side of Tub Island
After lunch we wandered around and went to all the markets. The great thing with Thailand is it is so easy to haggle prices. You can easily get something for a quarter to half the original price. I got a beautiful braided leather bracelet for two dollars and three great hippie headbands for three dollars. That night we took a Tuk Tuk to a local night market. I am not sure if our driver didn't understand us because first he brought us to one that was closed and then to another that was a little creepy. There was one store that sold everything for 10 baht (about 30 cents). It was funny to look around at all the random stuff, we ended up getting scrunchies.
Market Time
Cutest Tuk Tuk
Then since our flight was so early we went back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool and caught up on some TV. It is ironic because we have watched real TV three times: In Bintan, one night in Bali, and then in Krabi. Every time the same has been on so we actually know what is happening. The show is called Junior Masterchef Australia, and is a competition show between kids who are somehow amazing chefs all under the age of ten. I don't understand how they are cooking half the things they do! Anyways quality show to catch up on at some point. Until next time...
xoxo
Leah
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