So it's been a couple days since I last posted. And what a couple days it was! So lets pick up from my last post, where I was going to the club with the ladyboy.

We hopped on her bike at midnite and went across town to the club. There were only Thai people there, which was pretty cool, because it was maybe my first real experience in Thailand that was off the tourist path. The club was cool, great sound system, video screens, lasers and everything. It was called Room 69 (I guess 69 is universal!). About ten minutes after we got in, about 15 smoking hot Thai girls lined up on the stage and around the dance floor in their bikini tops, fishnet stockings, short short skirts, even shorter pants, and basically skimpy anything. Now when travelling in Thailand, most of the women are... plain at best. They don't do themselves up particularly nicely or anything. But these girls were the Thai version of gyaru (google it for anyone who isn't Japan based), and they looked gooooood. Until that point in time, I really didn't think Thai girls were particularly good looking. But I discovered that they can be if they want to.

So we danced at the club, and the ladyboy introduced me to a whole lot of Thai people. It was pretty cool. Had I gone there alone, I think no one would have talked to me, but this way I got to say hello and meet a lot of really friendly people. Some people bought me a couple shooters, which was nice. I was also surprised that there is no smoking in the clubs here - everyone had to go outside, same as in Canada (and other countries of course).

So after the girls were done dancing on the stage, it switched to a live band playing Thai pop music. Everyone in the club knew the songs, and it was quite interesting watching everyone singing the songs together. If I had known the music, it probably would have been more interesting to me, but it was pretty interesting as it was.

At some point I slipped into the bathroom. At the same time, the other white guy (Dutch) in the club came in, and was using the urinal beside me. We were chatting, when all of a sudden I hear "massage?" behind me, and a wet towel was thrown on my neck, and I was being given a shoulder massage while I was peeing! Usually I'm not particularly into guys touching me while I'm peeing, but it was a pretty good massage, so hey, I couldn't complain! haha. I had to give the guy a 20 baht tip though. Then as I was washing my hands, another guy came and cracked my neck and my back, and that felt pretty good too! Another 20 baht though. The Dutch guy and I were laughing as we left the club about how strange of a bathroom experience that was.

So the live music ended, and we left, and the ladyboy wanted to give me a ride home on her bike. But I had been in the club drinking shots and beers with her, and well dying in Thailand is a quick way to ruin what was previously a fun trip, so I said I'd walk. Well it turns out that it's not just Canadians that get annoyed when you don't want to drive with them after they have been drinking, Thai ladyboys do as well! She wasn't impressed at all, and last I saw of her was her speeding off pissed off. I was happy to walk though - night time in a smaller town in Thailand with only the dogs and cats was pretty cool. Although 3-4 different people from the club stopped and offered me a ride while I was walking. Friendly people they are!

So the next morning, I dragged myself out of bed to go to Railay. I had originally intended to stay in Krabi another night, but fuck it - I'd heard good stuff about Railay, so I figured why not get there right away. So I packed up my stuff, and headed to the wharf to catch the long tail to Railay. Railay is actually a peninsula, but the mountains are so dramatic and crazy that the only way to get there is by longtail boat - the peninsula may as well be an island for how isolated it is.

I met 3 German girls and a French guy on the boat. They were all pretty nice, and had all been to Railay before. I asked them how it was and got 'meh, ,so so' as an answer. Well that sucked, I'd heard it was really nice.

Well we got to Railay, and it's the most beautiful place I have ever been anywhere. I have no idea what they were talking about, but it was absolutely amazing. Dramatic vertical cliffs, white sand beaches, blue ocean, crazy rock formations, overhangs, palm trees, everything you could ever ask for in a beach. Unfortunately it was also really, really expensive - for Thailand that is. I stayed one night in a pretty expensive hotel - cost me 2800 baht (7500 yen, USD$75 give or take). It was a nice little bungalow with air conditioning and a TV, so I was happy with it.

When renting the room, they asked me for my passport. That's when I realized that my passport was under the mattress of my bed in the last place I stayed! Oh shit! I was drunk when I got back from the club, and there was no one at the front desk to give my moneybelt to, so I had stashed it, and then forgotten it. The hotel let me use their phone and I called my previous hotel, and they went to my room and found my money belt. Whew, safe. But my credit card was in it, and well, I don't trust Thai people to not use it, so I right away called my credit card company to cancel my card. Cost me $10 for a 5 minute call, but for the peace of mind it was worth it. The only problem being that my credit card is/was my safety blanket as far as money was concerned - I was going to use it if I ran out of cash. All of a sudden I was on a strict budget!

After taking care of all this, I headed to the beach to meet the people I came over with on the boat. We had a good day chilling on the beach, swimming, and chatting. They were all nice folk, though maybe a little... reserved I guess. They were all only there for the day, so at 5:00 they caught the boat back to Krabi, but I stayed on at my bungalow. I went and had a bit of a nap, then got a massage, finally to head over to the restaurant to have some food.

There was British bloke sitting at the bar, so I sat down with him and we chatted. It turns out he was on his honeymoon, but his wife had gone to bed early, so he was out for a couple drinks. So we decided to go around and see what we could find. Well on the opposite side of the peninsula - the less expensive side - we found a bar that was pretty busy. They had a muai thai ring, and apparently there had been an exhibition fight earlier. They were playing games in the ring when we go there, which was good entertainment.

