Three More Chill Days in Krabi to Cap off the Perfect Holiday

Day 5, finally a chill day. Went back at verandah for some coffee and a call with family. The workers at the restaurant are for sure starting to recognize me because I come in around the same time of the day and order the oddest breakfast, literally two pieces of ciabatta bread with a side of peanut butter and an oat milk cappuccino. I stayed there for a good amount of time, taking the call with my mom and getting a little bit of work done as I love a cafe moment.

I also had to get some housekeeping work done, doing my laundry that I hadn't touched since Vietnam, at this rate I was washing it every two weeks and just about every item of clothing needed to be done. As I was waiting for my laundry to get done, a girl I met in my hostel approached me again and we started chatting. She teaches english in Bangkok and she asked if I wanted to get lunch with her, so we found an Indian restaurant along the beach and ate and talked!

I then knew it was time to head to the pool. I lost all motivation to try to go to the gym here, no part of me wanted to workout, get more sweaty than I already was, to then shower it off in the hostel. I wanted to chill, I knew I would soon return to working out so regularly this fall, it is now that I have only so much time to stare out at the ocean with mountains circling me and an infinity pool at the tips of my fingers. 

I went to read and chill by the pool, and I stayed there until the evening. I called my mom once more, this time it being morning for her. After we hung up, I quickly headed down from the pool area so I could get to the beach to watch the fire show once more (the same one that I caught my first night in Krabi). I ended up catching the second half of it, they started earlier than I remembered, but I was distracted by the insanely amazing sunset.

I haven’t seen a sunset this good while I have been here, mainly because it sets so quickly being this close to the equator. But this one, I couldn’t take my eyes from. I actually struggled to choose between watching the sunset slowly change colors and vibrance, or watch the fire show. I found a perfect compromise to watch the show and have the sunset in my line of sight as well. I really only got to see about 5 minutes of the show because I really came at the tail end of it, but a great night at the beach it was.

I grabbed some dinner at a place on the strip, treating myself once more and getting the most delicious cake because I just had a small sandwich for dinner. Check out this beautiful cake I again added to my list of delicious meals abroad. It was a "soft lemon cake with mulberry sauce and coconut milk," absolutely amazing and vegan!

Day 6 was spent again at the pool, doing my favorite activities of reading and chilling. I had finished my book Hidden Potential by Adam Grant, and next on my library list is “Glucose Revolution” which is a book about regulating your glucose/insulin levels to feel better and add years to your life! I love health and wellness, plus I have a decent biological background as I really enjoyed my science classes in high school and retained enough to understand the science behind the health hacks. I cruised through the book. It wasn’t a hard read, highlighting my way through the book with hopes to book club it one day. I just laid out and read, at one point in time moving to the pool ledge to set my feet in the water to cool down, but not doing much outside of that and I was perfectly fine with just that.

About lunch time I went to get a thai dish I knew I would no longer get to enjoy in a few days as I was leaving the country so soon. It was a cafe that served this plant-based thai dish that was so good. When I ordered the dish, I was so careful to make sure they marked me down for the vegan one as it was next to other meat options, that I forgot to clarify only a little spice, and when she didn’t ask, I didn’t think twice about it. It wasn’t until I got my order and saw a lot more red chili flakes and pepper seeds that I became weary of my upcoming endeavor of finishing this plate. Thankfully I got plenty of rice and it wasn’t too spicy, although there were times of pause in my eating to fully digest. I think I will come home from this trip invincible to spice. I was getting better with it in college, but almost every dish I’ve had here contained chili peppers in some capacity, enjoying the flavor of them so not shying away when I get them here. 

I ended up down a rabbit hole of trip planning after my meal. While I was home in Lakeville before this trip, I had everything booked up until august 7th, so at the end of my time in Indonesia. I knew that the Philippines was far enough in the future to not have to plan that leg of the trip beforehand so that I could have the freedom to change my plans if need be.

