6 Sept 2011.

Our third and last day in Aonang.

It rains heavily on the third morning, as if sharing our sadness about leaving such a peaceful place.

Once the rain subsided, we walk out for breakfast – this time we are trying our luck at another stall still within the vicinity of the under construction mosque, and seems fate hasn’t fail us yet. It is a such a delightful breakfast; too bad we discover it on our last day at Aonang. We have some Thai laksa (yeah they call it laksa here) and tea (something like our own kaww teh mamak – only better!). The laksa  looks dull and plain; albeit the looks, the taste is a total contrast especially when eaten with all the herbs, and the chili paste really adds to the flavour. It is very much up to my tastebud, that the brekfast itself is worth a repeat of the whole trip! (I’m salivating still while typing this…).

 Owh, not to forget is the nasi kerabu or herbs rice. Splendid!

Settled with breakfast (and after saying goodbye to some new friends – fellow Malaysians we met at the stall) we set off again. Since we have a few hours to spend before our departure in the afternoon, we decide to have a last tour around town with our rented motorcycle.

Ronald says “Sawadee krup!”

We stop by Aonang Walking Street, just to check out the hotel that was caught with fire the night before. From the outside, the condition does not look too bad, kudos to the fire rescue.

Even the hand of Buddha also agrees - ”no worries, it should be okay!”

It is still very early and the shops are yet to open. A cold morning, especially after a shower of rain thus explains the lack of the passers by. With no demanding business, Songteaw operators find that it is unnecessary to hang around.

 Window shopping is quite inappropriate; so we cross the street, where the shore of Aonang beckons.

 Gloomy day, and the beach is a bit deserted.

 Traditional vs. Modern

We spot a bunch of tourist just arrived, waiting to get into the long tail. I presume they are going to Rai Leh, a secluded bay surrounded by sea and high cliffs, thus makes it only accessible by boat. Great place for honeymooners.

It is not a fine white sand, the shore. Instead, it is covered with broken sea shells. A bit painful to walk barefooted.

Enough with sea sighting, we hop into our ride and cruise along the main road.

We stumble into a peddler selling sweeps. I love the look of it, like a bunch of oversize and fluffy papyrus.

No, thank you. I’m not keen of doing any chores today.

Cruising along the road to Nopparat and I really had to asked DH to stop in order to capture the well canopied and romantic lane.

Again a second stop at a nearby eatery in front Nopparat Thara beach as I need to go to the loo and buy some drinks (what a clash of interest!).  I happened to read the signboard on my way out, and I forget that I am in Thailand. Thus there is no need to worry if you are lost in Krabi,  at least you won’t be hungry!

We continue our excursion into the villages, purposely trying to get lost. We follow the road as far as it goes, passess by lonely road and houses. The surrounding is very typical to Malaysia rurals, it feels like getting lost in your own neighbourhood.

The path lead us back to the main road. We still have a few hours to go and already out of ideas on how to spend the time.

At a junction we spotted a signboard that lead us to this place, and since DH is eager to put his skill to test so we venture in.

Entering the building, we are welcomed by two fluffy hosts. Don’t get cheated with their demure looks, they are as fierce as they could be. Sensing my fear (I fear dogs), they bark and jump on me – thank god they are chained! But as soon as I take out my camera, they calm down and pose. What an actor! Bahh!

The price list. A bit pricey for such a short thrill. DH is quite adamant, so bye bye 1080B and hello, AK47 .22 caliber! The price for a one in a lifetime experience, he says (wutever!)

The shooting. For the hit target you could either opt for a human target or a circle target, and since DH is no where near of killing anybody he choose (with my approval!)  for the circle target.

On close inspection of the hit target, all are in with only one missed. Not bad afterall, DH! Thanks to the endless Counter Strike training. Now I really feel safe. LOL! 

It is about time when we leave the shooting range, so we quickly get back to our room to change and pack. Before getting into the cab, with heavy heart I take one last look of the iconic landmark of Aonang (iconic, eventhough only half completed).

While waiting for the flight I wish to kill the time with some phone game, and coincidentally it has to be this one. Seems that I’m not able to let go Aonang yet.

Krabi Airport, a view form the plane prior to take off.

Flying across the blue sky, I spotted the moon. I guess everytime I see it from now on, it will remind me of those happy times I had in Aonang.

The End.