While we were sitting down, a single girl walked by, and the British guy started chatting with her and got her to sit with us. Her name was Carolina, and she was from Chile. She said she had to go soon because she wanted to get up early. So we grabbed a spot to sit down and chat, and she was a great chick. The British guy was pretty nice himself, though he had never been out of the UK before, and was staying in what I call 'Sterilized Thailand' - i.e. the resort area that caters to rich Europeans who are interested in the beach, but not interested in Thailand per se. So he - the Brit - had a really hard time understanding where the Chilean girl and I were coming from. Some of the ideas and the ways we thought were beyond his capability to comprehend - they just weren't in the range of 'how things are' for him, and since 'how things are' is 'all he knows', it was just too much. So there were a few uncomfortable moments in our conversation.

In the end he headed to bed about 2:00, but the Chilean girl and I sat around chatting until 4 am. She was a really nice girl, on a 1 year trip around everywhere and anywhere. Her English was pretty good, though there were a few points she had troubles communicating. Really nice girl though. But as I do, I parted paths with a 'good bye and travel safe', with nary an exchange of contact info, and never to see each other again. I don't bother with the pretentiousness of 'lets keep in contact' when I meet someone - I'd rather just enjoy the time I spend with them, and remember them over the years while I remember my time in Thailand.

The next morning I got up, packed my bags to leave Railay, and brought my bag to the front office. Then I walked out on the beach, looked around and thought to myself 'oh my god, I cannot leave this place'. It was just too beautiful. My original plan had been to go to Bangkok or somewhere along the way, but why? I was already where I wanted to be. So I decided to stay one more night in Railay, but at the neighboring 'backpackers beach' that I had been told about the previous night. I had to catch another longtail boat to get there. It wasn't far - I could actually see it from my beach, but there was just no way to get to it without going through the water. So I hopped on a longtail, and went over there. Well, this place was much, much better. It turns out this is 'the last back packers paradise in Thailand'. It's mostly newer than the most recent lonely planet, so not so many people know about it. I absolutely loved it. Where the previous beach had been 'sterilized Thailand', with pretentious Europeans who were not friendly, and staff who were even less friendly, this beach was 'Casual Thailand' where reggae bars are the norm, the staff is smoking pot like it's going out of style, and backpackers who have been there for 6 months are chilling on the beach. Ok, this is more my style right. And it was much, much cheaper. I spent 1000 baht and got myself a nicer bungalow than the previous night, for about 1/3 the price. And the location was amazing, right at the bottom of this cliff, a five minute walk from the beach.

This place is a climbers paradise. The general consensus is that Railay is in the top 5 climbing areas in the world, and I believe it. There are huge cliffs that start at the beach, and as such require no hiking to get to. Then you can jump in the ocean to cool off when you are done. Apparently there are more than 900 different climbs, from beginner extremely advanced. Such an amazing place.

So after checking in, I made my way to get a bite to eat (at a much more affordable price than the last place I stayed), and met a cool Scot named Donny. Nice guy. We chatted for a while, then I headed out to get a massage. I met up with him again after the massage, and we wandered up and down the beach, stopping for a drink at this bar and that bar, sometimes drinking in the bar, sometimes on the beach. It was great. The temperature was perfect, it was quiet, and just beautiful. I loved this place.

So the next morning, I got up, and went out on my balcony. I looked at the weather and thought to myself 'oh my god, I can't leave this place. I guess I'm not going to stay in Bangkok for long, because I'm not leaving here today either!'. So I went down to the front, and booked the room for another night. I then spent the day chilling out. There was a soccer tournament that had been going on for a couple days between all the bar staff at the different bars. Now I generally don't like watching sports, and I wasn't going to go, but you know, I was in Thailand, and this was the beautiful jungle, and hey, it's time to try new things. So I went and watched half the game (20 minute halves). It was cool - we are in the jungle with palm trees and stuff, and these Thai guys are playing soccer on a dirt field having a great time. What really made me laugh is that they have about 5 little guys, maybe about 8 years old, that go dig through the trees/bushes to get the balls when they go out of bounds. And the little guys love it, because they get to be part of the excitement. I had as good a time watching them as I did watching the game.

So later on I went back to The Chill-Out Bar, and had some more drinks with Donny. One drink turned into 5, and next thing I knew it was 2 AM. As I walked back to my room, I lamented that this absolutely had to be my last night there, I never wanted to leave. I know I will be going back - I have to. It's just too amazing of a place. A little slice of heaven in the world.

So this morning, I got up bright and early. Bangkok is a far, far journey from this little beach I was on. Two long tail boats just to get to the mainland, then I had to find out how to get to Bangkok from there. After getting into town, I hit a travel agent to discuss my options. I could have caught a really nice VIP bus to Bangkok from Krabi, but it was 13 hours overnight, and that's a waste of a whole night. It was 850 baht, and for 1850 baht, I can fly in one hour and 15 minutes. Well if I was here for a few weeks or a month, ya, I'd catch the bus. But I'm here for 8 days, and spending 13 hours on a bus just isn't worth it to me, so a plane ticket was in order. And $50 to fly across the country is a pretty good deal to me.

Then I went and picked up my money belt from the hotel where I had left it. Well, they had decided to appropriate 10 000 yen of the 20 000 yen I had in it. I didn't even bother complaining - for one, they wouldn't have done anything, two, it was my own fault, and three, I was just happy that they even left me the other 10 000 yen!

Then I caught a Sawngthaew to the airport. I got ripped off though - the guy told me 20 baht when I got on, then all of a sudden it was 200 baht when I got off. I told him to fuck off, spit on the money, and threw it at him. I wasn't impressed. It's not even like 200 baht is a lot of money - it was the principal of it. I confirmed 20 baht with him getting on, and that's what I expected to pay.

So here I am in the airport, burning time until my flight. I leave in 50 minutes, and will be heading to Bangkok. What will happen tonight? I don't know, but I'm soon to see!