Even we do know that during May-October is a rainy season for Andaman Sea, however, if we do love to travel, even facing a big thunder storm, we would never be afraid. This trip, I have a chance to retrieve two awesome promotions deal. The first one is a promotion from Bangkok Airways 48th year anniversary which I have got a round-trip ticket for only 1,100 baht. The second promotion is from Thai rent a car which I rent a hatchback car for 499 baht per day plus a tax fee at 1068 baht in total for two days. Yet, this price is not included insurance fee. As for the accommodation, I also have got a 2 nights free accommodation.

24 hours before the departure time, Bangkok Airways would send an e-mail (to the e-mail that we has informed them earlier during a reservation process) to inform passenger about the advance web check-in services. In the e-mail would include a link at http://www.bangkokair.com/pages/view/web-check-in , when you enter in the site, just only a few click and all the process are done. I would suggest you guys to do an advance check-in, thus, you don't need to wait in a long queue line at the airport.

When I arrive at the airport, I feel glad that I have already done the online check-in earlier as if I have not, I would definitely have to wait in the long queue for almost half an hour. Therefore, I will just drop my baggage and take only about 5 minutes for the process. Now, not to waste anymore time, let's head straight to the Lounge of Bangkok Airways.

Upon arrival at the Lounge, we just need to show the boarding pass to the staff and we are able to enjoy the service inside. Moreover, the staff will give you password Wifi for using inside the Lounge as well.

There is the internet corner for service as well.

There are both sofa and counter bar seating and passenger would choose the seat they prefer. One more thing I would like to tell you, the seating at the counter bar would have a charger for service as well.

Light meal corner would have both appetizers and drinks such as Popcorn, Cookies, Cup Cakes, Crispy Rice Cracker together with cold and hot drinks.

And one more thing that could not miss to mention that is a legendary popular snack, Steamed Coconut Milk Sticky Rice Wrapped in Banana Leaves. They would refill it all the time.

A light meal before boarding on the aircraft.

By the time the Gate opens, we will be very full already.

And we are now ready to take off to Krabi.

The view from high angle of Bangkok and Samut Prakan, the area that has a shape like the pork's belly is Bang Krachao, a large lung of Bangkokian.

Shortly, the food is started to serve. For this flight, they offer Rice Berry Rice together with Plain Rice eat with Stir-Fried Luffa and fruits would be papaya and cantaloupe.

Now, we have heard the captain announces on board that at this moment we are flying above Krabi international airport. However, since the visibility is low for just only 1 kilometre which generally the visibility in sight of the surface would be at 2.2 kilometers, therefore, we need to fly circle like this while we still have an oil in the tank which could be use to fly for another 1 hour. Thus, the aircraft is going to circle like this for half an hour and if the visibility is not getting better, we will fly up to the north. The aircraft could be landing at Suvarnabhumi airport or U-Tapao airport instead. Yet, the aircraft could not be land at the nearby airport such as Phuket airport as the visibility at Phuket airport is either low. Then, the announcement from captain stops.

The aircraft circles for many more rounds that I fall into sleep. I wake up from the announcement from captain that we are ready for landing. Then I feel widely awake and try to hearten our captain in controlling the aircraft while it is landing. I would say that although the wind condition is rather strong, but this time landing is smooth and no sliding at all.

After we grab our baggage from the baggage belt in the building No.2 already, we then head to building No.1 to take a car from Thai rent a car company that we have booked almost 1 month in advance. The process for renting a car is not complicated at all, just show ID card and the license card. Oh! they also need a credit card for a deposit in advance in case there are any damage at 10,000 baht which will be charge through credit card.

A traveling plan in Krabi during rain season, I might need to cut out a program of riding a boat to other islands as the weather condition is uncertain. Even the day before I traveled to Krabi, there is news about a long tailed boat which taking tourists to travel along the islands accidentally capsized, yet luckily that no one died. For that reason, this trip I would mainly focus on driving to travel only in the main land.

