Our trip to Krabi took number of pitstops.
Bertolak dari Seremban around 10am on Wednesday (Dec 20). Kitorang punyala confident that the traffic will be smooth and steady because it's weekdays but we were wrong. Number of bumper to bumber on PLUS highway to north. Issuenya sebab orang buat jalan je, but since semua orang dok pakat cuti jadila sesak sikit di situ.
Reached Changlun around 7.30pm, terus buat insurance kereta to Thailand. Kejap je. Tidur balik kat changlun chalet. Our fav chosen chalet in Changlun. Suka betul treehouse kat chalet tu.
On next day; by 9am kitorang dah gerak to Bukit Kayu Hitam border. Queue dlm kereta dalam 11.30 am dah masuk danok. Process nya simple.
1. Car queuing. Which at first I thought everyone has to queue inside the building.
2. At the counter, provide the car insurance + passports. When you got lucky, you need to pay MYR10 for duit kopi to the kastam.
3. You were asked to park the car, and the owner has to go to the immigration office (counter outside the building) to fill up another form and issue the copy received earlier. Just follow the instruction board.
3. When you're done, keep in mind to keep a copy of the print out to issue during the next check out day.
Danok - For Early Lunch
We had our early lunch at danok.. kedai gerai tepi jalan. Memang famous pun.
Hatyai - For Shopping Agenda
55 min driving to Hatyai. We stayed at Grand Florida hotel, sedikit scary sikit hotel ni. Old hotel, with deem lighting. Nevertheless, very spacious, 2 queen size bed with MYR 120 a night.
We did our shopping in Hatyai. Nak kata makanan, I prefer the Danok's food. Maybe ada fusion of Malaysia + Thailand. Kat Hatyai la kalau nak beli wacoal, and nice kids pyjamas, sandals and all sorts. Sebab tak expect the very nice shpping experience, we ended up shopping at proper mall so that we can used up the credit card. Mahal la compare the night market. So lesson learn -- bring loads of cash if you go Thailand.
Krabi - The Outdoor experience
The next day on Friday, baru bertolak ke Krabi. It took up approx 5 hours. We started our journey around 3pm , reaching Krabi around 8pm. Sebab kat Hatyai, kitorang visited the night market. Just to snap picture. Tapi kat sini pun banyak stall barang2. Souvenirs beli kat sini. If you ask whether it's worth the money, I'm not very sure. Tapi nak cakap beli kat Hatyai lagi convenient dpd beli kat Krabi. Sebab it's hard to park a car at Krabi along the beach area.
We spent 3 days 2 nights in Krabi. Serious tak cukup, you need to spend more days ok !! The weather was just nice, tak panas and tak hujan. Make sure you do island hoping. We chose the 4 island, with package of 20 people per boat. This is just nice. Not that small, and yet not that big. The smaller ones will get you dizzy, the big ones will make you like immigrants..too pack. The price around MYR60 for adult and MYR 20 for child. You wont get such price for Island hoping in Malaysia. Suggest to buy the ticket at Krabi town, and not through the hotel.
MY SUMMARY
Things to prepare before the trip
1. Passport (of course)
2. Original or copy of geran kereta (owner kena ada, kalau tak get the consent letter signed by the owner).
3. Purchase the car insurance to Thailand. Banyak tempat around changlun area. We purchased family package (4 kids) around MYR 75.
4. Local foods - kalau ada anak kecik, suggest to buy the finger foods kat Malaysia. Jumpa local roti cream mentega Haji Kamarudin kat kedai runcit Changlun. Berbaloi2 untuk anak lepas mandi laut.
During the journey
1. Make sure to prepare alatan solat such as mat; ini sebab surau tak la sebanyak Malaysia. Walaupun ada. Kali ni terbalik, you see a lot of temple sign (mcm angkorewat) , which I mistakenly thought it's a surau. Our experience, going to Krabi should be no issue. we found rnr which provide praying area for muslim. tapi bila balik tak banyak macam pergi.
2. We brought a santa bag full of toys for the small ones, just to fill in time during the journey.
3. You dont have to worry about Halal foods when you reach Krabi, you can even hear the azan in Krabi.
Others
Car Regulations - 90km/hour year. It's a nice sight seeing, don't need to rush. The kebun getah is so clean and well managed. Boleh buat photo shoot. So just sit back and enjoy!
Toilet - It's acceptable and I consider cleaner than Malaysia. It's a dry washroom, so kena inform anak jangan basah lantai sbb they do provide a tap to wash and even a kolah to cebuk. Menarik tau!
Foods - Tak yah citer la. Many blogs talk about foods. We tried almost all the recommended ones, tapi ikut selera masing2.
1. Pulut mangga : Danok is the best, tapi pantang ada mesti beli
2. Tomyam : Bangkok version is much nicer
3. Salted fish : Not in our favorite list
4. Pad Thai : Yummey !!
5. Pancake Nutelle : We missed this one !
6. Coconut Ice cream : Unique, Will try again
7. Satay Ayam (Hatyai) : Rasa lebih kunyit, Malaysia punya lagi sedap kot.
8. Nasi Briyani (kuning) : Common dish, so-so kalau teringin nak pekena nasi.
9. Pulut Ayam : OK, sebab pulut siam memag kao
