Busy

01/05/2024

The bus ride. We made a quick stop at a rest stop. Our bladders were well filled, so it was a bit inconvenient to come across new toilets with functions that were unknown to us. We laughed so hard we almost pissed our pants.

“How did you sit on it?”

We somehow got it together and it seemed to be right. Afterwards there was a small meal (rice with vegetables) before we continued. Surrounded by a loud snorer and a guy whose headphones seemed to have no battery left so he was watching his videos loudly, it was difficult to find peace. The night was once again short and exhausting. When we finally arrived in Krabi at half past seven, a nice man met us right at the bus. He offered to take us to the hotel. We accepted the offer and paid 200 baht, which was definitely worth it. We rode in a cool car with a kind of loading area in the back. That was a lot of fun and really brightened our mood.

When we arrived at the hotel we were able to put our backpacks down. Unfortunately we couldn't get into our room until 2 p.m. and had to pass the time until then. After breakfast in a café, where we met a friendly young man with his 10-month-old daughter and who gave us helpful tips for our trip, we took a Grab (like a taxi via an app) to a large temple in Krabi. This was on a mountain that we conquered over 1260 steps. But the many steps weren't the only challenge. Added to this were the heat, the smell of animals and companions. Monkeys! It was the first time we met these animals in the wild. After we had walked about 10 steps, Ronja suddenly started screaming and clinging to me, “Nina! NINA!! Nina, help me, there's a monkey on my backpack!! Aaaah” The little monkey, which I thought was cute, stole Ronja’s water bottle from her side pocket. The bandits are so cheeky and surrounded us, trying to open our backpacks. At some point we got rid of it, a Frenchman gave us the bottle back, and we continued to climb, with a little more respect. The climb was challenging, but at the top we were rewarded with a fantastic view!

After we cooled down a bit, took photos and processed the climb, we turned our attention to the descent. This was almost always accompanied by monkeys. They're so cheeky! They also don't like it when you keep your cell phone pointed at them for a long time. At some point we almost made it back down. I wanted to enjoy the atmosphere, so we sat down for a while and had a drink. A monkey saw this and probably found my bottle extremely interesting. So much so that he suddenly sat on my lap and reached into my backpack after I had quickly stuffed my bottle into it. Then he grabbed my necklace. This was too much for Ronja and she tried to scare my new friend away “Kshhh”. He didn't find it funny at all and took Ronja as a threat. Then the little one jumped on Ronja. She fled, far. That's it for the monkeys, unfortunately. I lost my heart to her.

Afterwards we ate a Ruti (pancake) and got into conversation with some very nice Germans. The young retired couple emigrated to Thailand in April 2023. They also gave us very helpful tips for things to do and places to go. We were very excited and grateful!

After a break at the hotel (in which we unintentionally fell asleep for an hour), we strolled through a night market. We chose fried noodles. I found a new bikini because unfortunately mine broke yesterday. The market was really nice, with a stage and a small live show with artists. The music appealed to us sometimes more, sometimes less, but it was a nice atmosphere. Now we lie in bed exhausted and hope again that we can fall asleep quickly. Tomorrow we'll head a few kilometers further towards the beach. We are so happy!

In Thailand it is apparently possible and common for farmers to burn their fields after the harvest is complete. During the journey there were repeated unpleasant smells of fire in the bus. In Germany we question so many little things that influence the environment and the climate. Whether you really have to drive certain distances by car, how often you do laundry and how you can warm up your frozen food most gently... the list is endless. How is it possible for other countries to do such damage to the environment? Burning causes soil to become acidic and animals die. The smog is extremely harmful to our health. Another great point that we took in during the bus ride. Suddenly we felt small and powerless again.

Until tomorrow

Ronja & Nina