March 2nd: Song Phraek, Chai Buri to Krabi – 66 km
Day 140
We woke up groggy having just taken multiple naps as opposed to sleeping thanks to our horrible room and the heat. I got up several times to re-light our mosquito coil, which was just barely keeping the mosquitoes at bay. I had several bites on my forehead. Skipping breakfast, we left quickly well fed on dreams of a Krabi vacation. In the last 4 and a half months, we have pushed ourselves quite hard. When we were not cycling, we were climbing and vice versa. Every now and again we took a rest day but normally those days were spent doing maintenance or laundry. I know it sounds ridiculous since this appears to be one long vacation, but after covering the last 1,500 km, or 937 miles, from our last climbing destination – Crazy Horse Buttress in Mae On, with just one rest day out of 25, we need a vacation.
We arrived in Krabi and took the time to scout around for hotels. We found that there are some great values to be found here. We went crazy and got a air-conditioned room for 700 Baht right next to the market and restaurants. Our eastern parents will join us tomorrow for the next 10 days. We plan on doing some snorkeling, fishing, and jungle tours, and of course eating.
Krabi is ideally located, quiet and it still has local flavor. We went out to the night market and found large crowds of locals, with clusters of tourists. Prices are fantastically cheap considering it is a tourist destination. Scanning for food, we found one section without a single tourist. Locals were serving themselves curry over noodles and seating themselves around platters with a variety of vegetables. After observing for a moment we dove in and had an excellent meal, although extremely spicy, for 40 Baht. The restaurant operated on an honor system. You walk up and grab a bowl of noodles, scoop your choice of curry, and pay when you leave. For dessert we had fresh coconut ice cream. We may need larger vehicles to accommodate our increased weight when we start the next leg of our journey.
Jason
Mar 12, 2014 @ 17:45:50
Area Mother Doesn’t See Why Thai People Need To Make Food So Spicy
BLOOMINGTON, IN—Insisting that inhabitants of the Southeast Asian country “can’t possibly eat like this every day,” local mother Courtney Meisner confirmed Tuesday that she does not understand why Thai people need all their food to be so spicy. “Why do they have to make it so strong and peppery? There’s too many spices,” a flushed Meisner said during lunch at the Lemongrass Thai Grill, reaching for her glass of water to wash down a spoonful of tom yum goong. “Honestly, how can they stand this? There’s no way their children eat this spicy food, I’ll tell you that much.” Unable to finish more than a few bites of her penang curry entrée, Meisner went on to state that Thai people really ought to put all the spices on the side “so you can just put in however much you want.”
Cher
Mar 12, 2014 @ 20:45:55
Haha the Onion?
Jason
Mar 15, 2014 @ 18:47:31
Yup