Tales of Krabi

Ahha……….now this is where we went to!

Pristine white sand beaches, crystal clear blue water, random huge limestone hills and the lovely sunny sky – in short, the beautiful province of Krabi. Located at the shore of the Andaman sea with almost 130 islands in its possession, Krabi undoubtedly is one of the most relaxing places in Thailand.

Baffled with the vastness of the province, Papa and I quickly drew up a 3 day itinerary focusing on the key islands of Krabi, leaving us with enough time to relax as well as explore the entertainment facilities of our hotel. Since we were a bit nervous about Mira’s first encounter with water, we decided to sign up for a half day trip that allowed us to hop between Krabi’s 4 big islands.

Sunglasses, sunscreen, swim suits, baby food – all nicely packed in a bag, Papa, Daadi, Mira and I set out for our trip. A speedboat transported us from the hotel beach to the destination. While Papa and I headed straight towards the bow of the boat, Mira clung tightly to Daadi scared of the gurgling sound of the water and the noisy engine of the boat. Having sat right in front of the bow, my view of the sights was completely uninterrupted. The rush of cold wind in my face, hair fluttering against the forehead, the never-ending stretch of water and the birds flying by made the scene so very beautiful! Don’t think Papa enjoyed it as much as he kept struggling to retain the cap on his head, which was ready to give in to the will of the wind.

The islands were even better –simple, peaceful and yet so very beautiful. Walking into the sea made the whole experience real – touch of the water suddenly transformed us into a part of the nature, rather than being mere spectators from outside. The sea, the fish, the hills and the sky all seemed so much more approachable and intrinsic at that point in time.

Papa and I enjoyed the sea by constantly dipping into it, sometimes near the beach and sometimes a bit far. In the true teenager style, we had great fun splashing water onto each other rather than resorting to the complicated adventures of snorkeling and diving. And Mira, she turned out to be a true water baby – comfortably seated in her small swim tube held onto by Papa’s dependable arms, Mira joined in the fun by cheerfully swaying and babbling in the sea.

The fish just added to the pleasure – in fact, it was probably one of the best parts of the whole experience – the sea was full of these small harmless fish which came rushing in as soon as we dropped some bread crumbs in water. The fact that they were all around us, probably kissing us around the legs was good enough to evoke happy giggles of laughter from all three of us. Daadi, who all this while was missing the fun standing at the edge of the beach, finally gave in to the temptation and walked right inside hitching her salwaar upto the knees. And then, the whole family got down to their favorite water activity - splashing water on each other!

The hotel too had lots to offer – the swimming pool, the beach, the play room, the relaxing king size bed and loads and loads to eat from! But, probably the best was the elephant show that happened by the beach with a baby elephant called Ra Ra. And one could make out that Ra Ra was having the time of his life – rolling in the sand, picking people in his trunk, blowing water on bystanders and gobbling lots and lots of bananas in a go. Mira loves haathis and Ra Ra was like a dream come true – though she was scared to get too close to the animal, she cheerfully clapped and egged him on from a distance.

And like this, three days just passed away quickly leaving us relaxed, refreshed and not to forget…… beautifully tanned. It was surely a wonderful trip with lots of beautiful memories – memories of Mira’s first encounter with water, Daadi’s first beach holiday after ages, Papa’s much-needed break from office and most importantly, lovely time spent with the whole family together.