Thailand – Page 3

Walking Mountain Range

Got up early and grabbed some toast for breakfast, as I didn’t have a ton of time before getting picked up for rock climbing. Headed to the reception area and waited for my ride. And waited. And waited. The girl at the desk called and there was no answer. She apologized and suggested that I could go in the afternoon. I arranged that and then tried to figure out what to do with half a day in Krabi. The girl at reception offered me the use of her scooter, but I really couldn’t think of where to go – plus I’m afraid I’ll end up with a broken head.

Headed to the park first, and finished my book. Then I needed another book, so I roamed the streets checking out any shop that sold books. A surprising number actually had English language books. I ran into Eveline’s German friends and talked to them briefly, then headed back to the hostel to make sure I hadn’t missed any bookshops. She told me I had hit the important ones, so I headed back to the biggest one and traded my book in for John Cheever’s short story collection.

At one, I headed back to reception, and waited for my ride to climbing. The owner of the climbing company picked me up and drove me to Ao Nang, where I met up with four Malaysians who would be climbing with me. We took a longtail from Ao Nang to Railay, and met up with our guide for the day. He suited us up with harness and shoes, and we headed to the climbing spot.

There were a few different groups doing some climbs, but there were plenty of routes up the mountain, so it wasn’t so bad. I was reluctant to go first, and one of the Malaysians was eager, so he headed up first on Climb 1. He struggled a bit, but made it to the top. We met another guide, and he took me and one of the Malaysians to climb 2, just a few feet over. The other guy went first, and really struggled, but pushed his way to the top. I was next, and scaled the wall really quick. Was at the top before I knew it.

I did Climb 1 next, and thought it was really easy too. Apparently I’m a natural at scaling rock formations. Who knew?Â The Malaysians struggled with the other climbs as well. At climb 3, I got ready to climb, and realized that one of the girls from the other group had planned on doing the climb.

Only me and two others from the full day group were allowed to do climb 4, and it was really the only challenge of the day. It was 30 metres high, and the first 27 metres were pretty easy, but the last 3 were rather problematic. The guide holding my rope below told me to “just go straight”, but I didn’t see anything to grab on to. I pondered for a bit then took a stab at what I thought might be the right way, and managed to make it to the top. There was a little cave that the guide yelled for me to check out, so I hopped in. Really nice view of Railay beach from up there, but my camera was down below.

Headed back to Krabi, and got a pleasant surprise. Jolina and Robin had arrived from Ko Lanta and were waiting for me to get back from climbing. Chatted with them for a bit, and then went to see if Eveline had shown up. I was supposed to meet her at 6, but because I was doing the afternoon climbing, I wasn’t back till 7. I had texted her earlier, but wasn’t sure if she got the message. Thankfully she did, and all her stuff was in the room – but she was nowhere to be seen. As I headed back to see Robin and Jolina, she showed up.

I had a quick shower, and the four of us headed to the night market for a much needed (by me at least) dinner. Had some liver and other stuff on rice, and a banana milk shake, which quieted my stomach.Â Looked at some nice handicraft stuff at a store on the main road, then headed back to the guesthouse. Robin and Jolina are staying down the street, so we made plans to meet in the morning.

Railay

The previous night, there was a mosquito net, which I deduced must mean that there were mosquitoes lurking about. I woke up draped in mosquito net, but the little critters didn’t seem to be flying about, so it probably wasn’t necessary. Not a terrible sleep, all in all, but once I was up, getting back to sleep was tough – as the walls were pretty thin.

I headed to the “downtown” of Railay, which is really just a street with some shops and a coffee shop. I had noticed a pancake place there the previous evening, but sadly it was closed. I read my book, then headed back to the resort for breakfast there. Overpriced, but decent yogurt and muesli.

I’d forgotten my camera, so I grabbed that to take some pictures of the limestone cliffs, and then got back to the resort and packed to check out. Checked out, then ran into Pennie and Wiki, who were supposed to be rock climbing. Turns out Pennie wasn’t feeling too well, on account of the food last night (I’m glad I didn’t have what she had) so they decided not to bother. They were going to head back to Krabi a day early, and asked if they could tag along with me, so I told them to meet me at 2:30, and headed to the beach.

