Back to the Beach - We love Krabi!

We could not stay away from Thailand so we searched for last minute deals. This was not a trip that we planned for, so we went into it with a limited budget and an attitude of adventure. We were not sure what to expect considering the mixed reviews of the hotel we booked and the lack of availability given our last minute decision to travel, but it turned out great! The kids were exhausted by the time we reached the hotel. Sticking with our low cost theme, we opted for the shuttle bus instead of a taxi to our hotel. We took the scenic route through Krabi town, which Chris and I thought was great, but the kids grew tired of the bus once the novelty of riding a bus wore off. Here they are in the lobby while we checked in.

We stayed at the Krabi Cha-Da Resort, just up the hill from Ao Nang Beach in Krabi. It was a busy area, with lots of resorts, restaurant options, and great people watching. After we checked in, we hit the pool, and were impressed by the view from our deck and the pool area.

After a short swim, we ventured out to get a feel for our location. The kids were hot so a quick ice cream stop was in order, but we were not planning on the mess! Chris had to locate some wipes to clean the kids up before we could continue on our way.

After some delicious dinner, we walked the strip along the beach, full of shops, restaurants and fun tourist traps, including someone offering pics with a spider monkey! The kids were excited to ride in a tuk tuk, so we flagged down a van-style tuk tuk for a ride back up the hill to the hotel.

The next day we wanted to take the kids on a long boat, so we researched some nearby beaches and decided to make the short trip to Railay Beach. Railay is actually on a peninsula attached to Krabi, but it is inaccessible by roads due to the steep cliffs surrounding the beach, so the only way to get there is by boat. We bought tickets to take a long boat (about $3 US per person each way - Levi was free) to West Railay Beach and it turned out to be one of the best days of the trip. The boat ride took about 15 minutes and provided amazing views of the coastline. We waded out to the boat, and climbed aboard with a few other passengers.

The beach was beautiful, with a swimming area that provided gentle waves to play in and numerous cafes and restaurants for beach refreshments. We stayed as long as the kids could handle the sun and surf. Ice cream, of course, always provides relief from the hot sun.

Tilly took the last photo above of us on the beach, and we caught a boat back to Ao Nang. The scenery on the way back was amazing, and we loved every minute of Railay Beach.

We returned to the Cha-Da Resort and swam for a few minutes in the pool before the rains hit. And boy, did they hit! We escaped to our room just before the downpour, that lasted about an hour. Then we ventured out for some dinner and chose a place on the beach called Thai Thai Restaurant. It had awesome holiday decor, and little did we know that it also had great entertainment - We were even serenaded by Whitney Houston!!

After dinner we stopped at a fish spa because Levi changed his mind after he heard Tilly's report of the fish nibbles at the KL Central Market. It was so funny to watch them squirm and giggle for 15 minutes of fish tickles. Tilly said these were much gentler, as the fish were waaaay smaller than she experienced in KL.

The next day was our last full day and we wanted to take a long boat to a different, more secluded beach. But our plans were foiled when I tripped on a rusty hook at breakfast. Tilly's chair tipped over as she was climbing in, and when I jumped up to grab her, the hook caught the top of my foot and I got a nasty scrape. The people in the lobby were very helpful and cleaned it up the best they could, but I wanted to see a doctor to get it cleaned. There were a couple walk-in clinics just down the street and I stopped into one that was empty and had it checked out. They cleaned it well, bandaged it up, but said absolutely no swimming or getting it in the beach water for at least one full day!! Not what I wanted to hear, but I was freaked out about the possibility of infection, so we scrapped plans for a long boat ride and decided to hit the local beach. And its a good thing we did, because about an hour after we set up on the beach a huge storm rolled in and we got soaked! We tried to hide under our beach mat, but everything got wet, including my phone (which has miraculously recovered from lots of moisture this trip - thank goodness for the rice treatment!) and my foot. We took advantage of a break in the downpour to scramble back to the main street and hail a tuk tuk back to the hotel. Here was my not so terrible view while nursing my foot before the rains began.

