In the last few weeks, bbq chicken sticks and sticky rice have risen to the top of my most desired foods lists. Matt and I first got into these when we spent a few days in Kanchanaburi. The chicken lady parked her stall right on the main road outside of our guesthouse in front of the 7-11. Initially the inviting aroma started my craving, but after my first bite, the delicious flavor kept me going back each day to buy more for either lunch or a pre-dinner snack. The chewy texture of the glutinous sticky rice is a perfect compliment to tender, marinated and grilled to perfection—not too dry, but a little crispy on the edges. Tonight I poured a bag of brownish-red chili sauce on my chicken stick and was delighted by the tangy sweet flavor which was reminiscent of A-1 sauce with a Thai twist—the addition of fiery chilies. I’m not tough enough to actually eat the chilies, after pouring the sauce over my chicken I flicked off all the red peppers and white seeds, but they had been in the sauce long enough to impart that sensational not spicy but more like “ahhhh”—a fiery burning sort of sensation into the flavor of the sauce. Basically, it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever tasted.

 

Matt actually had the pork, not the chicken, but you can still see how good it tasted.

No fish were harmed in the making of this photo.  Only Matt suffered a small bite to the throat from a confused fish.

And yes, this father and son are Russian, in case you were wondering.

 Since my parents left, we’ve had a few disappointing days and destinations. But today we broke that streak. Today was one of those days that makes the bad ones worth it, one of those days that reminds us why we travel and why we’re doing what we’re doing. Today we ventured to Koh Phi Phi, which is actually two islands, the large and overly touristed Phi Phi Don and the smalled uninhabited Phi Phi Leh. Both are within a protected marine area, although you wouldn’t know it by Phi Phi Don’ mini Khao San. Our first stop was to Monkey Beach, a beautiful beach on Phi Phi Don which is inaccessible from land. It was an inexplicably beautiful beach: white sand sandwiched between clear green water and thick green jungle. We jumped off the boat and snorkeled for a while before swimming in to the beach. Looking out, I thought about Thailand is a land of green water, as the various islands and beaches we’ve visited have always had the most beautiful hues of green. Even in places where the water clarity wasn’t perfect like here, the colors of the ocean have always been superb. I think I read somewhere that Thailand’s green-tinted shores are the result of dissolved limestone, but I could be mistaken.

I keep forgetting we’re in Thailand still. The relaxing stint with Matt’s parents, followed by a couple of nights at freakishly Waikiki-like beaches has left me stumbling off the longtail into Southern Thailand. Southern Thailand is different enough from Northern Thailand that after our luxurious interlude and not so luxurious transition back, I feel as though we’re in a new country. Malaysia perhaps? There are many more women wearing headscarves, we haven’t seen any Thai-pop karaoke in a while, and the people look different. But no, it’s still Thailand. Malaysia will come soon enough.

We’re in Krabi town right now. Matt’s taking a practice test, and I am trying to catch up on the blog, which is sadly over a month behind. We’re in our hotel lobby/restaurant, taking advantage of the free internet. It just finished down pouring outside, and cars are breezing by on a wet road beneath a grey and gloomy sky. Rugby is silently being played on the TV, and an eclectic mix of music loudly plays over the speakers—Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash, Eminem, lots of punk and some weird Irish song about green alligators. It’s an afternoon that feels just right. Just about anyways. Our last couple days until now were a bit restless as we tried to find the right spot to unwind at a beach before heading to Malaysia. Unfortunately our first stop reminded us of Waikiki only there were no spam musubi, Leonard’s malasadas or Hawaiian Suns. After less than a day, we hightailed it out of there for the Railay beaches, hoping for something a little less billabonged-out. The west and south facing beaches were stunning with gem-toned waters and striking limestone outcroppings (karsts) bursting out of the landscape creating sheer vertical cliffs along the shoreline and islands in the sea. Unfortunately the weather was unfavorable, and the food was not that great. After an afternoon and a day, we left for Krabi town where we hoped we’d at least find a food cart selling bbq chicken or something…thankfully, we did. Krabi has a really great night-food market as well as a great regular market. Neither is too big nor too small and many tasty treats can be found in each. The abundance of good food has been a consolidation for our failed attempts at staying closer to the beach. Unlike the other places in Krabi province, Krabi town is so far so good. Thankfully, Krabi is located close enough to make day-trips to neighboring beaches and islands, such as Ko Phi Phi where we plan to go tomorrow. So hopefully that will be ok.

After two unsuccessful attempts at finding a chill beach to stay at, we called it quits and headed to Krabi, Our rationale was that, from Krabi, we could make day trips to various beaches, while enjoying the comforts of a real town: a normal room, quality food, and local atmosphere. The past two days have fortunately proven that rationale to rational. We’ve found a cool American-run place (foreign-run places know what foreign travelers want/need), amazing street food which is to be expected in Thailand, and a plethora of options for exploring the area’s beaches and islands. Its not the idyllic beach getaway we were originally looking for, but its so much more normal here; Thais populate the town, there’s regular stores and eateries, and its overall more conducive to life rather than tourism. Upon leaving Phuket, our plan was to find a place we like and stay for a few days. Although we had a couple of misfires and will probably only stay in Krabi for three nights, we feel like we’re back on track.

