Must in Krabi and Useful Tips

So D and I really needed a break from the hectic life in Singapore. With so many budget airlines available from Singapore such as Airasia, Jetstar, Scoot, and Tigerair, it makes nearby trips very affordable! So we searched for low fares and settled on a really spontaneous 3D2N trip to Krabi :)

To start off, we booked our airfares really late. We wanted to leave on thurs morning and guess what! We only booked our flights on mon night! Talk about last minute :p We realised that flying the whole return trip on Tigerair/Airasia gave us really bad timings and was not necessarily the cheapest! 

For example: Tigerair was a 10am flight out of Sg and 1150am flight out of Krabi, all for $165. Airasia was a 3pm flight out of Sg and 1130am flight out of Krabi, all for $140. So we took the combination of both; fly to Krabi on Tigerair and back to Sg on Airasia and this cost us SG$135 return! That's not too bad given that we booked our tickets so late right?

Tip #1: Always compare budget airfares/timings. Do consider booking one-way trips especially since budget airlines like to have cheap promotions on one-way airfares!

Anyway, we reached Krabi airport and needed to get to Aonang. There's two options: airport bus or private car.

Airport Bus
Cost: 150 baht per pax 
Info: Depart only when the bus is full

Private Car
Cost: 600 baht for one destination 
Info: Can sit up to 9 pax in a very nice big mini van

Travelling with D meant that we only had 2 persons which makes renting the private car very costly. Being Singaporeans, we decided to casually ask another Singaporean couple if they'll be interested in sharing the cost of the car with us. And thankfully, they were heading to Aonang too! 

Here's the thing. The driver will ask you where you're going and they found out that we're all heading to Aonang but to 2 different destinations because of 2 different hotels. Even though the hotels were about 2km apart from each other they count it as 2 destinations -.-  The driver asked for an additional 200 baht and we gave it to them. Afterall, with 4 people, it worked out to be 200 baht per pax. For the added luxury, convenience and comfort for just 50baht more, it's still quite worth it.

The private car is a very nice big luxurious mini van. It honestly felt very good to charter your own private car because you feel like kings and queens in it! The driver was very friendly and nice too, pointing out good to visit places along the way and even played Maroon 5 for us during the ride. The whole journey took us about 30min to reach Aonang.

Tip #2: Opt for the private car! If you're short of passengers, just casually ask another couple, there's no harm in asking.

So D and I decided to treat ourselves to a nicer resort so we booked Vogue Resort and Spa. It was very good and I'll highly recommend it for the comfort, big rooms, convenience to food stores, 7-11 and to the important Aonang beach! We took the middle option of Deluxe room and paid SG$116 for 2 nights via Expedia.

Day 1

We were very hungry and not sure what to eat since it was our first day in Krabi. Since our hotel was located along the main street (where MacDonalds and Starbucks is) of Aonang, it made sense to explore the stretch of shops while walking towards the beach. The shops tout for business and we were convinced when this Indian guy told us 'special discount, food at 100baht only'. 

Tip #3: Do not eat at Rasoi Restaurant.

Portions were tiny, service was so slow, and more importantly, the food sucked! We were the only customers in the restaurant and they took 20 minutes to serve us our food? The green curry we ordered was bland, watery and had so few pieces of chicken that we had to literally dig for chicken underneath all the spices/vegetables. 

This was the toufu with cashew nut that we ordered. It was pathetic and oily. The toufu was sliced so thinly and if I were to join them all up together, it probably formed one piece of taupok in Singapore. Rasoi restaurant was quite pricey compared to the others in Krabi. For 2 rice, 1 green curry chicken, 1 toufu with cashew nut, and 1 can of lemon tea = 360 baht.

Something D and I realised was that many of the restaurants at Aonang are a Indian restaurant serving both Thai and Indian cuisine. Also, another thing is that most of the Thai in Krabi are actually Muslim. So it's very difficult to find the famous Thai Basil Minced Pork!

Tip #4: Opt for pure Thai restaurants, not fusion.

