Krabi town & Klang Island

Krabi is a town on the west coast of Southern Thailand. It is the capital of Krabi Province and Krabi District. The 8 districts include Ko Lanta Island as a district and also Mueang Krabi district which holds Ao nang and Railay bay. So to sum it up it is a huge province with some areas more popular than others.

Tourism is the main source of income here.

Unfortunately I did not have time to cover all the districts on this trip. Explored 3 and drove through an additional two. My trip to Krabi covers my short stay in Krabi town and my stay at Klang Island which is near the mouth of the Krabi River. Additional posts cover Railay, Ko Lanta, and Ko Phi Phi.

Travel tips for this District:

** Arrival to Krabi Town

There are 3 options here:

Krabi International Airport (KBV): Ideally located not very far from Krabi town or the surrounding districts. This serves as a convenient entry point.

Krabi boat piers:  Klong Jilad is the new pier 4km from Krabi town.  Chao Fah pier or Phi Phi pier is the old ones in the center of the town. Ferries run daily from Ko Phi Phi, Ko Jum, Ko lanta, and ko Yao Noi. There is also a Pier called Krabi Thalen 27km west of Krabi town where they have frequent speedboats. Buy your tickets at the pier to get a good price.

By Road: The roads here are good and easy to travel on. There is a bus service to Krabi town but do yourself a favor and take a private taxi. I did a taxi from Phuket to Krabi for ฿2500 and it took 2 hours through some gorgeous scenery.

**Krabi Town Expectations

This is a small town and much calmer than Phuket. The town is next to Krabi River and there are hotels and restaurants scattered all around. One of the few chilled out places for a Thailand town. 

Arriving there at 1pm there was some traffic but not much pedestrians about. Most of the tourist population use this location as a transit point to go to the other Islands in or simply transfer to Ao Nang or Railay further to the west. The highways around the area are very modern due to all the transportation needs in and out of town.

**Locations for accommodation

There are few hotels in krabi town ranging from backpackers to some 4 star hotels. There is one popular hotel called Maritime Park Resort & Spa, this is over booked most of the times and contains a lot of large travelling groups. So try to avoid this place or double check your booking status before arrival.

Most visitors staying in the Krabi Mainland head west to Ao Nang where all the fantastic hotels and resorts are located. The more adventurous get in long tail boats and head to Railay.

My situation here was different, arrived at the Maritime Park resort to discover they have overbooked so relocation meant a new adventure. The relocation option was to an Eco Village Resort on Klang Island, just south of Krabi town.

 The hotel staff drove us to Tara pier, located along Krabi River in Krabi Town. The local long tail boat then another 5 minutes cruising across Krabi River to Klang Island’s pier.  Then we jumped on a motorbike tuktuk and drove through the village across the island. A fun ride about 7 km through the narrowest of roads if we can call it that. Finally we arrived at the secluded peaceful Islanda Village Resort.

The Krabi Adventures: From Krabi town to Tara Pier, to Klang Island. The Drive to the resort. Boat out to Railay bay

**Islanda Village resort

Most of my travel friends don’t really like Krabi town after spending few too many days there so a relocation here was a sign from the travel gods looking after me. This was a hidden paradise. You have quite surroundings, luxury comfortable villas, a big swimming pool with Jacuzzi, good restaurant, and a manager who goes by the name Mr. Big. There is not that great of a beach or night life on this island but it is designed for relaxing & recharging. The only way to travel on the island is by tuk tuk or bicycle. Only way on and off the island is by boat or helicopter.

The Beachfront Villa and Pool	Arrival by boat and transfer by tuk tuk
Relaxing in the pool and Sunset view	Hotel Manager: Mr. Big

**Wildlife

While most people fought the mosquitoes and played with the cats at the resort, I found myself trying to convince more than save a cat from a snake. Both animals were safe from the drama that unfolded. So there are snakes on the island if you are lucky to see one.

Snake

Cat versus Snake

**Things to do on Klang Island

Daytime: I was here to relax and they have a big pool overlooking the beach to do that. You also have the option to borrow a bicycle and go check out the island. There was also a bathtub on the deck to watch the sunset. Limited activities so more of a “my time” place.

 Nighttime: Dinner and drinks followed by interaction with other guests. If you get bored you go look for snakes or other wildlife.

** Costs on the Island
Food is relatively cheap and will cost ฿200-300 a day at the resort. Water is quite cheap with big bottles 1.5 litres trading at ฿20. Beer is about ฿50 and cocktails can range from ฿100 to ฿150.

Accommodation price was ฿5000per night with breakfast for the Ocean Beachfront Bungalow. Other Bungalows start from ฿3000.
No Grocery stores here so buy you goodies in Krabi town.  No Medical centers or ATM’s either. I did mention it was a secluded Island with one awesome resort and a village.

** Conclusion

If you looking to stay in Krabi you can choose a hotel in Krabi town but options are quite limited if you looking for luxury. As an alternative for a night or two try this resort on Klang Island. It is quiet and peaceful. Getting away from the crowds helps in Thailand. On check out we took a 30 minute boat ride across to Railay.

South Thailand Island Guide
Boat options for Island Transfers

Phuket Tips
Phuket Map
South Thailand 13 Useful tips
Ko Phi Phi Don
Railay Beach 
Ko Lanta

South Thailand: 13 Useful tips

This European winter I decided to take an 18 day vacation in South Thailand. Not being a big fan of the cold weather, some relaxing time in the sun was my Christmas gift to myself for 2014.

