Chandee Town

After 2 weeks in Krabi, we went to visit Ethan's granny in Chandee. The journey in our trusty 22-yr old Honda Civic took about 3 hours.

Chandee is one of the southern train stations along the North-South railway. As is a common occurance, commerce took root in the vicinity around the train station, and a small town and market place developed. Rubber is the main commodity of the area and most of the townsfolk are shop owners or earn a living as food vendors or rubber tappers.



The town has its charm with quaint little streets of cement, and no road dividers. Parking is free, there is no building control, so you will see 6-storey buildings next to single-storey shophouses. Anybody could simply set up shop in his own abode. Or push a cart to sell cooked food on the street without worrying about getting a licence. Tax? ...eh, what's that? Reminds me of Singapore 40 years ago!



Spy the lady sitting in the corner of the picture above? The forlorn look said it all: who will buy my veg? The veggie seller was indifferent when I snapped her picture. Seemed like selling vegetables for a living is not easy, especially when a competing stall is next to hers.




Or is it because thai people generally don't eat veggies in their daily diet? Yes, it is true! Maybe she is better off selling fish, like the lady below. The fish seller had a much happier time -- counting her takings for the day! Ahhh.. nothing feels so good as grimy, wrinkled baht notes!







The pretty gal in the picture willingly obliged when I asked if she would like her picture taken. She was in a flower shop with her mom, cleaning and bundling flowers for sale. Chandee people are indeed warm and friendly.

Natural Hot Stream

A popular attraction in Krabi for locals and tourists is the Hot Stream, located about 2 hrs' drive from Krabi Town. The hot stream got its name from the natural hot water that flows to the surface from deep underground. The air was noticeably "hotter" as we walked along the path to the source.












Thumbs Up for the hot stream!

Aonang Beach

While Phuket has its Patong Beach, Krabi has beautiful beaches at Aonang and Railay. Aonang is located about 1 hrs' drive north of Krabi Town, while Railay is to the south.

Krabi Town Center

Maharaj Road -- pictured above -- is the road in Krabi Town. The only department store, Vogue, is located along this road. So is the wet market further ahead.

Strangely enough, almost everywhere you can see hair-dressing saloons or pharmacy stores. I wondered if Krabi people often fell sick, resulting in a proliferation of medical halls. Could there be another reason?

As roadside food vendors are very common, there is only a single air-conditioned food outlet. And that is Kentucky Fried Chicken located in Vogue department store. There is also a Swensen ice-cream parlour, located opposite KFC in Vogue.

Maybe because of the air-conditioning and the brand image, KFC seemed to be doing a roaring business, even though the menu prices are on the high side for the average thai, ranging from 50 baht for a smallish 2-pc chicken meal to 200 baht for a set meal comprising 7-8 pcs, coke, french fry, and 3-pc drumlets.

To give you an idea of living costs in Krabi: average rental for a room is 2,000-2,500 baht per month, and 4,000-5,000 baht for an unfurnished townhouse. Average wage for a local grad appeared to be around 7,000-8,000 baht per month (~S$340). However, a local grad we met told us she earned only 5,000 baht as a sales staff in Telewiz.

Given the low average wages in Krabi, we were quite surprised to see that KFC was doing well despite the high menu prices.



Can you spy the structure atop the peak in the distant mountain? That is a Buddhist shrine and temple, reached by climbing up a 1,200-step stone stair cut into the mountain side. It is said that the climb is hazardous, for the stair has no railing and is slippery. No wonder I didn't see the shrine listed as a tourist attraction in any of the tour brochures I collected in Krabi Town. A pity we didn't have time to visit the shrine, for the scenery of the surrounding landscapes would have been breathtaking !

People in Krabi

These photos were shot using three different Nikon lenses. See if you can tell which lens took which picture?

The lenses used were the D70 18-70mm f/4.5 Kit Lens, the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 - a perennial favorite for portraiture, and the venerable Nikon 180mm f/2.8, an old favorite that still holds its own against the newer and auto-focusing Nikon 70-210mm f/2.8 VR.

A

B


C


D


E


F


G

After Nikon launched its auto-focusing lenses, manual lenses have been relegated to the history books. Like zoom lenses, fixed focus lenses also will not be around much longer, though many will disagree.

Today's zoom lenses equal or even improved on old lenses' designs, to the extent that fixed-focus lenses are usually left behind in the dry cabinet over their newer cousins.

Zooms are an indispensable feature in photo-composition. Especially when one comes across a scene that is unlikely to repeat itself.


Answer: Pictures A, B: 18-70mm f/4.5 lens, Pictures E - 85mm f/2.8 lens, Pictures C, D, F, G : 180mm f/2.8 lens

Flowers @ Thara Park

Thara Park

Ethan and I decided to check out the scenic spots in Krabi in November 2005. This was our second trip, as we had spent only a day there in Oct 05 before travelling to Phuket for our flight home. Tiger Airways had commenced scheduled budget flights to Krabi in Oct 05, and we thought it might be time to explore setting up a guest-house for budget travellers in the small southern Thai resort, which is as yet uncluttered and unspoilt by too many tourist or commercial developments.



Like most places of commerce and trade, Krabi town is located at the mouth of the Tha Pom River. It was therefore natural that we first explore Thara Park along the river front, and a short walk from the town center. The sun rises from the sea at the park, presenting striking scenes for a photo-shoot.






















Two small hotels are located at the park. They are the Krabi City Seaview Hotel and the Krabi River Hotel.



In 1983 we bought our first car, a 6-month old Honda Civic for S$23,500. We shipped the car to our in-laws living in Chandee, Thailand in 1993 after the vehicle permit (ie COE) had expired. Now, 22 years later, the car has more than proved its mettle and we continued to use the Honda Civic when we were in Krabi!

Maybe the Singapore authorities should consider extending the 10-year tenure of the COE system to 20 years? It is such a waste to scrap 10-year cars under the Singapore COE system.

Singapore - Krabi

The confirmatory email stated ETD 11.45 AM at Changi Terminal 1. Ethan and I arrived at CT1 early, in fact too early, for unknown to all the passengers, Tiger had rescheduled the flight to 3.45 PM !! We learnt from a SATS ground staff that Tiger was short of planes, and had 24 hrs ago arranged with Valueair to use its plane. hmmm...so they had ample time to notify customers. But no warning, no email notification, not even an "excuse me" ! No, we didn't expect royal treatment from a budget airline. But some basic courtesy would have been appreciated.



With 4 hrs to kill, I decided to hunt for some photos inside the terminal building at Changi. Some shop displays attracted our attention, and we took some shots.






After 80 min flying time, we touched down at Krabi Airport -- it was a perfect landing! Everyone was happy as they strolled out of the plane and onto to the immigration counters, a short distance away.





Krabi, here we come!!