Mai Pen Rai, Krabi

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This morning had I know the adventure we were in for, I would have probably made some different choices. Like taking the public bus or perhaps I would have watched for the chickens. Either way, I would have probably saved the pain and agony of riding in a vehicle made for 12 (not 15 with luggage and livestock) and I would have not been involved in the Nascar race on the toll-road to the airport.

When traveling, its important to remember that not everything is going to work in your favor. Shit happens. You're not at home anymore. Get used to it. For those that refuse to lighten up. Be prepared for a whole lot of agony.

My teachers always said I could use with an attitude adjustment.

After having breakfast at our guest house and making the pregnant girl finally smile (score one for me), our mini bus showed up an hour late. Needless to say, both Candace and I were getting worried about the flight we booked to Krabi that left at 12:30. And of course we scored the best seats. Along with luggage and another person, we get the back seat. I loved the fact that the driver couldn't close the door and was going to leave my backpack behind. After some inventive piling on our laps and a few slams of the rear door, we thought everything was finally in. Well at least we were finally off. I figured the miles would melt away pretty quick.

Oh how foolish of me. I forgot the golden rule of driving in Thailand. Fuel after everyone is on board. As we sat there fueling, I looked out to see our driver chatting with the gas jockey. Both of them had cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. Bright red cherries on the end. Ummmm... hello. Gas goes boom really easy. Especially when its hot. Then they started arguing about the price on the pump or perhaps how much more the driver could or could not stuff into the minibus. The gas jockey pulled the still dripping nozzle from the gas tank and starts waving it around in the same hand he was holding the lit cigarette.

Although we could have blown up at any point, I was more concerned that we were going to miss our flight. Finally, the driver got back in and we were off again. Fueled, full of people and luggage we were headed to Bangkok.

It seems there is another golden rule that I was unaware of. Once you have a mini bus full of people, you should add some more freight to make up for the cheap fares you sold the locals. It seems that our driver had a few more stops to make before leaving town. After picking up some bags and boxes, the driver stopped and seemed lost. Sure enough, he pulled out his cell phone and started frantically speaking to someone. He had a piece of paper in his hand and he was trying to look at addresses as we started to sped down side streets again. Eventually he pulled over, ran inside a store and came out with quite a few strings of white flowers that we have seen at a lot of shrines. Must be a good omen. How can anything go wrong when you have Buddha on your side?

The only other tourists in the minibus, a German couple had obviously been discussing the continued delays, in a tone and volume that only the Germans call calm and subdued. It sounded like they were rallying the troops in an old World War II film. It turns out that they too had to catch a flight. They spoke to the drivers assistant, his small tiny wife in the front seat with lots of room. She smiled and nodded her head a lot. I don't think she understood a word the German guy yelled/spoke at her.

We had booked the 6:00am minibus that came at 7:00. We had fueled and made several pick ups before leaving town. Now as we hit the highway it was 10:00. It was at this point that both Candace and I relegated ourselves to the fact that we may miss our flight. If we encountered no more delays, there was a slim chance.

We were quite surprised when we arrived in Bangkok. A few people got out but we were still making good time. With renewed faith we new we wouldn't have to beg Bangkok Airlines allow us on the next flight or buy another set of tickets.

Enter the Chickens!

The minibus pulled over once more and an older lady got out and went to the back of the minibus. The driver popped the back door and unloaded all the bags out of the back along with boxes from underneath the seat. With a shrug, he started to reload everything back in. This infuriated the Thai lady and oddly enough, her tone was very much that of the Germans. I wonder if she had ever seen a World War II movie? This caused the driver to unload the minibus again.
Candace, in all of her linguistic splendor seemed to understand the problem. It appears that we were going to miss our flight as this lady could not find her chickens. And all this time I thought it was old guy in the front that smelt funny. Well the search was on for the missing chickens. Boxes were opened along with suitcases and backpacks. Perhaps we were smuggling the missing chicken to the warm south beaches? The Germans, not sensing any of the Thai lady's frustration over her missing chickens began ordering the driver's wife to get going as they had a plane to catch.
In Canada, a commotion like this on the side of the road would have had a crowd of rubber neckers stopped to see what was going on.
Not in Thailand.
All Candace and I could do was sit in the back holding our bags that I threw back in and watch what went on. We were both laughing so hard even though this probably meant we were missing our flight.. Finally the driver got everything back into the minibus along with the irate lady and we were off.
We got dropped off in the middle of a multi-lane street and found the nearest taxi. It was 11:45. We explained to the driver that we needed to get to the airport as our flight left at 12:30. The gates closed at 12:10. He said he didn't think we would make it but he would try.

