Now that Herb was gone and I’d been on the move for a solid month, the time had come to do a bit of catchup. This meant Internet, photo-sorting, programming and blogging – no more nightlife and no more tourism, at least not for awhile.
So after spending one last (now overcast and stormy) night in Ao Nang, I packed up and returned to Krabi to find a more cozy and affordable setting than the beachfront resort town could offer.
…And I’m so glad I did – I honestly could not have envisioned a better spot to setup. Krabi had it all: insanely low prices, dozens of options for lodging, countless fantastic eateries, even a pay-per-use gym. Quite lucky actually, that my near-ideal “catchup spot” happened to be just down the road from where Herb and I had separated 🙂
You know, I have to say – although Ao Nang is undeniably beautiful, it’s probably my least favorite stop of the trip so far. As I’ve mentioned several times, Thailand as a whole has been the most touristic country I’ve ever visited – but Ao Nang seems to lack the “local Thai feel” almost entirely. There’s ONE normal Thai restaurant in town, and everything else is either international food or priced quadruple. Plus, nightlife is entirely nonexistent – not that that matters much for my upcoming week but it’s interesting to note nevertheless.
Anyway, upon making the move back to Krabi I was feeling too lazy to haul my bags around town, so I spent one night at the first guesthouse I found before more carefully selecting a longer-term spot. My ultimate choice was Good Dream Guesthouse, which I reserved from the following day.
From then on, it was more or less “life in a foreign country” – all the fun daily activities that accumulate when you ignore responsibility completely for four solid weeks.
Yet despite having gotten lots done, I did regrettably fail – as you already know – to write even a single line on my blog 😛
This was due to three different reasons:
First, the annoying reason. My laptop seemed to be on the fritz – its screen would spontaneously shutoff every few minutes making it nearly impossible to work. After a few tests I decided I should probably reformat, so a large number of hours got sucked up installing and configuring, getting my dev environment back up to par. Computer: fixed; Blog: hopelessly behind.
Second, the lucky reason: Exercise. When on the move, finding a place to workout can be difficult. Not only did Krabi have a gym right in the center of town, but the pleasant waterfront promenade was perfect for jogging – so I found myself exercising far more and working far less than planned.
Finally, the fun reason. Yet again, the guesthouse staff was awesome – but this was to an entirely new level. I actually ended up developing quite personal friendships with many of the GoodDream staff, getting invited to dinners and birthday parties and local evening get-togethers.
It was a wonderful opportunity, and yet another aspect of Thai life I’d yet to experience: relationships with small-town locals. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything…even if it did mean falling farther and farther behind 😉
Plus, it did feel pretty nice to just settle down and relax a bit; to wake up and just cruise down to the waterfront, grab a bite to eat, go for a jog, write a few lines of code, reply to a few emails, and meet up with my new group of friends. Traveling with another partyboy is awesome fun – but also exhausting. I guess that sometimes a break from daily life for fun can be just as rewarding as a break from fun for daily life 🙂
All in all I spent about a week in Krabi before having to push on. Although I do travel mostly without plans, I also do so within a loosely scheduled framework – certain dates and times by which I need to reach a certain destination. The next such date was rapidly approaching, so caught up or not it was time roll out.
Next stop: Malaysia.
Next blog post is gonna be “Well, I don’t remember this trip at all because it was so long ago, but I have some photos and I’ll just make up the rest”
Hahaha seriously 😛
hey, krabi miss you too ! keep having fun :).
p.s. how is your dad? are you coming to asia soon ?
The current plan is to head back in a little over a week, but we’ll see how things go. The recovery’s slow and intense… :/
hope he get better very soon, you take care of you too ok .
Thanx, you know I will! We still have to hang out in Bangkok too, haha 🙂
yes i do! of course we will :).what are you doing on facebook on the night before your birthday? you should go party !!:D
Haha, it’s 11am over here 😛
aha , sorry i forget 😛 any oarty plan ? i hope you have a very very good ok 🙂
Nope, probably won’t be doing much – I’m just home for a few weeks anyway, takin care of my dad and life and stuff. I usually save up my partying for when I’m overseas…which is why I can do it so much! I’m good and focused while home, then let loose while abroad 🙂
so you are kind of boring person at home then haha (joking) you are facebook but why you not use fb chat just keep reply bace and forword :D, cant wait for you to leavein bkk so we can hang out soon
Boring? Or disciplined? 😉
Haha cuz if I come on chat, the rest of my day will be spent chatting and not getting anything done! 😛
i been reading a few of your blog it’s very good , i’m jealous tho, i want to keep going to new place like you too,
it very late here , so i am going to try get some sleep ,working tomorrow :(…hope you have a great afternoon , and happy birthday again
Hehe thanx 🙂 I’m still like 4 months behind on this last trip (which you already know, based on how long ago I left Krabi!) Hoping I can catch up before the next round begins…
Alrighty, thanx, u too 🙂
p.s is your birthday tomorrow i think is time to change your profile picture hey 😉
Hahaha…have a look at the comments on the photo…ur not the first one to say that 😛
…so much for not chatting on FB 😛
Interesting spot you found. Sounds like your “being diciplined” failed, ha ha.
Cool traffic light
Peder: Yeah – it kinda has a tendency to happen, haha 😛
Andy: They had those weird caveman-things in every direction, too…
I hope the next post is dedicated to the ladyboy!
And why exactly would you hope for such a thing? 😛