For the first time since we have started our trip, we actually have the next few weeks planned out, for the most part. We know when and where we need to be in a specific place at a specific time, which is Singapore on the 14th of December. This means we have exactly two weeks to explore the beaches of Thailand. If we enjoy it, we have an extra week or two after our first cruise, but before we go to Philippines.
We flew into Krabi, a western province of Thailand, resting on the Andaman Sea.
Generally known as one of the main starting points for island hoppers and beachgoers, Krabi itself should not be discounted.
The closer we get to the beach paradise, the more expensive the destinations become, naturally. Unless we stay in shared hostels, which we have chosen not to do, the cost of accommodation rises significantly. Gone are the days of $10-20 hotels. In Krabi we picked the Holiday Inn Express at a whopping cost of $50 a night, although breakfast is included.
With two weeks and change before we fly to Singapore, we felt the desperate need to just chill for a while. We have been on the move from the beginning of September until now. It's take to slow down the pace and soak in the sun. The plan was to stay in Krabi for a few days, move on to Phi Phi Islands, then spend another week in Phuket. It is easily possible to spend much more time in Thailand than this, but for now two weeks will be enough. If we want to return here, we still have a week or two to spare after the cruise before we need to be in Hong Kong.
Contrary to popular belief, Krabi is a province, not a city. In it contains wondrous destinations, including the beach town Ao Nang, Railay Beach, and the islands Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi. Koh translates to island in Thai. The Holiday Inn Express was located on Noppharat Thara Beach, adjacent to the more well-known Ao Nang beach. However, we found them them to be identical, if not the prior being even better than the latter.
We arrived at the hotel via shuttle bus in the evening on the first day, so we would have to wait to see the iconic beaches during the daytime. A five minute walk down the boardwalk took us to the night market, where foreigners and tourists dine on seafoods, thai dishes, coconuts, and tasty desserts. We sampled a fish and some pad thai for our supper.
On the walk home, we strolled on the beach. During the nighttime the tide is low, so one can walk a few hundred meters into the water and only be ankle deep. Even though visibility was low because of the darkness, the water itself was transparent. Hidden inside the sand were thousands of crabs of various sizes and colors and other sea creatures. We aren't 100% sure what kind of sting rays they were, but we saw two of them. Both were about a foot long, including the fat head a few inches high, and a six inch tail or two. Also there were a couple small jellies. There was also quite a few locals collecting crabs and shrimp into their, presumably to either cook or use as bait for fishing. It was really neat to see.
On our first full day, we did a whole lot of nothing, which was just was the doctor ordered. We went to breakfast at the hotel, which was decent but not great, and wrapped egg and sausage sandwiches for later (cutting costs!). Eager to explore our neighborhood for the week, we exited the hotel in the direction of Ao Nang. Along the way we passed dozens of tourism-focused businesses one can find anywhere in this part of the world. We have broken it down:
1. Restaurants
2. Food Stands (fruit shakes, ice cream, coconuts, etc.)
3. Shops selling local goods (Shmateria)
4. Tourism Agencies
5. Massage Parlors
6. Tattoo Parlors
7. Currency Exchange Stands
8. Hotels
9. Mini Market with snacks and alcohol
10. Pharmacy
Aside from the occasional police department or medical center, there is literally nothing else to be found. No libraries, no schools, no post office, no proper supermarkets, no buildings that indicate there is any other industry in the area aside from tourism. It's a really interesting subculture of the Southeast Asian lifestyle to see, but it doesn't exactly give us the insight into the true culture we are seeking. In fact, it is nearly impossible to even have any sort of meaningful conversation with a local because no one has any interest in speaking to us. Can't really blame them I suppose. We are here for fun and maybe education, but for them it is all business and we are merely two clients amongst thousands.
Anyway, we stopped at a couple tourism shops to gather some information about an island hopping tour we wanted to join the following day (and subsequently booked one), exchanged some Euros for Thai Bhat, and browsed a couple clothing of stores for nothing in particular. It's interesting to see different products, but it's all cheap crap from China.
30 minute later we arrived at Ao Nang beach, which seemed to mirror Noppharat Beach in every way. The prices were higher, both hotels and restaurants, but we couldn't see any added value, so we returned to our neck of the woods and chilled at the pool, exercised gym, and relaxed in the hotel room. Sometimes less is more. (At the pool, Ben saw a pregnant woman smoking a cigarette!!!!!)