5 Sept 2011.

It is our second day in Aonang, and we will be going for island tour today. The agent will pick us up at 8.00am; I glance at my watch -  we still have about an hour prior to the departure. Since breakfast is not included in the room package, we have to find elsewhere. A short walk uphill towards the underconstructed mosque (the only one in town), we find a halal eatery already in operation, in front of it.

We have noodle soup and hot coffee for breakfast, and while eating it suddenly rains. I was worried that it will screw up our plan but thank goodness, the rain only last a few minutes and by the time we walk out from the place, the day is bright and clear.

A walk back to our guest house, after the rain.

We arrive at the guest house just in time to catch up with the agent, who appears 10 minutes later. We quickly hop into his van and joint the farangs inside. A smile and a nod, and we are good. The agent makes a few stops afterward, picking up the others from the nearby hotels and guest houses along the way. The van then speed off to Nopparat Thara beach where all the boat operators already waiting.

A pose at Nopparat Thara beach, before hopping into the boat.

The low tide makes it possible to walk to the nearby island, unfortunately we don’t have time for that now.

We are grouped based on our destination and given a coloured sticker each for ease of identification. The lady that manned our group is quite a loud woman, and she made us follow her instruction like a chick to her mother. Somehow her gaudy demeanour amuses me and the others, and we share a few giggles at her back. She ushers us to the speed boat, anchored next to a line of long tails.

The long tails are usually for shorter distance trip such as to the nearby Chicken island or Poda island and the rate is way cheaper. However, with only one engine you should expect a slow journey, and safety is quite a concern.

Walking to our speed boat.

Inside the boat. The green capped lady is the one I mentioned earlier .

Our first stop is the Koh Mai Phai, or the Bamboo island. Quite a weird name, as I did not spot any single bamboo tree in the area. And there is nothing much to see really, we are suppose to have a dip and relax for a few minutes. I like it better at our own Beras Basah island (see HERE).

My first snorkling after, hmm.. 10 years? I takes me a while to adjust to the breathing with my mouth.

The corals at Bamboo island. Nothing to shout about. Mostly are dead. One thing for sure the boat operators don’t really bothers about them. They anchors as where they like, and the action does not help on the preservation of the marine organisms.

On our way to Maya Bay, the boat passes by the Viking Cave. I wonder whether I heard it right the first time; Vikings in Thailand? It is said the inside wall of the cave contains prehistoric paintings of ships and what’s not, and that’s how it gain its name although I can’t really relates the two. The cave is frequented by the locals, who collect the bird nests, one of the main (and expensive!) ingredients of a soup. The turquoise, shallow water lures me to jump, but unfortunately the boat did not stop to allow me to do so.

The boat continues its journey to a cove, where other speed boats are already anchoring. It is Monkey island but unlike the rest of the fellow passengers, it does not bother me to take the pictures of the monkeys (my wild guess they haven’t seen a monkey before). We have enough monkey experience during our trip to Pulau Dayang Bunting (see HERE).

Instead I’m more attracted to its scenic beauty.

Like the Viking Cave, the boat does not stop and continues its journey to Maya Bay.

Maya Bay at last!

It’s a beautiful beach, Maya Bay. The crystal clear water surrounded by high cliffs of lush vegetation makes it a secluded paradise. No wonder John Hodge chosed this place as his filming location of the controversional movie, The Beach. The only thing sucks is that it’s crowded with tourists, otherwise it would be a serenely blissful place.

Trying to escape all the hullabaloos, we found a track leading to the bushes and decide to explore.

The path bring us to Lo Sa Ma Bay, an inlet on the other side of the island.

From the signboard, we walk further a bit until we arrive at a wooden plank.  Up the plank and we are served with the view of Lo Sa Ma bay.  Looking down, the stairs are a bit steep, and the blue water is like calling you onwards. Stunningly eerie.

Lo Sa Ma Bay, a favourite spot for snorkeling they say. A glimpse of the water from above, I do not see anything interesting though.

We walk back to Maya beach, and this time we detour a bit using a different path. Along the way I spotted this small house, more like a toy house. DH prevents me going nearer, he says that it could meant for the spirit and suddenly I’m having goosebumps over his words.

We are a back to the lovely Maya and DH unable to resists the temptation for a swim. I choose to relax and enjoy the beauty like this guy,

 or this lady…

Unfortunately we are only spared a few minutes at Maya, which I feels insufficient.  The green capped lady calls us to the boat; with heavy heart we bid our untimely goodbyes to Maya and head to Phi Phi Don island for lunch (the buffet lunch is part of the package and it is halal). Seems that we are not the only group catered by the restaurant. As people come and go the food are being replenished, so you could eat your heart out. Nevertheless the taste only so-so. We quickly finish our meal and take a stroll outside.

