Day 250
I checked out of my hotel on Phi Phi Island and walked down the street to the ferry booths. I booked the 1:30 pm ferry to Krabi, which is on the mainland of Thailand. It would take two hours to get there, and was scheduled to arrive at 3:30 pm. Once that was booked, I walked to a restaurant for lunch. I needed to figure out where I was going. I ultimately wanted to get to Koh Tao, another island, but it would take three hours by bus to cross the peninsula and then three hours by ferry to the island. It was too late in the day to make it, and I heard good things about Krabi, so I figured I’d check it out for a day.
I boarded the ferry, where there were lots of hungover people sleeping. I sat on the top deck on the back of the boat because I wanted to enjoy the ocean breeze and views. The ferry ride was beautiful as we passed islands and rocks in the ocean. The sun glistened off the water.
When I arrived in Krabi, I took a Grab to my hotel. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. It had a resort feel to it with a pool and beautiful landscaping. When I arrived at my room, I was so happy! It was large, clean, and best of all, the air conditioning worked really well. I didn’t sleep well at my last hotel because the air conditioning was weak. I was going on four hours of interrupted sleep and desperately wanted to take a nap.
Instead, I decided that I should enjoy the pool. After putting on my swimsuit, I headed to a pool chair. There were three young guys and two women in the pool. I laid out for a while, but the sun had already set behind the tall hotel, so I decided to get in the water. As I got in the pool, the three guys got out and went back to their room. One of the women decided to go back to her room and take a shower.
The last woman in the pool approached me. She was from London and appeared to be in her late 40s. The woman told me that her family is from Goa, India, and they still live there. She spent the last 11 years remodeling a flat in India as a holiday home near her family. She had recently finished it and took a trip to see the finished project. She decided to take a holiday in Thailand while she was close.
The woman kept swimming closer and closer to me, and I felt like my personal space was being invaded. I found myself slowly backing up until I was against the wall. I was hoping she would notice and back off a little, but she kept getting closer and closer. She had me pinned against the wall and said, “You have very white teeth!” I laughed, “That’s funny. Someone on a tour a couple of weeks ago told me the same thing.”
The woman continued, “When you opened your mouth, I couldn’t believe how white they are!” I explained to her that maybe they stand out lately because I had a tan. Surprised, she said, “You mean you haven’t had any work done? It’s all-natural?” I answered, “That’s correct. I mean, I use Crest Whitestrips every once in a while, but that’s it.” I got out of the pool and went back to my room.
I changed my clothes and headed out to dinner. The hotel offered an open-air shuttle to the markets, so I took advantage of it. It was a blast! The air felt cooler than Phi Phi Island and Bangkok. Krabi was a medium-sized city, so it didn’t feel overwhelming.
I wandered around the market, trying different kinds of fish cakes, fried chicken, and then some pad see ew. The pad see ew booth had a few small tables, so I sat down at one. Shortly after, a couple ordered some food, but there was nowhere to sit. The owner instructed them to sit at my table, so they sat across from me.
Alex was from Romanian and her boyfriend, Pawel, was from Poland. They were living in Poland and traveling through Thailand for three weeks on holiday. Pawel does interior work on flats. In Poland, they buy a flat with just the walls. Then the customer will go to his company and pick everything out to have it just the way they want. Then eight to twelve weeks later, it’s all done.
Pawel originally gave his employer a three-month notice that he would take four weeks for a holiday and had everything booked. Right before he left, his boss basically said he’d be fired if he didn’t come back within three weeks. They had to change their plans and lost money rebooking things, but he needed to be back in three weeks.
Alex worked in software sales, but she didn’t like it. She had a new job lined up for when she returned to Poland that would involve scheduling for project managers. They had recently sold their flat because they saw how much the market had turned and they wanted to take advantage of it.
The couple appeared to be in their mid-20s. Alex and Pawel met in college and had been dating for five years. They rented a scooter for the day and drove it all over the area. We got on the subject of ancestry, and I told them that I wanted to visit Eastern Europe because I’ve never been there. I showed them my 23andme data, which shows my ancestry as Northern and Eastern European.
We enjoyed our Thai food, but they admitted they had grown a little tired of the same type of food week after week. Alex said they broke down and ate at Burger King one day. I laughed because I totally understood. After 45 minutes, they had to return their scooter. We said goodbye, and I hoped to meet up with them if I ever made it to Poland.
I missed the last shuttle back to the hotel, so I decided to walk. I walked along the riverfront and past more food stalls. Beautiful sculptures and art pieces were on display. Electrical wires randomly hung from multiple places, sometimes making me fear that I’d run into one.
I walked through the town for a mile until I reached my hotel. I wasn’t too disappointed that I only spent half a day there because it didn’t seem like much was going on. When I got back to my hotel, I booked some things on Koh Tao, like a diving certification class and my Airbnb. I was nervous about diving, but I heard Koh Tao was the place to get certified. I looked forward to getting back to an island because the Thai Islands are magical.
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