To be honest, we were waiting for something more substantial (especially since we only had a rest in Egypt in April) But here is a completely different vacation. Very humid, hot. We were glad that we had a fan, and not an air conditioner, otherwise we would have caught a cold (although we had a cold anyway) There is a TV in the room - we never turned it on all the time (and when to watch it, if they only came to the room to spend the night) There is no wardrobe - We've come to terms with that too.
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To be honest, we were waiting for something more substantial (especially since we only had a rest in Egypt in April) But here is a completely different vacation. Very humid, hot. We were glad that we had a fan, and not an air conditioner, otherwise we would have caught a cold (although we had a cold anyway) There is a TV in the room - we never turned it on all the time (and when to watch it, if they only came to the room to spend the night) There is no wardrobe - We've come to terms with that too. We swam a lot on the islands - that's where the paradise is (the water is clear, warm, the sand is white, fine) On the island of Poda, baited fish, even banana peels are snatched from the hands. I’ll return to the hotel, at the reception in Russian, no boom-boom, as well as everywhere else (you need to know English, otherwise there will be problems in the cafe), although no one canceled facial expressions and gestures. The room was cleaned every day, linen was changed, flowers and butterflies were made from towels. What I didn’t like - wooden bungalows - a lot of ants - someone on the roof shied away at night (apparently lizards) and I personally interfered with the night noise (croaking frogs, some kind of chirping, crackling chirping) But they fell asleep under all this mess. The climate is very humid - it turned around a couple - sweat runs into three streams from you. Many people ask what to take from clothes - shorts and a couple of tops and t-shirts. All in all, we had a great rest. Svetlana
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Finally got around to writing a review about our wonderful stay in Krabi in November 2011. I’ll say right away that I won’t write anything new for experienced “Thais”, but I think I can share useful information with those who are planning a vacation in Thailand or Krabi for the first time. On these dates, my husband and I celebrated 20 years of our joint pastime, that is, a porcelain wedding.
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Finally got around to writing a review about our wonderful stay in Krabi in November 2011. I’ll say right away that I won’t write anything new for experienced “Thais”, but I think I can share useful information with those who are planning a vacation in Thailand or Krabi for the first time.
On these dates, my husband and I celebrated 20 years of our joint pastime, that is, a porcelain wedding. 2011 turned out to be a very eventful year for us, we can say that we moved mountains, and only in November we were able to find time to relax. Since we both love the sea, our eyes at this time of the year had to be turned to the southeast, where we had never been before. And since the overthrow of the mountains required, in addition to moral and physical strength, also considerable material assets, the rest had to be put into a limited monetary framework. We really wanted to go to the Philippines, but we couldn't pull it financially.
Therefore, we opted for Thailand, taking into account the admiring reviews about this country from acquaintances and work colleagues who have been there.
We wanted to go to Koh Samui, but, after searching the Internet, we deducted that in November there is not much of a season there. But we learned about the province of Krabi and realized that we needed to go there : ) We love not very crowded and, if I may say so, elegant resorts. Krabi seemed like that to me. In principle, there are not as many tourists there as, for example, in Phuket, and there are also fewer of our tourists. Let me explain right away that we have nothing against our compatriots, on the contrary, we love and respect them, we ourselves are them : ). But we like to completely change the situation on vacation, by the method of “immersion” or something, including not hearing our native speech, and so that few people understand our chatter either : ). In general, Krabi met all our expectations, starting with the fact that from the whole plane, and there, and, apparently, back, only we rested in Krabi : ).
We found a budget proposal from the Biblio-Globus of 60 thousand rubles. (for breakfast) for two at the Tip Anda Resort, on Noparrat Tara Beach, near Ao Nang. True, I had to pay 10 thousand rubles for the transfer Phuket - Ao Nang and back. According to the tour operator, the transfer was supposed to be a group transfer and combine a car with a water vehicle, so we got ready for a long road to the hotel from the airport, but in fact everything turned out to be easier.
The Transairo flight took off from Moscow and arrived in Phuket on schedule. It so happened that we were among the first to get off the plane, passed the border control, got our luggage, and were among the first to go out to the meeting people. We were immediately grabbed by representatives of the Biblio Globus, hung flower garlands around our necks and put into a Toyota Camry. In this car, my husband and I were taken together, and, after about half an hour, I realized that we, apparently, would go by this car to the hotel itself. And so it happened, after 2.
5 hours, as it turned out, an individual transfer, we were at the hotel.
The hotel and its location.
