Not many of you believe in trying out travel contests that come your way. I, on the contrary, will enter every travel contest that flashes itself in front of my face. One fine day, I entered TourRadar’s contest and guess what? Yes, I was lucky enough to win a 4 nights-5 days trip to Krabi. (Now you are tempted to try eh? 😉 ) And obviously, the excitement of winning and booking the tickets to this place knew no bounds. Well, who doesn’t like a free trip? 🙂

Krabi is the first place where Narayanan and I were to spend more than 3 days in one single place, EVER! Never have we had the time to spend in one place other than Chennai, for more than two or max three nights. Pinky swear. And in Krabi, we got to spend 4 N / 5 D.

That wasn’t just it,

This was going to be Narayanan’s first encounter with Thailand and real Thai massage. Ahem ahem!

Pictures of long tail boats against the beautiful Thai rocks. Just to say yeah we have been there and done that 😛

Famous Maya Bay! I love Leonardo <3

And the last one, our time as a couple to explore Thailand together for the first time!

The entire itinerary (well almost) was planned by the Bamba Experience. I must say these guys were awesome right from my congratulations email to checking if we required any more help. Everything was taken care of and we really did not have much to do nor faced any issue etc. And I love working, associating and coming across such people.

Time to let you know our experience.

Cost: As the land cost (approx INR 65000-80000) was taken care off by Bamba, we booked our flights and visa (VOA). We spent INR 17000 odd in Krabi which includes food and liquor, shopping, bike rent, sim cards and massage.

Stay: Hotel Snoozz (booked by Bamba Team for us). Here is our ultimate guide on where to stay in Krabi.

Absolutely cute place and we enjoyed our stay there. Comfy beds and rooms that suit all sorts of travellers. There is a cafe on the ground floor and they are located in what I think is the best part of Krabi Town. They help you rent bikes, speak English, ensure all your requirements are taken care of.

Krabi Town

Once we landed in Krabi, we took some time and settled in our room. As the first day of the itinerary was left to us, we had all the time to decide what can be done and at the same time not tire us, as we already were. We had four days in Krabi town and thank God we were put up here. Backpackers best hang outs, cheaper stays, many many massage parlours and less people – PERFECT.

TIP: I noticed that Krabi Town is a tad bit expensive for shopping in comparison to Ao Nang. Lesser the tourists – higher the price I guess. That being said, would recommend a stay in Krabi town any day or a combination of stay in Ao Nang and Krabi could give you all the experience you need.

TIP#2: This town deals mostly in cash, so keep them in plenty.

Temples in Krabi

Wat Kaew Korawaram

As we checked into Snoozz, we enquired with the owner about the temple which was right at the opposite of the hotel. Seems that it was built in 1887 and is one of the most visited by the locals. With golden nagas bordering the staircase, head to this small yet artistic temple. This was our first destination for the day.

We then returned to the hotel, rented a two wheeler to go to the Tiger Cave Temple. This is a nice way to explore Krabi town and as the weather was amazing, we zipped our way to the temple in under 30 minutes.

Tiger Cave Temple / Wat Tham Suea

Once we reached, we wandered around a bit to understand its history. People told us that a monk was living here along with tigers in the cave. The other version is there was a tiger who lived its life in the cave and paw prints can be seen. We did not find any and I’m not sure if we missed it.

Once we finished that, we moved on further to climb up and see the panoramic view of Krabi. You will have to climb 1230 steps to reach the top. There is a huge Buddha Statue and a few other idols (along with Lord Ganesha). Breathtaking climb for those breathtaking views is what I’ll sum the experience in short.

Narayanan stopped mid way saying he was too tired to climb while it took me an hour to reach the top. Found few friends along the way and together we climbed up with frequent breaks. I wouldn’t advise this climb during peak summers as it’s a steep climb, especially towards the end. At the end of the climb, you get to enjoy the lovely breeze and immerse yourself into Krabi at 360*.

Monkeys too try to accompany you some times, so ensure you do not have any food exposed or anything bright for that matter as they snatch it away with ease.

Night Market in Krabi Town

Again, one minute walk from our hotel and it was buzzing and the best of night markets I have been to. So lively, filled with energy and so many varieties of food and drinks to gulp and many things to choose and buy. There is a mall next to the night market which makes this place the perfect for shopping.

