The night was calm, the silence broken only by the crowd that had, this afternoon, been at the pool. They are staying in a resort advertised as being alcohol free, run by moslems, and so they go out, get pissed and come home singing in a drunken stupor. Sickening.
I get over the toilet smell and head to breakfast. Ordinary and barely edible but they do have a toaster with rye bread. Good for me. By the time I am finished it is nearly time for checkout so I pack, check out and settle by the pool. Yay its lunchtime so few people here. All of us under umbrellas in the shade, even though the sun here is not as harsh as we are used to, it is too hot in the sun. A few are reading and others, the same ones as yesterday, playing on their phones. Funny how life has changed.
A gentle breeze blows across the pool and the kaarsts rise in the background. The smell is not noticeable here and the gentle sound of the water jets is the only thing that breaks the silence. Heavenly.
My time is up and I go use the shower, check out the spa for my next visit and set off in a cab for Krabi. A shuttle would have been cheaper if I wanted to mess around waiting and then get dropped in the city. Not really.
The scenery on the drive in is lovely. We pass through some pretty villages, all dominated by the sky reaching limestone. Dramatic and gorgeous.
We arrive in Krabi. It looks pretty, wide tree centered streets, the river travelling along the side. My hotel is easy to find, just a wee way from the river and away from the central city, a newish place and lovely and clean. My room is on level 4, without a lift, a wee hike but made up for by the view over the trees from my lovley room, deck and even from the bathroom. The reception ladies are lovely.
I settle in and take off for a walk. Get 10 minutes down the road and realise I have forgotten the camera. As I walk I am overwhelmed by smells. The same toilet smells of AoNang. Makes me want to vomit. I have to walk past the same patch on the way back so have to find an alternative road to town. Back at the hotel I decide to wait for the shuttle and take advantage of the free ride to the city. Going past the smelly patch I cover my face with my scarf. Ugh the smell still gets through.
The shuttle drops us near the weekend night market. I go for a wander. Not knowing what it was all about I didn't know what to expect, but eventually found something resembling what we call Thai Fish Cakes. Just tiny ones and yummy. Not quite chewy like the ones they make at home and don't think they have red curry paste in them but still good. Other than food there was boring clothing, shoes and stuff. A few street performers are getting ready to perform, but I can't be bothered waiting to watch.
I walk for a bit as far as the river in case I find a restaurant. A couple of pubs but thats it. The scenery though was sublime. Must be superb in good light.
I wander on and go check out the other market which was all food. Bought some of the yummy peanut biscuits but most of the food was prepared and sitting in Bain maries. I don't do pre-prepared food, even at home, so that rules most of it out. I see a couple of restaurants on the street but the smell is so putrid I keep walking. Out of all the places I have been AoNang and Krabi are the only places that have smelled to me, a putrid sweet rotten sewer smell. Ugh. Don't know if I can cope with it.
I return to the department store (more like a Mall) and see a KFC. I am not a KFC fan but was hungry and need to sit and eat. Zinger burger, fries and pepsi. Fries were gross, zinger was barely edible and pepsi was, well Pepsi. I was hungry and thristy and finished as much as I could but must check out places to eat that are not market stalls or chain restaurants. A Swensens finished it off. That was the best thing I had eaten in days.
I wait on the street, trying to avoid the smells, for the shuttle to return. I watch the people. Few Western tourists and most sound like Russians. Many Asian tourists, of course I don't know their nationality but many appear to speak Thai comfortably. Some don't know any more than me. Interesting that there are many Middle Eastern looking people wearing regular clothing, but equally many in Moslem scarves etc. The hindu women are dressed beautifully (regular clothing or punjabis) and heavily made up. The Thai women in jeans, t shirts and jandals looking quite hard, in contrast to the lovley Thai ladies in the hotel.
The shuttle is late but eventually arrives. It has seating for 12. Some of get in and sit, our knees touch the knees of the people sitting opposite us. Another 8 are pushed on trying to wedge their legs in between the knees of those sitting. But, having passed the patch of stench, we arrive at the hotel. The shuttle is shared with the hotel down the road, where I will be staying next week, and runs about 5 inwards trips between 5 and 8pm, but only does two outwards trips which is why there were so many wanting a ride. Next time I will walk back.
I hang out in my room, watch TV, updates blogs and call it a night, wondering what my first day teaching will bring.
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