Usually I don’t particularly describe hotels, because my husband and I are not picky and we only spend the night in hotels, so for us “is the room large, is the furniture new, how was it cleaned, how many times did the linen change, etc. ”does not have much values. But here I will try to write in more detail, because there were no reviews about this hotel from our tourists yet, probably mine will be the first and will help someone when choosing a place to stay.
The hotel is located, as I said, in Noparrat Tara. To be honest, I did not understand whether this place belongs to Ao Nang itself, or is considered its suburb. The hotel has one feature: the hotel itself is located 30 meters from the road that runs along the beach; but there are 4 rooms that are located right next to this road, i. e. outside the hotel area. And here we were settled in one of these rooms.
True, the safe did not work in it, we were immediately moved to another one, in which the safe worked, but the air conditioner did not cool, but simply blew like a fan. The hotel employee immediately came, fixed the air conditioner, and we unpacked our things. By nightfall, the air conditioner stopped cooling again, we somehow spent the night, and in the morning we went to the hotel to resolve the issue. We were immediately offered a newly vacated room already on the hotel territory, right in the first building, which is next to the reception. I must say that I immediately liked the hotel area, and did not like these 4 separate rooms on the road, so we happily moved in and lived safely in it for the entire period of our stay.
The room is cozy, modern; the room with shower and toilet is just huge, and the toilet itself stood on some elevation and in the middle, just like a throne on a pedestal : ).
One feature of the bathroom: there is no compartment for the shower, no tray under it, and after taking a shower, most of the floor in the bathroom is wet. The Thais, as I understand it, do not have such a dry-wet separation as we do : )
TV, refrigerator, condo, safe, everything worked smoothly; they cleaned very well, every day they made jellyfish elephants and other figurines out of towels (finally, for some reason, in no other countries, even in Egypt, they didn’t sculpt anything out of towels for me, in general, I waited : )). Wifi is free, but worked intermittently in our room.
The territory of the hotel, as I said, is cozy and large enough. The first building with 4 rooms at the reception stands separately, and the rest of the one-story buildings go in a row in a semicircle. We saw few other guests of the hotel, somehow we didn’t really intersect, so there was a feeling that there were few guests at all.
But this is not so, there are tourists in it, and among them a considerable part of the Thais themselves, who come by car with their families, probably from other parts of the country.
The staff is very friendly, any requests were fulfilled immediately, and sometimes it was not necessary to ask, they themselves came up and offered help. Such friendliness and hospitality are typical for Thais in general, but more on that later. The hotel felt, I would say, a family atmosphere, because the same employees work every day. That is, there is no shift work, they work during the day, at night (from 21 o'clock) the reception is closed (only a security guard sits).
Several types of breakfasts: for 150 baht (egg dishes, toast, bacon, cheese, tea) and for 120 baht (yogurt or fruit with yogurt, toast, cheese, tea), well, and something else on the menu. We had breakfast included in the price, but I already figured out on the spot that it would be more practical to take this hotel without breakfast, paying for it on the spot.
On the beach Noparrat Tara somehow especially (at least during our stay) there were no vacationers. Almost no one sunbathed or swam there. If only closer to the islands, which go along the beach to the right, in the opposite direction from Ao Nang. In addition, in the afternoon there were low tides. So we made an evening promenade along it, watched crabs and admired the sunset.
To Ao Nang from the hotel, either half an hour on foot, or five minutes by tuk-tuk (20 Baht per person to Ao Nang, and 30 Baht per person back from Ao Nang to Noparrat), or three minutes by motorbike : )
If from the hotel on the road go not to the left, to Ao Nang, but to the right, then in five minutes you will come to the local market. Noparrat is generally a place of rest for locals. So, you should definitely visit this market, see the real Tai.
In the evenings it’s just a holiday: crowded, fun, they cook their national food right there (including spider bugs : )), they sell everything right there, and all this at ridiculous prices, there are attractions for children nearby, a stage on which all the time of our stay Various musical groups performed (and very well). Someone just listens, someone immediately dances. In general, immersion in the local exotic to the fullest : ).
There are also shops in Noparrat, but the assortment in them is poorer than in Ao Nang; there are cafes with prices cheaper than in Ao Nang, but there are no supermarkets and exchangers. Massage parlors are also available, the prices in them practically do not differ from Ao Nangovsky.
My conclusion about the hotel is the following: the hotel is good, the optimal price-quality ratio, suitable for active and mobile tourists looking for a budget option. I just do not advise you to settle in those 4 rooms that are located by the road, outside the hotel area.
Very uncomfortable and will definitely interfere with the noise from the street. And book rooms with air conditioning, not a fan.
Motobike.
