Merry Christmas!

I woke up with chigger bites all over this morning. Yep, awesome. Even saw one running across my pillow after I got up and got to itching. So once again I was attempting the pharmacy to do something about this itching! I walk downstairs to see a Christmas tree on the bar and lights all around. The guys tell me Merry Christmas with huge grins, even though they're Buddhist and this holiday means nothing to them.

It's very surreal to find out it's Christmas this morning. There are few, if any, signs of Christmas around Thailand. Because Phuket is a little more commercialized, there are a few things here and there- prostitutes and lady-men with sleezy Santa suits on and a few bars with a "Merry Christmas Party" advertised. Otherwise, it's hot, humid, I have no family, no stocking or presents, no Christmas lights, trees or Santa spottings and I'm on a beach..... not my normal Christmas. But the guys in my hostel left me a Christmas card on my bed =)


Today, I packed up and hopped in a van to head from Patong Beach in Phuket to Ao Nang in Krabi Province. Another adventure. This time, I wasn't sure what I was doing and if I had made a huge mistake traveling this way. The ferry only runs 3 times a week (random) and I would have had to pay an arm and a leg to hop on a tourist bus to travel the islands and then just not return (plus the taxi to my hotel from wherever they happened to dock in Krabi). These were my options. So bus it is. Well, the 'bus' here is a little minivan that stuffs as many people in as possible and then stops to pick up one more. There were 14 of us in an 11 seat van plus all the luggage of the backpackers and 3 older Asian folks who had hardcase suitcases that were individually bigger than each of their bodies. What on earth did they pack?! So their stuff alone took up 3 seats. We get underway, nice and cozy with our newest friends and suddenly one of the Sweedish kids on the bus starts saying, "yo, I'm gonna be sick dude" and starts frantically looking around for the window opening. He's motion sick, most likely hungover, an we're packed in like sardines in the back of this van.... even I was getting quesy. So he starts puking. At least I wasn't sitting directly behind him to get the splatter. He does manage to get most of it outside the window and tells the bus driver, who refuses to pull over or stop driving like a maniac. The buses are also quite fun for tourists because they stop multiple times and make you get out and get on a different bus. I changed minivans 3 times! Each time you have no idea what they're telling you and why you're getting off or where in the world you are! Plus, each stop is either at a gas station where people come up to the van and harass you to buy some useless trinket, or at a Tourist Info center where they can get tourists to sign up for excursions at absurd prices. At each stop, someone puts a new sticker on your shirt with squiggles on it. I assume it's Thai. They point to the road and say "Ao Nang?" and I say "Ao Nang" and then he points to a bus and says "Ao Nang" and I point to the myself and then the bus and say "Ao Nang?". This is a fun ritual I master by the end of the transfer.

My least crowded bus ride between somewhere in Krabi and somewhere in Krabi. Luggage on the floor, on the seats and people packed in without AC. 

When I get to Ao Nang, I check in to the VIP Hotel, formerly the Krabi Hostel. It's quite strange to be in a hotel that was a hostel, and still has some hostel dorms but none of the social backpacker aspect to it. I'm in a shared dorm with 3 Sweedish girls. The place is nice, but it's a little far from the beach. The lady at the front desk told me it was a 10 min walk. 25 minutes later I got to the beach. I'm pretty sure I'm a power walker compared to the Thai people so I'm not sure what time scale she was measuring by, but 10 min is a stretch. Either way, I get to the beach in time for sunset. There are longtail boats (the taxis to and from the islands and Railay Beach) and the cliff sides are gorgeous.

Sunset at Ao Nang

40 Bht for Green Curry w/Chicken at a food cart

My stomach leads me back up the main road in search of cheap eats. Patong was WAY more expensive than I was anticipating... like American prices. I spent way too much there. So I find a string of food carts selling decent looking food for 40-60 Bhat ($1.30-2.00 US) and decide to chance it. As I was starting at the menu, I hear my name. I turn around and 2 of the girls from my other hostel were eating at the cart next to me! So the 3 of us ate some yummy cheap curry and headed out to check out the town. We celebrated Christmas Day with green curry and some Chang beer. Between minivan adventures, food carts and sunsets, it was definitely a Christmas to remember.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!