The itinerary set for my trip was taking the flight from Oslo with Qatar Airways to Hamad International airport in Doha for a 13 hour layover, followed by a direct flight to Phuket. From Phuket the plan was to do some Island hoping in this order: Phuket ► Krabi ► Railay Beach ► Koh Lanta ► Koh Ngai ► Ko Phi Phi ► Phuket

I had never been to South Thailand before so this itinerary was purely based on light research, and my adventurous ambition to discover new holiday spots. Having New Year’s Eve in Phuket would be the kickoff for my Thailand adventure. After the short layover in Doha, I arrived in Phuket at 1830 on the 31st December 2014.

Now there are several key important tips one most know before traveling to Thailand:

1. Same Same but different:
This goes for pretty much everything in the country. So if you have a ferry travelling from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, tourist agencies will print different pamphlets with different prices. However the actual ferry is the same ferry used by all the agencies. The same goes for organized excursions, transfers, and services. So buying online tickets is not recommended for any service oriented activity as it is a marked up price. The best procedure here is to buy on location when you are in the country.

2. Always bargain:
So continuing from above when purchasing on location, always bargain. The vender or service provider like a tuk tuk driver will throw you a price, and you counter offer that price till you reach agreement. Supply of services exceed demand in most service areas here so you will have the bargaining power. For example petrol cost is 40 Bhats per litre, so paying 100 Bhats for a short taxi ride is okay but you can get away with paying half of that. All product purchases can be negotiated and you can get 20-50% off on the price.

3. Everything runs on Island time including International Airline flights:
Don’t expect anything to run on time. Take a scheduled time for an event and add an extra 15-30 minutes if you are lucky. This is how it operates in most islands across the globe, growing up on Fiji I know all about Island time so relax and just go with the flow.

4. Lose your normal accent and switch to Thai accent:
English is not the main language here so a fast speaking American accent, or strong British or French accent will do very little for your communication. So adapt to speaking “Thai-glish”. How to learn this? Observe and imitate.

5. Always repeat the keywords in a sentence:
So if you want the taxi driver to wait for you, you would say in Europe or America: “Please keep the meter running, I will be back shortly”. In Thailand you will say, “Wait wait, I come back fast fast.”

6. Learn the Key Words:
Like any foreign country learning the keywords such as “Thank You”, “Hello”, and “How are you?” among others helps break the ice and makes the locals appreciate your effort of trying.

7. Insect Repellant:
The wildlife is quite beautiful here and if you are lucky you might see some spiders, snakes, scorpions, and some exotic birds. The guaranteed sightings will always be monkeys and mosquitoes. The Mosquitoes are all over the place and love the tourists. So invest in a repellant. Local organic product Citronella is a good choice which you can purchase there.

8. Carry Cash:
Cash is king. When doing a cash out, go big and take out 20k bhats while you at it instead several small transactions along the way. Most stores as modern as they look may not cater for cards so cash is needed. Once you in the smaller islands good luck finding an ATM. Carry cash with you and lock it in the safe, so you take what you need on each outing.

9. Hit and Miss:
This is the theme of South Thailand with all services. For example a Thai restaurant at a 5 star resort will serve the worst Thai food you would have on your tour because it is run by Non Thai cooks. A foot reflexology massage ends with your shoulders being massaged. You order one dish and you get something else. So communication and following recommendations here are important.

10. Keep it private:
All excursions and transfers are best kept to a small group. Island transfers are best done in speedboats or private long tail boats depending on distance. Avoid large ferries and groups as this is a disaster waiting to happen. Overcrowding on such ferries is common and makes for a very uncomfortable ride. So spend the extra dollars and go private.

11.Stay clear of the day trippers:
The day trippers are common around the world when it comes to locations with beautiful Islands. They will stay on a bigger island with resorts where comfort is guaranteed and wildlife is at a minimum, hospitals are close by, translators and tour guides are with them, and hotel staff are there to help in all kinds of small emergencies. Good on them for travelling and discovering the world, however they are quite annoying as they often travel in packs. Their objective is to see locations and the tour guides mission is to throw them on boats and get them out there. Information such as sea sickness, what to wear is not discussed so expect to see them throwing up in the ferries, and running around in denim when the temperature is 30 degrees Celsius. They are prone to appear in tourist trap locations and are guaranteed photo bombers in your background. Stick to rule 10 and avoid them in boats. As for locations such as Maya bay in Phi Phi, you will need to get there earlier than the big boat loads of tourists.

12.Lady Boys (Kathoey):
Lady Boys (Kathoey): This term refers to either a transgender woman or an effeminate gay male in Thailand. They are also known as the third gender. Anyway they have Cabaret shows in the bigger cities and can be found all over Thailand. They are living life as normal individuals and you can refer to them as females when communicating. There is no need to fear them as they are friendly just like any Thai person you meet there.

13. Pollution:
Unfortunately in this paradise rubbish dumping has become common practice. Walking along beaches you will find lots of plastic bags, plastic bottles and other sort of Rubbish washed up on the beach. Now our travel group made an effort to clean up several beaches but this is a much larger job than several individuals. So try to educate someone not to throw rubbish into the ocean and hopefully the Thailand government starts a campaign to help clean up the beaches. Tourist and locals are equally guilty in this dumping of rubbish into the ocean as witnessed on this trip.

Similar Thailand articles of Interest:

KO NGAI
The island of Relaxation. An overview of Ko Ngai Island. The places to stay, things to do, and things to avoid.

PHUKET
Considered as the HUB of South Island, this is an overview of Phuket Island. The places to stay, things to do, and things to avoid.

RAILAY BAY
The hidden treasure of this Region.An overview of Railay Bay. The places to stay, things to do, and things to avoid.

KO PHI PHI
The most visited spot in South Thailand due to the Movie "The Beach". An overview Ko Phi PhIsland. The places to stay, things to do, and things to avoid.