We rented a motorbike from the Ao Nang rental office for the entire duration of our stay. Without insurance, the rent was 150 Baht per day, with insurance - 220. Being still inexperienced Thai tourists, we took it with insurance. She meant that if the bike was damaged, if something happened, we would not pay, and also, in the event of theft of a motorbike, we would pay 3.000 baht, while without insurance in case of theft, we would have to reimburse 48.000 baht. Of course, there can be no talk of any theft of bikes in Krabi, as we understood; you just need to remember well where you leave it, and then later, especially in the evenings in Ao Nang, it will be difficult to find it among the many other parked bikes : )
I was afraid to ride a bike, but my husband persuaded me.
And then there is this right-hand traffic, which is very difficult for people not of youthful age to get used to : ), because it is in our bone marrow that “look left, then right” when approaching the road. By the end of the rest, with a strong-willed movement, I still turned my head in the right direction, but my eyes still squinted to the side, according to my native left-handed rules : ) For the first time riding a bike with my husband, it was just right for me to put on a diaper : ), but I gradually got used to it, and by the end Rest even pricked up to shoot right on the move. But my husband, a professional driver with almost 30 years of experience, was extremely cautious, and unconditionally admitted his inferiority in driving a bike on Thai roads in front of the local population, who rides these bikes from infancy.
Of course, the view when a family of four is riding a bike: parents and a couple of already grown children, and one of them holds a bicycle in his hand, a mother holds a bag, and at the same time the father also chats on a mobile phone, it is impressive : ) Husband did not exceed 50 km/h (we were overtaken by old people, women, children and pets: )); only on the highway in certain areas it reached 70-80 km / h. So, subject to the speed limit and without showing off, riding a bike around Krabi is very personal : )
Tours.
Island excursions are relevant in Krabi. We went to three of these:
1. Four islands (this is not far from the coast of Ao Nang), on a large 2-story boat, 400 baht per person;
2. Koh Hong Island, Red, Lading and some other, on a standard boat, 600 baht per person;
3. Phi Phi Island and the islands next to it, on a speedboat, 1200 baht per person.
Excursions were bought from one of the many local dealers, whose tray was at the clothing store, behind the Becoffino cafe, at the beginning of Ao Nang, if you drive from Noparrat Tara. A nice girl worked there, we noticed that excursions were cheaper than on the brochures of the companies from which we traveled. Why - we did not understand, but we bought excursions only from her. They pick you up on excursions directly from the hotel (the advantage of the guests of Noparrat hotels: since all island excursions start from there, they are picked up last and brought first after the excursions), they put the same stickers on each tourist in the group, constantly recalculate the group, and, in general, everything is very, very organized . The cost of the tour includes lunch. The same excursions from the Biblio Globus were 2-3, or even 4 times more expensive.
Also, from two points of Ao Nang beach, you can take a boat to the beaches of Ton Sai, Railay and Phra Nang (100 Baht per person one way).
Tip: buy only a ticket there, and buy back there. In this case, you can go back on a boat of any company, and if you take a round-trip ticket right away, you will have to wait for the boat of the company from which you sailed. We arrived at Railay, walked to Phra Nang beach, and from there we sailed back by boat back to Ao Nang.
We rode motorbikes a lot. We also visited hot springs. It's not close, about 50 km one way. The sources made an impression, yes. We arrived there already in the evening, when there were not so many people there, and those locals. My husband and I could not stand it for more than 15 minutes - the water was at least 40 degrees, it was hot. You get out - no less hot, evaporation, like in a bath. We visited the city of Krabi, wandered through the streets, hid from the rain in a shopping center ...
Food.
Back in Moscow, my husband read in one of the reviews (thanks to the kind person who wrote it) about the Lucky Jim cafe.
Indeed, in fact, there turned out to be delicious (both Thai and European) cuisine, combined with a reasonable price. We sometimes had lunch and dinner in other places, but, nevertheless, in terms of price-quality ratio, we would put this cafe in the first place. You can find a cafe like this. Landmark - McDonald's, from it on the opposite side of the street go towards "from the sea" about 80-100 meters.
Sometimes they ate in cafes in Noparrat, there, of course, the menu is poorer, there is almost no European cuisine, but the prices are much cheaper.
Telephone communication with the Motherland.
A local SIM card from the True Move company with instructions in Russian was given to us at the airport by a representative of Biblio-Globus. By the way, representatives of telecom operators also distribute such SIM cards at the airport. Call Russia like this:
006-007-region code-destination number - 3 baht/min.
006-7-region code-destination number - 5 Baht / min.
The first type of connection does not take everywhere, therefore, even by typing 007, the connection can go through 7.
