I am writing this to you from Krabi, Thailand (and praying...I mean really praying...that there is some place here that sells Sponge Bob themed Krabi Patties). Krabi is just up the coast from Phuket in the very Southern part of Thailand. While not as chi-chi as Phuket, it is definitely Tourist Land. But we didn't come to Krabi for our typical travel experience. We came here to rest!
When we planned this trip, we had a strong feeling that we would be pretty beat up after our four weeks in Taiwan and China. We were not wrong. Our mid-70's bodies were pushed to reasonable limits with all the places we went to with air, train, and car travel, along with walking, walking, climbing, climbing. And (for me) over indulgence with eating and drinking.
We flew out of Shanghai on Saturday. Saying goodbye was not so painful this time as the #2's are being posted in the U.S. for a year and will be in Albuquerque for a month. Another part of our travel planning alteration to accommodate our aged state, is breaking up long distance travel with layovers. All the direct connections from Shanghai to Krabi involved flights leaving around midnight with long layovers and high prices. While planning, I had checked self-transfers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur (KL). The best option was KL. We were able to take Malaysia Airlines leaving in the mid-afternoon arriving KL at night. KL has one of the better airport hotels, the Sama Sama, which we've stayed in multiple times.
I have a love/hate relationship with KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). It is not the most convenient place to get to and from your flights, and things like passport control and security are always backed up. But, frequently I find I get the best prices and connections for what we are looking for. This is in large part because it is the hub of Air Asia, THE major discount airline serving SE Asia. Air Asia is a true discount airline with all the lack of amenities that implies. However, their prices are so crazy low that I can buy every single upgrade (priority access, seats, extra baggage, etc.) and still be paying way less than you'd pay for any U.S. domestic flight.
Thankfully, our flight to Krabi was not until early afternoon as things were delayed getting into KL and we didn't get to sleep until 1am. But we slept late. I used a convenient Grab rideshare (SE Asia Uber like company) to get to the KLIA 2 terminal. This is the 'discount airline' terminal (which means it is 90% Air Asia) and is a shit show. But we got through and got our flight which was smooth. Arriving in Krabi, we were picked up by a driver arranged by our Airbnb host. The place we've gotten is really good for the rest we have in mind (I will do a detailed post on it in the future).
We are such seasoned SE Asia hands now that within an hour of arriving, we'd figured where the closest supermarket was, used Grab to go and come back, gotten unpacked, ordered dinner delivered through Grab (Grab! Pay Attention Here! Hire me as your spokesperson!), were settled in fed, alcohol supply replenished, and ready to crash and rejuvenate over the next two weeks.
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