more from Thighland

I can't believe the trip is coming to an end. Less than three weeks to go and now we're having to think about jobs and tax and who knows what... Still so much to see and do, and we've had such a great time in thailand. Talking of which, the last 11 days have been down in Krabi; a region in the south west on the andaman coast famed for it's limestone rock formations, stunning beaches and filmset for "The Beach" and various Bond movies. We've taken it very very slow down here so i'll keep it brief.


22nd january
A long day flying down from chiang mai to krabi. A four hour stopover in bangkok is about as much fun as being an accountant. We arrived late in Ao Nang, ate and then just put our heads down...


23rd
After a well earnt lie in and breakfast, we decided to explore Ao Nang. This really just involved walking along about a mile of long sandy beach. It was hell. Bright sunshine, fresh fruit and cold drinks, crystal clear sea. German men over 60 wearing very small speedos. Italian men under 30 wearing even smaller ones. Joey then twisted my arm into getting a massage. Lying face down under a canopy with just the sound of waves to keep us company. And then it started. It was a time of my life i'll never forget. The evil genius got to work on my shoulders. With her thumbs under my shoulder blades and knees dug into the back of my thighs she exclaimed that it might hurt today but it would feel great tomorrow. She also went to work on my feet; removing dead skin and pummelling them so much that I think i've gone down a shoe size. I used to like all the dead skin. It meant that I could walk anywhere bear foot and not feel a thing. Now I have to wear towling slippers. After an hour or so massaging I was free. Doubled over in pain, but free.


24th
So, it seems that my arch nemesis tricked me. Evil, yes. Genius, no. Unless, her plan was to cripple me, in which case she succeeded. Shoulders and neck? Sore. Pride? Dented. By a girl. An evil girl. Fortunately i'm not one to moan on and on and on. Am I Joey? Oh, apparently I am.

We got a Longtail boat to railay. The laem phra nang peninsula is made up of four beaches with west railay and Ao phra nang being two of the world's finest. We purchased a bat and ball set but soon realised that it wasn't our forte. I mean really, who cares if you can hit a ball ten times between you. So what if our best effort was eight. This lead us to create a new game. Cricket. In the sea. Sicket! It'll catch on. You mark my words. After various swimming and relaxing activities (taking in the breathtaking views - photos will prove this), we popped home via longtail. These boats are hilarious. A wooden hulled shallowish boat some 20ft long. Powered by... An old car engine. The propellor is on the end of a long shaft straight off the engine block and the whole thing is manouvered by tilting and turning the engine. It shouldn't work and it can't be safe, but it's great fun.


25th
We hired a tandem Kayak and explored the local coastline round krabi. It's all rocky outcrops, caves and bays. Fish and crabs. The afternoon was spent recovering. In the sun drinking gallons and gallons of water. And maybe just a Singha or two.


26th
An early early start for a spot of Rock climbing. With Krabi's limestone karstes protruding out above stunning beaches it's supposed to be one of the finest spots in the world. Our guide Shai, started us off on some tough old climbs. I was suffering from the excesses of eating too much and found it very hard work. Joey, on the otherhand, has found her niche. She was up and down the rock like she was raised by a family of spiders... Excellent fun, and some awesome views from the top!


27th
R&R. Yep, we'd worked so hard over the last five days or so, that we deserved a day off. For good behaviour, if you like. Mainly just lounging by the pool or on the beach in some shade. You mark my words, its hard work. Hard work I tell you.


28th
Thirty minutes on a longtail. That's quite a long time on a floating deathtrap, but that's how long it takes to get to Poda island. Poda is about 10km from the coast and is an island paradise. Quite a busy island paradise. Longtail boats go backwards and forwards all day long. Backwards and forwards. On choppy sea. In fact it can get quite rough out there with swell regularly reaching 3m. This day it was only about 1m, but that was enough for our joey. Let's just say that she was a bit peaky. Not as sicky as I was at byron bay, but she didn't like it. Anyway, turquoise sea, white sands, palm trees, fish everywhere. Nice.

Back on dry land, we go for a very late lunch. I ordered some soba noodle pad thai type dish, but I got one word wrong and the waitress burst into laughter. And then she told all her mates and colleagues. And they all laughed too. I was baffled. Until I learnt what I'd ordered. And then we both laughed out loud. Cat curry anyone? Fortunately they wouldn't let me have cat curry, so I had to make do with the noodle thing. The word meow is pronounced mow. Not me-ow. That's a cat.


