Krabi, Thailand with AseanTourism
Traveling for work has always been one of my biggest dreams, and in the last few months I was lucky to have fun in Mexico with NKDSKN, party with Amazon Prime and Lady Gaga in California and was sent on an unbelievable, unforgettable adventure by the ASEAN Tourism Board to Thailand, Malaysia, and to the island of Bintan in Indonesia.
The trip to Asia has been so rich in memories and enlightening in every way that I really wanted to share with you more details about my experience in every country I have visited with the team. Shall we begin?
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When I received an email invitation to join a trip to Southeast Asia, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. I think I almost screamed from happiness. I was still in a wondrous shock and disbelief until the tickets information hit my inbox and I marked my calendar with the date of my first flight (and oh boy, did we take many!) I have never been to Asia before and it meant so much to me to be able to explore this part of the world as a blogger.
An important thing to note is that all three countries - Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are quite conservative, therefore we were advised to bring more modest hot weather clothes.
As we had such a long adventure ahead filled with different activities (more about them later! It is the most exciting part!), I, like a typical girl, decided to pack 1000 outfits ‘just in case’. Luckily, I didn’t have to stress about packing, because I got a great gift from Victorinox - an expandable big suitcase.
My Victorinox, in a beautiful red color, proved to be very durable, but the best part of it that the one I have EXTENDS BY 45%! I honestly filled it with so many useful and not so useful things and every time I thought that this suitcase had enough, it would still fit ANYTHING I added. I had my share of different luggage and will do a detailed review of all of them one day, but so far Victorinox is my top favorite.
Well, after the bags were packed, the goodbyes were said, me and Angel, who also lives in New York, flew to Hong Kong to meet our third travel partner Sarah (Los Angeles). Before I begin detailing all the adventures, I have to explain that this trip was not a regular one…
The main decisions on experiences were made by our followers, and they had to choose what each one of us was going to do and see. All the voting was taking place in our Instagram Stories!
By the time of our flight, I already gave my followers two choices for my first activity in Krabi, Thailand:
A visit to Elephant Sanctuary
Relaxing Natural Hot Springs Spa
However, an eccentric side of me decided that I should give my followers to pick my food and outfits sometimes too. So, there we were in Hong Kong, haven’t even started our official part of the trip, and I was already letting my audience to pick between me eating a cold fungus soup or some black herbal jelly. As these food decisions had to be quick, it looked like at the beginning the soup was winning, but 10 minutes later people voted more for the jelly… So I ATE THEM BOTH. If you want a good laugh or missed my Stories initially, go to my Asian Adventures Highlights on Instagram and watch that recording :D In short, jelly was not bad, but skip the soup!
Finally, after I filled myself with exotic Chinese food and drinks, our boarding to Bangkok started. Then we waited for another few hours in Bangkok, getting to know Sarah, who is AMAZING by the way, and finally after 24+ hours got on our final plane to Krabi.
USEFUL TIP: I highly recommend to exchange money at the airport as it is not that easy to find an exchange place later. At least change $50-$100. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but Thailand is a very pleasantly affordable country!
And there we were.. in Krabi!
When you imagine a classic picture of a paradise, you see Krabi. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful: clean white beaches that stretch on for miles, turquoise blue waters filled with colorful sea creatures, dense mangrove forests, gorgeous limestone cliffs, and lush green jungle, intimidating and inviting at the same time. The rich, fresh smell of a grand adventure, spiced with the aroma of exotic flowers and wildlife, filled my lungs immediately.
We checked in at Centra by Centara Phu Pano Resort and started getting ready for our first dinner in Thailand, which was at a gorgeous and romantic Ruen Mai Restaurant. The restaurant’s roof is made from bamboo and reminded me of Tulum, and the whole structure, set in the open air is extended over a maze of canals and ponds and surrounded by beautiful nature.
