Krabi (pronounced grab-BEE) is a great town, especially compared to Phuket, the only other big city I have visited. It is mainly a hub to get to other destinations around the area. Tourists would fly into Krabi then take a boat and/or bus to get to some exotic island nearby.
I was there to just hang out and use the area as a hub to get to some biking destinations and check out the local limestone formations and Buddhist temples. As mentioned previously, I checked out a wat with a golden Buddha some 600 meters and 1227 steps up. Another day, I took an island tour with the infamous "James Bond island". This island (picture forthcoming when I find a better computer/Internet shop) was used for a scene in The Man With The Golden Gun.
One thing I realized about the southern part of Thailand is that it isn't the biker haven that I am looking for. I'm using the bike, but only for transportation purposes. It gets me to a park, but the trails are not wide enough or friendly for a bike (meaning lotsa roots blocking the paths and very slippery sections). I can't wait to get out to the northern part of the country where I have confirmation of many bike trails of long distances.
I met a Thai who is creating his own organic farm. He's probably one of maybe a hundred (probably much less) people in the country doing this. He created his own organic fertilizer thru composting of plant matter in full-sized oil drums. It looks like black tar, but he claims it's organic and it works. He's growing bananas, guava, coconuts, chili peppers, papaya, tomatoes, star-fruit, basil and other herbs. I tasted the star fruit and it is much sweeter that ones I've tried in America (I think farmers have to pick them before it gets ripe so it won't spoil during the overseas transport to Whole Foods). The bananas were much sweeter than any I've tried in Thailand so far.
I got invited to hang with a group of Thais on a beach party/camping adventure. There were six Thais and three foreigners (me and a couple from Europe). Starting in the morning, we toured around the islands. The highlight was finding a lagoon that was knee-high deep in water. Many starfish were hanging out (picture forthcoming). Eventually we found the perfect beach to set camp.
The area was originally inhabited by a group that was turning the island into a swallow conservatory. They would actually shoot at any boat that would get near the beach (probably to prevent poachers from stealing the birds' nest for Chinese gourmands). But now, this area is free to the public and is still a best-kept secret. The beach is half a football field long and no more than ten meters deep. There's other land, too, but not much worth exploring. The water was blue, perhaps more blue than what I've seen in Phuket and Hawaii, and was shallow enough for me to get a little snorkelling in.
Lemme just say this. Thais know how to have a beach party. On the agenda was this: grilled pork and chicken with two types of dipping sauces, yellow curry chicken, Thai chicken soup, leafy vegetables in a coconut sauce, four types of fish (baracuda and grouper were the only ones I recognized) and blue-spotted stingray. The latter was new to me - the gills were the only thing consumable and the texture reminded me of a portabello mushroom and tasted like tuna. For refreshments, two cases of beer (though one was almost consumed during the tour), two bottles of Thai rum, Pepsi (there is a cola war in Thailand, too), club soda and tequila. By the end of the night everything was consumed except the tequila. Upon waking up in the morning, it was deemed necessary by others to finish that so we won't have to transport it back to land... mission not accomplished. Halfway thru the bottle it was agreed to stay another night.
Unfortunately, I couldn't be involved in round two. I was scheduled to meet Eric and Debbie in another town the next day.