After lunch, it was 3pm. Technically, D and I can still purchase tickets to the nearby Railay Beach. But because we were tired from the flight, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest. We woke up  in time  to catch the sunset at Aonang and wow, it was so beautiful. The photo below is unfiltered by the way ;)

Tip #5: Catch the sunset at Aonang.

Tip #6: Eat the local pancake in Aonang. Banana + Nutella is the best!

We saw many street stalls selling the famous Krabi pancake. Honestly, all the stalls taste about the same so just buy from any. After comparing the prices, the banana + nutella pancake should cost you around 40-50 baht. While there are many flavors to try from, I strongly recommend to go for the banana + nutella one. They are generous with the banana slices on top of this crispy bread which tastes quite like roti prata.

Day 2

There are many boat tours in Aonang offering you trips to Phi Phi Islands, Hong Islands, etc. However, most of the tours start at 830am which is too early for D and I. What's the point of coming for a holiday if we have to wake up as early as if we're going for work? Instead, we woke up at 10am and headed out for lunch.

Decided to try this local restaurant (not Indian-fusion) and it was decent and cheap. We ordered basil beef, moring glory, green curry chicken, 2 rice and 1 coconut shake (damn good!) all for 260 baht!

In my opinion, it's not a must-eat in Aonang because there are better options around. D and I felt that portions were small although it is cheap. But if you do come here, just go for their fruit shakes!

Headed to purchase longtail boat tickets to the nearby Railay beach. It cost 100 baht for one-way (8am-6pm) so a return trip will cost 200 baht per person. For boat rides after 6pm, it cost 150 baht for one-way. But be warned that the ride will only get choppier at night due to high tide! 

Tip #7: Take a longtail boat ride as it is one of the local highlights in Krabi! I suggest to take it to nearby beaches only. Take the speed boat to further islands to save time :)

When you buy the return tickets, you'll be given two tickets. Red for going there, and blue for returning back to Aonang. Do keep them properly! Just approach the boat man, pass him your ticket, and he'll tell you to wait until the boat has 6 persons at minimum. We waited about 15 mins for the boat to fill up, and the journey took about 15 min to get to Railay Beach. In my opinion, Railay has nicer sand than Aonang and is perfect for a more private suntanning in my opinion.

From pancakes to drinks, everything at Railay Beach is more expensive. We had a pineapple shake and a coconut from a hotel resort and this cost us 240 baht! The banana + nutella pancake also cost 60 baht.

The good thing is that the hotel staff can't really tell who is from their resort. So D and I happily jumped into one of the pools there and nobody stopped us. The guard even turned on the jacuzzi for us to use haha.

D and I discussed about staying at Railay Beach in the future. Yes, the resorts there do look nicer and closer to a 'honeymoon getaway' in our opinion. That's because you see Starbucks and Macdonalds at Aonang which is really quite a turnoff for those who are looking for an authentic getaway from the city. But everything at Railay Beach is pricier and it is more inconvenient to get to the airport whereby you have to take a longtail boat to Aonang and then transfer to land transport.

After heading back to Aonang, we searched for dinner. This time, we chanced upon this restaurant called Massaman. It is located on the same side as Macdonalds and a 3 min walk away from Macdonalds in the opposite direction from the beach.

 Tip #7: Eat at Massaman! Authentic, big portions, and cheap!

1 small singha beer (60 baht), 1 coconut shake, basil pork, dry beef curry, tom yam chicken, 2 rice = 420 baht. 

It is really not expensive considering their huge portions and taking into account that I ordered beer! Each dish was only 90 baht and was good for 2-4 persons to share. Actually the 3 dishes we ordered felt more suitable for 3 persons but we finished it anyway cause it was so good! Good thing about eating at Massaman is that you can tailor the level of spiciness, the staff have very good service and understand english. It is also one of the few non-halal restaurants in the Aonang area.

