Our holiday spent in Krabi is one we’ll always remember. We arrived in Krabi by bus from Phuket a couple days before Christmas. The bungalow we stayed in was about a half an hour outside Ao Nang near a village of jelly fish fisherman on a cliff with the most beautiful view of the sea. From our patio we could see limestone peaks jetting out from the ocean surrounded by lush banana and rubber tree groves. At night the bungalow would fill with geckos, frogs and the occasional striped newt, all of which the bugs out of our house and provided great entertainment for us!
On our first day in town, Charlotte and I set out to explore our new neighborhood while Michael made use of the scooter at the property. We found a dirt path near our house and decided to see where it led. First we came across a mama cow grazing in the grass near the road with her calves. She looked perfectly serene to me but Charlotte was sure she was getting ready to charge us! After at least 10 minutes of coaxing, I finally convinced her to continue down the road with the promise that the old man who passed us carrying a machete would surly protect us should the cow charge. Another couple yards down we came upon a sea side village where we saw baby goats frolicking and chasing each other through the jungle jumping over low lying trees. We couldn’t believe how lucky we were to such an amazing sight until a couple of rowdy goats came close to us to investigate. Charlotte proceeded to LOSE her mind and start running and screaming back up the road. Well the goats (as well as the villagers I’m sure) thought this was the most fun they’d had in a long time and began chasing us up the road as Charlotte flailed and screamed her way back to the main road and I tried to calm her while also trying to scare off the goats. Got our exercise though!
Baw (the owner of the homestay) was kind enough to lend us his kayaks one day so we could check out the canyons and beaches across the bay. The trip across the bay was a challenge because it was a bit windy, but the reward of exploring the gorgeous canyon made it well worth the effort. The water was clear and the cliffs jetting up around us were covered in mangroves. As we moved deeper into the canyon we spotted a family of Gibbon monkeys on the cliff overhead. We were awed by the sight! So much so, that Trevor decided to stand up in the kayak to get a better view, which of course then capsized the boat sending he and Michael and all our snacks into the water! When they got their barring’s and managed to flip the boat back over we realized the whole village of monkeys had come out to enjoy the show we were giving them! The trip back was even harder than the one in as our muscles were getting pretty worn out, but we dug deep and managed to make it back to shore. The blisters and bruises were all worth it for a memory we’re sure to never forget.
Since we’re all now certified divers, and this was our last beach stay for a while, on Christmas Eve we headed out for a day of diving at Phi Phi island (pronounced pee pee island, which the kids thought was hilarious). This was the first time we all got to dive together and we had such a great day. We saw a giant sea turtle, more coral than I’ve ever seen, and practiced our skills at finding nudi branches and scorpion fish which are both great at camouflage. The crew on the boat all wore Santa hats making it feel festive, which is rare in a country that’s almost entirely Muslim or Buddhist.
Christmas morning we exchanged letters we’d secretly written to one another and spent the morning face timing with family watching them open the gifts we’d sent home. It was kinda nice doing Christmas without “things”. We missed all our holiday traditions and our family but we had a great Christmas none the less. I was worried about how the kids would do spending Christmas away from home and without receiving any gifts. They seemed to love the letters we’d written at least as much as any gift they ever received. Good lesson for us to keep in mind next year when we’re back to the hustle and bustle of holidays at home.
Leave a Reply