Rishikesh, India to Krabi, Thailand is ~2000miles away as the crow flies. About the same distance between Philadelphia and Phoenix. I wasn’t planning on going to Thailand when I first scoped out this journey but flights from India were about the same anywhere in Asia so why not.
New pro tip: if you think you are going to miss your connecting flight in Asia, stay calm because you aren’t. I landed in Bangkok 45 mins before my connecting flight was departing and still had time to wait in the boarding line. My biggest regret on this trip is sprinting past every fast-food restaurant I’ve craved while attempting to make boarding. I’m glad I made my flight and arrived in Krabi after 30 hours of travel.
Krabi is a coastal town on the southern point of Thailand. It’s connected to many different islands including the one from the movie “The Beach”. It’s a beautiful place but it quickly became obvious it’s a vacation spot and not really a backpackers spot. Well not a long term backpackers spot. As soon as I landed it was as if I was just lighting my money on fire. The Thai Bhat is worth about double the Indian Rupee and the prices reflect that. It is also paradise, which built into the prices.
The hostel is nice but I’d say I am on the older side of its residents. Its fine but I just can’t relate to the topics at hand and to sound like a dick, they are boring. I want to figure out how to never work again opposed to dreading my first “real” job. The people are nice and we go out on a bar crawl. This was my first and last bar crawl because I am old which was confirmed by a multi-day hangover.
I started the first day late and took a long boat ride to some close by attractions. I certainly overpaid but it satisfied my requirement to feel accomplished for the day. One of the locations is known for caves and is recognizable in the distance by the large rock formation on the adjoining island. Once we arrived I was the entire population. I crawled around the caves through holes that left me feeling claustrophobic. The views were impressive and the playground of caves were fun the explore.
As I was venturing further into the island I heard some rustling in the leaves to my left. Figuring it was a bird or something I didn’t pay much attention. As I continued walking the leaves got louder and I realised it wasn’t a crunching of leaves but they were being swept away, like a slithering. Then I spotted him to my left just under a tree by a jetting rock face. I stood and locked eyes with a 5 foot long Asian water monitor. They look like a Komodo dragon but a bit smaller. I was so excited and got irresponsibly close to take some pictures.
As a kid I was obsessed with dinosaurs and Komodo dragons. I also wanted to be a pizza maker. My dream was to own a pizza shop and naturally the shop would be guarded not by dogs or cameras, but Komodo dragons. The pizza I would make would be so good, I couldn’t take security lightly. Maybe I’ll do it now and call it Komodo Joe’s.
Krabi did allow me the opportunity to eat meat once again and sample the delicacies of street food. The first thing I noticed in Krabi and Thailand in general, is how clean it is. The streets are free of litter, there are no strange smells, no one is actively hawking their goods, and it feels safe. I am not sure if it is driven by the comparison to India but I have no problem eating a meat skewer for 10¢ from a street grill. I also love Pad Thai, it’s so delicious. I found my favourite vendor who gave me my fix each evening at the night market.
Late that day at the dock I met some other travellers and we made plans for the next day to rent scooters and explore the natural parks of the island. We got up early and set off with a loose plan. It was a lovely day riding scooters from town to town and park to park. After hiking around a few waterfalls and making a couple stops for ice-cream we called it a day.
As I went to bed I was concerned about how little I had accomplished so far. I hadn’t even seen a beach nor done anything really worthwhile. It’s so easy to get caught up in the doing nothing life. I set my alarm for early and chose an island destination for the morning. I wanted a day to catch up on my book and relax in the sand. I also had been following a few Thai fishing resorts in Instagram. These resorts cater to fisherman from around the world and specialise in catching record breaking fish. Luckily one was close had a space open for me.
I woke up early and grabbed my boat. Spent the day debating where to go next and relaxing under the shade of a palm tree. It was the 28th and I didn’t know where to go for New Years. I wasn’t with anyone who I wanted to spend the holiday with and I felt pressure to make it a good one. About 8 hours north its Ko Pha Nang, an island famous for its full-moon parties. The full moon was 2 days after NYE. It sounded equally aggressive and awesome. All I knew is I wanted to get out of Krabi and onto something new. I figured there would be a migration of similar minded folks and booked a ticket to be apart of it. I finished the day confident of the plan for the following 72 hours.
Fishing started early with a shuttle to the resort. And by resort, I mean resort. Legend has it some British bloke had a master vision and made it a reality. An enormous man-made lake directly in the middle of the Thai jungle. Fishing cabanas line the shore occupied mostly by British fishermen. It was more like a spa for fishermen than a fishing hole but it was relaxing and across the lake some guy was pulling out the biggest fish I have ever seen. I was stoked and ready to get some Instagram likes. I settle into my spot at 8:30am, toss out a couple of lines, and eagerly wait. One hour passes, three hours pass, six hours pass with no bites on either of my lines. I am growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of action and the lack of control over the hunt. At least in fly fishing I can move locations or adjust my fly. This was more of a cast and wait situation. To add insult to injury the guy across the way had caught 5 in the same time frame.
In talking to my guide and other fisherman I discover the dirty secret sauce. Most of the other anglers were overnight guests, spending about a week or more at the resort. During the week they spend consecutive days baiting the water outside their cabanas, training the fish and luring them to their spot. Since I was only there for one day, it was likely I would only catch some sun.