You can replenish your account as follows: either buy a payment card, erase the silver line on it to see the 14-digit number, dial *123* on your phone, then the 14-digit number, then # and call. You can replenish your account directly at the checkout of the 7/eleven supermarket, tell the cashier the amount, deposit money, the cashier will issue a check, the number from which you can enter in the same way. You can check your balance by pressing #123# and calling.
Massage.
There are a lot of massage parlors. We did massage every day, the third time we found a salon with good masseuses. We did not dare to Thai massage (200-250 Baht), it looks too harsh, but we did massage with oil (250-300 Baht) and especially “back and shoulder” (200-250 Baht), i. e. when you lie down on your stomach, and you are massaged all over the back of the body, shoulders and head. This massage is the best, I recommend it. Manicure, pedicure - everything is done perfectly and inexpensively (manicure without coating 200 Baht).
So, dear ladies, don’t spend money in your homeland before your vacation, everything can be done no worse and much cheaper on the first day after your arrival in Thailand : ).
Shopping, souvenirs.
In the shops you can and should bargain, over time you already know the limit below which sellers do not fall. The prices themselves vary. For example, our goal was to buy a suitcase, they are much cheaper in Thailand than in Russia. The suitcase we wanted in one store was for 3200 baht, in another for 2500, and in the third for 2000. We also bargained there, as a result, the suitcase came out 1600 baht.
In the Nopparat Tara market, you can throw off a very small amount (there are already very low prices).
Beaches.
Nopparat Tara Beach. A beautiful beach, with a not very wide sandy strip (when there is no low tide), so you can hide in the shade of trees. There were somehow no vacationers on it during our stay, if only closer to the islands.
Ao Nang Beach.
They bathe on it mainly on the left side (if you stand facing the sea). Parallel to this part of the beach is the Ao Nang walking road, along which hotels are located. When the hotels run out, there are numerous massage parlors along the beach. For those who like mostly beach holidays and generally less walking, I recommend choosing a hotel in this area of Ao Nang.
Phai Plong Beach. The beach is located to the left of Ao Nang (if you are facing the sea). This beach can be reached either by boat or through the mountain along the "monkey trail" from the left side of Ao Nang beach. The “Monkey Path” is a wooden passage (stairs first up, then straight for a while, then down), where there are a lot of monkeys that run right along it and wait for some kind of food from tourists.
We were warned that it is strictly forbidden to feed them here, as the monkeys are arrogant, tenacious, and in the battle for the food seen in the hands of a tourist, they can even bite. When we walked, there were a lot of monkeys, they sat on the railing, lay right on the path that we had to step over them. Pai Plong beach itself is not as big as Noparrat or Ao Nang. There are also several hotels near it. To be honest, I would not want to live in these hotels, because there is nowhere to go out for a walk, and every time you get tired of walking through the monkey path “to the world”. Yes, and in the dark (and it got dark there at half past six) I would not want to go along this path at all. In general, my IMHO, on this beach once, maximum two walks, look at the monkeys along the road, and that's enough.
Ton Sai (Ao Ton Sai). The beach is located next to Railay Beach and can only be reached by boat. The beach is nice, along it are hotels.
Railay (Ao Railay) - as a rule, its part, located from the western part of the peninsula, is meant. There are also hotels along it. From this beach you can walk to Phra Nang beach. To do this, in the area of the Raylay Bay Resort hotel, that is, right on its territory, you need to go towards the eastern coast of the peninsula, where the water is muddy due to the clay bottom. Along this clay coast, you need to go a little to the right, and there will be a road again to the western part of the peninsula, to Phra Nang beach. The road is very picturesque, along the rocks, monkeys are also jumping.
Phranang Cave Beach. The beach is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. The left side of it rests on the cave. Rock climbers climb steep cliffs on the coastal part. The beach is really very beautiful, we were on it twice, and despite the fact that both times, ironically, it was raining, this did not stop us from appreciating the beauty of the beach : ).
Klong Myang Beach.
On this beach, located along the village with the same name, from Ao Nang for 20-25 minutes a quiet ride on a motorbike. We liked this beach more than others. A large sandy strip, and almost no one there. There are hotels along the beach, but despite this, we practically did not see vacationers on it. A very romantic beach : ) We walked along it a lot, and on the last day of our stay it rained, and we sat in the water almost all the time so as not to get wet in the rain : ) Water slippers are desirable at low tide.
Tup Kaek Beach. This is the beach next to Klong Muang. We didn’t like it, the sandy strip is very narrow and, moreover, there is, well, if not a port, something like it, dry cargo ships stood in the coastal strip, in general, the view is repulsive to me.
I must say, in the descriptions of this beach, I read something completely different, so I admit that what we took for Tup Kaek beach is not this beach or only part of it ...
