KRABI, THAILAND HAS MY HEART.
Let me start off with just saying... wow.. Krabi, you are absolutely incredible. I’m writing this as we take a shuttle to a pier where we’ll hop onto a ferry and then another shuttle to our hotel. Situated in the beautiful island of Ko Lanta And I’m just reminiscing on these past four days as if it was all a dream. I felt like I had shut my eyes on the plane and never woke up. The views, the people, the culture, the vibes. Everything about Krabi had a warm welcome compared to anywhere I’ve ever been.
It’s scary honestly, having all these moments I did the past few days. How amazing it all was, it feels like it wasn’t real. I’m honestly living in a dream, one I’m too scared to wake up from.
I remember our first day here - regardless of being sick. I stood at the edge of our beautiful infinity pool at the Alisea Boutique Hotel and just said to myself “This moment is going to be really hard to beat” Little did I know I’d be saying that every hour of my time here.
We flew into the Krabi airport, got picked up by our private driver with the hotel and that’s when my jaw started to drop. Seeing those rock formations you only see in postcards or in movies.. I was wondering if I was just staring at a backdrop on our drive in. Completely speechless, mouth wide open searching for the right words to put together of what I was feeling and seeing. Nothing could come close to it though. I felt myself start to tear up..
You know, I’m starting to appreciate that emotional side of me. How I can be in a given moment and feel myself missing it already. That feeling of nostalgia for a moment you’re in. It makes me appreciate it that much more. I’ve started to fall in love with moments so much more lately. Those milliseconds of happiness that come crashing over you. I’ve started to just really feel myself in every moment and let myself be there. Not thinking about what happened yesterday or will happen tomorrow. Just letting myself clear my mind and take in that given moment.
After a 30 minute drive or so and just being present. We had already arrived at Alisea Boutique. Walking up to the hotel I literally said to the driver “Are you sure we’re at the right place?” And when he confirmed that yes indeed, this was the hotel I had emailed and wrote contracts up for months ago. I felt the happiness ignite me. Working so hard for something and for months on end to have it come to life and be right in front of you is the most indescribable feeling in the world.
(As always though all opinions are my own)
Our room wasn’t ready yet but luckily the breakfast buffet was still going on so we made our way in. Sitting there staring at the beautiful open architecture while eating fresh fruit and having birds fly around. I felt so at home. The hotel is far enough from the main city that it’s quiet but close enough you can walk to the ocean within 5 minutes. The perfect getaway. We sat and ate breakfast for a half an hour or so, just going back and forth of saying “Can you believe we made it?” and “We’re in THAILAND” It was that excitement level of realizing that our 40 hours of travel was finally to an end and we could start relaxing. Once finished with breakfast our room was ready. So we made our way up the stairs of this beautiful small 34 room hotel, wondering if we were the only people here since it was so quiet. Tor - our amazing driver guided us up to our room. We passed by the pool both looking at each other like “Are you seeing this?” Knowing the first part of business would be changing into swimsuits and jumping right in. The heat and humidity was no joke for my WA self.
He opened the door for us and I instantly screamed inside. THIS ROOM ? For us and our first two nights here. It was two stories, the first floor being our bed and bathroom with a small deck overlooking the jungle and ocean. And then the second story with a small living area and another balcony but this one with a tub and sink upstairs. The ultimate zen setting. I couldn’t even believe it. This is my first real collaboration so being able to work with such a friendly and helpful staff while also living like a queen in this beautiful room.. I felt so damn humbled. Don’t get me wrong it was a lot of work. A lot of stress. A lot of digging and digging at nothing. A lot of emails. A lot of time. A lot of effort. It was a lot. But again nothing good ever comes easy. And it makes you appreciate it all that much more. So we threw our bags down and dug through our backpacks for the first swimsuits we could find, threw them on and made our way to the pool. The pool like I said was a gorgeous infinity one, looking out far enough into the ocean and then with palm trees surrounding you. It feels like you’re at the edge of the world. Literally.
We swam and took photos for a few hours and that’s when I stared to get sick again so I literally fell asleep for 18 hours into the next day..
Day 2 in Krabi -
We woke up early for sunrise and watched it just from our balcony looking every which way, again feeling like it was all in my imagination. Rubbing my eyes from the tiredness and also trying to figure out if I was actually seeing what was right in front of me. After sitting and listening to the birds chirp for a good hour. We decided to make our way down to the breakfast buffet again, discussing what to do that day. That’s when Alisea Boutique reminded me that we had lunch reservations at Admana Beach Resort
(A private beach connected with this hotel - shuttles are complimentary as well which is super nice)
Only 20 minutes or so passed until we made our way down a dirt road into what felt like the literal connection of jungle to the ocean. Just shaking my head in awe, I jumped out of the back of the truck. The restaurant is literally right on the beach.. And the beach.. the beach, is typical Thailand. Long tail boats, crystal blue water, swings and hammocks everywhere, stray dogs and young people living the life just how we were. I couldn’t even believe that I was standing in a moment that seemed like a postcard view.
I ordered carbonara spaghetti and pineapple juice since I still wasn’t feeling the hottest - and it was a great choice. The pineapple juice was the freshest thing I’ve ever drank and they spaghetti filled me up and was the first meal I was able to keep down in 3 or 4 days. The shuttle back to our hotel wasn’t coming for another 2 hours so we ran around taking photos every direction, trying to capture what was in front of us. And I promise the photos don’t even do it justice still. I just never want to forget that moment. We made friends with the local dogs and named them, making it all harder to leave. Cierra had to basically pull me from the beach so we could catch our shuttle back to the hotel. It was almost sunset by this time so we figured we needed to head the beach to catch a glimpse of it and maybe cool off again in the ocean. Probably the best decision we had that trip. The sky painted this beautiful pink and orange hue around us, almost like the sunset didn’t want to be missed in any way you looked.
I said nothing. Because the sky had said it all.
Again, making another hard goodbye.
6AM - wake up call:
We started the day off with walking back down to the beach that was only 5 minutes away.. This was my first time swimming in the ocean and all I could say is “Are you kidding”. The water was so clear and warm, the beach was empty since it was only 7:30 at that time and the views right behind me were something out of a fairytale. We spent 2 hours swimming, doing cartwheels all over, running wildly, taking photos with the GoPro. Doing everything possible to try and make the best moment of our lives - last a little longer. It was one of those mornings that you feel like will only happen once.
Since I was feeling better by this day we decided to grab smoothies from a stand that looked really clean (When it comes to smoothies or any street food actually definitely check where they’re cooking it and see if it feels clean- Krabi is one of the most known areas for food poisoning) Only $1.20 USD for a 16 oz. fresh strawberry smoothie - hard to beat
We made our short walk back in the scorching heat and packed up our life again for the month into our 2 backpacks as we would make our way to another beautiful hotel.. Anana Ecological Resort.
And that’s when all the fun really started to happen - long tail boats for our first time, visiting 2 different islands that are Thailand postcard worthy, not BEING SICK AT ALL ANYMORE.