The food and decor of every restaurant in Krabi that we visited on this trip exceeded my expectations. I got hooked on Papaya salad and Tom Yum soup, and hope to recreate some of the local Thai dishes at home for my friends and loved ones at home in New York.
After the dinner, we enjoyed a short night of sleep at the hotel (we really didn’t sleep much for two weeks while we were there, to be honest, but we loved every second of the trip!), and again, were impressed by the breakfast spread at Centra by Centara Phu Pano Resort. I think it was the best resort we stayed at during the entire trip, and the pool view was absolutely spectacular.
But as much as I would have loved to eat my way through the buffet and then tan by the pool the entire morning, I was MADLY EXCITED for my first activity that was chosen by my followers - A VISIT TO ELEPHANT SANCTUARY!
Krabi Elephant Sanctuary is an ethical experience and a place where overworked and abused elephants find a new home and a safe haven. I was so lucky to get close to these magnificent creatures, feed them bamboo leaves and bananas, play with them in dirt and then bathe them in a river in the jungle. The whole experience was out of this world, and if you know me long enough, you know that interacting with animals is one of my favorite things in the world.
I also learned that you can make paper from elephant poo, and witnessed a few women and a cute little girl going through the whole process. I, of course, bought a couple of elephant poo paper notebooks as gifts and a big roll of paper for my own art projects :)
After the Elephant Sanctuary, the ASEAN Tourism Board and V’explore Tours informed us that after lunch on water (another delicious delicious lunch place, but unfortunately I cannot find its name! I will update this post if I do!), we actually were going to have another surprise.
They must have read our minds because after the long flights and an active morning with elephants and shoots, we really wanted to relax a little bit and a visit to the famous Klong Thom Hot Springs Spa just made the whole day even more perfect.
We enjoyed natural thermal springs, scrubs, neck massages and…. an hour-long INCREDIBLE Thai massage in a beautiful hut overlooking the jungle with pretty birds singing their beautiful songs. The whole experience was almost spiritual.
For Day 3, my followers chose between adventurous rock climbing overlooking Phra Nang Beach, Railay West and Tonsai Beach or canoeing Phang Nga Bay and visiting the Monkey Temple - Wat Suwanakuha.
Both of the options seemed extremely appealing to me, but I really wanted to see the temple and canoe, and that was what my followers chose for me to do!
I got to explore more of Krabi’s stunning scenery, fed monkeys, had a quiet moment of prayer and meditation followed by a mind-blowing adventurous ride in a canoe, a boat ride to a 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗺 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲 on the water, and a visit to the famous 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱!
Did you know why monkeys are worshipped in Thailand? It’s all thanks to the 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, where the monkey Hanuman and his army helped Rama to take his wife Sita back, who was kidnapped by the demon Ravana!
That is why there are so many monkeys roaming around temples freely. The official name of the 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗲 is 𝗪𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝘄𝗮𝗻 𝗞𝗵𝘂𝗵𝗮 and it’s home to a magnificent reclining gold Buddha statue and to hundreds and hundreds of monkeys. Not going to lie, but I did not expect monkeys to be so hyperactive and at times a little bit scary to be around!
Useful Tip: Throw food at monkeys fast, otherwise they will snatch it and might hurt you. Also, don’t wear a backpack to the Monkey Cave as monkeys will definitely try to steal it :D
I also was so excited to see the famous James Bond Island and feel like a real Bond girl (of course I took some dramatic swimwear photos!). The island was featured in TWO FILMS about the iconic #007 Agent: ”𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝗻” and “𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 N𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 D𝐢𝐞𝐬”, so the fans of the British agent will definitely enjoy the visit.
All our Thailand days were packed with various fun activities, beautiful experiences, and I absolutely fell in love with Thai culture, cuisine, and nature and with the very soul of the kind and hospitable Thai people. All three of us girls agreed that we would like to come back to Thailand as soon as possible and hopefully explore other parts of this magnificent country…
But then, we were off to Malaysia, which I will tell you about in my next post!