From the airport, our first destination is at Wat Thum Sua (Tiger Cave Temple) to worship Buddha statue for a safe journey and good luck. This temple is Krabi's most famous temple, there is no conclusive evidence about the temple's name, yet the rumour has it that in the past there are tigers used to live in this place. Furthermore, there is also nature rock that has a shape like tiger's claw to be seen inside the cave.

Wat Tham Sua also has a scenic point to watch the scenery of Krabi in the high angle. Yet, tourists have to walk through a thousand of the stairs all the way up to the top, thus, your legs would be pretty tired. Now, since the rain still continue to fall down, we would just only worship the Buddha Image and learn about the history of Wat Tham Sua.

The interior inside the temple is in a Chinese style which locate a large Guan Yin for visitors to pray a respect for good luck.

The pagoda was built several years ago; however, until now it is still not finished yet. As we observe, apart from Thai people, many Chinese people also come and visit Wat Thum Sua.

From Wat Thum Sua, I head straight around 70 km to Plai Phraya district where Tham Prasat Nalakiring temple is located. Before coming to this temple, I have been making a phone call and ask the abbot, Master Kajit Kamalo to visit inside the cave.

When I drove into the parking spot, Master Kajit Kamalo comes and greets me. He also comes along with two of the Golden Retriever that approaches me like we have known each other before. What a welcoming dogs they are!!!

Master Kajit Kamalo said that originally Nalakiring cave used to be a monastery for monks before and later it developed into a temple. Additional to that it has built a chapel in to Nalakiring Elephant statue which is the only one Buddhist temple in Thailand and in Buddhism ever that were built like this special type. Between the two front feet of the elephant would be made as the chapel door and the interior inside the building has not yet completed. However, the monastery outside is almost complete now.

Inside the chapel is not yet opened to visitors; nonetheless, I have a peek inside from a window and see that they are doing the painting on the wall right now which seem to be the story of the Nalakiring elephant in many postures.

Master Kajit Kamalo also would like to invite anyone who is interested that on Sunday, November 6, 2017 the temple is having a Wisugcamsima ceremony. Therefore, if anyone available during that day and is able to attend the ceremony would be welcomed.

Furthermore, Master Kajit Kamalo tells me that during the time when he was pilgrimage at Thum Wua, Mae Hong Son, he sees a vision of a tall black man, wearing only a white loincloth pants with a bag on his shoulder and holding a candle in his hand inviting him to see a cave. Then the vision is gone, hence, after that he tries to find the cave in his vision. In 1990, he was invited to be the head of Buddhist monastery in Plai Phraya district, Krabi province. He has asked local people that whether there any temples or caves around the area or not. Local people said that there is one, however, it was located in a dense forest and no one dared to go, therefore, he then went to explore the cave. The cave resembles a cave in his vision. Hence, this cave was discovered by Master Kajit Kamalo on 9th July 1990 at the time.

Before Master Kajit Kamalo is leaving, he informed his people (Let's call her my tour guide) to take me into a cave. I ask the meaning of the word "Nalakiring" and my tour guide said that Nalakiring comes from the word Nalakiri which is one of the important elephants during the Buddhist era. This elephant is an elephant that Devadatta monk summoned to hurt the Buddha twice, but was not successful. In the third attempt, the Buddha is compassionate to the elephant, hence, it becomes calm and respect to the Buddha along with it tears. Consequently, no wonder why this place is filled with the elephant statues everywhere. In the beginning, before coming here, I think that this cave is probably related to Naga rather than the elephant as the word "Nala" of "Nalakiring" is rather close to the word "Naka" which has a same meaning as Naga. My curiosity is not over, I still wonder that why this place is only surrounding with "elephants"? A tour guide then tells me that inside this cave there are lots of stalagmite and stalactite together with rocks that have a shape like elephant.

We have not reached the front of the cave yet, though, I could feel the cold inside the cave as the cool air hits my body. For exploring a cave, the entrance is in one side and the exit would be in another side. However, during this period as the rain started to come, causes the cave entrance with the high level water. Actually, we can get on to the boat, nevertheless, this time I would like to take casual visit by walking in and out in the same entrance.