Tip #8: Hire transport back to airport

During our private car hire from the airport, the driver asked if we'll like to hire the car for transport to airport on our day of departure. D and I figured that we might as well do it now to save us the hassle so we managed to negotiate to 500 baht. A pity that we don't have more people otherwise it'll be so cheap! 

This is the end of my very long entry on Krabi. Hope you enjoyed it and that it was useful for you! :)

The Encounter Escape Room Game Review

I haven't been to any 'Escape Room' in Singapore but it does sound a lot like fun. I've always wanted to go but it's pretty pricey in my opinion cause you pay $28++ a pax for 45-60min worth of fun. I'd rather watch a movie!

So Groupon started having promotions for a number of such 'Escape' games in Singapore. After doing some research online, I settled for The Encounter. So my friends who have gone for such games told me before to organize your own group because it's not fun to play with strangers. Imagine how you've to suddenly solve puzzles with strangers and if they're super dumb/illogical, it'll definitely irritate the hell out of you. No way am I going to pay so much to get irritated. So I took the trouble to organize a triple date outing with my best girlfriends :)

The Encounter has a very simple online booking system. I like it because it's so easy to use, you don't need to call them to book an appointment and waste time in case nobody picks up the phone. They also send reminder emails prior to the date which is very good imo! It's located in the Lavender/Jalan Besar area. I personally feel that it's a little far to walk (20-25min) from Lavender MRT. If you're heading there, I suggest taking a bus to the Lavender Food Centre because their building is located nearby. 

So you arrive 15min before your game for a short briefing. They have lockers to store your bags because you can't bring your phone in because you can't take pictures/video the room inside.

Overall, I'll say that the whole setting of the game is very real. It feels like a whole HDB flat which makes us feel very engrossed during the whole game. To be honest, my girlfriends and I screamed like mad because we were so damn scared. The plot is about finding the disappearance of the mother and her 2 daughters but we found the dim lights in the room and sound effects of rain/wind very eerie! Didn't help that we played this at 9pm during the Chinese 7th month! :/

Anyway, I like the game masters very much! They're very helpful and focused on giving us a good experience. Since there were no groups after us, they decided to give us an extra 10min time extension so we can finish solving the puzzles and escape from the room. From what I know, other escape rooms in Singapore charge you an additional $5 per pax for additional 10-15min game play -.- 

I'll highly recommend this place. As you play, you will notice that the game masters took great effort in thinking clues to make sure that everything stays connected to the plot. Take up the challenge and go for it! It's one of the more fun things you can do in Singapore!

Trick Art Museum in Jeju

Having seen all the cool photos of Trick Art Museum, I convinced the boy to take me there while we were in Jeju as well. To start with, it's actually quite pricey!

Youth (24 and below): KRW 7000
Adult (25 and above): KRW 8000

Tip #1: This is a popular stop for tour buses, so I'll recommend you to come super early or during lunch time!

Tip #2: It is located Southeast of Jeju, so I'll recommend to drop by this place when you're traveling from East to South, or South to East.

Go for it if you're into such things! The boy and I only spent 30min there because we weren't that into photo taking and were only interested in a few pieces of trick art. More importantly, we went at 1pm when everyone else is having lunch so we did not need to wait for others as we snapped away! My friend said he spent 2.5hrs there with his girlfriend, so you decide how long you'll take! 

Tip #3: This is the phone number to enter into your rented car's GPS in Jeju: 7878774 :)

Must eat in Seoul!

1) Pat Bing Soo

For the Singaporeans, it's like atas ice kachang. But I love how pat bing soo comes with very nice yummy toppings on very fine ice shavings! And you know what's the best part, they layer the sauce in between the ice shavings. You know in Singapore, restaurants like Hong Kong Cafe like to give you a very beautiful mango ice shaving, but once you eat the outer/top layer, the rest of the ice taste plain??

Another thing that I noticed is that the locals mix up their pat bing soo very rigorously before indulging in it. But for me, I like to eat it the way it was served so it remains prettier longer.

