Krabi, Sickness, and Kuala Lumpur

Andrew and I arrived in Krabi, a small town in southern Thailand, on Thursday evening.  We'd had our fun in Pattaya, and particularly in Bangkok for Songkran, but it was time now for a break.  Some 780 kilometers south of Bangkok, Krabi is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the capital.  The town has about 50,000 residents and attracts its fair share of tourists too.

Krabi is in the south, near Phuket; it's physically
close but definitely a different vibe than Phuket.

Visitors come to enjoy the nearby beach, natural scenery, wildlife, and surrounding islands such as Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta.  I'd been to both on my 2013 trip (here's a link to that post) but missed out on Krabi the first time around.  Andrew was excited to see another side of Thailand and get away from the crowds.  Riding an elephant was on his bucket list, and I was eager to rent motorbikes for a ride in the countryside.

On Thursday we checked into the Krabi River View Hotel which, as the name implies, was right on the river that the town was named after.  That evening we walked on the riverfront and though the center of Krabi; it didn't take us long to get our bearings.  Less than a five minute walk from our hotel was a night market with lots of street food.  Andrew and I split several dishes - what we often do as a way to try more food - including pad thai, fried noodles with mussels, papaya salad, and mango sticky rice.

View of the Krabi River from our hotel

Papaya salad, one of my favorites; it's shredded papaya, tomatoes, beans,
peanuts, and garlic with fish sauce and plenty of hot chilies!

And mango sticky rice for desert: sweet sticky rice and sliced mango,
with coconut milk drizzled over top (optional but recommended)

Ah I almost forgot to mention the dessert crepes!  They come with a variety
of ingredients, but the one that I chose had banana and nutella, a delicious
combo.  I got it on more than one occasion!

That night Andrew's stomach started to feel queasy. and as often happens with first time travelers to SE Asia, travelers' diarrhea soon set in.  He was convinced it was something we ate at the market, but I was fine and thought it too soon for the food from dinner to have gone through his system.  Either way the following morning Andrew felt terrible.  He slept on and off for most of the day and didn't have much of an appetite; needless to say we didn't accomplish much.

We spent four nights in Krabi, and although Andrew made improvements he still wasn't close to 100% by the time we left.  Andrew did a lot of sleeping and recovering during those four days; I tried to help by bringing food and snakes from 7-11 to the hotel, and we found a pharmacy with antibiotics.  Once Andrew was feeling up to going out for a meal he wanted to avoid street food; it was hard for me but I reluctantly ate a few traditional restaurant meals.  Fortunately Andrew didn't have much of an appetite so I could get in at least one daily meal at the street stalls.

7-11 toasties, Andrew's go-to snack; they come in half a
dozen varieties and the cashier will heat it up for you -
each store has a panini press!  26 Baht is less than a dollar

On our second full day in Krabi we rented motorbikes.  It was Andrew's first time, but sure enough it didn't take long for him to get the hang of things.  Andrew's always had a need for speed - resulting in a handful of tickets back home - and he was no different on the bike.  I had a few unpleasant visions of Andrew getting run over by a truck or sliding out on a turn, but thankfully he came away from his first ride unscathed.  We took a 30 minute drive to Ao Nang Beach, which we learned was actually more touristy than Krabi itself (Krabi doesn't have a beach near town, but most backpackers flock to Ao Nang or Railay Beach).

Ao-Nang Beach

That afternoon, while Andrew was resting, I rode to a temple outside town called Wat Tham Sua.  Also known as the Tiger Cave Temple, Wat Tham Sua includes several shrines atop a 238 meter cliff.  Getting to the top requires a steep climb up 1,237 steps.  Feeling in the mood for a workout, I tried to run up and only managed to get halfway before needing a break.  I basically walked up the last bit but the views at the top were worth the struggle.  The next day Andrew felt better, so I did the climb again with him.

(note: Andrew's due to send me some pics from the trip.  We got some on top of the mountain for sunset, which I'll put up soon!)

While in Krabi I also managed to find a gym for a much needed workout.  It was the old school, non-AC, decorated with 20 year old workout posters type establishment, but it cost less than $2 for one visit and suited me just fine.  Also while Andrew was recovering I took a drive through the countryside on my motorbike.  Exploring the surrounding area, with palm plantations, small villages, and friendly locals, was one of the highlights of my trip.  At some point I'll have to do an extended motorbike trip in SE Asia!

Scenery near Krabi; it's definitely worth a ride through the countryside!

On Monday, April 20th Andrew and I flew to Malaysia.  Before our afternoon flight we had just enough time to get in a last minute elephant ride.  I happened to see an advertisement for elephant rides next to the Tiger temple, so we rode over and discovered a small office that arranged the rides on site.  We picked the 30 minute ride, which was enough time for us.  It was just a short ride on a path through the jungle, but the trainer also took us into a nearby lake (fortunately it wasn't deep enough to get us wet!).  I was glad to see that the elephants looked in better shape than the last time I had done it up near Chiang Mai, and Andrew was stoked to be able to say he got to ride one.

(elephant pic coming soon...I let Andrew take care of the photos!)

After a stopover in Penang, we landed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday night.  We scored a cheap last minute flight on Malindo Air; I'd never heard of Malindo but it was pretty much like the other budget airlines in the region (Air Asia, Tiger, Cebu Pacific, etc).  The only downside was we landed at the old airport in KL, which isn't connected to downtown by train.  On the bright side we did get to ride with a hilarious cab driver who rambled on and on about his Thai ex girlfriend he used to visit once a month and all the various massage parlor options in KL.  I'll leave out the details of that conversation; let's just say neither Andrew nor I can rate the quality of the cabby's happy ending massage advice.

We spent three nights and two days in KL, a city where I'd been twice before.  Andrew and I explored the Chinatown market near our hotel, ventured to Freedom Square and the KL city museum, and met up with Mel, a local whom I'd stayed with back in 2013.  Mel took us to her Aunt's Japanese restaurant and we went out for drinks with her and Ai Leng, Mel's friend who I also had met before.  Being a Muslim majority country, alcohol is heavily taxed, so a night out in KL is far pricier than most other SE Asian cities.  Andrew was also still getting over his sickness, so it was a good excuse not to overdo (or overspend) things.

Merdeka Square, with KL Tower in the background

With Mel (left) and Ai-Leng out in Kuala Lumpur

In the wee hours on Thursday, before sunrise, we took a cab to the train station, then the express train to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (the main one this time).  In a matter of hours Andrew and I would be in Seoul!