It’s crazy to think that I will be arriving in Bali in one week. Bali has been my dream vacation spot for the past ten years. That’s a high bar to live up to and I know that since I put it on a pedestal, the island has greatly changed as it has been highly saturated with tourists in recent years. But what I am most excited for is the vibe and the people I hope to meet there. I am pretty sure that I will be continuing on and finishing this SE Asia trip alone, so I will most certainly be relying on new friends to keep me company. Anyways, because Bali is so soon I checked on my e-visa I applied for, learned I applied for the wrong one, reapplied but needed a flight out of the country to prove my length of time so I had to book that too which meant that I had to decide on my Philippines plans that were ever changing.

I have been trying to feel out what I want this trip to look like. I enjoyed seeing the cities, but nothing is more rejuvenating to my soul than being by the ocean, and I want that to be the center of my trip going forward. I had planned to make a stop at this place in the Philippines called Cebu, but it is a large city, kinda like a smaller Manila, and I wasn’t sure that was the vibe I wanted nor to even give it a few days for the sake that I can say I went there. So I made an executive decision to skip Cebu and head straight to an island I have only heard amazing things about, Siargao. I then also booked a hostel for my time there, to make sure I would have something confirmed. I got a place for 10 nights, this would be a destination I would spend the longest duration of time. It was funny because when I checked out of my hostel I mentioned to the front desk worker that I was headed to the Philippines which so happened to be where he was from. He gave me some good recs (all places that I am planning to go so my research did me well), and he said he has never been to Siargao but wants to go and experience the “Siargao Curse.” I was nervous when he first said this to me, thinking there was something quite terrible about the place, but in fact it was the exact opposite. Apparently when travelers come to this island as a stop on their journey, they end up loving it so much they just stay. So, now knowing that I will be there for 10 days gives me some relief that I will very likely enjoy my time, and also have a good community of fellow travels to mingle with.

Trip planning while on a trip is an interesting feeling, as typically planning a trip makes me so excited and gives a similar feeling as if I am already there, living in a “preclude” period. But planning now just trapped me in an indoor wifi zone and kept me from my amazing view. Don’t get me wrong, I love planning a trip, and I grinded and felt like I got a lot done at this cafe, but just like that three hours flew by seated at this cafe with my neck hunched over my laptop in complete determination to make the best moves for my future trip. It felt better to have more of it planned, and I almost have it all booked, just 3 more flights and 2 more hostels to book until I fly to meet my mom in Hawaii which will then be a nice feeling to have the rest of my route solidified. 

I returned back to the pool and continued on with the same activity that occupied my time in the morning, reading. I was getting pretty far in my book and still had a few hours before the sunset, I was thinking I could do this, I could finish this book. I have this goal of reading 30 books every year, just north of 2 books a month. I read a lot my spring semester of college, but for some reason I only got about halfway in so many of them, not enjoying them enough to finish them, so I got a bit behind on my goal. I have to keep up the pace, since I am lagging a bit, the thought of getting through a whole book in just a day felt so good. Catching back up to achieve that lofty goal. I accomplished it last year, reading 31 books in 2023, but I would also go to the Royal Palace park in Madrid every day after school and read there for 1-2 hours, which gave me a huge advantage. Now, I have the time to read, but I am also balancing it with my other passions and travel time. Truly, reading next to a body of water is a top 5 hobby of mine, so the day was well spent and I know that having some slow days intermixed with busy ones is what will keep my passion alive for seeing the world and help me keep the stamina for the next two months of travel. 

I then walked to grab some dinner, I wanted to get thai food again, finding a place based on whether or not they had pineapple fried rice. I found this affordable place on the strip, and there it was, but filled with meat and seafood. I had some lofty asks, removing all the meat and eggs and instead replacing it with tofu. The cook cheffed up just that and made such a yummy plate that I added it to my list of meals to make when I get home. I have never tried pineapple on pizza, but I think I understand the hype of having something naturally sweet to heighten a savory dish. I saved room for the mango sticky rice I plotted to have as well, but what I didn’t plan for was the size of this plate. Instead of a cute dessert plate of the mango sticky rice, I got a full sized meal. I think it was more filling and bigger than my fried rice.