The waterfront shoplots where we take our stroll.

Phi Phi Don is the largest of the Phi Phi islands (the other one is Phi Phi Leh where Maya Bay is sited) and the place where we are having our lunch is actually located in one fine strip of land with beautiful beaches on each side. Regrettable our time is short so we don’t get to explore both sides of the island.

Island transports.

Phi Phi Five-O. Casually clad in tees, shorts and snickers. Cool.

Typical scene at Phi Phi.

Long tails are everywhere.

Our next location is Hin Klang, a snorkeling spot.

It’s snorkeling time!

The boatman throws some bread and the fishes suddenly go crazy.

Besides the striped fish and one or two colorful others (if you are lucky), there’s nothing much to see at the sea floor, only some dead corals and sea urchins.

My gaze suddenly distracted by a bunch of girls, whose wearing the life jacket the other way round. Indeed, a clever way to stay afloat. Macam ni pon bolehh…

I sense like somebody is watching so I turn around, and find DH is behind me. His pose is giving me ideas **naughty grin**. Do you think what I’m thinking?

Sorry darling, can’t help myself. (No offense to you too, Kurt! R.I.P).

Later. The snorkeling at Hin Klang is the last in our tour itinerary, and soon we are back at lovely Aonang. After some good rest we venture out again, with nothing much to do we decide to experience some Krabi massage.

The service is quite cheap here compared to Bangkok, only at affordable 200B per hour for full body massage. Having your body being gently rubbed and kneaded under the lull of the waves and the breeze is a total bliss.

It is almost nightfall by the time we finish with the massage and the nearby eatery is well lit up, ready to accept its first customer.

Sunset in Aonang, too bad the sun is not anywhere in sight. Nonetheless, it is still not a bad view, after all.

As we stroll along the beach, the tranquil is suddenly disturbed; people starts running around and shops closing down. We later found out that the chaos is caused by a blaze at one of the hotel at Aonang Walking Street. I wonder whether there are people inside. Within mere minutes, fire rescue arrives and save the day. Luckily there is no casualties and we leave the place with mixed feelings. The little drama ends our second day.

A few days after Raya we are off the tarmac again, and this time we are doing Krabi for three days. Departed from LCCT via AA airbus AK804 at 1.25pm, the journey is smooth; and soon we are flying above Thailand. Being the few Malays, the rest of the plane is occupied by Chinese and some Westerners, which is quite normal considering the fact that the month of Syawal is only approaching day five.

Krabi from above. Located in the south of Thailand, this part of Thailand is less developed, compared to the much popular and happening Phuket, its neighbour.

The plane safely landed at Krabi International Airport forty minutes passed one, and immigration check is a breeze. It is less hectic at the airport, as our flight is the only one arriving that afternoon and coincidentally it is now an off season in Krabi.

We purchase the bus ticket to Ao Phra Nang, or commonly known as Aonang on our way out. The fare is 150B per person and that’s the cheapest and easiest way to get to the seaside where we will be staying for three days.

Our bus tickets.

As we step out from the terminal, a waft of hot air hit my face. It is hot outside, and luckily the air-conditioned bus is readily waiting where we quickly hop into for shelter.

The only drawback in taking the bus is that it will wait until all seats are occupied; which thankfully in our case we don’t have to wait for too long. It seems that half of our fellow flight mates are using the same means of transport to get to Aonang.

Located roughly 15km from the airport, the journey to Aonang passes by small Krabi town, ordinary villages and palm plantations. Somewhere along the way, the bus stops in front of a travel agent company and a guy hop on.  Without introducing himself, he starts asking every one of the hotels that they will be staying. While others promptly answer his query diligently, us being a total skeptics and in self-protect mode (especially against travel agents) lie that we are yet to book any and plan to search ourselves. He then ushers those people off from the bus and informs that another transport will pick them up to their intended destination. I overheard a lady sitting at the seat next to us whispering to her friend that she didn’t trust the guy. We then resume our journey to Aonang, which eventually not very far away from the stop and are clueless of the fate of those people.

The bus stops in front of our pre-booked guest house. What?? We are back in KL? Not!!!

Apart from the many scattered hotels and guest houses, we choose KL House as it sits on the quieter side of the beach, with 7-11, internet café, motorbike rental and halal eateries in close proximity. In three words, it is clean, cheap and convenient.

