Could This Be The World’s Best Beach?
The title probably has you wondering, “What the heck is John talking about?” Just wait until the end and some knowledge will be dropped.
Nadine and I have traveled north from Georgetown, Malaysia to Krabi, Thailand. Malaysia was great, but after three weeks of easy travel, we were ready for Thailand and a bit of a change. A mini-van that took us to the border and then north to Krabi. The van turned out to be smallish, thus a mini-van. This was much smaller than those other Mercedes-Benz mini-vans we saw on the highway. Finally arriving into Krabi ten hours later, my long legs, smaller than those Malaysian legs, were ready for a stretch and freedom.
Same Same But Different
One thing immediately becomes apparent in Thailand, it’s cheaper! Food. Beer. Transport. Lodging is much cheaper. And these are all good things. The first night, instead of hitting a restaurant, we sauntered over to the night market and the dozen of stalls serving some mildly spicy to “I’m sweating” spicy Thai food. We saddled up to the table, ordered noodles and soup, and enjoyed the cool evening weather. By the end of the night, the meal and beer set us back 160 baat ($4). Needless to say, every night in Krabi included a nice little dinner at the night market.
After visiting the windy Ao Nang beach, a longboat destined for Hat Rai Leh (pronounced in a Texas accent as Hat Ray Lay) carried us. A longboat is just what it sounds like, a skinny boat that is, well, long, and carries ten to twelve people somewhat safely. It could probably fit only four to five chubby New Mexicans though. The propeller is located at the very end of a long pole, thus allowing it to motor through shallow waters. Following our around the world travel rule, we only stayed three days in Hat Rai Leh. During any stay, if the place gives us a good feel, we’ll stay longer than three days. And Hat Rai Leh definitely did not stink.
Stuck Between a Rock, and Another Rock
Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Rai Leh is renowned as a rock climbing spot for all levels. Nadine, being the excellent climber she is, had been looked forward to Rai Leh for a long time. This was her rock climbing Graceland. The King still alive. King Climbers that is, and set aside a day with our smiling guide Chau to climb 1-2-3, the three climbing areas located on the east side of Rai Leh Beach.
Being a little lax with instructions and those unnecessary safety rules, Chau was eager to have us climb. We slid into our harnesses and climbing shoes, and started climbing all over the limestone surface of, I believe, area #2. We finished the morning with four fun climbs each at an average of 10 meters (30 feet) in height. After lunch, a quick power nap, and a shower, we returned to 1-2-3. In the afternoon, the tallest climb either one of us had ever attempted waited. In the end, both conquered the 100 foot mammoth climb with an awesome view of the area to boot. It’s at that point with views of the beach, jungle, cliff, and sea from 100 feet that you realize that you are putting a lot of trust in a thin rope, a small piece of metal, and that small little human down there at the bottom. Since you’re reading this, we made it down safely AND I didn’t wet my pants. Nadine did though.
Not So Stuck
Sardines
There was more than rock climbing at Rai Leh. We ate lots of pineapple, watermelon, and bananas. We tasted the absolute best fried cashew and chicken noodles we’d ever tasted. Next time you’re in Hat Rai Leh, visit The Rock Cafe, you won’t be disappointed with that tasty dish. If you are disappointed, I’ll finish it for you.
In addition to eating and climbing, a busy schedule included strolling the beach. The one trait to remember about Hat Rai Leh, other than the people and amazing geography, is one wet dog we nicknamed Sardine the Dog. Morning or evening, we’d look out towards the water and see this blond dog jumping and chasing sardines, never saw him dry once in three days. For his sake, fleas don’t have a chance living on him, they’d drown within an hour.
Sardine the Dog Busy at Work
What the Crap Did You Say to Me?!?!
Both Nadine and I always attempt to respect the local culture by trying to speak a little of the local Thai language. We did a decent job in Malaysia and Singapore and an excellent job in the Cook Islands, New Zealand, and Australia, as our English was right on. Thailand has proved to be a bit more challenging. Taking a strategy my good ol’ Dad taught me when I was younger, I associate words with different things. Teaching French and Spanish, I do a decent job with Latin based languages and you would expect that a little Thai wouldn’t trip me up. But Thai has proven to be a bigger challenge. It is a language that contains five different levels of intonation and messing it up can easily change the meaning of a word. Thus, when I try, to speak Thai, I use word association to help me. In order to simply greet someone and say hi, you say sa-wat-dii khrap. But when you pronounce it somewhat correctly, it sounds like So what the crap. Thus the title of this entry. So if someone yells at you “So what the crap”, don’t be alarmed, they’re just speaking Thai with you, simply smile and respond with sa-wat-dii khrap. If they approach you without a smile, run!
They’re Both Beauts
Not a Hidden Gem, but Definitely a Gem
No Monkeying Around
We are both in good health. Nadine still healing from bed bug bites, but learned some bad news while in Kuala Lumpur. Nadine’s grandma, Betty, passed away from cancer having lived a good life. Going into the trip, we this would be a possibility. We felt it best Nadine return to the States to be with family. Currently she is in route to Omaha for a week.
While Nadine is back with family, I am free to run around for a week on my own and explore and only felt it would be appropriate to visit some of Nadine’s extended family over in Indonesia at the Bohorok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. This also provides a chance to get off of the beaten path and not many people visit Sumatra in Indonesia.
Life is good, full of adventure, and grateful to be doing what we are doing realizing life is short and precious. Travel makes me realize the importance of friends and family in life. When I travel, I also stay in better written contact with family and friends. So, feel free to meet up with us in South East Asia. We will teach you a few Thai expressions.
Question of the week: What is the world’s sixth largest island?
Peace
JW
