On Chinese new years day we decided to head to Krabi town for the new years day festivities. At 6pm we left on our Scooter to Krabi Town and much to our surprise all the fun stuff happened the night before, we are in the heart of Asia, and we missed the Chinese New Year celebrations. Well, it seems we going to have to stay another year to see it again.
With no festivities *sad faces* we decide to explore Krabi Town, and found some interesting spots.
The town center of Krabi town has many hostels that also serve as shops where you can buy postcards and memorabilia. Many of the hostels overlook the lagoon and Mangrove forest. Walking down the promenade you will see the large crab statue and looking over the lagoon you see two rock formations that create a gate like structure, this is called Krabi gate.
The local food market by the promenade is a large outdoor restaurant surrounded by food stalls selling the very best in Thai food. While dining you cannot help to stare at the mazing sculpture of three long boats made out of steel and dubbed “Boat of life” and made by Prof. Dech Warashoon national artist of Thailand. As you make your way down the promenade don’t forget to visit and get some great photos at the giant crab sculpture, a big tourist attraction.
Except for the various food markets Krabi also has some excellent restaurants and visitors are treated to a variety of cuisines from Thai, Italian, German and many more.
On weekends the night market is the main attraction, this small market is located in the heart of Krabi Old Town and vendors sell everything from clothing, curios and food. A large stage in the market entertains visitors with the sounds and sights of Thai theatricals.
Towards Chao Fa pier (Krabi River Marina), next to Thara Park, families spend their time painting gypsum figures and wax canvases that are sold by the vendors in the park.
The Thai Lanta is an old warship located by the Krabi Provincial Offices, this old warship is a symbol of a long forgotten era, and aligned with 44mm cannons and old American technology it gives off an aura of exciting 2nd world war battles.
On the hillside overlooking Krabi town is the Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Sua) but don’t expect to see tigers here. The temple was built in a limestone cave where tigers use to stay. The path leading up to the big golden Buddha consists of an even 1237 stairs, some of them more than a foot high. That is if you count in the few going up the pathway before the stairs starts leading to an estimated 300m high summit.