Of the beaches on the islands, I liked the beach of Koh Hong (where, by the way, we met a monitor lizard), and the beach of Bamboo Island. Snorkeling in Thailand, of course, is not very good, if where you can see something, then it is best on Bamboo. Maya Bay (where The Beach was filmed) is a very beautiful place, but the number of tourists per square meter is over the top.
Back we also got again an individual transfer on the same Toyota Camry with the same driver.
The financial side of things.
70 thousand rubles the tour itself (60 thousand tour and 10 thousand transfer). In Thailand, we still spent, without denying ourselves anything, on the obligatory components of the rest: excursions, food, alcohol (including duty free), bike, gasoline, etc. 21 thousand baht.
General impression of the first trip to Thailand.
Beautiful country, you should definitely visit it. Nature, sea, sights - all this must be seen. And try the local cuisine : ) But, IMHO, the main treasure of Thailand is people. Such hospitality of local residents, their goodwill, I would even say helpfulness, and just an ocean of smiles, you will not see anywhere.
I wish you all a good holiday.
On these dates, my husband and I celebrated 20 years of our joint pastime, that is, a porcelain wedding. 2011 turned out to be a very eventful year for us, we can say that we moved mountains, and only in November we were able to find time to relax. Since we both love the sea, our eyes at this time of the year had to be turned to the southeast, where we had never been before. And since the overthrow of the mountains required, in addition to moral and physical strength, also considerable material assets, the rest had to be put into a limited monetary framework. We really wanted to go to the Philippines, but we couldn't pull it financially.
Therefore, we opted for Thailand, taking into account the admiring reviews about this country from acquaintances and work colleagues who have been there.
We wanted to go to Koh Samui, but, after searching the Internet, we deducted that in November there is not much of a season there. But we learned about the province of Krabi and realized that we needed to go there : ) We love not very crowded and, if I may say so, elegant resorts. Krabi seemed like that to me. In principle, there are not as many tourists there as, for example, in Phuket, and there are also fewer of our tourists. Let me explain right away that we have nothing against our compatriots, on the contrary, we love and respect them, we ourselves are them : ). But we like to completely change the situation on vacation, by the method of “immersion” or something, including not hearing our native speech, and so that few people understand our chatter either : ). In general, Krabi met all our expectations, starting with the fact that from the whole plane, and there, and, apparently, back, only we rested in Krabi : ).
We found a budget proposal from the Biblio-Globus of 60 thousand rubles. (for breakfast) for two at the Tip Anda Resort, on Noparrat Tara Beach, near Ao Nang. True, I had to pay 10 thousand rubles for the transfer Phuket - Ao Nang and back. According to the tour operator, the transfer was supposed to be a group transfer and combine a car with a water vehicle, so we got ready for a long road to the hotel from the airport, but in fact everything turned out to be easier.
The Transairo flight took off from Moscow and arrived in Phuket on schedule. It so happened that we were among the first to get off the plane, passed the border control, got our luggage, and were among the first to go out to the meeting people. We were immediately grabbed by representatives of the Biblio Globus, hung flower garlands around our necks and put into a Toyota Camry. In this car, my husband and I were taken together, and, after about half an hour, I realized that we, apparently, would go by this car to the hotel itself. And so it happened, after 2.
5 hours, as it turned out, an individual transfer, we were at the hotel.
The hotel and its location.
Usually I don’t particularly describe hotels, because my husband and I are not picky and we only spend the night in hotels, so for us “is the room large, is the furniture new, how was it cleaned, how many times did the linen change, etc. ”does not have much values. But here I will try to write in more detail, because there were no reviews about this hotel from our tourists yet, probably mine will be the first and will help someone when choosing a place to stay.
The hotel is located, as I said, in Noparrat Tara. To be honest, I did not understand whether this place belongs to Ao Nang itself, or is considered its suburb. The hotel has one feature: the hotel itself is located 30 meters from the road that runs along the beach; but there are 4 rooms that are located right next to this road, i. e. outside the hotel area. And here we were settled in one of these rooms.
True, the safe did not work in it, we were immediately moved to another one, in which the safe worked, but the air conditioner did not cool, but simply blew like a fan. The hotel employee immediately came, fixed the air conditioner, and we unpacked our things. By nightfall, the air conditioner stopped cooling again, we somehow spent the night, and in the morning we went to the hotel to resolve the issue. We were immediately offered a newly vacated room already on the hotel territory, right in the first building, which is next to the reception. I must say that I immediately liked the hotel area, and did not like these 4 separate rooms on the road, so we happily moved in and lived safely in it for the entire period of our stay.