Yesterday we departed Ao Nang in search of something better, but it seems we’ve found the opposite. It was a short boat trip from Ao Nang to Railay, a trio of mainland beaches that can only be reached by boat due to a limestone cliffs. Approaching Railay and hopping out of the boat into the pretty beach’s clear, warm water, made a pleasant first impression. Beautiful limestone karsts framed the green bay. We walked across the narrow isthmus from West Railay where we were dropped to the budget-oriented East Railay. East Railay, itself is not a very good beach, but its just a five minute walk to two spectacular ones. Unfortunately for us and like Ao Nang, we found the quality of guesthouses in Railay to be severely lacking relative to the rates they charged. I am fine paying more for quality, but it’s the worst feeling when we shell out a lot of money to stay at a junky place. In fact, even though our rooms in Ao Nang and Railay were mediocre at best, they were two of the most expensive rooms we’ve stayed in this trip. On the plus side, Railay was scenic, but the food and prices were disappointing. Despite those two factors, we would have left today anyways, due purely to the demographics here. Its only tourists here- no Thais except workers, no permanent residents or families, no regular stores other than souvenir shops, and no local food- its not a “real” place, just a destination for Europeans to be served in bars, clubs, and expat cafes.

This morning, we beat the crowds to beautiful Nang Phra beach and enjoyed the quiet beach. Nonetheless, one night in Railay was enough for us, so when checkout time rolled around, we grabbed our packs, waded out into the ocean, and tossed our bags into the next boat leaving for Krabi.

Low-tide at East Railay

The context of this post: We woke up in a villa suite at a five star resort and went to sleep in dark cube with a bed in it.

This morning, we bid farewell to my parents as they headed to the airport to catch their flight to Bangkok and eventually home. Joylani and I hitched a ride in their taxi, which dropped us off on the main highway. After waving goodbye as they drove off, we were back to our former vagabonding. It was only ten or fifteen minutes before we flagged down a bus that was headed to Krabi. We talked a bit on the three hour bus ride, but Joylani mainly slept as I thought (I think I still need a few days to process the past ten). We were back in form when we pulled into the Krabi bus station though, waving away touts and finding a sawngthaew to take us to Krabi’s main beach, Ao Nang. Arriving in Ao Nang, we reverted to our old strategy of finding a room in hot weather: Joylani stayed with the bags, while I scoured the town for a room. Most places were full (it was past 4pm), but I did find a couple available rooms and chose the one I disliked the least. It was terribly overpriced due to the high demand this time of year, but it was a room. Walking to and from dinner, we decided we’d seen enough of Ao Nang. Boats cluttered and polluted the beach, senior package tourists infested the touristy town, and the quality and service in the restaurants and our guesthouse was low, yet overpriced. We know standards and comfort will lower than they have been of late, but this is ridiculous. Tomorrow, we’ll be on the move again.

It goes without saying that the past week and a half has been absolutely amazing and lots of fun. Luxurious hotels and great meals aside, it was just so nice to spend time with people we know rather than people we just met. We talked a lot, and ate a lot (those two things go well together), and enjoyed each other’s company. Our last night summed up the last several days with a fun dinner together at Mom Tri’s Boathouse topped off with good conversation, an amazing sunset, dessert, and, of course, a cigar.

Thanks mom and dad—and happy anniversary!

It seems like my parents just got here and already its time for them to go. Sometimes I think our conception of time is all messed up because we’ve been traveling for so long. Anyways, as you’ve noticed, I haven’t written anything since my parents arrived except one entry at the end of each destination. I’m not sure why I haven’t written at all, but I think its some combination of spending more time hanging out and trying to use our time to do things we won’t be able to later. Needless to say, I haven’t written anything since we got to Phuket. Again, there’s not a whole lot to write about, since our time was mostly spent just hanging out. There are a couple highlights though.

Again, the hotel was a highlight. Not really an authentic Thai place, but it sure was comfortable. Big rooms, a big balcony, ocean views. It had several restaurants to choose from for any given meal, some baby elephants roamed the grounds in the morning and afternoons (with trainers) for the guests to take photos of/with and even ride if they chose too, several pools, complete with infinity edges and swim-up bars. One highlight was my dad telling the waiters wherever we went that it was Joylani’s birthday, in hopes of getting something. A couple times we got free desserts and once the waitstaff brought out a cake with candles and everything, while singing happy birthday.

We took a few daytrips from Mai Khao, where we are staying in northern Phuket. Seeing the beaches of Kamala and Kata Noi made me happy that we were staying in Mai Khao, since those southern beaches were so developed. Although our final dinner together in Kata was one of the best I’ve ever had, including the best scallops I’ve ever had. I can confidently recommend Mom Tri’s Boathouse as an excellent place to eat, in addition to its nice beach view which afforded us an awesome sunset view.

The best day trip we took was to Phang-Nga, where we hired a boat to take us around the bay. It was a nice boat ride and I think my parents were impressed, since they’ve never seen a landscape like it before. We saw “James Bond Island,” a karst in the ocean that was used as the setting of a 007 movie, although I cannot remember which one. We also stopped an island, which was a tourist trap more than anything else. Just a bunch of floating shops and restaurants attached to a small island. Nonetheless, it was a fun trip and it was nice to be back in a longtail again.

Phang Nga Bay

Without going into all the conversations and minutiae of our days, that’s about all I have for Phuket and my parents time here in Thailand. It was an awesome time and I think each of the four of us has unique reasons for enjoying it, so it was a well-rounded trip. I say trip, even though its really only a trip for them. Pretty soon, it’ll be back to “normal” life for us. After the past dozen days, I’m not sure how I’ll do reverting to our old ways. Yea, I know you readers are really sympathizing with me right now for “having” to return to independent travel. Anyways, its been awesome, but I think we’re all a bit sad its over.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! And THANKS!!!