Beach Days!! I could not believe I was finally about to see the turquoise waters that always graced my pre programmed screen savers on my laptop! We arrived at Krabi and checked into our hotel Beyond Resort Krabi. We had our own bamboo villa with a breathtaking view of the beach and the rocks from our balcony. The first day we quickly threw on our swimsuits and made it to the pool bar for some sun. We tried a Thailand Chang beer and a fresh coconut mixed drink made of coconut and pineapple grown in the area. We also ran into the most gorgeous/biggest snail I had ever seen in my life!!
The reason we chose Krabi was it is a great central location to island hop off of. We also wanted to be on the mainland to avoid risking being late to our flight to Bangkok since our schedule was strict. The Krabi beaches are more laid back and tranquil compared to some of the party beaches that attract the backpackers like in Phuket. So pretty much there is a beach for everyone's tastes and enjoyments.
We then made it to the white sands of our beach! The water in Thailand is the perfect amount of salty. In the Caribbean, I have noticed that the ocean is almost too salty and burns my eyes but this was not the case in these waters. we had some fun in the sun and then explored our beach looking for pretty shells. One of my favorite parts of the beach were all the tiny sand crabs dancing on the beach. There were thousands of them and they were so cute! I wish I had my camera! Next we cooled off in our infinity pool and took in the view. We hit the hay early so we could start early the next day.
Our hotel had a complimentary delicious breakfast buffet. Today we decided to take some advice from the backpackers we met at the elephant excursion and rent a motorbike for the day for less than 10 USD. WARNING THIS WAS A VERY BAD IDEA!!! Please do not rent the motorbikes if you go to Thailand. They do not give you helmets. You will crash. You will cry. Or at least I did. We took a turn way too fast and completely wiped out on top of each other. We were very lucky we did not get hurt worse. We maybe should have mentioned to each other that neither one of us had ever driven one before and learning in a country where they drive on the left side of the road was not a good place to try it. Once I calmed down from my near death experience, ( I may be being a little dramatic since we wrecked going about 8 mph) we decided to hire a taxi for the day! We first made our way through the streets of Krabi town aand did a little shopping and browsing. For lunch we pigged out on Thailand snacks from a convenience store for less than 5 USD. After Krabi town we made our way to Tiger Cave Temple which sits on a mountain top overlooking all of Krabi.
When we got to this sacred Buddhist temple we were greeted by the monkeys who live there that are constantly conning tourists to feed them. After a few pictures and mentally preparing , we started the journey up the 1,257 steps (very steep steps) to the top. The hike took a little over 30 minutes and believe me when I say it was not easy. it made my stair stepper in my hometown gym look like child's play. There were a few times where I didn't think I was going to make it. Once I climbed 65 stories to the top, I was soo proud of myself! Of course Chris made it look like a walk in the park with his cross fit self lol. The view was definitely a spiritual feeling and made you feel so small in this huge world. We got up close to one of the famous gold Buddha's ************** note it is illegal and disrespectful to bring pictures and/or items with Buddha on them outside of Thailand. So your gonna have to take my word on how pretty the statue was or get to googling. ***also you must have your shoulders and knees covered out of respect, hence why I look like a Russian grandma Babushka** We rang the bells and just basked in the view for a few minutes. Then the rain came. More like the tsunami. It started pouring and we had to make the trek down very carefully. Honestly the rain was a miracle though because we were burning up. Needless to say our calves were sore the rest of the trip and the Thai equivalent of Advil was a new staple in our breakfast menus. That night we had a wonderful dinner on the beach provided by our hotel.
The next day we went on our beach excursion and tour of the Phi Phi Islands! These islands came with great recommendations and they did not disappoint. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. None of these words begin to describe seeing that landscape in person. The water is so clear it is surreal. Our first stop was the filming location of Leo's famous movie "The Beach" (side note I read this book on the way there and would not recommend it). The caves were awesome and the lagoon great as well! The only downside is this is such a popular tourist destination that it was very very crowded. Next stop was Viking Cave, which has ancient drawings that resemble a Viking ship. We were not allowed inside because this is where they harvest the very expensive delicacy of swallow's bird's nests to make a very expensive dish called birds nest soup. Some Asian cultures believe this soup has juvenile skin benefits. Next we got to snorkel next to Monkey Beach! Sadly we did not get to go on the beach due to too many monkey bites, which was alright by me I wasn't trying to catch rabies. Next they stopped on a tourist island to feed us a restaurant Thai meal. Thankfully they had some fried chicken which made me feel at home. Next we got to snorkel some more. The coral reefs here were great! We saw giant clams, sea urchins, parrot fish, sea slugs, so many exotic fish it was like a whole different beautiful world under there. The trip ended on Bamboo island where we swam and relaxed for the last hour of the day long adventure. The crew ended with a celebration of traditional Krabi cake and hand cut watermelon!
Some things for this excursion we wish we knew was to bring a very thin long sleeve shirt to avoid burns. Also we were glad we brought snacks since you are on the boat a good portion of the day.