The room is cozy, modern; the room with shower and toilet is just huge, and the toilet itself stood on some elevation and in the middle, just like a throne on a pedestal : ).
One feature of the bathroom: there is no compartment for the shower, no tray under it, and after taking a shower, most of the floor in the bathroom is wet. The Thais, as I understand it, do not have such a dry-wet separation as we do : )
TV, refrigerator, condo, safe, everything worked smoothly; they cleaned very well, every day they made jellyfish elephants and other figurines out of towels (finally, for some reason, in no other countries, even in Egypt, they didn’t sculpt anything out of towels for me, in general, I waited : )). Wifi is free, but worked intermittently in our room.
The territory of the hotel, as I said, is cozy and large enough. The first building with 4 rooms at the reception stands separately, and the rest of the one-story buildings go in a row in a semicircle. We saw few other guests of the hotel, somehow we didn’t really intersect, so there was a feeling that there were few guests at all.
But this is not so, there are tourists in it, and among them a considerable part of the Thais themselves, who come by car with their families, probably from other parts of the country.
The staff is very friendly, any requests were fulfilled immediately, and sometimes it was not necessary to ask, they themselves came up and offered help. Such friendliness and hospitality are typical for Thais in general, but more on that later. The hotel felt, I would say, a family atmosphere, because the same employees work every day. That is, there is no shift work, they work during the day, at night (from 21 o'clock) the reception is closed (only a security guard sits).
Several types of breakfasts: for 150 baht (egg dishes, toast, bacon, cheese, tea) and for 120 baht (yogurt or fruit with yogurt, toast, cheese, tea), well, and something else on the menu. We had breakfast included in the price, but I already figured out on the spot that it would be more practical to take this hotel without breakfast, paying for it on the spot.
On the beach Noparrat Tara somehow especially (at least during our stay) there were no vacationers. Almost no one sunbathed or swam there. If only closer to the islands, which go along the beach to the right, in the opposite direction from Ao Nang. In addition, in the afternoon there were low tides. So we made an evening promenade along it, watched crabs and admired the sunset.
To Ao Nang from the hotel, either half an hour on foot, or five minutes by tuk-tuk (20 Baht per person to Ao Nang, and 30 Baht per person back from Ao Nang to Noparrat), or three minutes by motorbike : )
If from the hotel on the road go not to the left, to Ao Nang, but to the right, then in five minutes you will come to the local market. Noparrat is generally a place of rest for locals. So, you should definitely visit this market, see the real Tai.
In the evenings it’s just a holiday: crowded, fun, they cook their national food right there (including spider bugs : )), they sell everything right there, and all this at ridiculous prices, there are attractions for children nearby, a stage on which all the time of our stay Various musical groups performed (and very well). Someone just listens, someone immediately dances. In general, immersion in the local exotic to the fullest : ).
There are also shops in Noparrat, but the assortment in them is poorer than in Ao Nang; there are cafes with prices cheaper than in Ao Nang, but there are no supermarkets and exchangers. Massage parlors are also available, the prices in them practically do not differ from Ao Nangovsky.
My conclusion about the hotel is the following: the hotel is good, the optimal price-quality ratio, suitable for active and mobile tourists looking for a budget option. I just do not advise you to settle in those 4 rooms that are located by the road, outside the hotel area.
Very uncomfortable and will definitely interfere with the noise from the street. And book rooms with air conditioning, not a fan.
Motobike.
We rented a motorbike from the Ao Nang rental office for the entire duration of our stay. Without insurance, the rent was 150 Baht per day, with insurance - 220. Being still inexperienced Thai tourists, we took it with insurance. She meant that if the bike was damaged, if something happened, we would not pay, and also, in the event of theft of a motorbike, we would pay 3.000 baht, while without insurance in case of theft, we would have to reimburse 48.000 baht. Of course, there can be no talk of any theft of bikes in Krabi, as we understood; you just need to remember well where you leave it, and then later, especially in the evenings in Ao Nang, it will be difficult to find it among the many other parked bikes : )
I was afraid to ride a bike, but my husband persuaded me.
And then there is this right-hand traffic, which is very difficult for people not of youthful age to get used to : ), because it is in our bone marrow that “look left, then right” when approaching the road. By the end of the rest, with a strong-willed movement, I still turned my head in the right direction, but my eyes still squinted to the side, according to my native left-handed rules : ) For the first time riding a bike with my husband, it was just right for me to put on a diaper : ), but I gradually got used to it, and by the end Rest even pricked up to shoot right on the move. But my husband, a professional driver with almost 30 years of experience, was extremely cautious, and unconditionally admitted his inferiority in driving a bike on Thai roads in front of the local population, who rides these bikes from infancy.