We changed the bait and again, we waited. My guide was determined and I really appreciated his effort. He wanted me to catch one and was getting bored at the overall lack of action. The rods are placed on a stand to steady the lines and avoid spooking the fish. After another hour the line runs. It has been so long for a moment I forgot how to actually fish. The rod has the rigidity strength of rebar and the line could easily support a wrecking ball. Even after setting the drag the fish is sprinting and the rod is bent. Every time I reel a bit he runs twice as far. We can see he is clear on the other side of the lake and it will be a battle to get him back.
I fight for 35 mins and feel he is tired. I am not sure who is more tired, but I don’t have a hook in my mouth. Finally I see a huge flash of red. I have never seen red like that before on a fish. I can tell its big from the fight but this was my first glance at its scale. After a few more minutes he’s at the dock and we jump in the water to wrestle and net him.
It was easily 300kg and I lift it out of the water to long-arm it and take a pic. I am still getting used to the conversions so I might be off by a few kg 🤥. All is well that ends well and I was ecstatic to get one.
Another early morning and I am in the bus heading to Ko Pha Nang. I meet a few others on their way and we share our stories. Everyone is ecstatic and you can feel the excitement as we load the ~600 person ferry. The boat is rocking a bit as we load but determine is must be due to loading weight and not due to rough seas.
The boat departs the dock and I notice that workers are strategically placed every few aisles with plastic bags and smelling salts. I haven’t gotten sea sick before and am not worried, decided it must just be a precaution. No more than 30 mins into our 2.5 hour journey it goes downhill at free fall speed. Another 15 mins and everyone is seasick and crying. The boat is violently shaking and I realise the massive grab handles have a purpose. I ate some TimTam cookies and adverted my senses to the hell that was occurring around me. Finally it’s over and we arrive on the island.
I picked a hostel that was a little outside from the party beach in hopes I could relax during the day. Others had similar ideas but there was no confusion, we were all there to have a good time. We spent our days recovering by the pool and our nights partying with people from around the world at the famous Full-Moon beach. The beach was unlike anything I have seen before. 60,000 people in attendance and everyone having a good time. No one brings their phones just enough money to have a good time and get home. Everyone looses their original crew and new ones are formed within the crowd instantly. There was alcohol, dancing, and fire. It was a lovely time, an insane time, and I’ll tell better stories in person.
My favourite part of the experience, hands down, were the people I had met and bonded with at the hostel. We became a family with everyone genuinely interested in each others lives and well being. Sharing stories of our past and dreams for the future. We came from different corners of the world but staff and guests alike we were there experiencing what life had to offer.
I will never forget a guy I met from Libya who shared with me stories of his time as a rebel, fighting against Gaddafi. Contrary to popular belief, I have felt things before, and even had emotions. But honestly, I am not sure I have every felt as empathetic as I did during that conversation. I have never actually wanted to cry due to someone telling me anything before, his story changed that. One of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, sharing the circumstances of acquiring his first AK-47 and his motivation to pick it up. The thoughts, feelings, and emotions in that moment, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. His story isn’t mine to tell but he left an impact on me that I will never forget.
Following up my last post, I am left wondering, why he was so lucky to leave that hell? What did he do to be able to get out? What situations are in his future? I am sure he will have a great and positive impact whatever it is. I have to reflect again on my own life and be thankful how lucky I am. My perspective is evolving everyday. Who would have thought a perception like that could come from the number one party destination in SE Asia.
I arrived in Bangkok on the 5th and the rest of the crew from the hostel arrived the following day. I booked my travel first then seven others followed, we became a unit. I can’t say my time in Thailand was productive but I did get out to do some tourist things and made some great friends. I went on a tour of a few of the markets. Specifically the train market and the floating market. At one point both of these markets served a purpose for locals to trade goods. Now it’s more of a staged show for tourists. The train market less so than the floating market but there wasn’t much commerce at either.
Once the group from Treechart arrived we set out in preparation for our night out. It was a celebration and a send off which we had to do right. Through a series of inside jokes and one-off comments we decided on custom shirts and crocs. We would now be known as “Crocs-and-socks” and we were there to take Bangkok by storm.
If you have ever seen the movie The Beach, the movie starts with ole Leo at Khao San Road. Describing it as the crossroads of the backpackers universe. The movie makes it look terrifying; seedy, dangerous, and dirty. It’s certainly seedy with the ping-pong shows and lady boy prostitutes. But its cleaner than the 16th street mall in Denver and certainly feels safer. I’ll never forget the popping noise the pingpong show promotors made or the sound of tasers from sellers on the street.
Once we had our supplies for the night we headed off to start the night with bowling. It was a strange choice but it worked and we had a blast. The bowling ally was within the largest mall in Asia and to say we stuck out would be an understatement. The mall was filled with Bangkok’s well-todo enjoying a Saturday night of shopping and enjoying the best the city has to offer. After we spend the night dancing, eating scorpions, laughing, and enjoying our last night before we parted ways. We were a motley crew, eight westerners wearing crocs with socks, and a tank-top with one of their faces on it. There were a lot of looks and a fair amount of questions. I would love to see the Spotify search stats for “Crocs with socks” after that night. It was an amazing crew and hope to see everyone again, thankful our paths crossed.
Monday the 8th I left for Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and will work on getting my motorcycle. Plan is to spend 3 months heading north through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Buckle-up buckaroos, here we go.
I’d say this is my worst post so far and it’s ok to let me know. I am thankful for everyone who has reached out to tell me you are reading, it means a lot. I will also be writing about my preparation efforts and how to make your own trip a reality. If there is anything specifically you would like me to answer please don’t hesitate to ask.
-Joe