Swam and read at the beach, then ran into Pennie and Wiki again. They were with the Americans from the boat, so we all swam together, and thought about swimming to another beach, but decided it was too far. I grabbed lunch with Pennie and Wiki, who had decided they’d tough out another day in Railay, and then headed to the longtail on my own. The problem with leaving Railay is that they must wait until the boat is full before they’ll depart. I waited for about an hour, for another eight people to show up. The water was very rough, and the captain had to go extra slow to keep us from tipping. No lifejackets on board, so I transferred my wallet into my dry sack and put it my pocket, so at least there’d be little trouble identifying my body.

Thankfully we managed to make it to Krabi for 5pm (which was good, since my room would have been up for grabs after that… oh, and I was still alive).

Talked to Eveline to confirm where we were going to meet, then had a shower and uploaded some pictures. At 6:15 I headed to the City Hotel, across from the night market, to meet Eveline, who was coming in on scooter from her guesthouse near Ao Nang.

Walked to the food market, and ran into two German girls Eveline had met in Malaysia, so we sat with them exchanging travel tips we’d heard about the islands. Robert, from Holland, overheard us talking at the next table and asked to join us – probably more interested in meeting some new people, than anything else. That, or he figured I didn’t need three woman all to myself. We all chatted for a while, but then the Germans had to leave. Eveline and I had some dinner (Robert had already eaten). After dinner, Robert went to try and meet up with the Germans, and Eveline and I each got a pancake for dessert. We ate with a Swiss couple we met in line, who had been in Krabi for ten days and recommended a few things worth seeing.

Eveline and I headed to my guesthouse to find out about getting to Bangkok, as we’ll try and go together, but amazingly, all the trains are booked till the 9th so we’ll go by bus. I also booked my rock climbing for the morning.

I walked Eveline back to her scooter, then checked out a bookstore on the way home. If I can finish my book early enough tomorrow morning, I’ll swap it for a John Cheever short story collection before I head to rock climbing.

Boat Access Only

Another beautiful day by the looks of it. We got an early breakfast, and then I packed. ,I’d finished my book, so I swapped it with Paul Auster’s “New York Trilogy”, which thus far I am not enjoying as much as I’d hoped. The Swede’s will be spending a couple more days on the island, and I hope I haven’t been too much of a third wheel.

I exchanged emails and goodbyes with the Swedes and then caught a taxi truck to the pier. Waited there for a bit, then the boat arrived. A fairly uneventful trip to Railay. Some American’s next to me that talked non-stop, which made reading difficult. At Railay, the boat anchored a fair ways from shore, and those of us heading to Railay were transferred to longtails to make our way to the beach. Railay looks amazing, and is surrounded by limestone walls. It’s part of the mainland, but inaccessible accept by boat. I headed directly to the east side, since I’d heard it was where the cheaper accommodation is. Found a cheap, but not so cheap by Thailand standards, room. Not as nice as the place in Ko Lanta, but will do for a night (I was originally going to stay here for two nights, but it’s so expensive, it’s cheaper to head back to Krabi). The manager seems pretty rude though, sadly.

We’d been exchanging emails, but I told Eveline (the girl I’d met in KL) that I’d give her a call when I got to Railay to see about meeting up, so I called her, but she wasn’t around yet. I emailed Robin and Jolina to let them know what accommodation prices were like in Railay (they’re heading here eventually). As I was walking back to the resort, I ran into two Aussies I’d met earlier (and were actually at the same resort in Ko Lanta) – Pennie and Wiki (and never has there been a girl who more suited her name). Chatted with them for a bit (mostly complaining about the prices at Railay), then parted ways. I threw my swim stuff together and hit the west beach to see the sunset and get wet. Water was very warm, and quite wavy, thanks to all the longtails.

Pennie and Wiki ended up at the beach too, and entered the water pretty close to me, so I went over to say hello. Talked with them for a while, and watched the sunset (moves pretty quick!), before deciding I’d spent enough time in the water. Pennie and Wiki were out of the water too, and staying at the same resort as me, so we headed back.