Of course, the view when a family of four is riding a bike: parents and a couple of already grown children, and one of them holds a bicycle in his hand, a mother holds a bag, and at the same time the father also chats on a mobile phone, it is impressive : ) Husband did not exceed 50 km/h (we were overtaken by old people, women, children and pets: )); only on the highway in certain areas it reached 70-80 km / h. So, subject to the speed limit and without showing off, riding a bike around Krabi is very personal : )
Tours.
Island excursions are relevant in Krabi. We went to three of these:
1. Four islands (this is not far from the coast of Ao Nang), on a large 2-story boat, 400 baht per person;
2. Koh Hong Island, Red, Lading and some other, on a standard boat, 600 baht per person;
3. Phi Phi Island and the islands next to it, on a speedboat, 1200 baht per person.
Excursions were bought from one of the many local dealers, whose tray was at the clothing store, behind the Becoffino cafe, at the beginning of Ao Nang, if you drive from Noparrat Tara. A nice girl worked there, we noticed that excursions were cheaper than on the brochures of the companies from which we traveled. Why - we did not understand, but we bought excursions only from her. They pick you up on excursions directly from the hotel (the advantage of the guests of Noparrat hotels: since all island excursions start from there, they are picked up last and brought first after the excursions), they put the same stickers on each tourist in the group, constantly recalculate the group, and, in general, everything is very, very organized . The cost of the tour includes lunch. The same excursions from the Biblio Globus were 2-3, or even 4 times more expensive.
Also, from two points of Ao Nang beach, you can take a boat to the beaches of Ton Sai, Railay and Phra Nang (100 Baht per person one way).
Tip: buy only a ticket there, and buy back there. In this case, you can go back on a boat of any company, and if you take a round-trip ticket right away, you will have to wait for the boat of the company from which you sailed. We arrived at Railay, walked to Phra Nang beach, and from there we sailed back by boat back to Ao Nang.
We rode motorbikes a lot. We also visited hot springs. It's not close, about 50 km one way. The sources made an impression, yes. We arrived there already in the evening, when there were not so many people there, and those locals. My husband and I could not stand it for more than 15 minutes - the water was at least 40 degrees, it was hot. You get out - no less hot, evaporation, like in a bath. We visited the city of Krabi, wandered through the streets, hid from the rain in a shopping center ...
Food.
Back in Moscow, my husband read in one of the reviews (thanks to the kind person who wrote it) about the Lucky Jim cafe.
Indeed, in fact, there turned out to be delicious (both Thai and European) cuisine, combined with a reasonable price. We sometimes had lunch and dinner in other places, but, nevertheless, in terms of price-quality ratio, we would put this cafe in the first place. You can find a cafe like this. Landmark - McDonald's, from it on the opposite side of the street go towards "from the sea" about 80-100 meters.
Sometimes they ate in cafes in Noparrat, there, of course, the menu is poorer, there is almost no European cuisine, but the prices are much cheaper.
Telephone communication with the Motherland.
A local SIM card from the True Move company with instructions in Russian was given to us at the airport by a representative of Biblio-Globus. By the way, representatives of telecom operators also distribute such SIM cards at the airport. Call Russia like this:
006-007-region code-destination number - 3 baht/min.
006-7-region code-destination number - 5 Baht / min.
The first type of connection does not take everywhere, therefore, even by typing 007, the connection can go through 7.
You can replenish your account as follows: either buy a payment card, erase the silver line on it to see the 14-digit number, dial *123* on your phone, then the 14-digit number, then # and call. You can replenish your account directly at the checkout of the 7/eleven supermarket, tell the cashier the amount, deposit money, the cashier will issue a check, the number from which you can enter in the same way. You can check your balance by pressing #123# and calling.
Massage.
There are a lot of massage parlors. We did massage every day, the third time we found a salon with good masseuses. We did not dare to Thai massage (200-250 Baht), it looks too harsh, but we did massage with oil (250-300 Baht) and especially “back and shoulder” (200-250 Baht), i. e. when you lie down on your stomach, and you are massaged all over the back of the body, shoulders and head. This massage is the best, I recommend it. Manicure, pedicure - everything is done perfectly and inexpensively (manicure without coating 200 Baht).
So, dear ladies, don’t spend money in your homeland before your vacation, everything can be done no worse and much cheaper on the first day after your arrival in Thailand : ).
Shopping, souvenirs.
