On Friday, in the morning Janella and I taught at Thuang Luang Childcare. The kids were preschool age, and they were pretty much the cutest things ever. We had an hour and a half for teaching and pretty much nothing prepared. We sang many a song, including "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "5 Little Monkeys," and our revised version which we called "Teacher Wants Me For A Sunbeam." We felt it inappropriate to teach Buddhist children a Christian song, but it would've been cool. We had them color--those kids can color indefinitely. Each one would come up with their coloring, wai, and say "khop khun ka." So adorable. Then we played games: Red Light, Green Light; What Time is it, Mr. Wolf; Duck Duck Goose, etc. Good times with those kids. They really were so cute.
After that, we headed back to Mirror for a quick lunch (and a quick pack-up) and then headed back to Namlad School to teach 4th graders about numbers. That went fine. There were quite a few of us there, so I really didn't do much. The kids got crazy when we had them do a competing game. They were sooo loud. Joe (from Reading, England) taught them "1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock Rock," and it was too funny watchings the kids trying to rock.
Then, the songthaew man kindly took us straight to Boon Bun Dan. We got our room ($3/night), went to eat at Ti Amo (predictable, yes), took a nap, and then headed to the little fair we had heard about. We walked around and saw the shops (most of them were hilltribe crafts) and watched some performances. Those were interesting/funny. I recorded a bit which I'll have to post sometime when I have more time.
Saturday morning we got up bright and early to head to the border. We took a 7:30 bus to the border of Burma/Myanmar. We needed to leave Thailand so that we don't become illegal tourists. Our tourist visa only lasts 30 days. So, we got there, paid them 500baht, and shopped around in Burma at Tachilek Market. That market is chalk full of namebrand stuff for extremely cheap. I mean namebrand like LaCoste, Prada, Luis Vuitton, etc. I also got some DVDs for $1 each. Sweet. There were people accosting us left and right, trying to sell us huge cartons of Marlboro cigarettes for 40baht. That price is RIDICULOUS. But it was pretty annoying to have everyone trying to sell us those. We kept saying, "We don't smoke." One man heard me say it and then said, "Smoking pretty." Uhhh hahaha definitely not. Anyway, we headed back into Thailand, checked out some shops on the Mae Sai side of the border and then got a bus back to Chiang Rai. It poured on our way back--about an hour and 15 minute drive.
We ate very quickly at Ti Amo and then got a songthaew to take us to the airport. Our flight was at 4:25, and we got to Bangkok around 5:45. At Don Mueang Airport, we tried to get a taxi to the Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal--the man in charge of getting people taxis told us 1000 baht. Uh yeah right. Luckily the actual taxi driver said 350. We made it to the bus terminal and bought our VIP tickets for the 7:30 night bus to Krabi. It was $30. VIP was sweet. Tons of leg room, seats that reclined far back, and a bunch of snacks. We stopped at midnight somewhere--squat toilets and a little snack--before heading on. We slept most of the ride. It was a really pleasant ride. Highly recommend the VIP route.
We got into Krabi around 6:45 and took a taxi to our hostel--AoNong Grand Inn Hotel. $6 a night, up the street from the beach, A/C, two beds, private bath. Perfect. Seriously, what a steal! Plus, he let us check into our room at 8 o'clock in the morning rather than 1 in the afternoon.
So...today. We went down to the beach to check it out. Beautiful--there are amazing, limestone cliffs all around, even one right out in the water. The water is sea green and beautiful. When we were arriving, it was raining pretty hard, and the forecast didn't look too promising. However, the sun came out, and it was amazing. We were both just so excited to be here at the beach. We got up to our waists in the water--the water is nice and warm. The beach is covered in little tiny seashells. It's gorgeous.
Anyway, after showering, we got into our beach gear and headed out again. It was so nice to be in the water, beautiful palm trees around. Also, lots of people trying to sell things--bracelets and massages mostly. They really don't let up. We had the same lady come up to us atleast 4 times, asking us to get a massage at her place. She even gave us some free pineapple as an incentive.
We went and got lunch at a nice place that was pretty cheap. Everything's more expensive down here. Food is way pricier. We went into McDonald's (right across from our place, as is Sev, Pizza Co, and Swensen's lol) and we went right back out after seeing the prices. They were almost double the prices in Chiang Rai and Bangkok.
After lunch, we headed back to the beach. I promise I put on sunscreen, Mom lol. Then I wanted to check out an area down the beach from where we were. We walked the beach and came to an area with a small pool of water with a small stream leading to the ocean. There was a bridge and some treacherous-looking steps up into the hill. It was called the Monkey Trail, and we took it. It lead to another beach--a hotel resort area--very nice beach. We decided to swim there :) We stayed there for quite awhile, until I got stung. Yep, stung. You heard me. It was a big surprise...and yeah, it hurt. But mostly, I just didn't want whatever it was touching me again--I hate knowing there are weird creatures in the water that I can't see. So we got out. And then the area on my foot where I got stung started getting puffy and red. It hurt for a bit, but it got better after awhile. We went on the dock--super strange dock, by the way. It was like they stuck a bunch of big legos together. It hurt to walk on, and it was like an obstacle course. We probably looked drunk since you just can't walk straight on those things.
After chilling there for a bit, we headed back to our place, showered and got ready, then caught a songthaew to Tesco/Lotus in Krabi. It actually took forever to get there lol. And the driver was insane. That was a crazy ride. But we got there. We got some stuff at Tesco--food for this week and some floaty beds for the water :)--and then caught a songthaew to Krabi town and another one from there to AoNong. Another crazy ride. Those drivers seriously drive like maniacs.
So...that was our first day here in Krabi. Tomorrow, we're headed on a day-trip to the Phi Phi Islands. 8:30-4:30. Pretty much it'll be amazing. I'm already burned--suck lol. But I'll be equipped with my sunscreen (SPF 50 lol) tomorrow. Woohoo! Can't wait. This next 10 days will be beautiful. It's paradise here. I love Thailand.
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