The same way that companies allow employees to take a couple "mental health" days off a year, this is what we were doing in Thailand.
The second day we were up bright and early to wolf down some breakfast and get ready for our Four Island Tour. The itinerary provided by the tourism agency indicated we pick up was from 8:00-8:30 and we would be on the long tail boat leaving the pier at 9:00. Now we have been traveling long enough to know that schedules in this part of the world are worth less than the paper they are printed on, but for some reason we keep falling victim to them. At 8:00 sharp we were in the lobby of the hotel, bags packed, ready to sight see. At 9:00, with no sign of the shuttle bus, Nadine asked the front desk if they would be so kind as to call the tourism company and inquire about their arrival. With a reassuring smile, the lady at the front desk informed Nadine that we were the last hotel on the pick-ups, so not to worry. We knew it was a lie, because how on earth would this woman know the order of pick-ups for our particular tourism agency, or any of the hundred tourism agencies for that matter. At 9:20 finally someone arrived. It already 20 minutes past the time the boat was supposed to leave...
As predicted, we were in fact not the last people to get picked up. Three more stops were made, including one which took 10-15 minutes for people who never showed up. Along with the two Spanish girls in the back of the dangerous pick up truck, we were getting increasingly frustrated and impatient. The driver was pulled over on the side of the road calling the tourism agency, most likely to ask what to do about the no-shows when finally Nadine spoke up and said something to him. She rightly told him that we were now 45 minutes past the time when the boat was supposed to have left, and we weren't even at the pier yet. He told something along the lines of "if you don't like it, we can take you back to your hotel." The guy was really rude and unfriendly, but he did succumb and drove away recklessly in the direction of the pier. One more pick up and we made it there.
Without proper guidance, we waited in line for our stickers and tickets to aboard the boat, and waited some more while others who arrived after us got in their boats first. We were back to our comfort zone in general state of confusion, but the weather was great, the water was a shade of blueish green we had never seen before, and we had each other for company, of course. A full one hour and fifteen minutes after we were scheduled to take off, we finally did, with the promise that the island tour would stay out later to make up for lost time. It did not.
What we also soon discovered was that going on a 4 Island Tour does not mean you visit four islands. It means you stop at one island which connects to three others by way of a sand bar, with only 35 minutes to visit all three, and a second stop at another island. In between, the boat was anchored off Chicken Island (one of the two islands connected to the first) to do some snorkeling. Finally, we ended up on Railay Beach, also not an island, where we met some interesting people whom we will touch on later.
The first stop were the connected islets called Tup Islands, which connected to Chicken Island. They were both beautiful, but overcrowded with other guided tours. There wasn't much to do there besides admire the scenery and majestic waters.
Chicken Island was given the name, because, well, it looks like a chicken. Nadine, with her dirty little mind, thought it looked more phallical, but to each their own. The boat parked itself a hundred yards from the shore and the pasajeros were encouraged to jump overboard with our issued snorkels (1,000 bhat charge if it is damaged or lost). The water was warm and tranquil, so we jumped right in and began our search for interesting animals below the sea. During our thirty minute exploration, we encountered probably 20 or so different species of fish, some with vibrant fluorescent colors. We had a gay old time and promised ourselves we would snorkel again in the near future.
The third stop was on Poda Island, where we would be provided a modest lunch by the tour company. We were supposed to have two hours on the beach there, but our time was cut short due to the tardiness of our pick up. Of course there was to be no further mention of this on the company's end. Again there were hundreds of tourists, but the views more than made up for it. Also, there was a fat monkey who was gorging herself on the food of the tourists whenever left guarded. At one point, Ben walked away to throw away a couple old sandwiches and a banana. The monkey followed him, inching closer and moving until Ben panicked a bit and tossed the food in the direction of the approaching primate. It was quite a scene, and a delight for the dozens of tourists watching.
The final stop was on Railay Beach, where is began pouring the moment. Honestly, it felt just storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. We exited the boat and scrambled towards the shore, only to realize the water felt like a jacuzzi compared to the warm sea water, so jumped back in. Others were doing the same. We met a guy from Texas and a guy from Peru, who told us that minutes before there was another guy from San Diego who was in the water. Moments later the guy came back and told us he was from Carlsbad, he was high on mushrooms, and was trying to keep it all together. He said he was with his wife, but she was nowhere to be seen. They were staying at the resort, Rayavadee on this particular beach, which cost a whopping $500 a night, doesn't include breakfast. For 10% of the price, the Holiday Inn at least provided breakfast. However, he said it was worth it, as did the others who were in the water at the time. Guess we missed out.