Bing-Sin

Bing Sin is found in Hongdae. The portions here are huge, good for 3-4 to share and cost KRW 11000 to 12000 depending on the flavour you order. I asked the shop owner for their best-sellers and she recommended the Strawberries (KRW12000) or Lemon & Lime (KRW 11000).

My thoughts: I tried both, and I say go for the strawberry flavour! Not a must-go so don't bother going out of your way for this. Do so only if you're in the area and craving for an icy dessert!

Korean Dessert Cafe

Korean Dessert Cafe is a chain so you can find them quite easily everywhere. I had mine in near Ewha university and it was very popular with the locals there! 2 storey shop was packed with students! In my opinion, this is one of the better and more affordable pat bing soos! The photo above is their best-seller Peanut with condensed milk which was very good! This was only KRW 7000 and good for 2-3 to share.

My thoughts: Best I've had in Seoul and evidently very popular among the locals which is a good thing. Try it if you happen to pass by it!

2) Fried Korean Chicken

The boy went crazy in Seoul over fried chicken because they have so many good fried chicken options in Seoul which is easily better than 4fingers in Singapore. Best of all, you don't need to queue for it and it's cheaper! We were so into it that we started doing taste tests on various chicken brands. Who doesn't love fried chicken & beer, so if you're in Seoul, go for it!

Kyochon Chicken

Currently one of the most popular fried chicken chains in South Korea. Popular enough that they even do delivery in Seoul! They have a few outlets, and I went to the one in Hongdae which has a nice chill outdoors area. Kyochon has 3 flavours: Original, Spicy, and Honey. The Original and Spicy are of the same price, so they allow you to mix a platter of Original & Spicy which is what I got! The picture above which includes 1 beer & 1 platter cost KRW 19,000. Platter is good for 2-3 to share!

My thoughts: Cheaper & better than 4fingers in Singapore! Worth going with friends cause you get to try more flavours. It was nicely fried on the outside, but juicy and tender inside. I personally find that 4fingers is overfried in Singapore and the meat inside has no marinated taste at all! And yes, it is worth a trip out of the way just for this chicken! 

Ho Chicken

Not so popular as Kyochon Chicken but the boy and I voted this as our favourite and best chicken in Seoul! It is good for those who like the Crispy version of KFC as Ho Chicken coats the chicken pieces generously with batter. We ordered their best-seller which is Soy Sauce Chicken, I find it amazing that the chicken is still crispy even though it has their special soy marinate all over it! It is crispy on the outside, very tender and juicy and has soy taste on the inside too! What surprised the boy and I is that we normally do not enjoy breast meat, but Ho Chicken serves up the entire chicken and make every part of the chicken so delicious!! This is pure genius!

My thoughts: It was so good that we went to eat this twice! Love the cute utensils that they provide you with so you can grab your chicken pieces! The best chicken in Seoul! :D

3) Jjimdak = Braised Chicken

This is a typical Korean dish whereby they serve braised chicken with onions, potatoes, carrots & chewy glass noodles. It goes very well with rice and I'll say that this is a must-try dish in Korea!

Yeolbong

This is a nice air-conditioned restaurant located in the Hongdae area! Known for their level of spiciness (see picture above) where it ranges from mild to very hot. Being someone who can take spicy food, I went for the Normal. Wah, it was soo spicy that I had to sip loads of water :/ So for Singaporeans, I honestly recommend you to go for the Mild option instead.

They have a nice weekday lunch set during lunch hours: 1200-1400hr. The deal is that you get a bowl of free rice topped with fish roe and seaweed when you get the Yeolbong Jjimdak. The dish above was the small version which is good for 2-3 people and costs KRW 19,000.

My thoughts: A good meal option when you are in the Hongdae area! And please do order the Mild or Normal version. Anything else is just meant to kill.

4) Honey Comb Soft Serve

This is the latest food trend in Seoul. You'll see more and more shops selling soft serve ice cream with honey comb! What is so special about their ice cream is that it is especially milky which allows the sweetness of the honeycomb to shine. If you're into food trends or you're an ice cream lover, I'll say this is a must-try!

