Highlight Reel: Thailand, Part 2

After my island adventure, I traveled to Krabi to stay at Bananas Bungalow. This was the first time I arrived to a destination at night, so I had pre-arranged the transportation with the resort owner, Olli. I took a taxi 30 minutes outside the city and arrived to be greeted by two Germans, Olli and Jenny (staff), and SEVEN dogs! They were mostly smaller chihuahua mixes with the exception of Pancake, who was a bit bigger. More on them later. 

There were a lot of accommodation options on the resort including private huts, but I opted for the dorm for budget reasons. I was officially the first guest of the season, so the first night was spent with Olli, Jenny and my seven new favorite dogs, getting to know each other and just shooting the shit. 

When I woke up the next morning I realized just how far in the jungle it really was. Monkeys raided the kitchen at night and stalked the end of the dock to torment the dogs. Geckos joined me for my showers. Spiders like the ones in Jumanji crawled past with no care in the world. Mini crabs created a wave-like sound as they traveled in packs across the low tide sand. 

More people arrived over the next few days including a guy from India and a cute couple from Ohio who were on their honeymoon. We all traveled together to do fun activities that Olli and Jenny helped coordinate. We took a kayak tour where we joined four Japanese girls from another resort who had never kayaked before. Our guide was Bao, a very large Thai man, who joined the girls in their kayaks. It rained for the first half of the tour but it only added to the awe of the scenery. We kayaked through the mangroves, saw trees and plant life that defied gravity growing on these islands, and eventually saw a crocodile in one of of the smaller passes. 

Later that night, a bunch of us split a cab to the night market in Krabi. This was my first night market experience in Thailand, so I was grateful to have Jenny there with me to show me the ropes. We sampled bites from all different vendors, ranging from squid to prawns to tofu... but it felt most poetic when we had crocodile! We nursed some Thai mojitos as we took food breaks to watch the entertainment on the stage, which included kids doing traditional Thai dances, older folks covering American songs, and finally the “lady boys” (drag queens) dancing and lip syncing their hearts out.

Later that week, the group of us took a private boat tour to three of the smaller islands around Krabi. The islands were beautiful and there were plenty of other boats with tours like ours. We snorkeled in the coves, had lunch on one of the islands, and marveled at the scenery.

The week passed in a perfectly slow, lazy blur. I read books, played with the dogs, took walks down the dock, got a massage, and enjoyed some company over the delicious meals and beers from Bananas. There were quiet moments as we watched heavy storms from the comfort of the covered areas. 

The only issue I had was with the monkeys. They were interesting to watch but they were also aggressive. I walked down the dock one morning with Pancake, the biggest dog, thinking the monkey at the end would scatter when I arrived. Instead, it growled and made ME retreat! Pancake was VERY unhelpful. I later learned that Susie, the older orange Pomeranian, was the ring leader and would drive the monkeys away. All you had to do was say, “Susie! Monkeys!” And she would take off running and barking, with the six other dogs in tow following her lead. It was hilarious. Those dogs - Pancake, Susie, Bao, Elvis, Rambo, JoJo and Meli - were well taken care of and provided entertainment all week.

I really enjoyed my time at Bananas Bungalows in Krabi. I met interesting people and had great conversations. It was just the right vibe I needed before heading to the city of Chiang Mai! 

A lot of people ask me how I find/choose the places I stay. I really liked most of Nomadic Matt’s recommendations, I do a lot of additional googling, and I read a lot of reviews on sites like Hostelworld. I look for affordability (hopefully with free breakfast or free beers at happy hour), helpful staff and clean facilities... and everything else is gravy.