The three of us grabbed some dinner, getting caught in the rain at one point. For the non-rainy season, it sure has rained a lot. Hasn’t really put a damper on too many plans though, thankfully.

I called Eveline, and through a terrible connection I think we’ve agreed to meet in Krabi tomorrow evening. I’ll give her a call tomorrow and see if I can get a better understanding of exactly where we’re to meet.

Emerald Cave

I met Jolina and Robin at their room before 7am, and we walked along the beach to the restaurant, where the owner now knew us pretty well. She’s a super happy lady, and makes some amazing food. We had arranged for our pickup to be at the restaurant and, ten minutes earlier than scheduled, our driver arrived. Young teenager, in a Bob Marley t-shirt, with a nice new truck – tourism must pay well. The tour is a family run affair, from what I could gather.

Some of the other tourists we were to pick up were very late in getting ready, to the driver’s and our own dismay. We finally got everyone on the truck and sped south to the southern beach where we were to catch our longtail boat.

The first island was about an hour and a half away. We had a small group on the boat, about 12 people, but unfortunately at the first stop there were about 100 screaming Chinese tourists already in the water. The first stop was Ko Mook, I believe. No beach, just vertical limestone rising out of the water. We snorkeled there for a bit. I was a little underwhelmed at first, but once the Chinese left the water, the visibility improved, and there were quite a few fish. Some yellow and black striped fish seemed quite curious and got pretty close.

The next stop had a better selection of fish, but not in huge numbers. We snorkeled around there for a bit, then headed to the Emerald Cave. The Chinese tour was ahead of us and already filing into the water – single file, following their guide. Our guide (who had done no guiding up to this point) told us to follow him, and with little organization we jumped off the boat, and did our best to keep up (he had flippers, which is an unfair advantage, me thinks).

We swam, following our guide into the cave, the water taking on a green glow, and reached a point where seeing two feet in front of our faces was an impossibility. The guide turned on his flashlight and sped off again. We winded our way through the cave, before spotting some light ahead. We followed the light, and were rewarded with a spectacular hidden beach. The beach was fully enclosed by the limestone around it. Trees grew here and there, and the sun shone from above, but the only access to the lagoon was through the cave. It was probably the nicest thing I’ve seen on the trip thus far, but sadly I was unable to bring my camera along for the swim.

We had lunch and some fruit on the boat after the cave. Much needed after a day of swimming in the hot sun. We headed to Ko Hai next. Ko Hai was a beautiful, quiet beach. We had an hour to swim and snorkel, but stayed for closer to two hours, for some reason. Not many fish to see, but the water was very clear. If I head back to a Thailand island, and want to do nothing but sit on a beach, Ko Hai might do the trick. It was pretty nice, as far as beaches go.

The boat dropped us off outside our hostel, so we had to wade through the water to shore, our bags over our heads. It was the nicest day in Asia so far, and definitely a good day to be at sea.

We had dinner at our usual spot in the evening, and each had our own pineapple for dessert. I also arranged my boat to Railay Beach for the morning. Not much happening at the resort, so I read (must finish book!) and got some sleep, surprisingly not as tired as I thought I’d be.

Beach Music

Lazy day, so not much to report. Got up in the morning with the intention of going for a run on the beach, but it was raining lightly . Did some reading (there’s a good book I want to swap with in the library), then when the rain stopped, I hit the beach. Very soft sand, definitely not for running. I walked to some rocks, that and climbed over them, reaching a small secluded beach, followed by some more rocks. These rocks looked a little trickier, so I let them be, and walked back the way I’d came, and headed south down the coast.

After a lot of walking in the bright sun, with no sunscreen on, I figured it’d be wise to head back to the resort and put some on. I oiled up and hit the resort pool for a bit of reading. Robin and Jolina were already in attendance. When the sun came out from behind the clouds, it got terribly hot, so I jumped in the pool to cool down a bit. My day repeated a similar pattern for most of the day. Substitute pool for sea on occasion, but you get the gist.

We tried to get some dinner in the evening at the same place we’d had lunch earlier, but they were closed. We had been discussing an island tour, and settled on a 4 islands snorkeling tour for the next day.