Honey Ice Cream

You can't miss this cute little store near the stretch of shops that sell Korean BBQ in Hongdae. You can choose to have your milky ice cream in a cone or cup, I chose cup because it is easier to eat. The first time I tasted this ice cream, I felt like I was slurping on very creamy milk! The ice cream tasted like a cup of milk, it was so good! The honeycomb was such a tiny piece, but it gave a very subtle tinge of sweetness to the milky ice cream, a very good marriage of two flavours. The cup above costs KRW 4500 and is so good that I could finish one by myself. 

Softree

If you want to eat honeycomb ice cream, then surely you must go to the original founder of it. So i went! Softree is the original outlet that started the new honeycomb ice cream craze in Seoul. Their best-seller is the honey chip whereby they serve very creamy organic ice cream with a real piece of honeycomb. Mind you that they are so popular that their honeycomb is always sold out, I went at 5pm and it was gone already! Costs KRW 4800 for their honey chip. As it was sold out, I opted for liquid honey in a cup which costs KRW 4300. The ice cream was sweet and creamy, but I loved their honey the most. It was very fine and you knew that it was good quality honey!

My thoughts: Comparing the two outlets at Hongdae, I prefer the ice cream at Honey Ice Cream but the honey at Softree. Honey Ice Cream served such a perfect combination of creamy and sweet honey that it made me crave for more. The ice cream at Softree was already so sweet that it overwhelmed the sweetness of the honey and made me gelat (overwhelmed) eating it. Taking the price points, time spent queuing and the overall combination of flavours, I will say that I prefer the Honey Ice Cream at Hongdae better.

Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, Jeju

So we woke up at 430am to prepare for a morning hike up Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, also known as the Sunrise Peak, which is actually a crater left from a volcanic eruption many years ago. To me, this is one of the must-do in Jeju because it's really beautiful! It's also a UNESCO World Heritage site too.

Tip: Please check the weather forecast before you head out of your hotel.

Thing is, we left our hotel by 450am to reach Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak by 5am because the sunrise was supposed to be 537am. Upon arrival, the entire crater was covered in heavy fog. We went to the office and they said that they will not open the attraction because it is too dangerous to climb. Well, the entire place was in complete darkness and covered in fog, of course it's too dangerous. Knowing the uncertainty of the weather, we headed back to Jeju Lux Hotel since it's only a 5 minute drive away. But I pity the rest because we saw some other tour buses and random people around too, they probably woke up early in vain as well.

Anyway, we went back to the Sunrise Peak at noon after checking out of the hotel. By this time, it was filled with plenty of people, but hey, it was beautiful!

Ticket Price:
Youth (24 and below): 1,000 won
Adult (25 and above): 2,000 won

This is the start of the climb to the peak of the crater which is about 180m. I never thought much of the climb, but oh boy, it can get a little tiring as you go up the stairs which can be pretty steep!

We took roughly 25 minutes for the climb up which left us panting. A more leisure climb will probably take you 35 minutes depending much rest you take along the way up! But trust me, the view is worth it!

The climb down is another path altogether and is a breeze. This path takes you to another scenic spot of the crater and I believe that you'll enjoy it very much.

Worth Going?
Yes, do try to catch the sunrise as I heard it is amazing! Overall, it is cheap, scenic, romantic, memorable and fun! 

Must know information on Jeju Island, Seoul Korea

Jeju island has been getting increasing attention lately since it became nominated as one of the World's New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011. Also, the increasing popularity of Korean dramas in Singapore has also led many tourists to visit this little beautiful Jeju island.

We spent 3D3N at Jeju and I felt that this was just nice for a chill, relaxing tour of Jeju (unlike tour groups). To start off, you've to be aware that the attractions in Jeju are located on the East, South and West of the island. The attractions are not near each other, and it is very difficult to get around via public transport.


