Go beach, Krabi!

 Holiday Inn Resort, Ao Nang!

I thought this area was perfect because it was a quiet stretch conveniently located 

next to a family mart & opposite a beautiful beach, 

yet just a short 5 mins walk away from the busy stretch of eateries, bars and shops!

Chic Lobby design

We got a room with the pool at our doorsteps!

A quick dip in the pool before we headed out for dinner!

There were plenty of beachside pubs and restaurants opposite our resort, 

so i grabbed a thai iced milk tea and kicked back to nature's scene :)

Sun, Sand, Sea and Thai Iced Milk Tea,

best combination ever :D

We made all of tour bookings here, just a stone's throw away from the resort.

Best of all, it's located right in front of Family Mart!

Dinner @ Lae Lay Grill 

We were searching for a beach restaurant when it started to drizzle, 

out of desperation, we took to the nearest food signage and before we knew it, 

we were taking a shuttle bus to a Seafood grill located on top of a hill!

Lae Lay Grill was rated #10 on the TripAdvisor website but i thought it didn't deserve its credits.

The ambience of the restaurant was amazing, though the food didn't quite match up to its exterior :(  

I thought it would've been nicer if we were there for a sunset meal!

Papaya Salad

Andaman Seafood Platter 

Not so fantastic and honestly too pricey compared to the other restaurants in Ao Nang. 

Post-dinner stroll along the shopping street in Ao Nang.

Day 2, Island Hopping Tour! 

En route to Hong Island,
we stopped over at Paradise Island for snorkelling, lunch break and more camwhoring.

 Whee! Rope swing! 

The final stop was at Hong Island.

Honestly there were way too many tourists and i didn't quite like the crowdedness of it.

I have to admit though, the limestone cliffs were really beautiful! 

We had plenty of time there to make sure we capture the perfect shot. 

It was surprisingly easy to do so though with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4! 

I swear it took us just a few tries to get this shot :D

Mangrove Canoeing! 

Day 3, we decided to choose only one tour because i really didn't like the idea of elephant riding.

The starting point. 

Our tour guide was this free-spirited thai (as all tour guides) who led us out into the sea.

He claimed that by taking a different turn, 

we would have ended up in the open sea of the Andaman waters!

Sunrays peaking through the fortress of leaves! 

Gosh i learnt about aerial roots back in secondary school science! 

We got off our canoes in the middle of the mangrove swamps and continued on a trekking path. 

At that point, we had completely no idea that the tour involved getting off the canoes!

We rested at the hut that they built for a bit as the guide lit up his cigarette for a smoke. 

Evidently, the ang moh who travelled with us also had no idea what was in stores. 

All of us were in swim wear (i was in bikini) and little did we know we were in for some 

hardcore trekking and limestone cave exploring later on!!

The guide shared with us stories of the platforms collapsing from the weight of fat travellers from different parts of the world HAHA

All the structures were built with their bare hands. 

Apparently it is ok for anyone to set up a tourism business without any government intervention, 

all they needed to do was to minimise the destruction of the natural habitat. 

So.... 

it meant that anyone could've died from climbing the structures that they've built!!! 

It was not like we were able to turn back, 

so we trudged on in slippers and swimwear and trekked through treacherous paths

up to the limestone caves to observe bats in their slumber!

I gotta say it was damn worth it!! 

Check out how amazing the view was! 

I don't have many photos given that it was all dark, 

but we were able to see the bats and also natural formations of stalactites and stalagmites!!! 

It was geography alive in front of my eyes!!

Back on mainland, we rented scooters and decided to explore Krabi Island!

I'm very proud to say that I learnt how to ride it with the help of my trusty companion!

We drove on and spotted an afternoon market near Ao Nang!

Fooood Galoree!!

CARBS CARBS CARBS never looked so enticing!

The menu didn't come in flavours but in choices of cartoon drawing lol

All kinds of deep fried!!

KEBAB!

I almost wanted to buy the taro pancake because i'm a huge taro fan.

But i gotta save space in my stomach for food untested!

Gimmicky Angry Birds fishcake!!!

So cute!!

Flattened burnt banana - 

I was so intrigued i tried one!

Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as it looks :( 

Perfectly packaged NASI LEMAK!! 

THESE PERFECT EGGS. 

For the record, they were really yummy i don't know why they are just eggs!!

THIS THAI SWEET CREPE - aka KHANOM BUANG.

I had to post it on Facebook and cry out for help in identifying this mysterious thai snack. 

It was really good and came in the perfect bite size!! 

They look like tacos but are made of rice flour instead, 

and is slabbed with a heavenly blob of coconut cream, 

followed by either sweet or savoury toppings. 

YUMS. 

I DIED OH I DIED. 

These glutinous coconut/black rice pancakes were EVEN BETTER in my opinion,

i don't even know how to begin. 

I'm a huge fan of muah chee/mochi so this texture reminded me of that. 

PLUS they weren't sweet at all, it was all the right balance.

Stomach filled, we scooted on!

...and stopped over for some Karting action beneath the limestone mountains! 

Night fell, and we chilled out at Luna Beach Bar near the beach :)

We grabbed a table right next to the beach!

I usually don't drink but i was in the mood for some Mai Tai, 

i had to cave in because the ambience was too perfect!!

I got pretty high with just a few sips (i'm quite a bad drinker).
Alcohol must have screwed my tastebuds for i thought these prawn cakes were the
best tasting things ever!!!!

Some of the best moments in life are made of these; 

cocktail conversations with the best company one could ever ask for. <3