Time for a bit of a blog catch up!
To Krabi and Beyond!

So, when the minibus arrives to collect us from Papillon, we are glad to see it looks relatively modern. On closer inspection...it looks to be full already. More fool us! Of course it is possible to squeeze more people in there. Once our backpacks are safely stowed, resting on other passengers feet nonetheless, we are then directed to hop in the front and sit with the driver. Great – this will be nice and cosy! So, the driver clearly knows how to look after number one. Primarily – by ensuring all air vents in the front are pointing directly at him! Why would his lowly passengers need any sort of ventilation in this insane heat?? I soon work on correcting this scenario. When he hops out to squeeze the next passenger in, i inconspicuously readjust the air vents....Very slyly done, even if I do say so myself. After 3 more people (and we thought there wasn’t space for us 2!) are slotted into non-existent spaces and their luggage held in place with a rather complex system of straps we are off on our way! And what a beautiful way it is! The scenery becomes more and more breathtaking, as the forests stretch out as far as we can see, all magnificent shades of lush green, and out in these uninhabited parts – not a single piece of rubbish in sight. THIS is how it should look!

We soon realise that sitting in the front really isn’t that great...for one, the engine is right under our seats. As much as i have wished for it back in the uk, I certainly don’t need heated seating now! Secondly, as my daypack is nestled between my feet, my range of movement is approximately 1 and a half inches in either direction...not great for the old circulation. Andy also seems to have numerous newspapers wrapped around his feet...nothing like keeping a spotless vehicle! And thirdly, I am conscious of keeping my right knee at an awkward 45 degree angle AWAY from our driver so as not to interfere with his gear changing (and also not wanting to double up as an arm rest) The silver lining (and I am struggling to find one...) would have to be that at least we can see where we’re going. The poor folks behind us have the stack of luggage reaching from floor to ceiling obscuring their view.

For the duration of the trip, we cross 3 rivers on large barge type boats...so there is no escape from our vehicle. We are extremely relived to reach Krabi town and finally stretch our legs! A very friendly tour operator pounces on us as soon as our feet touch the pavement, immediately asking us where we are staying. Preparing ourselves to turn down any offers she tries to pose to us, we’re surprised to find she just cheerily gives directions to our hotel and wanders away. There is a first for everything!

Only real plan for Krabi is to visit the immigration office. As we were granted a 30 day visa exemption on our entrance at Phuket....we require an additional 4 days and understand the immigration office can grant this (for a small fortune, annoyingly) All very straight forward. Initially the immigration office worker advises us to simply overstay our visa exemption and pay the fine at the airport. This makes no sense for 2 reasons. 1) This will cost us MORE than paying for the extension (which undoubtedly causes him paperwork, hence him trying to discourage us) and 2) We understand from our extensive research, that if you are caught overstaying your visa conditions, the thai police do NOT look upon this favourably and take a very stern line. We know this is unlikely to happen, but stranger things have occurred. After our insistence that we would like the extension...within 15 minutes we are finished and able to put our minds at rest!

Having expected the visa arrangements to take longer, we hadn’t really counted on having spare time in Krabi. Whilst having lunch at a nearby guesthouse we stumble upon a brochure for “Ya’s Cookery School.” We had intended on doing a Thai cooking course at some point and decided to strike while the iron (or more suitably, the wok) was hot! We would be collected at 12.15pm the following day for our class – we can’t wait!
We didn’t really have high expectations for Krabi as all the guide books we had read simply referred to it as a “hopping off point” for the surrounding islands, and suggested it wasn’t worth a stay. We beg to differ! Granted it is small, and perhaps doesn’t have a great deal to offer, but it has a wonderful laid back atmosphere. A good mix of small scale guesthouses, a large food market, and outdoor stalls selling local delicacies – just a nice, easygoing place.

As promised, the tuk tuk for the cooking school arrived promptly and we were surprised to later discover it was actually Ya driving! Already on board were a young couple with their gorgeous little girl. After a couple more stops we are joined by a mother and daughter from Canada (although the mother had a distinctly Irish accent, which I of course asked about and she denied any links with Ireland. Bizarre!) and another chap on his own. After dropping off the mother with the young girl for some beach time, whilst her husband attended the class, we were well on our way to the cooking school. We first made our way out of Krabi Town, then onto the beach resort of Ao Nang. We were beginning to like Krabi more and more! Ao Nang has all the typical “beachside resort” offerings – many shops, bars and restaurants and a lovely beach but on a smaller scale. Moving away from the beach and towards a more forested area, we finally reach the cooking school! In a lovely rural location, away from any hustle and bustle.

The cooking class is brilliant fun! Ya is completely bonkers, but also a fantastic cook and teacher! Although her English isn’t amazing, she manages to use humour perfectly, which is a mean feat when you have a class of multi-nationals. We learn about different types of vegetables and spices and our first task is preparing an assortment of them. Ya’s use of “Bang Bang” (meaning: “ whack it with the rolling pin”) and “chuck chuck” (meaning: “one shake of the sauce bottle”) instructions are hilarious, and she soon has us all using such directions. If a stranger was to stumble into this class, I’m sure they would assume we were all a little crazy with our random outbursts of “yeah! Bang bang!” and “5 chuck chucks! 5 chuck chucks!” They really are the best, down to earth, plain English directions though! It is not long before we are tackling a Pad Thai dish (traditional thai style fried noodles with veg, egg and a meat of choice). Great fun! We also make (or should that be, attempt to?) a curry each. I choose my favourite green curry and Andy goes for the hotter variety of Penang Curry, using the pestle and mortar to grind ingredients for the curry paste causes much entertainment – yep you guessed it, lots and lots of “bang bang” instructions. Next we move onto soups and stir fries (coconut milk soup (Tom Kar Kai) for Andy and chicken and holy basil stir fry for me) and finally I help with making a papaya salad while Andy tackles stir fried morning glory. Once all the dishes are laid out ready to dig into, it looks pretty impressive! We have had such a great time with our group, following Ya’s expertise. Also her two assistants are great at guiding everyone, but also having a giggle at our expense! We would definitely recommend the class to anyone who visits Krabi. We are on a culinary high on leaving the school, armed with our recipe books (and Andy with his additional book, at having sweet talked Ya into giving him one with our now-favourite Massaman Curry recipe in) There is much talk of our optimistic plans to rustle up such dishes on our return home..hmmm..we’ll just have to wait and see if we actually follow through!

We’re pleased with how we’ve made use of our time in Krabi, next on the agenda...the fairly long trip across to Koh Samui! We will be taking a coach to Surat Thani and then a ferry from there to Koh Samui....