For lunch, we headed back to Ciao Bella, the Italian place from last night. We went there for two reasons: (1) it was just 15 steps from the beach loungers we were sitting in and (2) we spied a couple of people eating some delicious-looking pizzas. We ordered a couple of mixed salads and an incredible Hawaiian pizza. It was pretty awesome.
After lunch we both decided to do our own thing. Ashlee went to get a pedicure and I headed to a combination coffee shop and bookstore. The place was pretty crowded so I shared a table with a rather chatty Russian man with poor English. As I sipped my iced latte, my new friend tried to explain to me the benefits of yoga and meditation – or at least that’s what I think he was talking about. He was a real happy guy and when he left, he simply said, “Be happy,” which I thought was a nice way to say goodbye. Oddly enough, that’s how goodbye is translated into Mongolian.
When my friend left I was free to finish my drink and browse the bookstore. I ended up purchasing a copy of “The Beach” (it was a book before it was a movie). I’ll let you know if it’s any good. Once I made the transaction Ashlee showed up with freshly painted toes and we headed back to our hotel to fetch our luggage.
We grabbed our bags and said farewell to Chris, the helpful guy at the front desk. He managed to do us one last kindness by arranging for his friend to carry our bags for us on a wheeled cart all the way to the ferry terminal – about a 25-minute walk.
We got to the boat with plenty of time to spare and we settled into a seat inside the air-conditioned cabin. The boat left on time and we waved goodbye to PP as we pulled away. The ride itself was uneventful, well, we did enjoy eating a bag of salt and vinegar kettle chips which we found at a 7/11 on PP.
We pulled into the ridiculously nice Krabi port a little after 5:30pm. We managed to jump right into the back of a waiting taxi and got a free ride to our hotel. By American standards, the place we’re staying at (Thara Park View Hotel) is pretty no frills, but with its AC and hot shower it is a backpacker’s dream. It still only costs about $20 a night. The only catch is that the place is a good 20-minute walk from the town center.
After checking in, we did our usual ritual of running to our room, peeling off our sticky clothes, and jumping into the shower. Cooled off, we got dressed and proceeded to get all sweaty again by walking to town in search of dinner. We vaguely knew where we were going but for the most part we said a little prayer that we would make it to where we wanted to go: the “night market.” We weren’t sure what to expect, but according to Lonely Planet, it’s the place to eat at in Krabi.
From what I know, Krabi is a great place to visit if you have time to explore the surrounding areas. While there is not much to do in Krabi Town itself, it is a great base from which to visit some awesome beaches, islands, and mountains. Apparently it is some sort of rock climber’s dream.
To us though, it is just a sleepy little Thai town, which is nice to experience after crazy Bangkok, isolated Mai Khao Beach, and uber touristy PP. Walking to town, I was struck by how quiet it was – no traffic, no street vendors, no tuk-tuks, and no one trying to get me to buy a crappy suit. It was nice.
We ended up finding the market quite easily. While Ashlee was disappointed that it wasn’t a “true” market since it didn’t have clothes or knick-knacks for her to browse through, the food did not disappoint. The market itself was about a hundred yards of food stalls. Most of the dishes we recognized, but some looked a little different.
We took a seat behind one of the busier stalls after the energetic cook beckoned us in. The place was definitely booming and it was popular with tourists and locals alike. It took a while for our food to arrive, but it was worth the wait. We went for seafood noodles with vegetables, garlic and pepper chicken with rice, and Thai iced tea. After this, we discovered another stall making our favorite banana pancakes and then another one offering fresh coconut ice cream.
As we sat along the river rubbing our bellies, we realized that it would be nice to learn how to make such delicious food. At that moment, we made a snap decision to take a cooking course tomorrow. Right across the street from where we were sitting was a guesthouse with a whole rack of brochures with different courses to take. We selected the best one and paid our deposit. Wish us luck!
PS – Whenever people in town heard where we are staying, they would repeat it back to us in voices of wonder. We don’t know if it’s because the place is far from town, expensive by local standards, or maybe it’s a well-known ladyboy brothel…
0 comments:
Post a Comment