Tiger cave temple (Krabi, Thailand)

Searching for the Krabi attraction before I come here, this is what if find: Tiger cave temple

The reason to come here is for the view above, to climb up the stairs and see the unseen view of Krabi. Here, there are 1272 steps to climb up. The number is just a number at first, but when you really get to 400th step, you just so tired and want to turn back. This happen to me and other tourist who trying to walk up there. Together with one hand holding the camera, the camera feels heavier every steps I walk up the mountain. Some part of the stairs are very steep and some are more steep. The sun is hot, so you rally want to find shades up here. 

Walking slower and slower with small place to rest along the way like people sitting in the picture above. You will think of your goal and try harder to go up.

 Some part are steep and some are normal

Climbing, walking, resting, and take pictures all the way. Now I feel like my camera is so heavy every step I climb up. 

And I am finally here

The view is well worth it, beautiful view on the mountain top. This is Tiger cave temple in Krabi, Thailand. Another best attraction in Krabi province.

Krabi Province Trip (Ao Nang Beach)

Krabi Thailand !!!

One of the best place to travel in the south of Thailand is Krabi. With beautiful beaches and good snorkeling spot for everyone to enjoy. The beach is very beautiful so don't for get to sit and relax. near the beach also have many shops and restaurants for tourist as well. So, we really like to walk around and find something to eat here. The seafood is delicious. The first day we arrived at about noon and the plan for today is just hanging around and enjoy the view.

Ao Nang beach with beautiful mountain

Ao Nang beach (Storm coming)

Ao Nang beach sunset (Krabi province, Thailand)

Walking all day, shopping and eating make us very happy. We really have fun here just enjoy the time and prepare for the adventure that we are going to have tomorrow. The food here is good, but a little expensive like other tourist destination. So, my recommendation is 7-11 retail store, you can find 7-11 about everywhere in Thailand. This place have a frozen meal for you with under 40 baht and it taste good too. So, this will be mine main source of food for now because its cheap hehe.

Recommendation:  1. Check the weather before coming
                                2. Book the hotel in advance
                                3. 7-11 store can gives you cheap food

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Day 2 ---- Go snorkeling

Today started with us buying the meal box from 7-11 store to bring it as our lunch. Wake up at 7 and prepare for the time to meet the long-tail boat that we hired. A little while later the rain comes so sad but still we get on the boat and ready for adventure. Its rain because we come on raining season, so its wet for sure, but considering we are going to go into the water anyway seems ok for us. 

Our tour for today -- Three islands tour ( Poda island, Chicken island, Tap island, and Railay beach)

View from Poda island

Beautiful rocks

Behind Poda island (Best place here but must tell the driver to come here) not on normal route

How clear the water is

That's about it for today, we really have fun here in Krabi, Thailand. Traveling here is memorable and fun. Don't forget to come here once in a life time.

Travel Chiang Mai --- (4/2)

เที่ยวเชียงใหม่ --- (4/2)

     Continue from the last post, day four of our trip in the late afternoon 6/7/2011, after go to elephant riding, we continue to the Tiger Kingdom, Amphor Mae rim, Chiang mai, Thailand. Or you can visit the website here = www.tigerkingdom.com . Who wouldn't want to come here, playing with tiger, take a picture with them, only place in Thailand. We walk in to the lobby and the receptionist come to introduce the package like in the photo below:

Sign

 The lobby and the price sign for each package

        The price is high, but hey, you cant find the opportunity like this else where. So, we choose to take a picture with new born tiger and the big one ( New born for 620 per person and big for 420 per person) and you can choose to hire the photographer to take a picture for you as well for 200 baht per group. The tiger kingdom also have a restaurant for people who like to find something to eat as well. But we're not hungry so we go to play with the tiger. After we go in to the door which inside there are like zoo which have many big cage with tigers inside. The reception lead us to the new born house. We wait a little for the tourist that come before us to finish and we wash our hands with spacial soap they give us and wear sneakers they provide us. and starting to play with the tiger. They are very cute, this new born tiger, and the photographer we hire, he take a lot of picture for us. He take a lot that it can be a video if you stack the picture and flip it fast. 

 lobby resting and waiting area

 The new born tiger, cute and sleepy, haha, we wake them up and play with them

        After 15 minutes of playing and taking the picture with the new born tiger, the time is up and we continue to the big tiger cage, there is a warning sign that tell us what should not do in the cage when we get in for example "don't walk toward the tiger from its front" well and a lot of other warning. There are trainers inside the cage to assist us and tell us how we can take a picture with them, they are very helpful and the photographer still doing his job very well. We get a lot of great pictures. The tiger isnt always sleeping like in the picture i posted. Sometimes they wake up because the trainer wake them by lure them with chicken so that we can have a nice picture.