This was the downfall of traveling alone, not being able to split desserts. This would have been the perfect amount to share, as it felt like two full orders were on this plate alone, and with my insane determination, I knew I couldn’t see the dish go unfinished. So I slowly chipped away at the flavorful mango sticky rice, until it was no more, and I could move no more. I don’t experience food comas that often because most of the food I eat is light and leaves me with a satisfied fullness, but this packed me to brim. I had to walk it off a bit before returning to my hostel to pack up a bit and get ready for bed. One nice thing about my hostel room is that it was just me and one other girl left, a few had come in go during my time staying there. But tonight she was out of the room so I got to listen to music and I feel asleep to a comfort show which is a luxury I rarely experience staying mainly in hostels. It felt so nice for just this one night.

My last day in Krabi, I had most of the day in the city as my flight wasn’t until 6pm, so I did my favorite things once more. Of course I went to the same place for breakfast, I had such a lovely time there because I got to facetime a college friend that I haven’t touched base with since leaving Madison the night after graduation. We chatted about our summers so far and got to reflect on the projects we were working on! There is nothing sweeter than connecting with a friend, let alone a long distance one. I had a great morning and so much of that is due to the joy of chatting with a college best friend of mine. 

I went back to my hostel to check out, and head to the city to tie up some loose ends and make way to another restaurant I wanted to revisit, the hilltop restaurant. As I walked the 25 minutes to the restaurant, I stopped along the way knowing I had a lot of baht I needed to burn up as it would soon become useless and a burden to carry with me. I had about $20 USD to use up and so that meant I could treat myself. I got a passport cover, there are a few stands on Ao Nang beach that sell them for an amazing price, so I got one that I had been eying up all week as I passed it. I then walked into a jewelry store or two, I got another ring, this one was more expensive than I hoped, about $7, but it was gorgeous and I hadn’t felt like I could leave the store without it on my finger. I also finished my jewelry collection and got a pair of earrings. I left for this trip with zero jewelry on me, knowing that would be the souvenir I would collect, and quickly I would be blinged out with my gifts from each city. Little did I know it would take me a month to find a necklace and earrings I liked, feeling so bare until now, as I finish my collection and the rest is just fun and extra. 

I walked the 25 minutes and up the hill to the hilltop restaurant. I got there right at open and I think it is more of a dinner place so I was the only one there for a while and was later joined by one other family. I snagged the best table at the place with the most incredible view. I took time to soak it in, to remind myself that I am so lucky to place my eyes on such beauty, and to afford such good food as this. It's when we count our blessings that we become most in touch with time and the present. We can appreciate what is in front of us, and never take our lives for granted. 

I also got to writing, in Chiang Mai I broke my rule of limiting my souvenirs and I picked up this adorable little book. I have had a lot on my mind and nothing puts it to ease more than just putting pen to paper and getting it out and onto somewhere more permanent. So, I wrote down some thoughts, some reflections, and some goals I have going forward. I also did some work on my personal projects while there, and soon enough it was time for me to head back to catch my shuttle to the airport. In my time there, I was able to enjoy the deep fried tofu with plum sauce, along with my last plate of my mango sticky rice. I think I need to go on a bit of sugar cleanse because I have been treating myself almost every night and have been breaking out a bit on my skin, that in accumulation with the constant application of sunscreen and all too often coat of sweat. I loved my thai food favorites, but I am excited to try some more new cuisines, as both of these countries have opened to my eyes to a world of new dishes, palette, and flavors.

I caught the shuttle just in time to airport to make way through security and immigration, saying goodbye to my second country and hello to a third, Malaysia!!