Back at the guesthouse, I retire to bed early as we want to get an early breakfast before the islands tour.. There was a big party at the resort, but it seemed pretty tame. Apparently it’s low season at the moment, although that normally isn’t the case until May.

Ko Lanta

In the morning, the Swedes and I headed for breakfast at a place John recommended. A little pricey, but we’re starting to figure John wasn’t as frugal as we’re trying to be. I had a pancake, hoping it would look as glorious as the ones we saw at the night market, but it was fairly underwhelming.

Another travelling day, this time to Ko Lanta. Ko = Island here in Thailand, so we’d be taking a boat at some point. We were supposed to be picked up at 10, but our taxi did not arrive until closer to 11. We piled in, and headed to the bus terminal, where we hopped on a (blessedly) air-conditioned minivan. It was a little crowded, and I ended up sitting on Robin’s suitcase for the first fifteen minutes or so. I was nearly at the point of cursing the lack of meat on my posterior, when we dropped off the mother and daughter I was sitting next to, and I had two seats to myself.

We picked up a couple of more people on the way, and dropped off some others, but I managed to retain my seat. The young girl in front of me was pretty cute, and seemed quite taken with Robin’s camera. The Canadians I met in Te Anua had given me some Canadian pencils to give to kids on my travels, but they were buried in my luggage, otherwise I’d have given one to her.

We got on a ferry to Ko Lanta Noi and drove across the island, and got onto another ferry – this time to Ko Lanta Yai. There were some police inspecting vehicles, but we managed to make it through without much incident. The bus dropped us off at the bus depot, and we went through the never pleasant task of trying to figure out where we wanted to sleep for the nights (or at least one night) on the island, We told the guy in charge of the taxis we wanted to be dropped off in the middle of one of the beach areas. He told us it would be 50 baht each. Steep ($1.60), but a twenty minute taxi drive.

The taxi was a pickup truck with two benches running along its side. To our surprise we were dropped off nowhere near where we wanted to be, about 5 minutes later. We tried to tell the driver that we weren’t where we wanted to be (there was a decent resort, but nothing around). He had no clue what we were talking about, so we had to negotiate another 30 baht to get further down the beach.

Now where we wanted to be, we tried to find a place to stay, but the places in the area weren’t really what we were after, price wise. The driver, whose company we didn’t like was still following us around – hoping for a commission from the resort, no doubt. Jolina and I left Robin with the bags, and headed towards the beach to check out the next place, but it too wasn’t what we were after. When we got back, Robin was talking with someone who had a good place down the road. He offered to drive us there for free, but changed his tune when he spotted our taxi driver. The taut for the resort made haste and took off, and we decided we’d eat some food, hoping the taut would return.

Had a great lunch at a place near the main road. As we waited, a truck pulled up and another taut from another resort offered us a room. We haggled him down to half the price, on condition of seeing the place, and went to check it out.

Blue Andaman Resort turned out to be nice. Robin and Jolina definitely got the better of the two rooms, but I certainly feel I got my money’s worth. 300 baht (less than $10) for my own bungalow with private shower and bathroom.

I headed to the beach and had a look. Low tide, so the beach looked a little rocky, but the beach faces west, and before long we were hit with the nicest sunset I’ve seen in forever.

Please Beware The Monkey Stealing Things

Grabbed some muesli and fruit for breakfast from the guesthouse. Pretty tasty, but probably a bit pricier than I could get elsewhere in the city. Even still, the difference is probably only $1 or so.

Met up with Jolina and Robin, and headed to the Tiger Cave. About 8kms outside of the city we rode in the back of the songthaew with some locals – many who seemed to just hop on and hop off at random. The songthaew is just two benches at the back of a truck, but it serves its purpose.

At the cave, we looked at the sign announcing “1,237 Steps To Top Mountain” with trepidation (and maybe hoping their counting was as poor as their English), but it was still early, so we figured we’d better tackle it before the sun started to really heat us up. Accompanying us on our journey was a mutt that I christened Scabby, because he looked like he’d been in a few too many scraps in his day. He followed us up the stairs, and stopped when we stopped. He also helped keep the monkeys at bay.