And here is the rainy view from our hotel room during the storm.

We couldn't sit in the room for long, so we grabbed an umbrella and headed out to find some street food. The kids declared their favorite tuk tuks to be the little motorcycle ones, and this particular driver gave us a memorable ride. There was a monkey riding on a pile of coconuts on a tuk tuk ahead of us and he was on a mission to catch up with it. Here we are holding on for dear life, and here is the monkey we were after!

We got dropped off at a strip of street vendors and found some local delicacies to snack on before dinner. The kids shared some grilled corn, and Chris and I shared some papaya salad in a bag. It was delicious, but I still think its weird to eat out of a plastic bag.

To finish a great trip, we had some amazing noodle dishes for dinner. Here is a pic of Chris's favorite meal (noodle soup) and his favorite chefs (great fro's, huh?) and here is my favorite - the Boat Noodle counter.

We love everything about Thailand - the people, the climate, the food, the culture, and the scenery. Can't wait to get back when the kids are a bit older, and hit Bangkok, Chang Mai, and some new beaches. We know a few words in Thai, but will definitely get some more lessons from Yaya before our next trip.

City Life for Christmas

We spent the last few days enjoying the city and spending time with Bubba and Yaya before they left for Bangkok. We went with Yaya to the KL Central Market, where we enjoyed some local food and merchants and strolled through Chinatown.

Tilly really wanted to let the fish nibble her toes at the Central Market so Yaya and I said we would do it with her. I remembered seeing the same booth when we were at the market 5 years ago but when I saw the fish I had second thoughts. They were waaaay bigger than they were before, I guess they are the same fish 5 years bigger! It is supposed to be great for your circulation and foot health, and they say the fish are toothless, but it feels like they are biting your feet and ankles. We could not stop laughing the whole 15 minutes!

On Christmas eve the kids were so excited that Christmas would happen a whole day earlier than back home. One of our traditions is to follow Santa's progress on the Santa Tracker so it was really fun to show them how much closer Santa was to Malaysia than Washington before they went to bed.

And in the morning they were thrilled that Santa found them! Tilly wrote Santa a note explaining that they were 'only allowed to receive one present and that she really wanted a Seahawks jersey' and that she decorated the tree all by herself. Santa delivered!

After breakfast we all headed downtown for the aquarium and to see the sights of the city.

The aquarium was super busy, but fun. We had been there on Christmas Day 5 years ago and did not remember it being as busy as it was this time but it was still worth it. They have a conveyer belt that you ride through an aquarium tunnel so it feels like you are underwater. And we were there during sting ray feeding time, which was really cool. Even Scuba Santa made an appearance!

Outside of the aquarium we got a great view of the Patronas Towers.

We met up with Bubba and Yaya and checked out the crazy scene at the mall on Christmas Day. Unlike malls at home, these are all open, and even busier than on a normal day of the year. The holiday displays and festivities are really over the top, which I find so interesting in a mostly Muslim country. We had to fight crowds of people just to catch a glimpse of Santa, and enjoyed the rest of the scene from above. I even caught a bunch of Mrs. Clauses performing a choreographed routine to Christmas music.

Just a typical scene at the mall's valet parking area - a couple Ferraris and a Lamborghini. I guess orange really is the new black?

When we got home we were getting the kids ready for bed and a huge thunderstorm rolled in. There have been a couple small storms while we have been here but this one was really big and close. After one particularly loud thunder crash the phone would not quit ringing! We actually had to unplug it. Tilly and I braved the deck for a while to experience the thunder and lightening close up.

We are enjoying our stay in the city, but since Bubba and Yaya headed to Bangkok, and the weather has been increasingly rainy, we decided to make one final trip to Thailand before our adventure ends. We found last minute tickets back to Krabi, so are off again tomorrow. We are all excited to get back to the beach!