We were told by the San Diegan that at the end of the beach was a limestone cave that was filled with hundreds of penises! Because penises are funny, and because we are children, we had to go see for ourselves. Also the guy was on mushrooms, so how could we really believe him?....Sure enough, there were in fact hundreds of peniscular artifacts carved and shaped to form. The penis shrine is dedicated to Phranang, the goddess of fertility, who resides amongst the wooden penises up and down Thailand's coasts. Apparently the locals come to these shrines regularly to maintain and decorate in the hopes of getting pregnant. Phra Nang Beach Cave Shrine.
The tour boat took us back to shore, where we arrived a full hour early. To sum it up, we started over an hour late, and finished an hour early. The way they get away with this is not by eliminating stops from the tours, but simply chopping off time from each place and hopping the paying participants don't notice or care. Besides, what can we do at this point? We were technically taken to four islands, and even stopped at two more. It's not like we were going to get a partial refund anyway, so we let it go, even though it's BS. Nadine likes to say that the only reason these companies get away with this stuff is because of what she called the "Hitler Complex." Only because no one stands up and says something is wrong is the reason why tourists are continuously taken advantage of.
The rest of the day was spent at the gym and lounging by the pool!
The third day started out with a curveball. After we collected our breakfast from the buffet, we sat outside on the patio. At the table next to us, Nadine noticed a girl around our age who put a tallit-looking shawl on the chair next to her. A few seconds later a guy sits down who looks familiar to her. Nadine said that she thinks the guy who is sitting down is Gilad Shalit, the Israeli POW who spent five years in Gaza as a captive of Hamas.
The country of Israel is one of 27 countries that still have conscription, and one of nine that have compulsory service for both genders. Men are required to serve for 32 months, women for 24 months. In 2020 the time required for men will be lowered to 30 months. This time period is the same as the country of Chad, and second only to North Korea, which requires men to serve for 10 years! If one chooses not to enter the military, he/she can sometimes choose to do some form of national service instead.
There is also a great debate in Israel whether or not the ultra-orthodox Haredi should or should not be forced to serve in the military, but we will not be touching too much on this subject in this blog. One could write an entire book about it, let alone one blog. It is a fascinating, layered subject that has caused much political and religious friction in Israel. On one hand, they are citizens of Israel and should be required to defend the country like everyone else. On the other hand, if they claim not to be able to fight based on religious reasons, it isn't right to force them to do so. Personally, I (BEN) think there needs to be a compromise where the Haredi don't serve in the military, yet still perform national service. There is always something that can be done.
Anyway, Gilad Shalit joined the military and eventually became a corporal in the Armored Corps. On June 26th, 2006, he was the gunner in a tank patrolling the border with Gaza when seven Palestinians ascended via an intricate tunnel system onto Israeli soil. Warnings had been issued in the days prior to the Israelis that an attempt at capturing an Israeli soldier would occur soon. This was repeated, along with other pertinent details of that night's duties in a briefing with the executive officer earlier in the evening. Unfortunately, Shalit was goofing off with a couple buddies and wasn't paying attention, later stating that he trusted his commander to follow along and give the necessary orders later, if needed. Thus, when the insurgents attacked the Merkava tank, Shalit, who was the only one of the four Israeli soldiers awake at the time, was unprepared with his helmet and flak jacket off, and his M16 laying on the floor under his seat. Totally unprepared, he didn't fire a single shot at the enemy, resulting in the death of two of his compatriots, as well as his own capture. Had he been paying attention during the briefing, Shalit would have been aware that he had two other armored patrol units within 200 meters in both directions, on top of where the enemy was expected to attack from.