Like the Batu caves, the lower stairs of the climb were clambering with monkeys. I took some photos as three of them sat on a garbage bin only a foot away from me, but was quite surprised when one leapt onto my bag and attempted to steal my water bottle. I shooed it away, and promptly put the bottle in my bag to deter any future attempts at thievery.

The climb was grueling, steep, hot, and humid. The stairs were numbered occasionally, which didn’t serve to help things. Near the top, someone passed us on his way down and assured us it was worthwhile. He was right.

Great views from the top, and a giant statue as well (who knows how they got it up there). We sat there for an hour or so, to recover from the climb, and drink some water available at the top. We tried to give Scabby some, but he didn’t seem too interested.

After descending the steps (Scabby stayed up top – maybe he climbed up to die), we headed to the Tiger Cave, which was a smallish (compared to Batu) cave in the jungle. It began to pour rain while we were in the cave, so we used it as shelter. Rain in Asia doesn’t seem to ever die down, though. Even when it does seem calmer, it’s probably as bad as our worst storms in Canada. Eventually we figured the rain was light enough and we headed to the songthaew and got a ride back into town.

Sat around in the guesthouse to wait out the storm, and had a (proper, not nature endowing) shower. Headed out for some food with Robin and Jolina, at a restaurant around the corner, and then back to the hostel. The school next to the guesthouse is having some sort of performance night, so I was able to listen to some off key singing – but they seem to be having fun.

Headed to the night market later to get some more food, and some pancakes for dessert, but ended up skipping the pancakes. Tomorrow I am off to Ko Lanta, which ought to be a nice change from the city life.

Hippy Aliens

A travelling day. The train took us over some interesting terrain, and eventually we stopped at the Thai border, where we had to all disembark with all of our belongings, and pass through customs. There was a sign stating “hippies” were not allowed into the country, and then a list of things that made one a hippy. Long hair and wearing a singlet are apparently not very good. Wooden shoes are also frowned upon, as well as poor looking shorts. I thought about taking a picture, but didn’t want to run the risk. Despite my drab appearance, I managed to get through immigration without much trouble.

Talked with the older man, John from England, who slept in the bunk across from me, and he was heading to Krabi, which was one of the places I planned on going to too (I still wasn’t 100% sure where I would go in Hat Yai). He said he spoke a bit of Thai, and offered to share a cab with me to the bus depot from the train station. We had about an hour to wait while Thai immigration took our bus away, and brought it back to us, and in that time we managed to wrangle two Swedes, Jolina and Robin to join us on the trek to Krabi. Since our numbers were now four, John thought it might be cheaper and quicker for the four of us to take a cab.

Back on the train, we got to Hat Yai at about 11:15 (an hour later than we were supposed to), and headed to the taxi depot. They wanted 4500 baht ($146 Canadian) to take us to Krabi (about 5 hours away), so we told them we’d just take the bus instead. Got an offer for a minibus for 270 baht ($8.75) each. We decided to do that instead, but had an hour to kill. We were pretty hungry so we grabbed some money from the ATM and got some food at a small restaurant (I use the term loosely) in Hat Yai.

At 12:30 we took the minibus to Krabi. Fairly uneventful – but interesting to pass entire families on a motorbike (quite common to see – I’ll get a picture eventually). Our driver drove like a maniac, but the price was good, and the bus was air-conditioned (although poorly).

In Krabi we overpaid for a taxi to a local hostel that John knew of. They were fully booked, but John knew of another place. This place was a tad more than myself and the Swedes wanted to pay, so we parted ways with John and the three of us found another place up the street for 220 baht ($7.13) per night. Checked out the room, and it was clean and more than I needed (two beds for little old me), but who can argue for the price? I had a shower, then turned my laundry in to be cleaned for me. Much needed, I assure you.

In the evening Robin, Jolina and I headed to the night market to meet up with John and get some food. Had some nice bbq fish, chicken, and pork (with rice of course), and washed it down with a banana shake. Total came to about 85 baht ($3.50 Canadian) per person.