In the shops you can and should bargain, over time you already know the limit below which sellers do not fall. The prices themselves vary. For example, our goal was to buy a suitcase, they are much cheaper in Thailand than in Russia. The suitcase we wanted in one store was for 3200 baht, in another for 2500, and in the third for 2000. We also bargained there, as a result, the suitcase came out 1600 baht.
In the Nopparat Tara market, you can throw off a very small amount (there are already very low prices).
Beaches.
Nopparat Tara Beach. A beautiful beach, with a not very wide sandy strip (when there is no low tide), so you can hide in the shade of trees. There were somehow no vacationers on it during our stay, if only closer to the islands.
Ao Nang Beach.
They bathe on it mainly on the left side (if you stand facing the sea). Parallel to this part of the beach is the Ao Nang walking road, along which hotels are located. When the hotels run out, there are numerous massage parlors along the beach. For those who like mostly beach holidays and generally less walking, I recommend choosing a hotel in this area of Ao Nang.
Phai Plong Beach. The beach is located to the left of Ao Nang (if you are facing the sea). This beach can be reached either by boat or through the mountain along the "monkey trail" from the left side of Ao Nang beach. The “Monkey Path” is a wooden passage (stairs first up, then straight for a while, then down), where there are a lot of monkeys that run right along it and wait for some kind of food from tourists.
We were warned that it is strictly forbidden to feed them here, as the monkeys are arrogant, tenacious, and in the battle for the food seen in the hands of a tourist, they can even bite. When we walked, there were a lot of monkeys, they sat on the railing, lay right on the path that we had to step over them. Pai Plong beach itself is not as big as Noparrat or Ao Nang. There are also several hotels near it. To be honest, I would not want to live in these hotels, because there is nowhere to go out for a walk, and every time you get tired of walking through the monkey path “to the world”. Yes, and in the dark (and it got dark there at half past six) I would not want to go along this path at all. In general, my IMHO, on this beach once, maximum two walks, look at the monkeys along the road, and that's enough.
Ton Sai (Ao Ton Sai). The beach is located next to Railay Beach and can only be reached by boat. The beach is nice, along it are hotels.
Railay (Ao Railay) - as a rule, its part, located from the western part of the peninsula, is meant. There are also hotels along it. From this beach you can walk to Phra Nang beach. To do this, in the area of the Raylay Bay Resort hotel, that is, right on its territory, you need to go towards the eastern coast of the peninsula, where the water is muddy due to the clay bottom. Along this clay coast, you need to go a little to the right, and there will be a road again to the western part of the peninsula, to Phra Nang beach. The road is very picturesque, along the rocks, monkeys are also jumping.
Phranang Cave Beach. The beach is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. The left side of it rests on the cave. Rock climbers climb steep cliffs on the coastal part. The beach is really very beautiful, we were on it twice, and despite the fact that both times, ironically, it was raining, this did not stop us from appreciating the beauty of the beach : ).
Klong Myang Beach.
On this beach, located along the village with the same name, from Ao Nang for 20-25 minutes a quiet ride on a motorbike. We liked this beach more than others. A large sandy strip, and almost no one there. There are hotels along the beach, but despite this, we practically did not see vacationers on it. A very romantic beach : ) We walked along it a lot, and on the last day of our stay it rained, and we sat in the water almost all the time so as not to get wet in the rain : ) Water slippers are desirable at low tide.
Tup Kaek Beach. This is the beach next to Klong Muang. We didn’t like it, the sandy strip is very narrow and, moreover, there is, well, if not a port, something like it, dry cargo ships stood in the coastal strip, in general, the view is repulsive to me.
I must say, in the descriptions of this beach, I read something completely different, so I admit that what we took for Tup Kaek beach is not this beach or only part of it ...
Of the beaches on the islands, I liked the beach of Koh Hong (where, by the way, we met a monitor lizard), and the beach of Bamboo Island. Snorkeling in Thailand, of course, is not very good, if where you can see something, then it is best on Bamboo. Maya Bay (where The Beach was filmed) is a very beautiful place, but the number of tourists per square meter is over the top.
Back we also got again an individual transfer on the same Toyota Camry with the same driver.
The financial side of things.
70 thousand rubles the tour itself (60 thousand tour and 10 thousand transfer). In Thailand, we still spent, without denying ourselves anything, on the obligatory components of the rest: excursions, food, alcohol (including duty free), bike, gasoline, etc. 21 thousand baht.
General impression of the first trip to Thailand.
Beautiful country, you should definitely visit it. Nature, sea, sights - all this must be seen. And try the local cuisine : ) But, IMHO, the main treasure of Thailand is people. Such hospitality of local residents, their goodwill, I would even say helpfulness, and just an ocean of smiles, you will not see anywhere.
I wish you all a good holiday.
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