Tuesday 29th & Wednesday 30th January
I was planning to make a move up to Thailand later in
the day, so I got up, booked my bus ticket and checked out of the dorm. The bus
was due to leave Tanah Rata at 18.00, drive west to a town called Ipoh, and a
bus would pick us up there to bring us across the border to the southern Thai
town of Hatyai. So, I had a whole day to kill, and it presented the perfect
opportunity to update my journal, making the most of the hostels wi-fi service.
The rain poured down for quite a few hours in the
afternoon, so it was the ideal time to sit indoors, and there were few people
about the common room so it was nice and quiet (I could imagine the other
guests being out in the open, getting soaked through with the heavy downpour).
I made a move into the main street to get some food before the bus left. I got
talking to an English couple – Dave & Rachel – who were heading in the same
direction as me (the Thai coastal town of Krabi was to be out final
destination). They were good fun and had a lot of travelling stories, and I was
glad to have the company on this long trip.
We got to Ipoh at around 20.00, and were told the bus
that would take us across into Thailand to Hatyai would not leave until 01.00,
so we had the whole evening to kill. We found a decent hotel with a restaurant
and a bar, and we hung around there until just before midnight. The bus turned
up shortly after and we were pleased to see it was pretty comfortable, with
reclining seats and blankets provided. The coach set off at 01.15, and we were
told that we couldn't leave any earlier as the border didn't open up until
06.00.
We passed through the Malaysian and Thai border
control areas with no complications at all, and there were no real hold-ups. I
had got the impression that the Thai border police would be very strict, what
with the whole anti-drugs issue being so prominent. In the event, they were
probably the friendliest customs people I have come across, and were certainly
more human than the average cop or official that you get at these places, even
managing the odd smile and joke with some of us. We were over the Thai border
around 07.00, and had another hours drive to our destination of the town of
Hatyai.
Our bus onwards to Krabi – booked through the same
tour opertors we had bused with to Hatyai – left at 09.15 and we arrived in
Krabi at 13.30. The drivers in Thailand seem as mental as anywhere else, and I
look forward to a few more white knuckle rides durig my stay in Thailand.
However, the roads here are very good and there is not too much traffic, and
therefore fewer obstacles for the drivers to try and avoid here. I guess that
makes it a bit safer, then. The ride in the mini-bus was a silent one, we were
all completely knackered from the marathon trip and I, for one, could barely
keep my eyes open.
Once in Krabi, I said goodbye to Dave & Rachel,
promising to meet up over the following few days. I found a decent room in a
guesthouse on the Chao Fa Road in the main backpackers part of town, with a hot
shower and a TV providing a step up from the norm (with a higher price to pay
than what I had been used to paying in Malaysia). I cleaned myself up, had a
snooze, and handed over my laundry to be done as it was starting to stink my
bag out!
I took a walk about the immediate area, and saw that
it was alive with a lot of activity, centred on a large night food market,
where many stalls cooked up cheap but delicious food for locals and tourists
alike. I always find it fascinating to look at the cooks in action, and they're
just normal people cooking everyday food. An equivalent in Ireland would be to
see someone with a couple of pots on a cart, mashing spuds and grilling a few
chops by the side of the road.
I immediately liked the place, as it seemed that the
locals very much outnumbered the tourists, therefore giving it a more authentic
feel, while having enough going on to satisfy people who were looking for
something to do. It wasn't long before I was back in the guesthouse and crashed
out in front of the TV, and shortly after I conked out, worn out by the long
trip from Malaysia. After all I had heard about it, it was good to finally be
in Thailand.