Our room at 500B per night.

I drop my bags and head straight to the balcony. With the karsts cliffs as the backdrop and blue sea lining nearby, I immediately fall in love at first sight.

Panaromic view of Aonang from our hotel balcony.

Since it is already 3pm, we quickly wash ourselves and rent a motorbike from the operator next door for a quick tour of the place. The bike could be rented at fixed 150B per day. We fidget when we are asked to surrender our passport as a guarantee; to roam a foreign country without any identification is a bit unnerving and feels insecure. The uncle who owns the lot assures us that it is a common practice and discloses passports that are in his custody. Seeing that we are out of choices, we cross our fingers and pray for the best.

 We take a short ride to central Aonang, where all the shops and tour agents could be found fronting the beach.

The street is a bit quiet; being midday I assume that most of the inhabitants are either having an after lunch siesta or still at sea on island tour.

Aonang red taxis.

We stroll along the shop lots, browsing the goods on display and checking out the tour package for tomorrow. The tour price from one agent to another is about the same, and being off season, the rate for everything is a bit lower than usual. We manage to get an island hopping package to Koh Phi Phi at 800B per pax, and 10L dry bag at 350B which is really cheap.

The agent, where we book our tour to Phi Phi island.

The last time we have our meal was during the flight, and that was already a few hours ago. Spotting a halal stall selling assorted Thai pancakes, we decide to give it a try.

Pancake preparation. The stuff looks like our own typical roti canai with banana fillings. Heck, aren’t we on the Banana Pancake Trail? Duh!

My Banana Nutella pancake. Yummy stuff.

We enjoy our pancake at a nearby bench, marveling  the Andaman sea in front of us.

Aonang was one of the area affected by the 2004 tsunami, thus the warning signpost. Apparently,  there seems no indication that such disaster ever happened, and the small town is lively as always.

Typical scene at Aonang.

As we admire the picturesque landscape, a boat appears somewhere along the horizon amidst the stone karst island, which later known to me as the Poda Island.

The boat stops upon reaching the shore to dispatch the passengers, who just come back from their island tour.

Enough with sightseeing, we make a move to the neighboring Nopparat Thara beach, and it seems that the locals prefer this side of the beach as it has longer shorelines, shallow water which is suitable for kids and less touristy compared to Aonang. But we are more attracted to the food stalls across the road, selling seafood fritters.

Among others that caught our attention is the fried prawns and veggie…they look inviting.

With nothing much to see at Nopparat, we return back to the bubbly Aonang. It is almost night time, but we still haven’t decided yet whether to go to Krabi night market or not. Since DH is not comfortable riding all the way to Krabi (due to the passport and licence issue) and I’m a bit reluctant on leaving Aonang (it has its charm on me already) we dump the idea. We saunter along the road and decide to do Aonang night market instead.

The scene at Aonang night market, not much different from that in Malaysia. It has local ambience; we are the only strangers there. Aonang has quite a sizeable muslim community, finding halal foods is no hassle at all. In fact we are spoilt for choices, especially with what the night market has to offer.

Skewed fishcake and sausages dipped in fiery red sauce, they look delicious… (they are indeed, and we repeat to the night market on the second night just to have a taste of them again!)

Assorted Thai rice. Thai is the world’s largest rice exporter, and the most popular is their fragrance rice. We do not buy any though tempted we are, as rice is prohibited by the custom and immigration (they are under the purview of import license).

Fruits, the usual culprit in any night market.

By the time we got out, the bike is overloaded with food – thanks to our huge appetite.

But that’s not the end yet. Later that night we  join the crowd at the nearby stalls in front of the McDonalds. There is no harm in having street dinner especially at Aonang, they are clean and cheap. Off course, halal too.

Dinner is served! We are having Pad Thai tonight, something like our own fried Kuey Teow. The taste is a bit sweet (due to the pound nuts) and sticky; as a fan of spicy food it didn’t get my vote. But that’s just me. There is no shame in trying local foods really, they are as good as experiencing the people and the culture.

Dinner’s over, we are back to our comfy room. I spot the mango sticky rice on the table which we bought at the night market earlier and figure that it would be nice to have it while watching some Thai soap opera. Indeed, it is the best that I’ve tasted anywhere so far! You have to pour the sweet sauce and sprinkle the crunchy fenugreek on top of it, and voila! A nice supper to end the day.

Next: Island Hopping