Southern Thailand: Krabi, Rai Leh, Ko Pha Ngan

We crossed the border into Southern Thailand with high expectations. Everyone had told us that this was where we would find the tropical beaches of our dreams; emerald waters lazily lapping the feet of soaring, limestone rock formations, friendly, smiling locals, delicious eats, and fun fellow travellers. A land where adventure sports like rock climbing and kayaking are almost as plentiful as rock-bottom priced beachside bungalows, fire-sticks and buckets of cheap, Thai whiskey mixed with coke, ice and redbull. In reality, southern Thailand held a lot of adventure for us. Just not all the good kind.

We arrived by overnight train from KL to Hat Yai, a city in Thailand's "deep south." The sleeper was comfortable enough, though we had a particularly loud snorer in the bunk below Catt. Given that we only buy our Lonely Planets after we enter countries, we hadn't really educated ourselves on the ongoing Islamic extremist insurgency that the deep South has suffered for the past few years. According to the guidebook, bombings and attacks in southern Thailand- even at the border checkpoint train station we used- have been common in the past few years, and almost 1,000 people have died:

In 2004, long-simmering resentment in the southern-most Muslim-majority provinces burst into violence in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces. All are off the beaten tourist trail, although the eastern rail line from Hat Yai to Sungai Kolok (gateway to Malaysia's east coast) passes through the area and has been disrupted several times by attacks.

Hat Yai (Thailand's largest city after Bangkok and its Nonthaburi suburbs) in Songkhla has also been hit by a series of related bombings. In September 2006, three foreigners were killed in bombings in Hat Yai. Some rebel groups have threatened foreigners, but while targets have included hotels, karaoke lounges and shopping malls, westerners have not been singled out for attacks.

I suppose ignorance was bliss, as we passed overland customs without incident. It may have helped that we were dressed in dowdy, boring train clothes- according to a prominent sign displayed in the train station, entrance to Thailand can be refused to travellers because of a "hippy-like" appearance that includes sporting "wooden shoes," "sleeveless shirts," and "dirty" hair. Just sounds like bad fashion to me.

The Train

Choo-choooo

Once we arrived in Hat Yai, we linked up with a younger British guy, Matt, and set out to find a bus to Krabi. Krabi region is on the Adaman Sea coast of Thailand and became world reknowned when Ko Phi Phi, close by, was chosen as the beach used in the filming of the movie "The Beach." Looking for our bus in Hat Yai, we had our first experience (of many) with transport scams. Vendors smilingly quoted prices notched up by a figure of almost 500% to our faces. I'm well-accustomed to and accept the reality of the two-tiered pricing systems of developing countries, but this was on a whole new scale. We finally found a bus that only cost twice as much as it should have, and were on our way to Krabi.

Karaoke could fly as the national pass-time of Thailand, and our bus journey served as a good introduction to this. The coach was decorated like a little girl's nursery-cum-funhouse on wheels: pink and pastel green, lacey curtains bedecked each window, stuffed animals crowded the front dashboard, a cutesy, big-faced clock hung on the wall, and mini-chandaliers hung at an interval of about every three feet from the ceiling. The bus crowd was 95% locals (not counting Matt, Catt, and Megan), and as soon as we revved up, a TV was unveiled from behind curtain number 1, and the karaoke videos began. For four hours we were assaulted with top volume Thai pop hits, accompanied by the cheesy, seizure-inducing, B-grade karaoke videos that any of you who have been with us to noraebang in Annandale have surely come to recognize, love and loathe. The Thai men on the bus were mostly clapping and singing along, which was highly entertaining.

We arrived at Krabi after nightfall and tucked into a great little guesthouse, Chan Cha Lay, a steal for 200B (abt US$7) a night with pristine rooms, tidy shared bathrooms, and helpful, gracious staff. Matt in tow, we headed to the corner bar where we befriended MoTow (or Motown, as we called her), a Thai waitress who insisted on playing no less than 8 rounds of Jenga with us, while we guzzled poisonous mystery brew she conconcted behind the bar (she was tipsy and not following the bar recipes correctly). We had a four-way tie in the end. It was a great time.

The next day we went through the usual bargaining and slight scamming experience of hiring a boat to Rai Leh beach, and were off. It was a gorgeous, sunny day- the last, actually, we were to have for another two weeks. We settled on splurging for a promotion at a small resort on West Rai Leh, and lay on the beach in the sunshine for a brilliant afternoon. Here are some pictures of the beauty queen, Rai Leh:

arrival at Rai Leh

Megan enjoying a day of sun

Catt at Rai Leh

The next day, we awoke to threatening skies in the distance. We lounged on the beach until about 10:00 AM when the rains seriously moved in, along with a pretty intense wind. Coconuts were raining from the palms like bombs and the pool turned into a leafy mess. We braved the storm and actually swam in the warm water of the sea in the pouring rain for about an hour. Then we retired to our room and soaked in about 45 hours of repetitive, uninspiring CNN news coverage over the next few days. We also played about 12 rounds of Egyptian Ratscrew. We really need to learn a new card game...

While we were bunkered down riding out the storm, we heard about the plane crash on Phuket, a very popular vacation island only about a stone's throw from Krabi region. Thankfully we were not travelling during the monsoon during the storm we experienced in Krabi- it was truly frightening. Thanks to all who sent concerned emails, and we are so sorry for the scare. Due to high winds and rain, internet was knocked out for a few days all over Rai Leh.

Finally when we could take no more rain, we bailed out and headed back ashore for a bus trip to the opposite coast, and the famously beautiful islands of the Gulf of Thailand. Often the gulf side isn't as badly affected by the monsoon as the Adaman. After some quick guidebook research, we picked Ko Pha Ngan as our island destination of choice, a still-cheap beauty famed for the "Full Moon" parties. We didn't want to hit the moon party, but did want some relaxation on a sunnier beach at a cheaper price. After getting ripped off- excruciatingly- we got a bus/ferry package to 'Pha Ngan. The tour company lied to us and said we'd arrive by 8:00 PM. We actually got there much later- 12:30 AM- hungry, tired, and generally grouchy. Lacking the initiative to search around, we settled on a flimsy bungalow at Hat Rin Beach, the only place a saengthaw (pickup truck tuktuk) would drop us. The bungalows we ended up at were where Full Moon actually started: Paradise Bungalows. We tucked in for a night of intermittent sleep, and paradise it was not-- electronica pounded until 5:00 AM, mystery stains graced the walls, and the bathroom looked like something from a prison movie scene. Drunk and high English kids on their gap years chased each other drunkenly around the premises, some guys wearing the string bikinis of their female pals. We felt old and lame, but this was definitely not our scene, so we bailed out as early as possible the next day for the peaceful beaches of the north coast.

Finally a score- we ended up at a great little place called Ocean View Resort (really more of a bungalow operation) tucked into a little beachside cove with a peaceful beach run by a great young woman named Bovi. We got a great place with a large teak deck for sunning and enjoyed the delicious food and slow pace. The weather was still pretty grey, but the rain was less frequent, with patches of sunshine. Here are some pictures:

Our bungalow at Ko Pha Ngan

storm coming

Catt gets hit by a palm branch while snapping pictures of the storm

palm tree swing

writing the menu at Ocean View restaurant

More to come on adventures in Thailand!