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Krabi
After a dreadful cabride through the night from Trang to Krabi (the cabby seriously wanted to check out the theory of renascence) we arrived happily in town. We checked into the first hotel we could find, the City Hotel, opposite of the foodmarket on Thanon Sukon, the room was clean but hot, and all in all the stuff was not particulary friendly, so we checked out next morning right away and headed for the K.R. Mansion Hotel on Thanon Jao Fah on the edge of the city.
I need a bugfree bed, a shower, a fan, an electricity plug for my Mac, a table and a chair. The K.R. Mansion has it all for 300 bees, plus a very relaxed bar on top of the building, overlooking Krabi.
The owners seem to exploit their stuff heavily, which is very friendly and helpfull.
The morning buffet was an expensive assault on my taste. Very small canned juices go for 25 baht.
Who the fuck travels to Thailand to eat Wurst? Obviously many! Leave me allone! I want my curry Thai style, pet pet maak krap!.
Much better is the roof top sunset bar on K.R. Mansion, which opens around 4.p.m.
Large Changs go for 80 baht, They serve also coktails for 70 baht each (during happy hour on sunset) which are nothing more than tuned up fruitjuices. Don't let them do more than opening the bottles, and you will never be disappointed. Very friendly.
Some 200m down the road there is a friendly outdoor bar/wooden guesthouse which offers room for 15O baht with shared bath. It's a kind of aussie bar with super loud heavy metal music, and some fat aussie girls trying to pick Thai lovers there. As I asked for some good Thai music a red-fat english chick answered me: "There is nothing like good Thai music". - No further comment.
Krabi Town is the perfect place to cure hangovers. Everything is in reach within a five minutes walk. That means perfect Thai muslim breakfast for just 25 baht on almost every corner. Try a hot curry with cucumbers and chicken at Th Prachacheun/ Th Maharat. That will boost your circulation. Or just pick up anything you are interested to try. Its all good. Just check, where the Thai people are hanging out . I specially recommend the very friendly, excellent and cheap Seafood Restaurant on Th SuKohn, almost in front of the foodmarket.
We had several outstanding seafood and beer experiences.( They serve their icecold Changs ( 60 bees)in frozen!!! glasses, and see the crab-pic, that beast goes for less than two bucks) They get the big plus for creating happyness on their clients!!! Opens around 6 p.m.
The foodmarket on that street is also a must experience. Besides all possibilities, which you can imagine as eatable,they have some more. Try "horse shoe crabs", a beast that looks like gigantic grey-green cockroach. This decent monster delivers its chewy,tasty eggs to hungry Thai stomachs. Cold beers go for 50 baht.
Just one or two blocks behind the foodmarket SuKohn ( I dont want to call it nightmarket because it opens in the afternoon and close around 10 p.m.. ( Krabi people crawl to their crib early, but that doesn't mean they get up early. Very relaxed. )
One or two blocks behind the market you find a cinema called "Hollydays", give it a try.
The local girly-bar scene is also located behind the food market, just two sois which weren't much appealing neither to me nor to my wife....
A nother good foodmarket you find at Chao Fah Pier, where all the boats to Pee-Pee and Lanta embarque ( If you like Thai style forget theese islands, If you need sandwhiches and your food- phantasy doesn't go further than a banana pancake, that's your destination. Strongly recommend !).
I realised more than one time that so called travel agencies give corrupt informations about travel connections. They just want to sell THEIR Minibus-Tickets. Here once again: If possible always try to find out the connection yourself, that means go the local busstation the average Thai-people use, or to the trainstation, and ask there. You will save a lot of money and
will have more fun! ( If you behave yourself like a stupid, do not wonder when you are constantly overcharged)
The cheapest and fastest Internet connection in Krabi you find on Th Issara close to Thai hotel. (100 minutes for 100 baht, ask for pre-paid card)
One morning, when the internet cafe was unexpected closed because " manger go bangkok" I sat down next door for a coffee. Suddenly a small thai man arrived, and said: "I invite you for a beer". That's very rare in Thailand. " I said o.k. This tiny guy, who spoke an excellent english claimed himself a teacher for " english conversation". A couple of bottles later it came out that he's an ex-monk, who quit his monKohod after 15 years because of a woman. Three years later she run away with a french man and is now living in Paris. When he met her on a visit to Thailand one year ago he carried a gun to kill her. Since that time he's drinking. I call him Jo.
Jo invited us to visit Wat Tam Seua, some kilometers out of town. " But let's go before noon, when the monks are eating, after lunch they are all sleeping", he said with a big laugh.
So we went with the barowners tuktuk, his lovely daughter and our guru to Wat Tam Seua. If you go there please make shure you are dressed propperly. It's awonderful experience to get rid of your dirty phantasies. Just walk around and look and !see!
I had the chance to talk to a monk. So I asked him: How about drinking lao ( which is the Thai word for whiskey) he answered: "mai,mai" . "No,no, monks are not allowed to drink".
"And how about Jadong?
Jadong o.k! Jadong mai lao! (Jadong is a medicine with 35 % alcohol), he answered smirking.
We made several excurses to the Krabi beaches which you can easily reach with local taxis for 20 baht (yisip baht). Very good!!! and cheap!!! seafood you find at Hat Noppharat Thara,
a favorite beach for Thai people to hang out. A one kilo crab went for 200 baht, and a large Chang goes for 45 baht. We had a nice long chat with a local touristguide, who didn't seem to try to sell us anything. ( They always try something, but I couldn't find out what).
After Noppharat Thara the taxi will you deliver to Ao Nang, from where longtail boats bring you to more remote, and very beautiful ( but developed,crowded and expencive) beaches like Hat Rai Leh and Hat Tam Phra Nang. Always good for a one day pop out of Krabi town. You can take a longtail back to Chao Fah pier in Krabi for 50 Baht per person.
On the the roof top sunset bar on K.R. Mansion we had some wonderful sunsets and some advanced lessons in Thai language with the funny stuff up there. Chock dee Zac and Alec!
All in All Krabi is one of the most charming provincial capitals I found so far in Thailand.
It's heavy booming, and I hope it will not lose it's friendly relaxed atmosphere over that.
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