Happy in Krabi

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Our overnight train from Malaysia ended in Hat Yai, Thailand. It was our plan to travel on to the town of Krabi, a popular jumping off point to all Thai islands on the Andaman coast. It was not until we stepped off the train that we realized we had no idea how to get to Krabi, as this broken down platform we were standing on was hardly the transportation hub we expected. Perhaps reading the confusion on our faces we were bombarded by people trying to sell us bus rides into other cities and adventure packages. Learning that a bus ride would be the only way out of Hat Yai, we ran between two travel agencies trying to negotiate the cheapest fair possible.... with some skill we managed to get a ticket for half the original asking price. Our five hour bus ride would have been comfortable if it had not been like a clowns car in a circus. There was nine of us squeezed in to the bus...actually just a minivan...with our feet up on the bags. After our fourth hour and everyone sweaty and grumpy someone situated in the middle of the bus did the unthinkable .. he opened up a snack that was the worst smelling thing in the world (even worse than Alex’s farts). We later found out that it was a very popular Thai fruit..very sweet but very stinky and is therefore banned on most bus rides.

Yet again we found a very nice family guesthouse...we really lucked in with this one. It was a brand new building, had extremely clean and large rooms with a/c, and at a good price. We originally planned to stay in Krabi for a day or two..just enough time to figure out how to get to Phi Phi, however we ended up liking it so much that we stayed for six days.

We spent the next week exploring Krabi and the area around in a Suzuki 4x4 we rented. We went to the crystal lagoon, hot springs, Ao Phanang beach, Nopparat Thara Beach and surrounding area to see some of the remaining devastation from the tsunami. We soon learned the rules of the road: None!! All signs and rules of the road are only considered suggestions, people do what they want.

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Photos

Breakfast
Ashley was a bit fearful when she found out this was breakfast...a cocunut milk rice with sardines and a spicy red curry all wrapped in a banna leaf and newspaper.

When Nature calls...
...your in Nature!!

Waterfront dinner stalls
At dusk about 50 food stalls would pop up along the waterfront and so would the stray dogs. You could find anything from grilled meat(?), fried rice, ox penis soup and ashley's favorite...pancakes with chocolate sauce..she had this almost everynight!!

Khao Khanab Nam
These are famous rocks on Krabi's waterfront. You can rent the boats in the fore front to go and look at them.

Our Wheels!!
Off roading was the source of Alex's entertainment and Ashley's car sickness.
Note: The car didn't look this clean afterwards!

Random Dirt Road
Being our own drivers we were able to really see Krabi. We drove down any road we felt like...hoping that if we got lost somebody would speek english. Thankfully we didn't get lost because the way the locals looked at us curiously we don't think they had seen many westerners.

Who needs a bridge?
On our way to see crystal lagoon Alex decided it would be a good idea to take the long route through the jungle.

Crystal Lagoon
800 metres later we arrived dripping with sweat at crystal lagoon only to find out then that if we had our swimsuits we could of jumped in.

Slipping and Sliding
We enjoyed some time alone at the lagoon feeling like the only people alive...all we heard were the birds in the trees. However, much to our amusement people started to show up (or maybe we should say down) because they all started to fall on the slippery rocks one after another. We tried not to laugh out loud, but Ashley couldn't contain herlself when the sterotypical dorky tourist, wearing full jungle gear and carrying a bulky camera around his neck preformed an acrobatic fall. We're still laughing about it now.

Rain, Rain Go Away!
It was so hot that it rained every afternoon for about an hour.

Nopparat Thara Beach
This beach was hit by the tsunami.
How eerie, the tide is so low ...is this what it looked like before the tsunami hit?

Elephant
Driving along the road Alex thought he had seen an elephant so we reversed and sure enough there he was.

Floating village
Across the harbour from Krabi.

Bamboo tattoo
4 hours of enjoyment...yeah right!! i
t was all done by hand..one guy held the skin while the other jabbed alex.