Sawadeeh kha

From the southern beaches to the northern hills of Thailand we go.  Seperated  by 2 minibus, 1 ferry and 4 buses of varying quality, a taxi....and 27 hours of travel time, oh boy. Needless to say I have time to write a blog or two. 

First an update of where we have been.  We started our visit to Thailand in Krabi, one of the places I wanted to go last time I was here but didn't get a chance.  We stayed in one of the shadier hotel rooms of our trip that you had to walk through the kitchen of the restaurant to get to. Room was a little moldy and a cockroach did jump off my bag at one point, but the bed was ok (no bed bugs despite a thorough check), the fan worked and at $10 the price was right.  Took a ferry out to Krabi Island to Railay Beach,

https://picasaweb.google.com/115423077873426429468/Thailand

famous for breathtaking limestone cliffs and rock climbing.  As this was our goal we tried not to be too deterred by the garbage strewn beaches, and the less then friendly customer service and focused on sunshine and an adventure.  Matt and I signed up for a climb which included about a minute of advice for us which apparently

constituted as our beginners lesson. Climbing is incredible. Firstly our surroundings were breathtaking, but the act of physically moving your body up a rock face that looked unclimbable to us was exhilarating.  We were initially discouraged that they had chosen a 6b+ route for us to learn on (not a beginner route) but in the end were thankful as we had to push ourselves way harder to reach the peak.  We only managed two climbs each over the 2 hours but that was enough to have ripped the skin from most of our fingers and tested the muscles in our arms.  I would love to have been stronger and more skilled to try some of the other routes people were doing!  Due to the lack of cleanliness on the island, Matt unfortunately got food poisoning resulting in a slightly longer stay than

expected, but allowed for me to do some exploring of some of the less crazy parts of the island.  I also woke up at 530am to catch the sunrise and was rewarded with being the only tourist awake.

  Next we went to Ko Phi Phi, an area made famous in filming Leonardo DeCaprio's "The Beach", and then notorized as one of the sites hit hardest by the December 2004 Tsunami.  I was here in 2002, as a much different traveller.  This was the first repeat site from my first trip and I was so excited to see what had been rebuilt and how the island had changed...but what I think subconsciously I wanted was to go and relive old amazing memories.  I learned an important lesson - don't try to relive the past, it only sets you up for disappointment. The part of Phi phi we stayed in is overrun with poorly planned tourism. Streets and alleyways cluttered with bars, hotels, cafes, tour shops and souvenir shops. At night trained monkeys, funnels, and bar promoters were a major turn off for me....elements that might have made Phi Phi even better in 2002?  It is disappointing to see the damage being done to a beautiful natural environment at the demands of tourism - lack of waste management, water shortages, damage to coast and marine ecosystems.  But we were determined to make new memories from Pho Phi and took a long boat to a more remote unspoiled beach, as well as took a boat trip to see some of the beautiful parts and appreciate the azure waters and cliffs that made the islands famous.  

   

AND, I did drink one bucket for old times sake.

And then after almost 4 months of travelling we decided we needed a few days vacation :) so we found a small resort on Ko Samui discounted or low season and chilled out.  Pool and beach, swimming, reading and kayaking. Refreshed and ready for next two and a bit months!  

   

And so that brings us to the bus. Reminding me of a blog that I have meant to write for a while....the art of bus travel....stay tuned.