Mai Pen Rai : Work Has Begun, but Not Before a Little Fun: Week 2

Once I drank some electrolytes and mustered up enough energy to pack my bag, I bought a ticket for the very next ferry that left Phi Phi.

Second stop: Ao Nang

One of the best things about these travels was that I had complete flexibility. I knew I had to be in Ayutthaya on a certain date and had a general idea of how I would eventually get there; but, aside from that I was able to stay and leave places as I pleased. I originally intended to only stay in Ao Nang for a few nights but I ended up staying for the entire week. After way too much time spent on crazy Phi Phi, arriving in Ao Nang was seriously a breath of fresh air. The hostel I was staying at (which I randomly selected from the internet) turned out to be one of the cleanest, nicest hostels I've ever stayed at. And trust me, I've been in hundreds. The owners were also extremely nice and helpful. As it also turned out, I met seven other travelers here (from Sweden, UK, Spain, and New Zealand) who coincidentally also decided to stay for the week as well. We all instantly became friends and spent the entire week going on different adventures together. While I thought I would finally spend some time relaxing by myself, it turned out to be quite the opposite.

Some of the highlights from the week:

1. One of my friends from my course visited Ao Nang the week before and recommended a temple in nearby Krabi. Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Sua) is literally located on the top of a mountain 1,237 steps up. My friend actually told me, "it was the most physically difficult thing I've ever done in my life...but it was worth it." After I heard that, I knew I had to go. 1,237 steps didn't sound THAT bad. I mean, I think I've done that many on the stair-master at the gym, it can't be that bad...

Well, what they don't tell you is that these things they call "steps" are some of the steepest ones you could ever imagine. I swear some of them were half the size of my legs. They also were extremely uneven, all different heights, tilted, and sometimes didn't have railings. Plus, once you add Thailand's heat and humidity, it was a rough journey. Luckily, there were landings along the way to stop and catch your breath. However, every landing was loaded with people sitting on the ground, panting, and nearly passed out. I also passed quite a few people walking down who would just look at us, shake their heads, and say, "Pwsh, good luck!" Real encouraging right?

I was a sweaty mess, but I made it to the top. It was quite an accomplishment and the view of Krabi was incredible! I like things like this when there's at least a reward at the end of it all. I also loved just sitting at the top and watching everyone else as they made finally made it up. It usually involved some type of cheer, high 5, or dumping water all over themselves. I think some people wanted to cry they were so happy they made it.

2. My buddy Dan and I rented a kayak for the day and went exploring until we found this beach. Talk about an arm workout!

3. We took a day trip to nearby Railay Beach, famous for its high limestone cliffs, incredible beaches, and rock climbing.

Photo credit: Carlos Vera

4. I literally rock climbed with the Carlos, Andreas, and Felix to find this this view point on Railay Beach.

5. Okay, this was hands down the funniest thing I had seen in a while. While on Pranong Cave Beach, this pack of wild monkeys comes out of nowhere and completely ambushed these poor tourist's bags while they were swimming in the ocean. I had heard horror stories about this happening but never actually witnessed it before. Well, these monkeys were obviously very hungry. They would literally unzip backpacks, open purses, bite through plastic bottles, steal food, and then run into a tree and quickly eat it. Now I understand why they have to post signs about not feeding the monkeys. I think the funniest part was that everyone (including myself) was just standing around laughing and taking pictures of this happing instead of actually shoo-ing the monkeys away.

Photo Credit: Carlos Vera

6. After raving about his past experience in Vietnam, Andreas insisted I go with him to a Thai barber shop for an ear wax cleaning. The woman used these chopstick-like tools and managed to pull out quite a lot of gunk (gross!). I'm still convinced I can hear better now. The experience was kinda weird. I kinda liked it.

7. Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys. I think monkeys must have been a common theme of this week. Monkeys on the beach, monkeys on the street, monkeys eating chicken wings out of garbage cans. All very normal sitings in Thailand.