A Day In... Krabi
I woke up feeling refreshed and inspired, a feeling which was a welcome change from the debauchery we had just come out of on Koh Phangan. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was to wake up in my little house in the middle of a rainforest on a gorgeous resort, a quick walk to the pool. I took a quick dip and got ready for breakfast. Good morning, Krabi!
It was a perfect start to the day, and less humid than the other islands. Or maybe I was just getting used to it. I had fresh papaya, eggs, toast and strong coffee to eat. I wanted to explore the area and the surrounding islands, so I signed up for a boat tour of the five islands. I was traveling solo on this leg of the trip, but I met a woman similar in age to me named Roxanna within minutes of the tour. She was a teacher from England and was traveling alone too. We hit it off right away and we stuck one another for most of the day. We spent most of our time exploring these islands - Railay Beach, Chicken Island, Poda, Mor & Tup Islands, and Maya Beach.
Railay was the most surreal of the islands, crystal clear water, caves, and locals scattered amongst lots of tourists, mostly from Germany and The Netherlands. The locals all have a gorgeous tan and exude such relaxation and happiness. There were monkeys everywhere and they were adorable! The Mor & Tup Islands had strips of white sand that were hot under our feet. We got to feed fish and explore old colonial architecture on the island. Poda Island is most famous for its limestone islands topped by rainforests. I took a photo there that I often look at and get lost in even to this day.
We arrived at Maya Beach. Surreal doesn't even begin to describe this place. I'd wanted to travel to Koh Phi Phi since I was 11 years old and studied Thailand in Geography class and fallen in love, so this was a dream come true. The colours were more vivid than I photograph I could ever take. The beach was completely clear when we arrived. We had lunch on the island, in the markets which were a quick walk from the beach. We had street peanut satay and pad thai. How a $2 meal tasted better than any high-end Thai restaurant I had ever eaten at was beyond me. I was loving every moment. I had a mango shake, explored the markets with Roxanna and made our way back to the beach to hang out. It was packed by the time we got back.
Later in the afternoon, we hopped back on the boat, and went snorkelling. I saw what felt like millions of fish, small, big, silver, blue, yellow, green, pink, slimy, prickly, spotted, stripped, all friendly and beautiful. It was a moment that made me wish I had my deep sea diving license. There's a whole world under the water, and it's terrifying and gorgeous all at once. Our tour had come to an end and we went back to Ao Nang.
I made plans to meet up with Roxanna later to meet up with Claire and Chris, friends I had made on a train from Bangkok to Surat Thani who were originally from Burnaby, BC. We ate dinner together at a Thai Dutch Restaurant called Chanaya, which we soon discovered was just a Thai restaurant that was once Dutch owned. After that, we walked a bit down the strip and across the street to Crazy Gringo's, a super fun and quirky text mex spot. It was open mic night, there were Radiohead covers, a memorable Matt & Kim duet, and Roxanna and I even went up for a song. We became quick friends with the owner, an Aussie in his 60s who had lived in Krabi on and off since he was in his 20s. We took shots of tequila, downed cerveza, told stories and closed the bar down.
We hollered for a tuk tuk to take us back to the resort, said our goodnights, and called it a day.