On the exit way, there is a statue of a man in the vision of Master Kajit Kamalo

Normally, the temple would not leave the lights open in the cave, they would only turn on the light when there are tourists come to visit. Then, before you take a visit, you should make a phone call in advance. Now, we are all ready, let's head inside then.

Walking in from the cave's entrance a little bit, I begin to see how marvelous of this cave is. The first spot that a tour guide shows me is the stalagmite that grows from the ground which looks similar like people embraced together.

The hugging rock in front of me seems to be stolen it thunder by its back scene as the magnificent grand stalactites in the surrounding area are more captivating. The ceiling of the cave is filled with stalactites and even some part of a cave's floor started to collapse into a big hole.

I think in this area, the cave's ceiling shouldn't be higher than 6 meters. The stalactites and the stalagmites combine together like a natural curtain to me.

The image above, if you closely focus in the center of the image would be like an elephant is going to step on the cave floor.

On the left hand side of this image, looks like three of elephant's butts are lined in a vertical shape.

The cave is a living cave, you could notice from a drop of water that is dripping at all time. These droplets would indicate that in the future the stalactite will continually grow down and attach to the ground floor. Hence, I would like to ask all travelers, if you are exploring the cave, please do not touch the rock. Otherwise, the rock would be dead and stop growing.

These kind of rock pillars are seen all over the cave, we could say that this cave is pretty perfect.

My tour guide points the red stalagmite which is on the right hand side of the picture and he tells me that it looks like a torch.

This point is a rock patio; they believed to be the residence of the lord.

On the upper left of the above picture looks like a white waterfall flowing from the cave's ceiling.

A tour guide takes a while to think of the name of this area. Then he said to me that this point is called the legendary town which can be found by chance.

The small stalagmite on the right, does it look like a hermit to you?

A large natural rock pillar which approximately could be embraced by 2-3 person.

My tour guide points out to a skeleton that is already fossilized. I would say that if I do not pay attention, I surely could not see it as inside the cave is quite dark.

At this point, if my tour guide doesn't point out to me I would just miss it. The figure seems like a saw blade.

The rock in the front of us looks like an old furnace, refer from my tour guide.

This is another area that I also like which at the cave's floor seems like small shallow ponds.

My tour guide waits for me to do my shooting. And I asked her to pose for me a little bit.

As on the cave ceiling, you will see a thread similar to a cobweb. Nonetheless, in fact this is a cave worm. Being seen along the light, the thread will reflect with the light and we could clearly see.

This spot is similar to a waterfall falling from the ceiling of the cave. On the floor, there is a pool in layers which is really like a real waterfall.

This is probably the highlight spot of the cave, a heart-shaped rock. When the light reflects the rock, it will be sparkling beautifully.

I head back to the same route until I reach the front of the cave once again, meaning I have reach an end of the trip with an impressive experience. I would say this cave is pretty marvellous and might be the most beautiful one I have experienced before. A yellow light that shines in this cave makes the atmosphere looks more natural than those colorful lights.

Before heading back, Master Kajit Kamalo comes and talks to me once again. He said that today I have experienced just 60%, if he is the one who takes me into the cave, he would take me to go travelling in every corner for sure. He even invites me to come during late October again as during that time, the water level is not very high and we could paddle into the cave. He will be the one who takes visitors on a boat tour himself. I secretly hoped that I could find a chance to come exploring the cave once again.

All the maintenance inside the cave, including the electric fee, is all managed and responsible by the temple. I am not sure whether the temple could has enough budget for all the costs to keep up the cave for how long, I do not want this beautiful cave to be shut down for sure. I would like this cave to be open for visitors in Krabi for a long long time. The entrance fee of Nalakiring cave is free, though, I would like to ask visitors who visit the cave to kindly give small fees such as electric fees and maintenance fees as the donation to the temple and that would help a beautiful cave like this to open for visitors for a long time. Furthermore, another thing that I would like to ask all the visitor is that please travel with caution and in a conservative way by don't touch any of the rocks inside the cave as this cave is a living cave, therefore, once we touch the rock, they will stop growing immediately. Therefore, let's travel in a conservative way. For those who are interested in visiting the cave, you could make a call to request permission from Master Kajit Kamalo at the phone number 089 5931016 in advance.

