Day 22 - confused

05/22/19

After a rather restless night for me, we have a special day ahead of us. After 11 days, we are leaving our beloved accommodations and the island behind. I tiptoe across the tiles, eagerly expecting to see one of the animal visitors we discovered yesterday. But all the animal guests are nowhere to be found, and I'm fine with that. We throw our packed backpacks over our shoulders, drop off the key, and leave the bungalow.

The dogs from our accommodations are already outside, happy to see us, and accompany us along the (public) road from the camp to the main road - about 500 meters.

It's only 07:15 in the morning - we decided to walk again because we were too stingy to spend money on a taxi. Additionally, we wanted to get some snacks and coffee from the Kurz's stall on the way. We arrive at the pier, do the mentioned shopping, get our tickets to Krabi, and join the crowd of incredibly sleepy backpackers under a shelter. Although there are about 20 people sitting there, nobody says anything. One backpacker calmly rolls a big joint - time to wake up! Obviously, we are not the only ones for whom this time is a bit out of the norm.

The ferry arrives promptly at 08:45, and we can board. We make ourselves comfortable inside and spend the 150-minute crossing playing games on our phones and listening to podcasts. As the ferry approaches the mainland, you can already catch a glimpse of the typical Thai limestone cliffs sticking out of the water - surreal.

We arrive at our destination at around 11:45, and from here, we are supposed to continue with a van/bus, but we don't know any details. Utterly disoriented, we wander around a large parking lot with the other passengers, hoping someone will approach us and tell us which vehicle to get on. After a few minutes, a coordinator spots our chest stickers with the word "Krabi" and asks us to board the almost fully booked van. We do as told and prepare for a journey of about 5 hours to Krabi, at least according to our tickets. We drive to Surath Thani, which is not exactly on the route, but we assume that some passengers who want to continue by plane will be dropped off here. When we arrive in the city, the van stops at a four-lane road at 1:30 pm. The driver turns around and tells Jonna and me that we have to get off here. We are a bit taken aback by this news, more lying than sitting, and hastily pack up our things. At this incredibly unremarkable bus station, an older man welcomes us; he tells us that we have to wait here and that the next leg of the journey will continue from here in half an hour - "Uh, okay" - It's a very strange feeling to be so dependent, especially when you're in a foreign country and have no knowledge of the procedures and organization.

Just before the half-hour is up, the older man asks us to get into his pickup truck. He tells us that normally, about 15 backpackers would be waiting here, which is why the bus comes to this station to pick up the passengers. But since we're only two people today and according to the man, the bus driver is a "lazy guy," we're being driven to the bus terminal. On the way, we chat a bit with the man, who speaks English very well. He gives us some helpful tips, drops us off right in front of our bus, and tells the bus driver where to drop us off. At 2:30 pm, the driver starts the engines, we find seats, and our journey continues - it's supposed to take two and a half hours.

The bus driver, sitting under a "No Smoking" sign, likes to honk. I would even say that the bus driver's favorite activity is honking. He honks in the following situations:

Before a curve.

After a curve.

Before every person on the roadside who looks like they might want to hitch a ride.

Before every overtaking maneuver.

Before every intersection/turn.

Without exaggeration, you can count an average of 15 honks per minute. And we're not talking about a short honk. When honking, it's in groups of 3 or 4 - but I still count it as one honk. Besides that, the ride in the somewhat older vehicle is relaxed. When we arrive in the Krabi region, we wait, as experience has taught us, every second to be told to get off. We arrive at the Krabi bus terminal at 5:00 pm and get off. A few meters away, there's another "bus" (a pick-up truck with a bench on the bed) that we should take according to the old man in Surat Thani and the bus driver, which will take us to our accommodation. The pick-up driver is very nice and secures our backpacks on the outside of the truck bed. There are four other local women sitting next to us in the vehicle.

The journey, with some passengers getting on and off, takes a short break in Krabi. We wait for about 15 minutes until the shuttle is full (everyone has a solid 30 cm of space to sit). Just before we continue, we wait for a girl who got off briefly to buy two "Krabi" t-shirts at a roadside stand. After the purchase is done, the lady rejoins us, and we continue.

As we leave Krabi, we embark on the most beautiful journey I have ever taken. We wind our way through the huge, densely covered limestone cliffs, which glow red in the twilight. I feel like I'm on Pandora (Avatar) and I'm sure that the filmmakers were inspired by this landscape.

The driver had asked us beforehand where our accommodation is, so he kindly drops us off at a street corner from which we only have to walk a few minutes to our accommodation (Lake Side Resort). When we arrive at the reception, we quickly get assigned to our bungalow and settle in. Both a bit hungry from the journeys, we make our way back to the main road and have something to eat there. Jonna has a burger with fries (€1.60, 8/10), and I have some spicy chicken dish with rice and vinegar (€1.40, 8/10). The portions are small, but it's enough.

Already when the driver dropped us off at a large mosque, we noticed that there are an extraordinary number of Muslims living here. The fact that there is hardly any alcohol being served and that all food is "halal" confirms this image. After dinner, we experience the last few minutes of a night market with the sound of the muezzin's call to prayer, and then we head home.

- Alex