TIP: If you are crazy of water chestnut drink like me, don’t miss it there! You will find stalls selling them!

Island Hopping in Krabi

This was an exciting day for us as we were going to visit the most talked about Maya Bay. We went in the month of August which is rainy and also sometimes a stormy season. The boat ride was pretty bumpy – fun for us, but not as much for our fellow passengers!

First was the Bamboo Beach which was nice and a beautiful beach, we then proceeded to see the Viking cave which is inhabited by the locals, however, no tourists are allowed to go in.

From here, we visited Maya Bay (yay), Loh Sa Ma, lunch at Phi Phi Don, then Piley Bay, Hin Klarng for snorkelling and returned back to the pier.

Will be penning down more in details and other options that you could consider to explore a little more.

Kayaking in Krabi and Thanbok Khorane National Park

This is one of the most awesome experiences I had in Krabi. We kayaked our way among the limestone cliffs and visited few caves along the way.

The floor of the caves had so many shells and you cannot miss the huge skull and stalactites and stalagmite formations.

What was beautiful about this is the fact that it was so silent, so green and peaceful. It drizzled here and there which made it one of the best days of the trip.

The national park was so green and lovely. This is a natural creek that runs underneath the limestone mountains in Southern Krabi. It was drizzling and sometimes raining which made us feel like we were in some forests.

Imagine – only sounds of the birds, crickets chirping and a distant waterfall. You may or may not choose to go here but considering that I love such places that’s not really well known, I wouldn’t mind it 🙂

Rock Climbing in Railay Beach, Krabi

This was our first rock climbing experience and the company was King Climbers. Not knowing what to expect we began our training session only to find out that we were absolutely unfit to do this. SIGH! I was so thrilled watching others do it with ease and learnt how important it is to have upper body strength. Don’t mistake that it was easy for any of them, it was painful but the endurance and fitness level matters a lot and that was the difference. Try it! And I already envy you if you are good at it!

Railay Beach is my most favourite beach in Krabi. I loved the landscape it offered and there are so many properties if you wish to stay there and many small shops to but stuffs. Oh I miss Railay now!

Ao Nang Beach and Walking Street

Ao Nang is a crowded beach area (IMHO). It has a truck load of shops, many bars, hostels and hotels. To top it all, many hotels and resorts here made it seem more crowded than Krabi Town.

The night market and the shops here in Ao Nang was fun to explore as well. Don’t miss some really cool ash trays that were done so creatively 😛 We particularly enjoyed sitting our time in this pub called Boogie Bar. Let us know your personal favourite 🙂

PSST: This is a place where we found many fellow Indians as well. So, now decide where you want to stay 😀

Food in Krabi

Vegetarians – fear no more as the veg food in Krabi Island is available in plenty. This is a rice country so folks who are used to rice can easily survive.

You can also find a lot of Indian and Italian restaurants to keep you going. Fruits and juices are available in plenty too. Try the Pad Thai and Thai Yellow/Red/Green Curry if you are okay to experiment.

Getting a good massage in Krabi

We checked out the best rated massage parlors in Krabi Town (not Ao Nang) and none of them were up to the mark.

Every place charged us between 300-350 Baht while Ao Nang was charging 250 Baht for a one hour thai massage/foot refloxology. Would suggest the Thai massage over foot reflexology. These are the top rated massage parlors in Krabi town: Savanna Massage, Sa Bai and First Lady Thai Massage. Our favourite was Savanna. There are many more in and around the town.

Other things to do in Krabi

PhraNang Cave Beach near Ao Nang, The Emerald Pool, Koh Poda Island, Klong Thom Hot Springs, Ao Thalane Kayaking. Yes, there’s enough for us to go again.

Weather in Krabi

It was raining most evenings but nothing stopped, neither the tourists nor the locals. The weather was also a little unpredictable at times with sudden showers and absolutely poky sun on your face. So wear that suntan lotion and carry that poncho/umbrella no matter what and where you go in Krabi.

We thoroughly enjoyed Krabi. Ping us for any queries and share your experiences too 🙂

Sawadika 🙂

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