Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

Phew…. A sigh of relief there? After 6 chapters (7 including this one) of tying up loose ends, I finally am bringing an end to my Krabi-Phuket 2010 saga. Yes, after much deliberation, procrastination, and succumbing to complaints, laments and erm …. threats (?!).

Here are the previous chapters, in case your memory’s playing tricks on you :

PART ONE – Loveli Guesthouse in Phuket, Phuket Street Foods, Jungceylon Shopping Centre, Fuji Japanese Restaurant

PART TWO – Patong Beach in Phuket, RED LIGHT District of Bangla Road, Cheap Thai Seafood

PART THREE – From Phuket to Krabi, Grilled Pork @ Phuket, Banana Pancakes, Ao Nang Grand Inn in Krabi

PART FOUR – Krabi Town Famous Night Market

PART FIVE – Koh Det’s Amazing Breakfast in Ao Nang, Krabi

PART SIX – Phi Phi Islands Day Tour

James Bond Island – Originally named Ko Tapu, or “Nail Island”, the remarkable piece of rock reached super-stardom when featured in the 1974 classic James Bond movie; ” The Man with the Golden Gun”

After the previous day’s excursion to the Phi Phi Islands, we booked for another sightseeing program on the very next day. Actually, we booked from the same tour agent (Let’s Go Krabi) on the evening after the islands tour. After much haggling (we Malaysians are good at this, I tell ya!), we agreed on a 800baht/RM80/USD25 per person – Kayaking Full Day Trip which includes :

a) Go to Phang Nga Bay by A/C minibus
b) Longtail boat to James Bond Island & Khao Ping Gan
c) Canoeing trip at Lot Cave
d) Visit Suwankhuha Temple (Monkey Cave)
e) Lunch @ Koh Panyee (Muslim Floating Village)
f) Rejuvenation session at a waterfall

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Continued from Part 5 – Koh Det’s Breakfast Wonders in Ao Nang, Krabi

Okay, weekend again, and time for a travel post. I concluded the Bali 2009 Saga last weekend, hence I can concentrate on finishing the posts on my Krabi-Phuket trip back in January 2010. A little overdue I know, but can’t blame me really.

For I’m born with the procrastination gene. Sue me.

1. Gorgeous sight of anchored boats on Ao Nang beach, but this beach is definitely NOT for swimming

If you’re in Krabi or Phuket, and you shy away from the sun, the sea or even refrain from staying outdoors during daytime, you’re better off holidaying in Timbuktu. Really.

Mentally and physically prepared for the imminent tanning, the gals slapped on sunscreen with the highest SPF (sun protection factor) there is in the market. Kind of amazing how their routine of applying and re-applying the lotion took place almost automatically, at fixed intervals.

But of course, you’d better be well-prepared, for getting sunburn is NOT the most ideal souvenir you’d want to bring home after a long day out on the seas.

2. On our speedboat to Phi Phi Islands, a 45 minutes ride in good sea conditions.

We booked a package from the Let’s Go Krabi travel agent, a few shops away from our stay at Ao Nang Grand Inn on Moo 2, Ao Nang. The package includes :  Pick up services from Klong Muang, Krabi town, or Ao Nang, speed boat to Phi Phi Islands, visits to Bamboo Island, open sea snorkelling at Hin Klarng,  brief stop on Monkey Beach, buffet lunch at Phi Phi Don, visits to Pi Leh Bay, Viking Cave, Lohsamah Bay and Maya Bay (where “The Beach” was filmed). The day tour took about 8 hours, from 8.30am until about 4.30pm.

Usually priced at 1800 baht per person, the price was reduced to 900 baht/RM90/USD25 per person after serious haggling, pleas and dramas. After all, we ARE Malaysians.

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Continuation from Krabi Night Market ….

Yeah, it has been THAT long since I’ve posted the subsequent chapter on our Krabi-Phuket Getaway earlier this year. Blame it on procrastination, blame it on the lazy bones …. but here’s another short post, but on one most memorable stall on the sidewalk in Krabi, where we had our breakfasts TWICE during our stay directly opposite of the stall, at Ao Nang Grand Inn.

No menu, no price list. Just stand there and point away.

