Rest, Air-con, Neanderthal traffic lights and a lot of rain

Our last night in Koh Phi Phi and we went out for a nice dinner and then a wander around the little stalls and shops that surround the town of Phi Phi. It is a really nice island, but as I have already stated it is slightly spoiled by the young, pisshead backpackers that think they are travelling, because they are out of their own country. I would love to grab some of them and take them to The Ganges in India or to Mount Bromo, just to let them experience something amazing, rather than the usual cheap drinks and back streets bars that they frequent on such a nice island as this. Maybe someone should start a cruise ship for young pissheads so that the older, more sedate people like us, can actually relax and enjoy the spectacular beauty of places such as this. Ho, hum, rant over with. (We found out the next day that a couple of people die each week on Phi Phi, usually from drug or drink related problems, but it isn’t mentioned much as it would affect tourism)

A good nights sleep was slightly spoiled by idiots upstairs (reread the last paragraph !!) and a bit of banging, but at least we were a little away from et madness of town and so we were up and away on time this morning, stopping for a bit of breakfast on the way to the ferry. Once at the ferry me and Joel ran back to the café, to recover his laptop, that he had left under the table. Luckily the staff had found it and placed it behind the counter, before it could be nicked. A sweaty run back to the ferry and we just made it in time, with about 300 other people to cross the sea to Krabi, our next stop. The ferry was absolutely chocka of people lying everywhere, most of them sleeping off their hangovers and talking about going out for more beer as soon as they arrive at whatever destination they were headed towards. We were simply planning on what we can do if it rains all day and whether we should go and see the final Harry Potter movie at the cinema.

It did in fact rain all day, but the cinema only showed the movie in Thai, so we decided on an afternoon rest at our hostel -The Pak-Up -which has rooms bizarrely named after subjects taught in schools – IT, Math, French and PT were all here – we got English and after unpacking, we settled in for an easy afternoons rest. 

The crowded boat from Phi Phi

A crab statue in Krabi of course

Old boat

The evening came but the rain remained. So Buffy and Joel went around the corner and came back with takeaway pizza, which we ate whilst watching the last 5 episodes of 'Ashes to Ashes', on the laptop. Then, as it was nearly 2am, we got some sleep. Our 3 room mates didn’t appear till the very early hours of the morning and they departed after just a couple of hours sleep. Heading towards the full moon party somewhere. They weren’t bad lads, but young and having fun, so we said goodbye and off they went. After some breakfast at the café across the road, I took a walk around town with Buffy and Nicki. It was still raining, but as it wasn’t too hard we enjoyed the cooler weather. I am still feeling a bit under the weather, so I grabbed some more tablets at a local pharmacy and we took a few pictures of town – The Crab statue, the eagle statue and the traffic lights that are held up by figures of Neanderthal man - The coolest traffic lights I have ever seen and you can even buy a t-shirt with them on!!

Evening came and the rain remained so we had dinner in the same place we had bought the pizzas yesterday. We sat in this time though and loved every minute and every mouthful of a great dinner – even the chips were fantastic. The restaurant also had games to play so we enjoyed a few rounds of connect 4 before dinner and Jenga, followed by backgammon afterwards. It sounds a bit lame, but with the atmosphere, the really good food, the great service and a few laughs with the owner and her hubby, it was a really good night out. Later we had an update on Harry Potter fro Joel, before we sat down and watched the 5^th of the Harry Potter movies. Our plan is to watch the final one on a night out in Bangkok and so we are getting up to date before we get there -Just the 6^th and first part of the 7^th to watch in the next week or so.

We were woken in the morning by a combination of one of our room-mates alarms going on for ages and the bloody advertising vans that travel around town blaring out music and their Thai adverts over loudspeakers. It was funny at first but now a bit annoying – especially at 8.30am! The rain seems to have died down a bit too so we may get to see a bit more of Krabi later.

We did finally get around town without getting wet – We had breakfast at a cool café with a really honest and funny menu (see pictures day 315) before hitting the town and seeing one of the local temples and finding a little market where they actually sell fried insects – We chose not to try any of them today (we were in a rush, honest) but everyone was brave enough to say that they would try them sometime – of course, no dates were set. Joel also bought himself a cheap Thai made guitar so that he can continue to learn the art of playing it while he travels around Asia over the next 6 weeks or so.

In the afternoon, Buffy tested her camera to see if the rice it had been resting in for the last 3 days had helped to dry it out, but to no avail. It is well and truly buggered, so she has decided to buy herself a better camera when we arrive in Bangkok next week. The rain kept coming and going and so we had another days rest, trying to keep cool and dry. A short time later we were all sitting, chatting and playing on computers when first a girl and then a bloke both opened the door and peered in. The bloke explained that they were checking out the rooms to see which one to move into. As it is now just the 4 of us in a comfortable 8 bed dorm, we laughed and tried to think of ways to keep our privacy. Sitting naked on the floor, being excessive noisy or pretending to be odd bod religious freaks and singing 'We love a Gay Black Jesus', were all discussed, but at the time of writing we are still sat normally on our bed waiting to see if we shall be joined by strangers – although it seems unlikely as Joel has just locked the door.......

Neanderthal traffic lights

Cool breakfast menu

Eeeeer No thanks

Camera says no!

We waited a while and then went out for a bit of dinner. On our return we were pleasantly surprised to see that we were still the only people in the room. We actually felt a little bad as someone else had been chosen over us!! But it meant we could spread out and watch another movie, without being disturbed by anyone else.

In the morning it was the usual- shower, breakfast, stick a pin in a map that is on the wall in the café showing where we come from and then we sat and waited for our transport in the hostel foyer. We are off to the east coast of Thailand next, to visit the island of Koh Tao. This is supposedly a more sedate and relaxing island than Phi Phi. However, to get there we are taking a minibus overland to one of the eastern ports and then an overnight ' ferry' to the island. We say 'ferry', because supposedly the ship in question is an old cargo ship, that has mattresses on the floor and outside and you sleep through the night as it slowly crosses the short divide between the mainland and Koh Tao. Whatever it is like, it should be a little adventure – that’s providing that the transport turns up at 4pm......

For now we are waiting for the bus It has been a really quiet few days here in Krabi. We have had a great Hostel and for the first time this year, I have had 3 consecutive days where I haven’t really done anything. No runs, no drinking, no climbing hills or temple steps. No diving, swimming or snorkelling. Just 3 days of rest and laziness. I’m still not feeling 100%, but I’m a lot better than I was when I arrived here. My sinus' are finally clearing – you do not want to see what is coming out – so hopefully I will get a good nights rest tonight and be able to enjoy the island of Koh Tao when we arrive.