Thailand

Poptasi vs TripAdvisor – Ao Nang

In Cookie Therapy 13 November 20249 min read

THE 5 BEST bakeries in Ao Nang

I wanted to find the best cookies in Ao Nang, Krabi Thailand. The locals couldn’t tell me. Also because they don’t speak English that well. So I use Google, right? TripAdvisor popped up at the top: ‘THE 5 BEST bakeries in Ao Nang. That sounds promising. Especially since there are SIX bakeries on that page. Anywayz. I went on a mission to ‘the 5 best bakeries in Ao Nang’. Poptasi vs TripAdvisor – Ao nang. Or call it Cookie Therapy by Poptasi.

1. Mon Cafe Ma Boulangerie
2. Coffee House & Bakery Ao Nang
3. Get Baked
4. Sirena’s Bakes
5. Adeelah Bakery & Restaurant
6. Coffee Cup Club

First I looked up their addresses. Number 1 the list Mon Cafe Ma Boulangerie was not in Ao Nang, but on the island Koh Phi Phi. Sorry TripAdisor, you score 1 fail out of 6. The other addresses were far apart. So I had to divide them into two walking routes. Poptasi vs TripAdvisor – Ao nang.

Route 1 by the sea

5.6 km walk in total

1. Get Baked – 19 min walk
2. Adeelah Bakery & Restaurant – 31 min walk
3. Coffee House & Bakery Ao Nang – 51 min walk

Route 2 land inwards

7.4 km walk in total

1. Coffee Cup Club – 20 min walk
2. Sirena’s Bakes – 51 min walk

Day 1, route 1: Aprox 51 minutes walk 2.8 km

Sunday 10.11.24. It was cloudy today. Still 25+ degrees. I left my hostel pretty late. Around 16:00h. But I was eager to find the best bakeries. I filled up my water bottle. And on my way I went.

Get Baked

The route went by the sea. Beautiful view. I used Google Maps. Since Apple Maps seems to be less accurate. But whichever navigation I used, I could not find Get Baked bakery. So I asked a woman from a massage salon. She pointed me through some passage with empty shops towards a beach resort.

I entered the resort but found nothing. So I asked a Thai man who worked there at the bar. We got lost in translation since he didnt speak English. A big English man came to assist. I guess he was the manager or owner. He didn’t know the bakery. But he found on his phone that Get Baked was permanently closed. Sorry TripAdvisor, 2 fails out of 6. On to bakery number 3.

Adeelah Bakery & Restaurant

This bakery was further up the road. According to TripAdvisor that is. It led me to some dead-end street. Which seemed to be the entrance of two resorts. I asked a man from the resort. But he simply walked away. Ignoring me. I guess he didn’t speak English. So yeah, you just walk away.

A man on a scooter drove up. He spoke a little English. I asked him if the bakery was inside the resort. But he had never heard of Adeelah Balery. He pointed me away to different area.

Then a funny old couple passed. They had coloured their white hair pink and green. They looked cheerful. I said ‘Can I ask you a question?’. They looked at me and walked on without saying anything. I guess they thought I wanted to sell them something. Or they were Russian.

Anywayz, I looked up the address on Google Maps. This was a different address. Weird. Just 1.3 kilometer, 17 minute walk. This route led me to another dead end road. Or actually a dirt road. According to Google Maps this was the route. So I walked on. carefully stepping over puddles.

Half way a scooter come from behind. I gently stepped aside to let the scooter pass. The man stopped and asked where I was going. To the end of this road, I answered. He let me hop on to his scooter. So kind of him. He dropped me off at some asphalt crossing. And I continued on my way. Onto some domestic road. With a big white hotel. Weird. I entered to ask the reception. But there was noone there. So I looked the address up on Google.

Google and TripAdvisor don’t always agree. According to Google: Adeelah Bakery, temporarily closed. Maybe I should have done better research before I went hiking? Nevertheless, TripAdvisor: 3 fails out of 6.

Coffee House & Bakery

To be honest I was pretty miuch exhausted from all the walking in the heat. Most roads weren’t exactly pedestrian friendly. So I decided to to end my quest of the day. And go back to my hostel. I’ll delete this ‘Best Bakery’ of the list. Leaving the score at TripAdvisor: 3 fails out of 5. Tomorrow part 2 of my quest. Poptasi vs TripAdvisor – Ao nang.

Day 2, route 2: Aprox 51 minutes walk 3.2 km

Monday 11.11.24. This day I left on time. Around 12:00h. It was clear blue sky. Full sun. 30 degrees. No shades by the roads. And no wind.

Coffee Cup Club

According to TripAdvisor this bakery should be land inwards. Distance 1.4 km. Once I reached the destination after approx 20 minutes walk, I found out that TripAdvisor gives a different location than Google maps. Meaning there was no Coffee Cup Club at this location. TripAdvisor: 4 fails out of 5. Anywayz, on to the next bakery.

Sirena’s Bakes

So Coffee Cup Club wasn’t were tripAdvisor told me it would be. That’s ok. But the next bakery was 2.2 km further up the road. According to Google maps 31 minutes walk. The only challenge was, that there was no boardwalk. Nope. i had to walk on the road next to the cars.

But hey, I had gotten this far. So I was not gonna give up now. Most cars kept a nice distance from me. The tricycles did not. They almost ran me over every time one passed. But I was on a mission. So I kept going.

According to Google Maps I had to turn left at some point. This wasn’t a road. This was just sand and rocks. It ended in grass and palm trees. Maybe the bakery was hidden on the side of the road. So I walked up. And yes, I did find the bakery. Or actually the house with a sign saying: Sirena’s Bakes.

I did not see the entrance. But I did see another sign on the fence. It said: We are not available at the moment. TripAdvisor 5 fails out of 5. The 5 best bakeries of Ao nang. Great advise TripAdvisor.

On my way back I saw this Chinese Supermarket, Wan Wan. I decided to get some cookies here, since the other addresses were a disappointment. I found Oreo Coca Cola. Had to try them. Indeed they taste exactly like those little cola bottle candies. At least I had some cookie! 🙂

Conclusion

TripAdvisor is a great app if you need some advise for travelling. The only thing is that not all advise is accurate. Or in my case of THE 5 BEST bakeries of Ao Nang completely false. I guess TripAdvisor wants to tag along to stay trending as best as possible. But coming up with a formula ‘THE 5 BEST’ isn’t really the way to do it. Especially if you haven’t checked your resources.

These are my recommendations of TripAdvisors ‘Best bakeries of Ao Nang’. That’s correct, none of them. All of them were a fail. That’s bad.

1. Mon Cafe Ma Boulangerie NOT IN AO NANG
2. Get Baked PERMANENTLY CLOSED
3. Sirena’s Bakes NOT AVAILABLE
4. Adeelah Bakery & Restaurant TEMPORARILY CLOSED
5. Coffee Cup Club NOT TO BE FOUND

Good thing is that I checked them for you. So you don’t have to! 😉 Love, Poptasi