Being a Thai Muslim in Krabi (and they’re in abundance, I tell you), Koh Det (spelling might be wrong) operates his stall early in the mornings right in front of Bangkok Bank on the main road of Ao Nang, on the same row with McDonald’s. You can’t miss this row of roadside stalls, for they operate almost round the clock, interchangeably between breakfast-brunch stalls and lunch-dinner stalls occupying the same lots.

The yellow-hued grains with chicken is called Khao Mok Gai, a type of Thai-Malay dish not unlike our very own Nasi Biryani.

Routinely getting used to having breakfasts at 7-11 convenience stores whenever we were in Thailand, this time around I was glad we somewhat broke the mould. Somewhat, in the sense that we STILL got our early morning milk-fixes at 7-11, and snacking between meals, as well as filling up on the not-to-be-missed Lay’s Potato Chips.

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Continuation from Chapter 3 – From Phuket to Krabi …

This chapter is all about the Krabi night market in Krabi town, situated about 30 minutes away from Ao Nang beach. To get from Ao Nang area to Krabi town, we took the ‘bus’ (more like a songthaew, or mini truck/tuk-tuk) for 50 baht /RM5 /USD1.40 per person. The bus plies the route all around Ao Nang; the main roads, at least. So you can board the bus almost anywhere if you’re walking parallel to the shores of Ao Nang beach. Take note that after 6pm (Thailand time), the rate increases to 60 baht/RM6/USD1.70 per person automatically.

When the tide is low, you can literally walk on waters …..

The ride was smooth, albeit the journey rather long on the bumpy mini-truck that we were sitting on. But the cooling breeze was all too welcoming, caressing our faces at the speed the bus was zipping past the other vehicles. And at that moment, I knew that This …. Is My Vacation.

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Continuation from Krabi/Phuket 2010 (Part Two) – Patong Beach, Red Light District & Thai Seafood in Phuket

The previous day’s endeavours had us sleeping in rather late, relinquishing every single minute of the morning, drawn to the comfort of our beds at Loveli Boutique Guesthouse. This was our last morning in Phuket, by the way.

A far cry from the congested, with bodies laid bare (literally) on the tanning beds the day before …. The world wakes up at 11am-ish in Patong of Phuket, it seemed.

A stroll around town revealed that even the locals in Patong do not practise an early to bed, early to rise concept. Completely understandable, given the rather ‘notorious’ moniker accredited to Patong as THE epitome of nightlife in Phuket. It was already about 10am (Thailand time, 11am Malaysian time) and yet the beach boys manning the stretch of beach beds and the masseurs plying the same route were barely up and running, judging from the pace they were setting up their respective businesses.

Breakfast of freshly grilled cuts of pork belly, and the evergreen Thai breakfast classic of noodle soup with chicken/pork

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Continuation from Krabi/Phuket 2010 – Part One …

When the beach is over-populated by the sheer number of beach beds, more than the people out for a tan, and over-shadowing the soft, fine sands …… you know commercialization has taken over.

The simple Thai breakfast at Tonsai off the main road running parallel to Patong beach fueled us with sufficient energy to hop over to the beach, which was starting to see a hive of activities – from the ones strolling along casually to the ones jogging on the soft, sandy stretch of sands, to those lying down on the beach beds (about 80-100 baht / RM8-10 / USD2.30-2.90 per bed, NOT FOC) for a tan and joyful souls splashing in the shallow end of the emerald waters.

As crowded as Patong Beach might get, the beach was still well-kept, unlike the ones here in Malaysia with rubbishes strewn all over the place, and the waters so murky you wouldn’t wanna touch with a 10-foot pole.

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For the benefit of those who felt tormented by the incessant ramblings, long-winded nonsense (ever so common if you’re here often), and millions of words jumbled into one single post, fret not.

I’ve decided to limit the relentless ramblings for this Krabi-Phuket 2010 in review, preferably in less than 5 posts.

Which of course, may NOT be possible.

Krabi  Bus Station is situated at a most rural of location, not too obvious from the main roads, and reminded me of those bus stopovers in smaller towns, like Gopeng in Perak, for example.

The two-way flight from Kuala Lumpur-Krabi-Kuala Lumpur cost RM140 / USD40 per person, courtesy of Air Asia. Yeah, book early for such promotions, and erm… as cliche as this may sound; Everyone REALLY Can Fly. For your information, a bus/minivan from Penang to Krabi which takes about 9 hours will cost you about RM70 / USD20 for ONE-way. And our flight took us a mere ONE hour. Go do the Maths, then come back.

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