For five years Israeli and Palestinian officials negotiated through secret back channels for the release of Gilad Shalit with the assistance of German and Egyptian mediators. The result was that the Israeli government, under the guidance of Prime Minister Netanyahu's first term, would release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, 280 of whom were serving life sentences. According to one Hamas military leader, these 1,027 were responsible for killing 569 Israelis. Included in this list was Ahlam Tamimi, who helped plan and execute the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing that killed 145 Israelis, half of them children. After her release from prison, she famously said, "I do not regret what happened. Absolutely not. This is the path. I dedicated myself to Jihad for the sake of Allah, and Allah granted me success. You know how many casualties there were [in the 2001 attack on the Sbarro pizzeria]. This was made possible by Allah. Do you want me to denounce what I did? That's out of the question. I would do it again today, and in the same manner."....She was a truly lovely woman.
One of the conditions the Israeli government gives to its citizens in exchange for their years of sacrifice in the military is the promise that if something were to happen, such as a kidnapping, the government would do everything in its power to retrieve that person. Unlike the US, the State of Israel does negotiate with terrorists. It is known and understood. For this reason the Palestinians, along with Hezbollah, have kidnapped multiple soldiers in the hopes of receiving a godfather ransom in return. The public debate surrounding Gilad Shalit was whether the price was too high. One side said that Israel needs to hold up its end of the bargain, release the prisoners, and bring Israel's son back home. The other side fought vehemently against it, especially those who lost family members at the hands of the Palestinian prisoners. Neither side was right, and neither side was wrong. The deal was done and Shalit was returned. Since then, there have been at least 10 confirmed kills at the hands of the released prisoners, with many more suspected and unknown.
Since his release, Gilad Shalit has kept a low profile. He is famous for all of the wrong reasons. He was, admittedly, a small-headed coward who got his friends killed along with many more in the future. It was a very sad situation, and still a controversial subject in Israel to this day. When we told our Israel friends we saw him here, some were excited, some were not. One of our friends wrote back that we should "smack him in the head." The wounds are still open for many.
For us, we were sort of in awe to see him in the flesh. Even before we moved to Israel we knew who he was and what had happened. When he sat down next to us at breakfast, we couldn't stop looking over at him. We wanted to say hello and chat, but about what? His capturing? His feelings? His emotions? Undoubtedly he has more guilt, and more demons in his head than we can imagine.
When got up from his seat to get a second plate of food from the buffet, Ben followed him to say hi. While Gilad was picking out muffins, Ben filled a cup of water and then waited. Apparently Gilad Shalit is quite picky with his pastries, so Ben was forced to down his cup of water and pour another, lest Gilad realized he was being watched and followed. When he turned around, Ben gave a pretend "Oh! Hello" as if he hadn't noticed one of Israel's most recognizable faces. They chatted for a couple minutes about Thailand and Krabi and walked back to their tables. Of course nothing serious was brought up. Afterwards, Ben sort of felt bad about the interaction. The fact that a complete stranger would recognize him, even just to give a polite hello, is a small reminder that he is not just Gilad Shalit the person, he is Gilad Shalit the POW. It's really sad :(
Here are a couple pictures of him and his girlfriend that are not super creepy or anything.
Moving forward, after the buffet, we went on another stroll in the direction of Ao Nang beach. On the way Nadine bought a new bathing suit. Yay! We only packed select items to carry along with us this year, so swapping out one piece of clothing for another is a big deal.
We made a spur of the moment decision to hop on a long tail boat back to Railay Beach, home of the wooden penises. Much of the afternoon was spent laying on the beach eating coconut and admiring the scenery. The highlight was renting kayak for a couple hours. We paddled along side the shore until we coincidentally floated next to a familiar face, the mushroom man from San Diego, Layne, this time accompanied by his wife Cara. We paddled side by side for maybe an hour, chatted, and had a really great time! It was so nice to talk to Americans for a change. Finally we could speak freely without putting on fake accents and having the other person respond accordingly. It was actually a relief. We tried to entice them to join our cruise the next week, but they were headed off to greener pastures in Bali, Indonesia.
When we returned to Noppharat Beach, we had a photo shoot of the beautiful Nadine on the sand. And one of the handsome Ben.
The next day we did more of the same. Pool, Relax, Gym, Relax, Walk, Relax. For lunch we had a Subway, and dinner we had some Tom Kha in a beachfront restaurant before shooting some billards. Ben won all three games! Yeshhhh.
Overall, Krabi is a nice coastal area. The beaches are pretty clean, despite the number of tourists, and the prices are decent. Surely there are more beautiful beaches in Southeast Asia, and we will seek to find them.
Off to Koh Phi Phi!
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