During the tour in the cave, I do not know that it rains outside until I came out to the front of the cave and the rain is starting to fall once again. However, it is not a problem to my journey, I just wish that the rain will stop when I arrive at my next destination. From Nalakiring cave, I head to Tha Pom Klong Song Nam which is located in downtown area of Krabi province.

From the parking lot (Parking fee 20 baht per car), we walk another 200 meters to Tha Pom Klong Song Nam area. It is under the responsibility of the Sub-district Administrative Organization of Khao Khram, therefore, we have to pay 20 baht admission fee per person to visit inside.

During the beginning of the trail is like walking into the sparse forest. Both sides, we would meet with the greenery forest and as the rain is just stop so the area would look more refreshing.

Inside, there is a eco-nature trail, visitors will meet with the abundant of a plant that grows in the water and on land. Nevertheless, the interesting point is the river that flows through Klong Tha Pom during the 12 waning moon to the 5 waxing moon, the sea level will get higher into Klong Tha Pom. The mixture of this different kind of water would make the water become to be a brackish water canal with blue opaque colour but it would be only just in a short period. After that the sea level would get down and the canal would be replaced with the fresh clear water which we could clearly see fish and underwater plant below. Unfortunately during my visit, there is a heavy rain and the water is not so clear, yet it is still clear enough to see fish swimming underwater.

This zone is the zone that the Subdistrict Administrative Organization has created a new nature trail which would join with the original route nearby the selling tickets area at the entrance way.

One of Tha Pom charms apart from the clear water is the roots that emerge from the water to breathe and they would bind up together into the raft at both sides of a canal. A beauty that a nature creates looks exquisitely amazing, I would say.

From Tha Pom Klong Song Nam, I'm heading back to Tub Kaek beach which would be my accommodation place for the night.

On the way, I see Klong Muang beach so I stop by to take some pictures a little bit. Although the sand on the beach is not white, yet it is delicately fine.

Drive along a road a little bit, you will reach the unfinished scenic point. However, we could park and watch the view from a high angle. From the scenic point, you could see the small harbor which is made from buoy along with an ore transmission belt that stretch out to the sea. From here, we could overlook to Hong islands or Pa Koh in the middle of the sea as well.

From the scenic point, we continue driving around 3 kilometres to reach at my accommodation tonight which is "The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort".

This is my second time staying here. Last time, I was very impressed with the concept of "Timeless Architecture" that made everything to harmoniously be part of the nature.

The lobby has totally two floors, the upper level is the lobby area which is quite high and airy ,therefore, there would be the wind blows at all time. The front side has a space to provide for guest to sit and relax. I have heard that this place is designed according to Feng Shui belief as well.

Iced Roselle Juice with cooling towel for helping us feel refresh and relax.

On the ground floor, they have "The Library" which the area is divided into two sections. The first part is to sit and read a book. Another section is to search information on the internet. Next to The Library will be the I'artisan room for selling some souvenir stuff.

The term "Tub Kaak" is the name of the beach. The word "Tub" means "home" and "Kaak" means "guest". The front of this beach could overlook to 13 islands which is known as "Pa Koh" and on the back side is abundant Khao Hangnail (Naga's tail mountain) which is an important water resource of Krabi province. The resort is located on the belly of Naga. Thus, there are some indications about Naga in the resort as well.

Well, I am done with the check-in process. Now, it is time to explore the room that I have booked which is a deluxe room type.

Superior room and deluxe room type look like a two-story house. Easily say, in one large house would be dividing in to left and right side. In the upper floor, would be the deluxe room and a room at downstairs would be the superior room. In conclusion, the made up of one large house would be 2 superior rooms and 2 deluxe rooms.