 The big tiger

      The experience at the Tiger kingdom is very great and worth the money we pay. The photographer then write all the photos he takes on a DVD and gave it to us. So we can keep these photograph for a long long time.  After that we buy some souvenir and get back to the hotel to rest.

Travel Chiang Mai --- (4/1)

เที่ยวเชียงใหม่ --- (4/1)
   
      6/7/2011, another morning on my holiday is great. Me, my mother, my father and my brother go to the hotel restaurant to have breakfast as usual. Today, we will have a big day, because we planned to go to ---> ride the elephant, yeahhhhh. We called the same taxi driver to be our guide as always. 

      Where we gonna go is called " Maetaman elephant camp" its located in Amphor Meatang and this camp is said by our driver as the biggest and best camp here as the camp have more elephant and bigger than other camp which I agree with him because during our long ride to the camp we see many camps along the way and its cant compare to our camp that we going to. For more information on this camp visit = www.maetamanelephantcamp.com and trust me, its worth it.

     We get inside the camp and buy the tickets for everyone. This package we buy is include: 
          - Elephant show
          - Ox-Cart Riding 
          - Elephant riding
          - Buffet lunch
          - Bamboo rafting along Maetang River

     And that's all the program we gonna have, we start walking in the camp and have fun taking a picture with all the elephant there which each of them have a trainer by there side to help aid the tourist. You can take a picture with the elephant, touch it, ride on its bake, ride on its trunk, etc. its very fun. Then we see all the elephant go into the river and take a bath, watch out for the elephant from blowing a water to you.  

   elephant and its trainer

elephant bathing

     Then we go to have a seat and wait for the "elephant show" we are having a lot of fun seeing the elephant waking in line holding flags and sign, see them playing football with the trainer, kicking football(soccer), and see them paint too. Very interesting. 

Elephant Painting

      and after that, we continue to the Ox-Cart riding terminal. We ride the ox cart for about 15 minutes with very beautiful natural view along the way. It was very beautiful and we feel relax by the view and the vibration the cart is making haha. We finally arrive at the end terminal and walking through a lot of souvenir shop (one thing I notice is that all shops sell the same product, weird) any way, at the end of the way through souvenir shop is the elephant riding terminal which we will get on the elephant there. 

 ox-cart riding

            We get on the elephant and take about an hour ride on the elephant back, 2 persons per elephant. The elephant walking and walking and we have fun taking picture and enjoying the view. The almost the end of the way, The elephant take us walk along the river which way very exciting.  

       We arrive at the camp after the elephant get up from the river to the shore and take a picture of us riding an elephant. They have our picture for sell too which the picture frame is make of elephant dunk, thats right, its poop. Its a great ideas to make a souvenir like that. Then we eat buffet at the camp which is include in the package. Its a Thai food which all of them are very delicious. although not much selections. 

       After finished lunch. The next thing in the program is rafting along the river. So we take a hat they  gave us and get on the raft. Its a long journey along the river and its soooo hot. Good they gave us the hat. As you can see in the picture, the water in the river usually clear not turbid but last night its raining so it can cause the river to be that way. But its beautiful anyway. So we finished our rafting with the taxi driver waiting at the end of the river.

rafting

     After that we planned to go to the "Tiger kingdom" which you can read it = here

Travel Chiang Mai --- (3)

เที่ยวเชียงใหม่ --- (3)

5/7/2011, The third day of my trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand. After yesterday, the hotel change my room to the eighth floor which cannot use the internet, I was so upset, why they had to change my room because they want to spray the pesticide, why not do that when we check out? So, my mother call the reception last night and we gonna change a room again today to 7th floor which was perfect. I like this room, today we gonna rest for a day just stay at the hotel. But Hey, we will lose a lot of time right? so, we decided to go toooooooooooooooo ---> Chiang Mai Night Safari.

