Krabi and Chiang Mai, an atypical way to travel to Thailand

Before going to Thailand, my impression of the country came from the many Thai horror movies I had seen, and I had heard of the concept of "Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand Travel" popular among adults since I was very young. So my impression of the country at that time was = ladyboys + elephants + temples + tropical rainforests + ghosts

Location: Krabi + Chiang Mai
Characters: Me and H
Number of days for the trip: 9 days
Travel season: Summer when it is prone to heavy rain

First acquaintance with Siam: Thrilling transfer

With one day left before departure, H suddenly discovered that the Suvarnabhumi International Airport where we landed in Bangkok was not the same airport where we were transferring to fly to Krabi. We quickly calculated the time and found that there were only 3-4 hours between us. During this time, we had to go through immigration formalities and then find a way to get to Don Muang Airport. Since we knew in advance that it might take more than an hour to go through immigration formalities, and it would take an hour and a half to get to Don Muang Airport, the time was still very tight. So we checked the guide for the bus schedule from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Don Muang Airport at two or three in the morning. We were worried until we landed in Bangkok. As soon as we got off the plane, we rushed to the customs hall. Fortunately, there were not many people that day, and it took only about 40 minutes to pass through customs smoothly.

Then we asked around at the airport how to take the bus. The kind airport staff girl told us in thick Thai English that we had to wait a little longer for the nearest bus. We calculated the time and found that it was too late, so we decisively ran out of the airport to get a taxi outside. Taxis at Bangkok Airport are very special. You can't get in a taxi directly, but you have to get a ticket from the ticket machine next to the taxi stand, and then find the corresponding vehicle according to the parking space marked on the ticket. I figured out all this with the help of a warm-hearted taxi driver.


Chiang Mai’s Chinatown, we didn’t meet Tang Ren here


After coming to Thailand, I never dared to try this thing again


Look at the waves

Breaking the early morning air of this Southeast Asian country for the first time, the two of us sitting in the taxi calmed down. The driver asked us in simple English It was time to catch the flight, and then he kindly took us on a viaduct shrouded in the black veil of night. We walked through a bustling urban area, and then shuttled between low buildings. On both sides of the road, we occasionally passed by the shining golden pavilions of Thai temples and their huge portraits of the king. The driver was holding the steering wheel, and the radio was playing Thai pop songs with slightly upbeat tunes. There is an appropriate gap in the car window, and when the wind comes in, it can blow the scent of the Thai incense placed on the driver's side to us in the back seat. The car drove on the left side of the road, like a cheetah running in the countryside at night. Yes, Thailand is a right-hand drive country.
  

Like the clean sky

Don Mueang Airport is relatively small. Sitting in the terminal and watching people coming and going, it feels like waiting for the bus at a passenger terminal in a small county in China. There’s no better way to pass the time in a crowd than to look at the people around you. Most Thai people dress decently and cleanly, and you can tell the difference between the middle-class and the relatively lower-class people in details. A few girls look like Chinese, like girls from third- and fourth-tier cities who are slightly fashion-conscious. But when I boarded the plane later, I listened closely to them and discovered that they were Vietnamese. When the sun rose in the early morning, we boarded the Airbus A319 bound for Krabi along the escalator. After falling asleep on the plane for a while, we looked out the window. The land was covered with karst mountains and ridges that looked like piles of cow dung. Extending your sight a little further, you can see the dark and dense green virgin forest hanging on the mountain peaks. The aircraft adjusted its attitude in the air, sometimes leaning to the left at a large angle, sometimes raising its nose and shifting to the right. At this moment, it accidentally saw the silvery Andaman Sea. When the friction between the belly of the aircraft and the air under my feet became more and more intense, and I felt a numbness on the soles of my feet, I knew it was time for us to land again.
  

Karst peaks on the coast of Krabi

The weather was sunny. If Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport is like a passenger terminal in our small county town, then Krabi Airport simply feels like a rural bus station. A relaxed and friendly atmosphere fills the entire airport. The smiling lady who solicits customers is very much like the motorcycle master who solicits customers at the entrance of our Chengdu subway station. They worked hard to greet us in broken Chinese. No matter what, their smiles are hard to resist. If you give each of them a grass skirt, I believe they will make you believe that you have gone to Hawaii, which is governed by Big Brother America. According to the guide we prepared in advance, we easily found the ticket office of the shuttle bus bound for Krabi Town. After leaving the airport, we jumped on the minibus and left after loading. H pointed to the Buddhist amulet next to the driver's brother and told me that everyone in Thailand is very superstitious. I nodded and looked out the window. The Thai scenery under the bright sun was more novel to me.
  

The first hotel we stayed in has a swimming pool in the yard. I like the garden very much

The minibus driver was very professional and dropped off passengers along the way. We told us in advance He didn't ask for the detailed address of the hotel we were going to, because local businessmen were familiar with the local small hotels in small towns. After driving along the country road for about half an hour, we arrived at Ao Nang Beach. This place is so small, with coast, beach, karst peaks, banana trees, and coconut trees. It’s very similar to a scene in The King of Fighters that I played when I was a kid, where the martial arts masters practice boxing and fight. H complimented me on the good environment of the hotel I chose this time. Hehe, of course, my aesthetics and detail control have never been out of line. In the hotel lobby, I was busy checking in, taking a shower, and then we went to have a meal, and then took a songthaew to the town to visit the night market for food.
  

As soon as I went out, I was hit by a heavy rain (the photo was blurry)

A tropical climate Show off your power: Heavy rain!

