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Mridula Dwivedi visited Krabi in Thailand and came back feeling blessed! :-) Here's why!
Krabi in South Thailand has beautiful beaches.
Right by the Andaman Sea, it is a peaceful beach destination in Thailand, away from the crowds.
It is a place where you would like to go with your family.
Diving and snorkeling can be done but Krabi has not encouraged loud water sports like banana boat ride and water scooters.
In Krabi there is even a more peaceful island, Koh Lanta, which is where my trip started.
Krabi is one hour by flight from Bangkok.
Air Asia, Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways all fly to Krabi. By road it is a 10 hour trip.
I was invited by Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi on this trip.
Koh Lanta National Park
Koh Lanta is an island in Krabi.
It has beautiful beaches, a charming old town, mangrove forests and much more.
Koh Lanta National Park has this fabulous beach which was not crowded.
There is a short hike to a watch tower within the park, which gave me this vantage point.
The only way to reach Koh Lanta is by a ferry or a speed boat.
Swedish Restaurant, Koh Lanta
The city center has many quaint restaurants by the beach.
I went to a restaurant decked in Swedish colors and called aptly, the Swedish Restaurant.
Being a vegetarian my food options are usually limited but they did an excellent vegetarian pizza for me.
I simply loved the view from the deck.
Scenes from the sunset dinner
In Krabi sunset dinner is a very popular concept.
You sit down in a restaurant by the beach and have dinner while watching the sunset.
The sunset was at 6.30 pm when I went there which is usually my tea time back home.
But I liked the idea of sunset dinner as I was free by 7.30 with the whole evening to myself to read or watch TV!
As the dusk came
The Kantiang Bay Beach at Koh Lanta was decked in blue light as the sun went down.
However, the beach was getting deserted at this hour and it was time for to pack the tripod and head back to the hotel.
Island Hopping -- Hong Island
The most popular activity in Krabi is island hopping.
One of the most popular and closest is the Hong Island.
It has white sand beaches and warm water to laze around.
Snorkeling and kayaking are also possible.
A speedboat for hire
The island hopping can be done via speed boats or long tailed boats.
If you are really looking for luxury, you can hire an entire speedboat for yourself for a lot of money!
All the bigger hotels have these deals.
An easier on pocket way to go island hopping is by a shared speed boat.
Poda Island
Poda Island is part of the famous 4 island tour which includes Tup, Railey and Chicken Island as well.
It is actually difficult to say which is the most scenic island out of the four mentioned above.
Other than Railey, the other islands are part of national parks and no night stay is permitted.
Railey Island has a five star hotel on it.
Long-tailed boats
With the water so clear and blue, long tailed boats make for a picture postcard image.
I clicked this picture at the Poda Island.
Sunset at Klong Muang Beach
Klong Muang is a beach in Krabi.
If Krabi is in a good mood it treats you to a visual delight at the sunset.
Many resorts to choose from
Krabi has fabulous accommodations which will suit every budget.
This picture was taken at Sofitel Krabi which has a 700 meter swimming pool. I could capture only a part of it in this image.
Mridula Dwivedi is an academic from India who is passionate about trekking and travelling. She blogs at Travel Tales from India.