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Published: July 30th 2008
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The Bus Terminal
The weather didn't do justice to photos so this is about all I have for Krabi - Sorry! Like most places I've been to in this part of the world, Krabi too models itself on the Ryanair travel model and has its bus terminal a safe distance from the town center itself. Just enough for you to be ripped off a few baht by a tuk tuk or songthaew (A pick up truck that carries people about - normally run by the government).
Getting off the bus, the sign over the adjacent tourist terminal says it best really...DON'T PANIC (See Photo).
Krabi bus terminal is nothing short of a shitehole and inspires nothing much other than wanting to get right back on that bus again! And it was not the bus drivers fault that he opened the door right over a pool of dirty water and rubbish....he had no choice...they litter the place!
During rainy season not much seems to be happening in Krabi town itself. It is like Youghal on a quite sunday afternoon in the middle of January! But in all fairness to Krabi the day we arrived didn't do much justice to the town. The west monsoon rains refused to abait for the whole afternoon.
At this stage I was in the company of another backpacker (Hi Lorna - I hope Phuket was what you had hoped it to be!) and I think we were both a little bewildered at how quite the place was. The highlight of our evening was a trip to the nearby night market...all 11 stalls of it! We dined there handsomely though and with a beer we still had change from two euro. Dining with us were a few more travellers in nearby tables and a few families of rats at our feet.....
.....I never thought I'd be as comfortable in the presence of vermon as I now seem to be. Since I arrived in Thailand they have been everywhere. Walking down Chinatown, Bangkok in shorts and flip flops with rats passing you by in twos and threes leaves a lot to be desired! (It was then that I decided at trip to the coast was in order! ) Turns out that rats like the seaside too!
...................WRITING PAUSED FOR 3 DAYS-..........................
.............See Railay post which is to follow for the in between days ...................
So here I am, 3 days later and I am back in Krabi Bus Station once again. The sun is shining Maybe its this or the fact that I am already familiar with my surroundings or perhaps even, my standards are finally beginning to drop and line up with eastern standards but for some reason things don't seem to bad today.
There is a soothing reflection dissapatting from the pools of filth this morning, a nearby stall bellows pumes of smoke as it barbeques some unknown variety of meat and there are...... wait a minute.... there are no rats to be seen?!
I leave the heat of the bus yard for the slightly cooler waiting room as my bus hasn't arrived yet. As I sit with my overpriced can of coke, the local dog arrives and takes an instant liking to me and insists on sharing as many of his fleas with me as he can before I depart. It turns out my bags are the perfect mattress for a dog!
When the bus does finally depart, my short 2 hour journey to Ko Lak turns into an epic 5 hour saga with breakdowns almost as frequent as the milestones that line the roadside.
The good thing about being in a rush nowhere is that days like these just add to the tale. With no accommodation booked and no trains to catch the worst thing that could happen was that I would make an unplanned overnighter in some town miles off the tourist track....and from past experiences these are often the best and most memorable nights!
I finally reach my destination at 6 in the evening after leaving my hut at 7.30am this morning, exhausted! But as night falls I feel like I have accomplished something today.
For the first time since I have left home I can truely say that I have been really on my own in the middle of no where and managed just fine. Its all very well being on your own in westernised places like Hong Kong or Ko Shan, Bangkok but to be travelling down a higway on the back of a pick up truck, with only locals for company and Michael Schmacher the second as your driver and be still here to tell the tale is something that I will remember for some time to come.
Afterall, it is for moments like those that I chose to come half way around the world!
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