Air tickets:
We flew from Seoul to Jeju, and since Jeju is a popular weekend getaway for many, the weekend tickets are naturally more expensive. As such, we planned a weekday getaway instead: Sun (8am flight) - Wed (12noon flight)

Start with T'way Airlines, Jeju Air and Eastar Jet. These are all domestic airlines and offer very cheap deals if you book few months ahead. For booking a 3 weeks ahead, I managed to get a return flight on Jeju Air for SG$120. I'll greatly recommend Jeju Air because they have free 10kg check-in, 7kg hand baggage (which they are not fussy about), and even serve simple beverages (choice of orange juice or water) on board! Very worth it for a cheap domestic flight!

Getting around:

1. Rent a car (Highly Recommended!)


• Company: I rented a car from KT Kumho, a subsidiary of Hertz. A tip for you: Sign-up for a free membership and book the car prior to arrival because they give a good 60% off car rental price.
• Price: We rented the cheapest option, Hyundai Avante. With the discounts, we paid SG$150 for 3 day rental, and SG$50 for basic insurance. We ran a total of 450km in 3 days, and that cost about SG$70 for petrol.
• GPS: Cars come with either Korean/English GPS. Do not panic if you're assigned a Korean GPS. We was given a Korean GPS and did not get lost at all. The GPS works best by entering the telephone numbers of the places in Jeju. So do prepare the numbers beforehand!
  
  
2. Rent a driver 
• Opt for this option if you are not familiar with left-hand drive and do not have time to plan your Jeju attractions
• Cost: From what we've heard, the all-in fee costs SG150 for 8 hours for a driver who can speak English/Chinese. This means that you do not need to pay for petrol, car rental, etc but just for the driver himself.
• Advantages: The driver will bring you to places you wish, but at the same time recommend must-see attractions for you. For meals, he is also able to translate the menu for you. Definitely an added convenience!
3. Public transport
• Public transport is inconvenient around Jeju. Although it is the cheapest option available, it is difficult to get around unless you intend to walk a lot. 
• You can consider taking cabs everywhere, it is slightly cheaper than renting a car/driver but do note that cabs will be difficult to flag at times as the cabs might not be willing to drive all the way into the tourist attraction areas to wait for passengers.
• Do consider that it is very inconvenient and uncomfortable in the case of rain. Jeju has no rain shelters unlike Singapore.

Where to stay?

In order to save time and petrol, I planned my attractions from East, South and West. Therefore, we booked the hotels accordingly from East to West - changing location everyday. However, if you're not keen for this idea, I'll suggest to stay in the South. 

Seogwipo is considered a very good and central area in the South which makes travelling to other parts of Jeju easy. We stayed outside of the Seogwipo area since it is cheaper and we had a car. We stayed at a Goodstay Equus Motel which I DO NOT recommend.

For the East, we stayed at Jeju Lux Hotel. It was very good and it was only a 5 minute drive to the Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak which is a popular spot to catch the sunrise. If you do not wish to wake up extra early, I'll strongly advise you to stay at Jeju Lux because it was very comfortable yet affordable at about SG$70 a night.

For the North, we stayed at Monaco Motel which is near to the airport and car rental area. I will also recommend this hotel as it was comfortable and affordable, and very central! You'll find lots of yummy Korean restaurants in the area.

Our itinerary:

As said, we planned to head straight to the East after touching down at the Jeju Airport. To make your research easier, this was the our itinerary after consideration for time and cost saving:

Day 1:

• Manjanggul Cave
• Gimnyeong Park (500m from Manjanggul)
• Haenyeo Museum
• Udo Island

Day 2:

• Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak
• Trick Art Museum
• Seongeup Folk Village
• Jeongbang Waterfall
• Cruise & Submarine Tour
• Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls
• Oedolgae
• Jeju World Cup Stadium
• Cheonjeyeon Waterfall

Day 3: 

• Alive Museum
• O'Sulloc Tea Museum
• Jeju Glass Castle
• Hallim Park
• Hyeopjae/Geumneung Beach

This is all the essential you'll need to consider when planning a trip to Jeju. That's all for this post! I'll blog separately about the attractions in detail.