Krabi...

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Hopefully it won't be raining in Krabi!

Originally I came to Krabi five days ago to find a nice beach or island somewhere that had the postcard perfect weather I've been dreaming about. As the moonson was beginning ,I had hoped that Krabi would be different! In Malaysia, if it is raining on the west coast, it is almost guaranteed to be hot and sunny on the east coast. Thailand is a different story it seems. As the monsoon hits the mainland from all directions. The sun was setting and we were about an our from our destination. It was looking good. No rain her as yet. On arrival I booked into a guest house with optimistic outlook. I got to sleep early for a full day of beach hunting tomorrow.
I awoke in the morning to the sound of...a train going past my window? No. What is that? Someone put the kettle on? No. Is that the noise of thousands of tiny rats running around on the tin roof? No! It's rain.

Ok, I accept the reality of the present moment and take this time to catch up on some reading, eating and general sorting of papers. My movements consist of the short distance between the guesthouse and the night market food stalls. My meals are usually 30 baht ($1:50AUS) for noodles with vegetables or fried rice with shrimp. My attempts to be pure vegetarian aren't going too well as those tasty little prawns keep jumping onto my plate. At least I've been able to avoid the chicken, the cow and of course the pig which I haven't eaten for quite a few years now. I like all these animals. And I do not wish to consume the suffering they usually go through at their time of death. Fish and prawns of course also suffer in death. I have no justification.
Some kids see me looking at my camera and hassle me to take photos of them. They hold up the menu as a prop. I take a few photos and show them. I call over their mother and show her aswell. She laughs and explains the one who I thought was a boy is actually a girl. She finds this amusing. I find the mosquitos annoying. And the kids run away smilling.

Finally, after about 4 days in Krabi, I take a pick-up ride to Ao Nong beach. It has been raining all morning but I decide I will see what all the hype is about this beach. Wandering around for a couple of hours was enough for me. I walked past a 'Mc'Donalds' and a 'Burger King'. This says it all. I watch a nice sunset with about 5 mins of pink skies then fade to black. One more night in Krabi and I'm off to Ranong on the west coast about 400km north of here. "That's it...", I tell myself, "..no more touristy places! I don't care how beautiful the beaches are!" We shall see.

I stay up late researching on the internet taking advantage of the free wi-fi here. After sleeping only a few hours I awake in the middle of the night to an itchy scalp! "What the..? About 4 bed bugs scurry for safety across the bed sheets. My nemesis! They're back! I break my precepts of not killing any living being and press them firmly against the mattress popping their soft bodies and making them explode leaving tiny scenes of murder on the bed. The blood stains they leave is my blood. I had been sleeping in this particular bed for the past 3 nights. How is it they went undeteced? Stealth bed bugs. They are evolving. Different from the Malaysian bed bugs. They come in droves and attack with such fervour, waking the unexpectant recriprient instantly. "That's it ...I'm outta here!". I fall back to sleep nearly instantaneously. In the morning I let them know that at least one room in their otherwise nice guest-house has a parasitical alien life form living unknowst to them. I usually don't like to mention names of guesthouses that I have had bad experiences at....so I wont! Arriving at the bus station 3 hours before departure time I wait it out in the humidity joking with the ticket lady.

I waste some time at a market near the bus station for an hour. Visiting a market here in Thailand can be an adventure. I find a tub full of cat fish slowly suffocating to death, pig faces hanging on hooks and the the faint feathered smell of chicken dust floating in the air. As in most markets I think to myself..."bird flu city!". Twelve 'o clock comes around and it's time to go. "All aboard...Ranong...Ranong..we are off to Ranong!"

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