Chiang Mai Night Safari Logo

This is the main building at night

We meet call the taxi driver at the hotel at 4.30 pm and we takes about 20 minutes to get there from our hotel. We arrive at the front gates and see many deer walking everywhere here. the taxi driver let us go at the entrance of the main facility shown above and we buy a ticket for taking a night safari ride which we will take a vehicle to see everything here. The next bus will be at about 5.30 so now its still 5.00 so we have time. So, we go and play with the deer that walking around and taking photos with them too. We can touch them but they kind of afraid us a little so we got to come slowly from behind of the deer. Its really fun. We also see the white tiger which said to be very rare in the world nowadays. And finally its time, the facility are separate into two zones which have different animal. we take a north zone first and get on the bus. They also sell vegetable for us to feed the animal which cost 20 baht a bucket. We all buy one and starting the tour. The bus take us slowly into the animal areas like the one in the picture below where there are many giraffe and we can feed them as well.

Its was very fun. The sky now gone darker and darker as the sun drop to the horizon. Now its completely dark. The bus have spotlight for us to see the animal at night which was very great. But its impossible to take a picture now because the spotlight isn't enough, all the picture came out dark and blur so we kinda stop taking a photo. The trip continue and we get of the bus at the north zone then continue to the south zone terminal and take a tour. its been very great to see many animal here which we can touches it, but beware of some animal like zebra which can bite off your finger. After we finish the south zone, we go to see the dancing fountain its kind of a bit too far from us so we cant see them quite amazing or many be its isn't big enough. After finished watching dancing fountain, we go to get our free photos (2x2 cm) which was a little one which we can get it for free. But they also sell bigger one for 100 baht though. After that, we head back to the hotel.

Chiang Mai Night Safari at night

Travel Chiang Mai --- (2)

เที่ยวเชียงใหม่ --- (2)

Hey!!, Hey!!!, wake up!!!!" my mother shouting to wake me and my brother up. Its 7.30 in the morning. My mother call a taxi to come take us travel for a whole day which he will come to pick us up at 8.30. We take a shower and get dress then go to eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant which offer us buffet Thai foods, and American breakfast. Finally after finished breakfast, the taxi arrived, we get in and head for our first destination:

1st Destination: Doi Suthep, My mother booked a taxi to take us around for 1 day which will cost us 1500 baht we went to PHRATHAT DOI SUTHEP TEMPLE first and take a lift to go up there we go up to the and take a picture there for sometime which it is very beautiful golden pagoda which said to have the original pieces of bones of the lord Buddha within it, the weather up here is great as well. as we are high up in the mountain, there are cloud which you can see it as fog and it provide a cool breeze to your skin. After that, we went down to the entrance and go another way to the stairs ( you can go up to the PHRATHAT DOI SUTHEP TEMPLE 2 ways either by lift or walking) we take a picture at the bottom of the stair and go to another location close to it which is a jade factory. They let us see how they craft a jade to a valuable artwork and Buddha then we head to our next location. On the way to second sites as we drive down the mountain, we found a foreigner which must have been in an accident during riding their Motorcycle because the street on the way up to the mountain is pretty hard to drive with many curves on the way. So, be careful if you rent a motorcycle to go by yourself.

View from my hotel room (Chiang Mai Phucome Hotel)

The Lift shaft which take us up to the PHRATHAT DOI SUTHEP TEMPLE

Lift ticket

Golden Pagoda

2nd Destination: Borsang, Silk village, and silver craft. Which for the first site, Borsang is a site where they made umbrella, traditional umbrella with painting and artwork on it. The umbrella is made of woods and paper or fabric. Here they offer the tourist a painting at a cost about 50 baht to paint anything like the cellphone to their shirt with great skill in art. It will takes about 5 to 10 minutes to draw which the time it takes will be up to how big the picture is. And other than that, there are souvenir for the tourist sells here which in my thought, not very good for Thai travelers because there are no indications of Chiang Mai, just normal souvenir of Thailand. Before we go out we found two tourist arguing with the driver of the red truck (Red truck is like taxi in Chiang Mai) they cant make a deal with the driver because they want the driver to wait for 3 hours but the taxi want more money (300) because they agree 2 hours for 200 at first before they come with longer wait time I understand the driver so we help negotiate and they pay 100 and find new caps to get home when they finished touring the site.

