Smitten With Krabi's Charms

By Remar Nordin KRABI, Dec 7 (Bernama) -- Sun, sand and sea. Add to that craggy, sheer limestone cliffs and more than a hundred picturesque offshore islands and what you get is the estuarine town of Krabi in southern Thailand. It also boasts inviting beaches such as the one in Phra Nang that was ranked 55th among the world's best 100 beaches by CNN earlier this year. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Krabi and other towns when I joined the Johor Media Club's Zeromile Tour programme to southern Thailand. The objective of our five-day, four-night trip was to write about the region's tourism products that seem to lure hordes of tourists from all parts of the world and how Malaysia can take a leaf out of their book. Our trip to Thailand by coach started at the zero kilometre mark in front of the Johor Bahru City Council building at Jalan Dato' Onn at night. Most of us dozed off as our bus made its way to the immigration complex at Bukit Kayu Hitam in northern state Kedah, more than 800km away. After that, we entered Thailand through the Thai immigration checkpoint in Sadao. All in, it took us about 15 hours to reach the Malaysian-Thai border. Our first stop was at the Asian Cultural Village at Danok, which I found no less impressive than i-City in Shah Alam, Selangor. The Asian Cultural Village is filled with all kinds of man-made attractions, as well as sculptures and statues, that appeal to both children and adults. The place looks great at night when it is illuminated with colourful LED (light-emitting diode) lamps. Later, we left for Hatyai where we spent a night. NOT FOR CLAUSTROPHOBES The next morning, we headed for Krabi. On the way there, we stopped at the Le Khao Kob cave in Trang province, which TripAdvisor – said to be the world's largest travel website – had described as the No. 1 tourist attraction in that part of Thailand. Thinking Le Khao Kob, like any other limestone cave, was filled with ancient stalactites and stalagmites, I was in for a surprise! Since this cave's main attraction is the stream that flows through it, we had to explore it by boat. All was well until we reached the entrance to the Dragon cave, as Le Khao Kob is also known as, and noticed the very low ceiling. The boatman ordered us to lie flat on our back. For the next 350 metres or so, the ceiling seemed to drop lower and lower until a point when our faces were just inches away from the surface. Of course, we were all warned beforehand not to raise our heads whilst the boatman expertly steered the vessel through the very narrow waterway. This rather scary part of our cave exploration took 20 minutes but for many us, it seemed an eternity. Our boatman's repeated cries to us to remain flat on our back and put our trust in him somehow managed to keep our anxiety levels down, especially when the cave's ceiling seemed to literally drop on our faces. Well, the Le Khao Kob cave exploration is certainly not for those who suffer from claustrophobia (extreme fear of confined places); neither is it advisable for obese people. I was amazed at the ingenuity of the people who came up with the rather "crazy" idea of exploring the cave by boat and turning it into a tourist attraction. The Le Khao Kob cave is, indeed, a crowd-puller and has for years been attracting busloads of tourists. SHOPPING HAVEN As this was my third visit to Krabi, I realised that the town's image had changed quite a lot since my last visit in 2014 when there were fewer tourists. Now, the streets are swarming with tourists and the shops are laid out in a more orderly manner. There are street lights in every part of the town and the police and military can also be seen making their rounds every now and then. There are also many more restaurants now serving halal food, especially at Ao Nang beach, which is a 20-minute drive from Krabi town. Ao Nang town, meanwhile, is a shopping haven for snorkelling and diving enthusiasts as there are many outlets there selling gear and equipment meant for underwater activities. Due to the keen competition, the shop operators often slash the prices of their goods to attract customers. For example, a 10-litre waterproof bag that sells for US$12.23 (RM50) in Malaysia can be bought for as low as US$2.44 (RM10) in Ao Nang. The anti-fog snorkel mask can be bought for US$24.47 (RM100) while the usual price is US$73.41 (RM300) elsewhere. FOUR-ISLAND TOUR A popular day-trip from Ao Nang is the four-island tour that takes tourists to the islands of Railay, Tub, Chicken and Poda. A short walk from the Railay beach is the popular Phra Nang beach, one of its main attractions being the Phra Nang cave. Legend has it that Phra Nang was the name of a princess who was ordered by her father to marry a giant snake. On their wedding night, the princess tried to stab the snake, which put a curse on her that turned her into a stone. The island of Tub is known for its 200m-long sandbar that links it with Chicken island. The latter is a popular destination for snorkelling. We stopped at Poda island for lunch before returning to the mainland. Next, we departed for the province of Satun, located about 300km from Krabi, where we went kayaking on the Trans Thong river. This river is suitable for kayaking as its currents are swift at times and calm at other times, with the roots of trees and boulders serving as natural obstacles. I have experienced kayaking previously but only out in the sea. Kayaking on the river was a different experience; although the kayak I was in overturned thrice, we did not give up and continued paddling till we reached the endpoint. Weary from our kayaking, we were rewarded with a Thai durian feast (it was the durian season then). We also drank a juice made out of Bunga Seri Pagi (Morning Glory flower) that we found very refreshing. EYE-OPENER Our tour of southern Thailand was an eye-opener for us and we could not help making comparisons between their tourism services and our country's. One good example, in terms of price worthiness, is the one-hour-long eagle feeding activity at the Kilim Geoforest Park in Langkawi island of Kedah that sets one back US$61.17 (RM250). For the same price, one can go on the four-island tour in Krabi. The islands off Krabi even have high-speed broadband cellular service and 4G connections. Malaysia is certainly not short of tourist attractions. In fact, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, off east-coast state Terengganu, was ranked 13th in CNN's list of the world's best 100 beaches. Yes, we have beautiful islands but they are lagging behind in terms of cleanliness and Internet connectivity. Malaysian tourism service operators can certainly pick up a lesson or two from their Thai counterparts on the sound and sustainable management of tourism products so that future generations stand to benefit from them as well. -- BERNAMA