Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

The “joint ticket” bought via our hotel allows us to reach Krabi from Koh Phangan in 5h30. We get up early, the cab of the boat company waits for us at 6 am. On the way, we cross a Canadian who stops the cab. She is in her fifties, she travels alone, she goes like us to Krabi but has reserved neither cab nor boat. A true adventurer! In front of so much nerve, a Swedish woman next to us asks her how she would have done if there was no cab, to which she answers that there would always be one

Another proof of how easy it is for tourists in Thailand

I pass a tourist with feet full of bed flea bites. The density shocks me and I tell myself that maybe my bites have nothing to do with fleas after all?

Arrived in Krabi, we are dropped in the middle of nowhere and we have to pay 100 baht to the bus company to be dropped off in the city center

JB took the care to reserve an ibis budget (French standard of cleanliness) so that I can spend a quiet night without waking up every hour (even if I don’t get pricked anymore, it’s still in my head, I have imaginary pricks). After inspecting the room and all the mattresses, no evidence of fleas. I will finally be able to spend a quiet night

We have lunch in the restaurant of the hotel: this soup pulls! But it is too good

Krabi is such a touristy town that salesmen and masseurs don’t need customers to get rich. Our attempts at haggling often fall through. One even finds there the chains Mc Donalds, Starbucks, Subway

Krabi has mountains and islands that look strangely similar to Halong Bay (but less beautiful)

The main beach: Ao Nang is rather disappointing, with cloudy water (maybe because of the rain?), an unbearable smell and only 2 meters of sand. Anyway, people come here to go around the “4 islands”, for Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Maya Bay (from the movie “The Beach”), not to swim

But seafood is available in most restaurants. And very fresh. Seafood is paid by the kilo and the chef cooks on demand (BBQ, steamed, sautéed)

After seafood, I make the fatal mistake of buying a Thai Ice Tea on the street (with probably not very recommended ice cubes, which I thought I was immune, being Vietnamese) that will nail me to bed all day long

Day 2 :

JB has some puncture marks. Me too but it’s not aligned as usual. We’re getting tired of it because there’s no evidence of bed bugs. We tell ourselves that we’re on the wrong track and that we have to go see a doctor to be sure

I will spend the whole day in bed because of my stomach ache, ice cubes, air conditioning, spicy food… No no no no! The doctor, it will be for tomorrow then. JB is obliged to stay at the hotel with me and only enjoys the superb swimming pool of the hotel while working. Here we are, we were not sick in India but in Thailand lol. This country does not seem to like us

That’s when you realize that your already purchased ticket is the only reason you can’t break ASAP out of this hostile terrain. We have one week left here, survival mode ON. (Note of JB: it is very well Thailand and it is really a pity that we already have a ticket of departure, it prevents us from staying longer 🙂 )

Day 3 :

We go to a clinic recommended by our hotel (First Standard Clinic) in the morning to get a clear picture of our health problems

A great relief since the doctor tells me that part of my bites are related to an allergy, and the rest to an insect (I suspect sand fleas). But nothing to worry about. JB’s recent bites in Krabi are just mosquito bites. So 0 bed fleas according to him. Phew!

We are treated very well, with three nurses taking care of us, plus a doctor. We are immediately received in an “emergency room”. The doctor is really very patient and explains things well. At the end, we are asked to take a picture to promote the lol clinic 🙂 it will be posted on their Facebook page

Medication + consultations cost us 60€. Each medication has our name on it + precise indication on when to take it and how much per day. We will see if it is reimbursed by our Chapka insurance

Today is the Queen’s birthday, which is also Mother’s Day in Thailand, it is a holiday. It’s Friday and many people take advantage of this extended weekend to spend a weekend in the seaside resorts. It is also the moment chosen so that 13 attacks take place in various Thai cities, including Phuket, making several deaths and wounded

A series of explosions occurred in several resorts in Thailand on August 11 and 12 (Patong, Trang, Hua Hin, Bang Niang, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani). Vigilance and avoid gatherings is recommended

Comply with the instructions of the local authorities. Remember to reassure your loved ones

In case of emergency, the Embassy of France in Bangkok can be contacted at +66 81 994 49 01.

Many friends write to us to ask how we are doing. We aren’t far from Phuket but far enough anyway (3 hours by boat). An important fire has ravaged 5 stores in the city where we are (Krabi) but nobody knows if the fires are linked to the attacks

The party originally planned in our hotel for the Queen’s birthday is naturally cancelled. We see on Thai TV channels such as BFM where the news about the attacks are looped. On another channel, we see the royal family going to the temples and say hello to the people. It seems to be a very important day for the Thai people, hence the even stronger impact of a series of explosions and fires like that on the morale of the Thai people

Day 4, 5, 6

We try every day to go to Railay Beach but at the time of the departure, it rains ropes. In short, we did not see anything of Krabi except the hotel, the clinic, the massage parlors not top and some seafood restaurants

Looks like they came here for me to rest. I feel a little guilty but a few days of rest per year, even if it’s in Thailand, it’s quite acceptable. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that it won’t happen in Tahiti or Easter Island where we’ll only spend a few days

This morning, we are about ten of us to take the free shuttle of the hotel to go to the city center. It starts to rain on the way and when I say rain it is worthy of the monsoon in Asia, but for hours (in other places in Asia it’s stormy at the moment). The shuttle arrives in the city center, the driver looks at us, nobody gets off, he understands that we all want to turn back. We thus made a walk by car of 10 minutes

Part 2: Practical Tips

Tips

• When you arrive by bus in Krabi, you will be dropped off in the middle of nowhere at the bus company’s headquarters. Buy there your bus/mini-van ticket to Ao Nang or to your hotel for 100 baht.
• The beach of Ao Nang is dirty is without interest, prefer a hotel far from Ao Nang beach (1 to 2km) to pay less. Take a free shuttle from the hotel or a tuk tuk to go to the port
• It is better to stay in Krabi (the hotels are better than those found in Koh Phi Phi) and take excursions or boats to other islands in the surrounding area. Boats cost between 100 baht and 300 baht/person (one way), and excursions around 500 baht in August (lunch included)
• Prefer Bangkok for shopping, Krabi stores are excessively expensive