When open the door, on the right hand area would be the bed area which is a wooden floor. The room is quite spacious as the room is on the second floor, hence, the ceiling of the room would be high and airy according to the roof's structure. This could make the room more comfortable.

At the end of the bed, there is a carpet on the floor and you have to be careful as the carpet that was laid on a wooden floor would be pretty slippery.

A king size bed is enough to sleep comfortably for three person.

There is a balcony to sit outside the room for fresh air.

A small area for reading and the table is similar to the Japanese table. However, if you are not comfortable to sit on the floor, they also have table and chair for doing some work as well.

On the left hand side of the room, is the bathroom area which is a tiled floor. The bathroom is completely separated between wet and dry area.


Wet and dry areas are separated by a glass wall. In the shower area, would consist both rain shower and outdoor tub.

The resort provides us with full facilities, starting from a music player that can download music from iPhone along with coffee maker, refrigerator and tea. Moreover, there are four bottles of water in the refrigerator as well and you could always request for the additional one for free as I did drink off 2 bottles of water and when the housekeeper comes to my room, she would fill up a bottle of water to be 4 bottles in total again. Apart from this, they also provide 2 baskets with 2 towels for carrying to outside, guests should use towels when go to the swimming pool or the sea. Moreover, in the closet, there are a safe, mosquito repellent, electric mosquito repellent, flashlight and a bathrobe.

Let's go and see the atmosphere around the resort.

The rooms here are designed in the unique Thai southern style. They use a Kolek boat style to form the shape of the roof. Additional to that the gable of the roof would have a piece of wood stretching out which is considered as the head of Naga. This kind of roof's shape comes to be the identity of this place as the resort has taken this to be their logo as well.

There is a small stream flows through the middle of the resort.

The seaview room looks greenery and shady.

You could see green color everywhere.

A Carp pond located in the dining room area. One of the spot that I like very much.

A common swimming pool is located in the center of the resort here.

A walkway down to the beach.

A resort would provide chairs, foam cushions and cradles at the beach area which allow guests to enjoy sitting and viewing a beautiful scenery of Pa Koh.

Too bad the sky is closed and I could not get to see the twilight light today.

I would like to post my old photographs from my previous trip that I have visited here. From what I've shot the sunset and twilight light scenery at many places, let's say that I am impressed with the atmosphere of the last light at Tub Kaek beach very much. I think it is the most beautiful place I have ever experienced.

Now, let's come and enjoy some atmosphere during the night time.

Lobby area

The scenery after rain makes it more refreshing.

And This is the corner I love the most.

Tonight, I should sleep early as the next day I will go watching the first light at Nong Thale.

The alarm rings at 4:30 am. I am lingering on the bed for a little while as I was sleeping comfortably. But then again, I try to stand and walk out to the balcony and look up to the sky to see whether there are stars or not. If the sky is close and couldn't see the star, I would go back to sleep. This morning, even though it's not visible enough to see the starts, yet I could see the moon. I decide to wash my face and brush my teeth, then rush to Nong Thale for the first light.

Nong Thale, is the best place to watch the sunrise. I would recommend that you should not miss if you come to Krabi. Getting here is not so convenient as you have to follow a small path into the locals' rubber plantation. Unfortunately, today the sky is closed, therefore, I could not see the first light.

Even though, we face with the bad situation, there is still some good fortune. Although, I didn't see the first light of the day, I see all the red Indian Oak flowers fall around the ground everywhere which seems like a red carpet besides the riverbank. As far as I have done the research about the Indian Oak flower, they would be blooming during February. I have never thought I would see them continue to bloom during late May as well. Moreover, one more luck is that after I finish taking photos at Nong Thale, the rain continue to fall down once again.

Upon returning to the resort, the rain has let up, yet still continue to fall. Therefore, I head straight to the dining room. Having some breakfast first as we could not predict the weather condition.

The dining room named "The Arundina" comes from one of the English orchid "The Arundina graminifolia". The Arundina dining room is an all day dining room with a variety kind of menus. It serves both Thai and International food style throughout the day.