Oh My Gawd! Never tell to a Thai taxi driver that he will get a fat tip if he can shave 15 minutes off a taxi ride across town. Or if you do, be prepared to break every traffic law at least 3 times in the first 2 kilometers.
Pong, the drivers name, roughly translates to Mario or Petty or Earnhardt Jr. (Well, it is a rough translation), peeled out of there like no buddys business. Very early on, we realized that if Nascar ever opens up in Thailand, Pong would have secure employment for years to come.

I have never been a cab that changes 4 lanes at once or when faced with a traffic jam, pulls out into oncoming traffic to speed past said jam. Of course I thought I had seen it all until Pong made the decision that cornering onto another street would be quicker if it was made up on the sidewalk. I was probably even more amazed that the 30 or so Thais never missed a beat after stepping out of the way and continued on what they were doing.
Thinking better of disturbing Pong while he drove, Candace and I held onto each other. We both decided that this was going to be a story of how we just made the plane or how we just missed it.

Their were only 3 times Pong's speedometer went under 130 km/hr on the highway. At the 2 toll booths and when we entered the airport and crossed the massive speed bumps.

I pulled out a 1000 baht note and gave it to Pong who looked at it, lit a cigarette, shrugged his shoulders as if to say it was all in a days work for him.

We rushed the gate and were told we just made it. The clock read 12:10.
We had a enjoyable flight to Krabi and got into town with no problems. We found an good guest house, Ban Chaofa and rented a scooter to take us out to Wat Tham Seua - theTiger Cave Temple.

The temple was very neat. After looking at what appeared to be a cell where either monks lived or where they kept tigers, we viewed a lot of different Buddha statues in varying poses. On our way out, we both got bracelets from a female monk who quizzed us about where we came from and how we like Thailand. She was extremely interested in our 2 kids, Payton and Quincy. She wished us well and said a prayer for our well being.

After walking around the grounds and seeing amazing statues and buildings, we decided to attempt the climb up the 1237 steps to the top of the mountain. I'm not sure who made those steps but Thais have an odd sense about proportion. At first the steps were of a normal width and height. As we climbed higher some steps got wider and not as high while others became very narrow and you needed to pull yourself up with the hand rail due to the height between them.
I'm proud to say that I made it up in better shape than Candace. I guess all those days at the Y are paying off! Thank God Candace wanted to rest half way up and then a 3/4 of the way up. We passed another monk who was sweeping the stairs.

At the top, their was free water out of a tap, a mangy dog (not sure how she got up there) and one heck of a beautiful view of the countryside. Along with the nice breeze we hung out and explored the temple and statues for about an hour.

The climb down was very freaky. Holding onto the handrails, you could get a good speed going down. However, it seemed we both would get a bit of vertigo and it felt as if you were running on level ground until you slowed down a bit at which point you would feel the angle and stumble. Not sure what phenomenon that was but it was weird. Of course, we tried to do it all the way down and never fell once.

As we neared the base of the mountain, the trees around us exploded with noise and movement. It turns out that the local monkey troop came out to see if we had any food for them. Not knowing that they were there, we did not have anything to offer them and instead tried to get close to the wild monkeys to get pictures. Candace got fairly close until the monkeys started hissing at her. I suggested that this behavior was normal and that she had nothing to fear and to move a bit closer. She didn't believe me.

We headed back into town parked the bike and went out to find some food. We ended up down the street at the 89 Cafe. We had Pizza and noodles. After a few drinks, we came back to our guesthouse and booked a snorkel trip for the next day.

Time to get to bed as the song thaew will be there for 7:00.

Because of today, I have learnt that things will happen as they want to and we will hold on for the ride, all thanks to chickens.

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Photos

Waiting for the Minibus
Hey its only 45 minutes late. How much later can it be?

Airplane Food
How can you beat this?

Dessert
Not sure what the first one is but we'll give it a go

Born to be Wild
I think I'm the only one that wore a helmet.

Old and new
A new temple being built in the background