BON VOYAGE MR. SYAZARUL SHAHRIR

We had a potluck held in the staff room today. The reason: to bid farewell to Mr. Syazarul Shahrir Zainal Abidin who is taking a 4-year unpaid leave as his wife is going to further her studies in the United Kingdom. Mr. Syazarul Shahrir has been holding the post of the school Sports Secretary for many years and we will miss him.

Good luck to Mr. Syazarul Shahrir and family. See you later in Coventry. :)

THE ISLAND HOPPING TRIP IN KRABI - PART ONE

25th March 2014 ~ At about 8:30 a.m., a group of people gathered at hotel lobby waiting to be picked up for the island hopping trip. The good news was that there were 7 other people from Malaysia, Terengganu to be precise, who would literally be in the same boat with me for the trip. They came to Krabi on their superbikes. Why were their presence was good news to me. I did not have to do selfie at least for that day.

A "tuk tuk" [a local taxi which actually looked to me like a lorry modified to be a bus] and there were too many people that a few had to stand at the back of the vehicle. Then we were dropped at this one place and we had to wait for more people to arrive. By the way, there were many different packages for the island hopping activities. I chose the "Phi Phi Island" package that cost me Baht 1000. I made the booking at the hotel reservation desk and I managed to get Baht 100 cheaper after bargaining. Once you are in Krabi, you can simply choose any kind of activity your heart desire - there are too many outlets/kiosks around town. So there is no need to do any early booking before going.

Once everyone was already there, then we walked to the mouth of a river where a row of boats were already "parked" along the beach. We went into this small speedboat - too small a boat but too many people. There were about 30 passengers in my boat. Another option tourists could have was to take the longtail boats which are cheaper but slower and only cater to islands which are near the mainland.

our guide

introducing my new friend, Mr. Buyong

The first stop was the Bamboo Beach and I did not see any bamboo at the beach. When we arrived at the place, the beach and the water were already occupied with people. I almost felt like I was in Bondi Beach during summer. We were there for about 45 minutes and I did not go for a dip in the water as I was there for sight-seeing. I just hate to be in my wet shirt and short (and underwear) for a long time so no swimming or snorkelling for me.

the locals playing "sepak takraw"

We then left for the second beach on Maya Island.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[MY KRABI TRIP MAIN PAGE]

AO NANG BEACH - DAY 1

The earlier plan was to go for a short holiday with a good friend of mine. However, he had to cancel the trip for a certain reason despite the fact the flight tickets and accommodation had been bought in advance. Having no choice, here I was in Ao Nang, Krabi, as a solo traveller, which is not something new, from 24th-27th March 2014. And I was finally here in Thailand.

I arrived in the evening so on the first day the only activity done was just walking about: seeing what the small town of Ao Nang had to offer. By the way, Ao Nang is about 30-minute car ride away from Krabi. How would I describe Ao Nang and Krabi in general? It reminded me so much of Bali minus the culture and religion elements - a place where the tourists outnumber the locals in every nook and corner.

Basically all I did that evening at the beach was watching other people watching the sunset. Well, this is just the introduction to my short getaway during the school break. You have to come back to know more of the things that I had done when I was in Krabi.

RELATED LINKS:

Phi Phi Island Hopping Trip Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
Ao Nang Beach Day 2
The Hot Stream in Krabi
The Emerald and Blue Pool 
The Tiger Cave Temple
The Elephant Ride 
Ao Nang Beach Day 3
The Ao Nang Town
Finding Halal Food in Ao Nang
Ao Nang Smile Hotel
Krabi Town
Krabi River Cruise
The Cave
Fish Cages and Seafood Restaurant in Krabi
Krabi Airport

ATTENDING KHAIRUL NISAB'S WEDDING

Today I attended another ex-student's, Mr. Khairul Nisab, wedding reception which was done at his house in Taman Universiti. He is from SPM batch 2005, if I am not wrong. There are just too many ex-students, i couldn't even remember who comes from which batch already.

There were still a few people I am familiar with when I arrived so the more the merrier. 

with the bridegroom's younger brother

Congratulations Nisab and wife. I am praying for your happiness throughout and may your married life be filled with love and laughter all the way.