After that we go to The Thai silk village which they show us how they make silk from raising a silkworm to a cocoon state then boil it and make it to silk which it is very interesting to see how they produce raw silk and turn it into a fine silk they sell. We buy some souvenir and then we go to silver craft factory with notmuch to see.

this is 1 pm already so we head to have lunch in town.

Borsang, Umbrella village

Look at how they make Thai silk from the beginning

Destination 3: Khao Sawy (Northern Thai Noodle Curry Soup) Shop which the taxi said to be very famous in Chiang Mai. Its does taste good and you must come to try it. Its located next to Fah Harm temple.

Khao Sawy (Northern Thai Noodle Curry Soup)

And the Final destination: haha last destination for today is the Chiang Mai Zoo, which we come here and buy the ticket then go inside. You can choose to walk around the zoo yourselves or buy a bus ticket for only 20 baht per round around the zoo which you can not ride back to terminal one if you are at terminal two so we go to see a famous Pandas first. Which we have to pay extra of 50 per person (for Thais adult) we go in to see them and after that go to the next terminal which is the aquarium. To go in the aquarium, you must have an extra ticket which you can buy it here at the aquarium or buy at the front gates when you come in so, we already buy it at the front gate so we go in immediately. It was very great in here, there are many fishes and sea animal and many of the creature live in the river as well. And waking under the longest aquarium in the South East Asia is a very fun and good experience. We can take a picture with the diver if we see him. After long fun walk here we go to take a bus to the entrance, we didnt went down to next terminal because we are tired and want to rest , although there is so much to see here we want to come back later if we can haha.

The famous Panda of Chiang Mai Zoo

After that we go to the entrance and head to the hotel and guess what, the hotel is spraying mosquitoes pesticide so they have to move our room to the eightth floor, what the hell!!!! well ok so we go and get our things and move to new room which on the opper floor (originally we are at 5th floor) and guess what, the internet not work at this room. haha what a waste of time and feeling. So, i called the lobby which they send the technician to see the internet connection but its not work because the signal is too low. so i request another room they let me try to use the internet at the other room its works fine but i have to move only 1 room. huh we request that the room must be close to each other so i decline and they said that they will find a new room for us in the morning. and we get it in the morning. this is it for one day tired I sleep zZZZZZ.

Travel Chiang Mai --- (1)

เที่ยวเชียงใหม่ ---(1)

Day by day, I'm doing nothing but playing computer game (Warcraft 3 DotA) with my brother. Since we are Graduate in May, me and my brother still looking for a job. We want to work in Hat Yai because its our hometown. Many of my friends get a job in Bangkok but what I feel about working in capital city is that there are too much people and lack of quietness. I just want peacefulness, to be able to live happily without many complications. But in Bangkok, all the jobs positions are there which you can easily find a job there.

But for now, for get about all that part in life and lets go travel to Chiang Mai, Thailand, with me and my family. To day 3/7/2011, we will go to Chiang Mai. But in the morning we have to go to vote first because there are the elections going on in Thailand. The flight from Hat Yai will be flying directly from HatYai to Chiang Mai which takes only 2 hours.

When we arrive at Chiang Mai International Airport, we take a taxi to our Hotel name "Chiang Mai Phucome" which I dont know the meaning of the name. My first impression about this hotel is that it is a very big hotel but when you see a lounge at the hall way, its look like this hotel is close because of the dark atmosphere with only little light. After check in, we go to our room:

Me and my brother at the same room and my dad and my mom at the another room nextdoor. After we prepare our self for dinner, we go out of the hotel and walking to Chiang Mai University. Whats so great about University? Why I going there? Well, because my mom used to study here like 30 years ago so she wants to lets us see how it is. We eat first at the restaurant in the front of the university. The food is OK but I think Hat Yai have better and delicious northern food than here. After that we take a free bus to tour around university just sitting on the bus and see what this university like. After that me, my mother, and my brother go to Central Bang Suan Keaw which is a shopping mall to walk around little bit and go back to the hotel. That is it for one day, Its been very tired.