The Arundina opens all day for three main meals. Moreover, they would focus on the freshness and quality of the raw materials in every meal. Breakfast would be available from 06.30am - 10.30am.

There are various kind of fruits here such as watermelon, papaya, dragon fruit, pomelo, banana, mangosteen and passion fruit.

Salad corner, just a few kind of vegetable to choose from.

Refreshment corner with fresh juice.

Yogurt corner.

Many kind of toppings are also available.

Various kind of Homemade breads.

Homemade jams like passion fruit, papaya and banana. And they taste pretty awesome.

There are many Thai snacks for foreigners to try as well. Sweet sticky rice topped with custard and caramelized roasted grated coconut.

Let's see the surrounding atmosphere here. In my opinion, this dinning room has the best view ever in my experience. During the dining, you could also see the Pa Koh as well. You could be satisfied from both of your eyes and mouth at the same time.

This meal, I have porridge with fish and all I could see are many big slices of fish in my bowl.

Very tasty cheese omelets.

A little bit of salad and ham.

A sweet sticky rice topped with caramelized roasted grated coconut and a homemade bakery with papaya homemade jam.

End up with a very yummy crispy banana roti and a traditional milk tea. Fantastic!!!

Another highlight of The Arundina dinning room is the Carp pond which there are many huge carps in it. Every morning, the dining room would place a fish meal for guests to feed the fish. The fish here is quite friendly as when people come to feed them, they would just swim right to you. I think it's because they know you will feed them.

During 8 o'clock in the morning of each day, there would be a resort staff go to clean and pick up the trash around the beach. Most of trash are scrap wood which has been brought by the wave. I have heard that during the monsoon season, they would come and clean up the beach three times a day. Furthermore, the trash could reach up to 1-2 tons daily.

Although, my trip to Krabi this time might not travel to all the programs as I have planned earlier due to the weather condition. However, I have spent lots of time in the resort in this trip than the previous one. It is a peaceful atmosphere, feeling like I have charge a full energy to my body and ready to get back to work and make more money. Moreover, staying at "The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort" this time, I feel that many things have been changed for example, the lobby decoration, some of the furniture in the room, Spa room's name. Nonetheless, one of the thing that never change is the impression I have toward this place both great atmosphere and good service. For all of you if you like to have a quiet place to relax, uncrowded atmosphere in a green garden, I would like to strongly recommend "The Tubkaak Krabi Boutique Resort" to all of you.

The party might come to an end. I do not want to end this trip yet, however, I have to say goodbye to Krabi now. On the way to the airport, it rains pretty heavy that I could barely see the road. Consequently, when the time that I arrive at the airport and finish returning a rental car, it almost reaches my flight time already.

Actually, I have spare quite some time for takin time at the Lounge service, however, the plan changes a little bit due to the heavy rain that I have less than 15 minutes in the Lounge area. And when I arrive at the Lounge, there are almost no seat as there are so many passengers today. When the gate starts to open, I just use the time when other passengers line up at the gate to walk around and take photos of the Lounge area. The area of the Lounge here may look a little cramp.

Although the rain has already let up, but when the plane took off, the view outside is still cloudy along the way back.

This meal, I have Panang curry with chicken and a dessert would be sweet sticky rice in coconut cream. I finish all of them.

The flight time is approximately one hour and then I reach at Suvarnabhumi Airport safe and sound.

Actually, Krabi is not well-known for only their fantastic islands in the middle of the sea, but also there are many wonderful inland attractions waiting for the tourist to explore. For example, Nalakiring cave, Nong Thale, than Bok Khorani national park, Tha Pom Klong Song Nam, Tha Lane bay, Phusang waterfalls, emerald pool, etc. I also have several other attractions that I have never been and I have planned to go exploring such as Laem Chamuk Khwai, Khao Ngon Nak (Dragon Crest Mountain) or walking up to a scenic point at Wat Thum Sua as well. Well, travelling in Krabi during the monsoon season, if you do plan a trip well, you also could travel in Krabi happily without caring the rain.

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 Tuesday, September 13, 2016 11:17 AM

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