H and I have clarified our division of labor before departure: she books flights and I check out hotels, and we discuss the itinerary and travel themes together. After arriving in Thailand, we further divided the work. She was responsible for financial accounting and looking for food on Dianping (most of the time the restaurants were very good), and I was responsible for detailing the daily itinerary, taking photos, and language communication and translation. We can always perform our duties in a tacit understanding, satisfy our own ideas while also taking care of each other's tastes, and get along very well along the way. This is also an important reason why we have been together many times. We are not a couple and we are both single. We consciously maintain the personal distance between friends of the opposite sex during our itinerary. It's so great to have two mature and fun people hanging out together!
  

Flowers after the rain

H found a restaurant with good reviews online. We followed the navigation (Google map) and arrived soon. However, we encountered a rainstorm halfway. What a coincidence that we didn't bring an umbrella! We hid from the rain for about 10 minutes in front of a 711, and then continued to eat. Oh, this rain is so heavy! In the end, we were all scared, worried that the fragile awning above our heads would be overturned by the storm. I have experienced strong winds and heavy rains in my life, but I have never encountered such a rainstorm that hit me like a fist. But I was very excited. It was the first time I felt the geographical term "tropical climate" in the middle school textbook. It was very real and great haha! Oh, and the meal was also very delicious.

Thai craftsmen: the bamboo bags that make people yearn for


The Thai woman on the same bus, I found that this songthaew is not only for tourists, but also plays the role of a local "bus".


Orangutan lampposts on the main street of Krabi Town

After dinner and waiting for the rain to stop, we took a songthaew to visit the night market in Krabi Town. Krabi Town is really not big and it is hard to leave a deep impression, except for those strange-shaped pillars on the main street with orangutan statues on top (huh?! Are they cosplaying Rise of the Planet of the Apes?).


European and American tourists in Krabi Night Market


Food stalls before the night market starts


Later we ran around in Chiang Mai looking for this bag and regretted not buying it in Krabi

Compared to the several large night markets we visited later in Chiang Mai, the scale of the Krabi Town Night Market is not very large, but the atmosphere is still lively, and there are many stalls selling various goods. We saw an old lady selling this kind of bamboo bag at the entrance of the night market. H liked it very much and picked a unique one. We all thought it was great in terms of shape, size, and material. H asked me if I would buy it. What I really thought at that time was that I, a boy, should not buy a "bag" (although I also think it is great from a simple aesthetic perspective, but the gender burden is still quite heavy), so I rejected her suggestion on the spot. Walk, walk, and continue to walk.

Later, we went to the beach the next day, and I carried the bag. The magical thing is that I also felt that it was very comfortable and light and matched the clothes on my body, so I was tempted to choose one if I saw this kind of bag again in the subsequent trip. Things always go against our wishes. We had a hard time finding a very similar style at Chiang Mai Night Market (but I have only carried it twice since returning home. I still feel a little feminine for a man to carry it, so I bought it for my future girlfriend haha). After dark, we took a songthaew back to Ao Nang Beach. It was raining heavily again on the way. There was a Thai girl in the car who was really beautiful, the most beautiful I had seen during this entire trip to Thailand.


This thing made me stare at it for a long time, it's really beautiful (although it's a bit tacky)


Children performing in a crowd

Ao Nang Beach: Sunset with a Pipa half-hidden

I was expecting a gentle sunrise to wake me up with warm sunshine (covering my face), but it was raining again! Well, we took out the instant noodles we bought from the 711 near Ao Nang Beach after visiting the night market last night for breakfast today. We ate so many packs of Thai instant noodles along the way that we couldn’t count them. We all thought that this stuff was so damn delicious! ! Especially the Tom Yum Goong flavor! ! In addition, we found a lot of snacks that we had never seen or eaten in that 711 like digging a treasure chest. Among them was a chocolate ice cream from Kitkat. Oh my god! Now I miss that wonderful taste!


Drinking black tea, letting the wind and rain blow outside the window


I like this lush atmosphere.


Restaurants on Ao Nang Beach

On the second day in Krabi, we spent all our time wandering around Ao Nang Beach and the jungle and town behind it. After a long journey the day before, we finally settled down and slowed down to experience this place. Since the rain had not stopped in the morning, the entire coastline looked gray. We waited for the rain to stop in a restaurant next to the beach that was temporarily closed. I leaned on the railing and looked into the distance in a daze, watching the sea water slowly extend from the grayish yellow near to the dark blue in the distance. The waves seemed very restless, with thousands of crests and troughs rising and falling together. The dense raindrops suddenly plunged into these waves, were swallowed up and disappeared.


We walked from one end of the beach to the other

Take off your shoes and hold them in your hands, bury your toes in the soft sand, the sand fills and squeezes between your toes, and the touch of being wrapped by the warm sea water is very comfortable. Many years ago, I wanted to come to Thailand to see the rainforest here, see the elephants here, and step on the sand here. Now it has finally come true!


It is said that the hairdressing skills in Thailand's barbershops are generally not very good


Krabi is geographically close to Malaysia, so many residents here are Muslims.

The weather was gloomy, and we wandered along the main road towards Krabi Town, passing a mosque and a very beautiful private courtyard, taking photos along the way. To be honest, if I hadn't come with H, I would have walked even slower, and started taking photos. In general, I basically took typical tourist photos on this trip. In fact, travel is a good trip, and with different purposes and moods, the photos you take will be different.


The long-awaited sunset

When it was dusk, we returned to the beach. At this time, there was a trace of sunset in the sky. This was so omg, we ran happily on the beach. When the night fell, we said goodbye to the sunset that was half-covered by the lute, and went to a travel agency to book a boat ticket to Lanta Island the next day.