29th
An easy day on the beach, playing a bit of cricket and watching the monkeys. The little tykes have a colony. They steal food out of peoples bags whilst they swim. Very amusing. And they're just as happy with a packet of kit-kats as they are with a banana. I kept expecting to see them drinking a can of singha and having a smoke.


30th
Moved out of our hotel and into a more traditional bamboo type bungalow. The owner proudly informed us that the bathroooms are new and were only added recently. What he didn't explain is that the bathroom is lower than the bungalow and so the floor slopes backward. If i'd fallen out of bed I may have woken up on the pot. Would have cut out out the middleman.

After that we took our first steps toward Thaihood. We hired a motor bike. Well, more of a moped. Anyway, we explored out west. It's good to get out of the town so you see more. Cows, goats and chickens in the road. Roads are a bit ropey. Road signs aren't clear. Also we get funny looks from the locals. Anyway, we saw some nice areas and remote beaches, and more of an insight into how rural thais live.

In the evening kings and annie lou caught up with us, after their jaunt in Laos. Good to see them again. We all went to the dodgy bar near the bungalows. Drunk some beer. Played some pool. Watched dirty old western men getting friendly with young thai girls. With deep voices. And broad shoulders. Hmm. Girls? That were once boys? Oh, ladyboys! The question is, did the dirty old men know what they were getting involved in. Probably.


31st
Took Kinko & AL to the beautiful railay beach. Lots of general nothingness. Played some beach cricket & did very little. Went to some nice place called The Loft for dinner. Green curry with roti. Hubba hubba. Played pool til the wee hours. Oh, how we've suffered down here...

1st
Hired Kayaks again. This time though we went a bit further to a tiny beach only reachable via the kayaks. We shared it with only a few others (due to it's inconvenience) including one "naturist" ie nudie. Why! Why do you need to get sun burn "everywhere"! On the way back we weaved through a few caves. Cool.

Spent the afternoon sitting in an open air bar under palm trees.

After dinner, the four of us bravely ventured to ao nang's alleyway of Go-go bars. About a dozen open sided bars in an alleyway off the main drag. Quite intimidating if you're a man as there are dozens of women literally trying to drag you into the bars. Obviously most of the clientele are men and it's therefore geared towards men (but this is no patpong). More a similar concept to japanese hostess bars where they employ pretty girls in an effort to make you buy expensive drinks. Only this is Thailand. The girls aren't exactly girls and the drinks are dirt cheap. Anyway, it's a fun place where kingsley couldn't keep off the dancing pole and Joey befriended the bar girls.

2nd
Our last full day down south so the four of us hired two mopeds and got back on the road. This time we went east. First of all to Gastropod fossil beach. The thais love it. It's basically a beach with gastropod fossils - but I guess the title gave that away. It's also a very pretty desserted beach with really soft sand. Soft sand? Sounds to me like a perfect opportunity for the 1st Thai Open International long jump competition. Woo hoo! 4 teams but only one winner. Mats from Sweden. Jo-Jo from China. Herr Kingsley from Germany. Ms De Waal of Holland. The tournament was marred by technical faults; overstepping the line, arguing with the judges, shorts pulled up too high. A great opening event, the crowds enjoyed themselves. There was only one winner though: Sport!

After all that excitement we cruised on to Krabi, the main town of the region. A bit of a dump.

After dinner we played cards by moonlight at the bungalows. Sweet.

The musings of Hill:
Well - as I update my musings from Singapore (more about that later!), I reflect on our time in Thailand.........Bangkok - everything I thought i'd hate, dirty, smelly, rats, noisy, pollution etc. But I love Bangkok. It is a city so full of life and energy, people everywhere, madness, tuk tuks alongside hummers, temples next to shopping malls, foodcarts outside Burger king.....old next to new...fantastic! Thailand is called "the land of smiles" and it is so true, the Thais are so friendly and welcoming, we really had a great time. we had a lovely time with Annie Lou and Kinko, cards, Singha, ladyboys and muchos fun had by all. I certainly am enjoying my 30s so far! Particular Thai highlights for me included...watching the sun go down on Ao Phra Nang beach, 4 in a tuk tuk!, and Singha and Cards at the last café - perfect!
lots of love,
Mrs H. xxx