ko phi phi

Woke up this morning, checked out of my Krabi hotel and had absolutely nowhere to go.

I had tried to book a hotel on the internet the previous night on the nearby island of Ko Phi Phi, but no confirmation had come through and I was basically stranded. Eventually I tracked down a phone number for where I wanted to stay and just rang them to make the arrangements. Quite why I didn't do this in the first place, I have no idea.

I liked Krabi, but not its nightlife. As it's the low season, there are fewer tourists and this subsequently makes the locals even more desperate for your trade. I couldn't walk for five seconds without someone asking if I wanted to come into their restaurant, jump into a taxi or hire a bloody motorbike. And if I did venture into some of the better looking bars, a plethora of Thai girls would swarm around me and try to make conversation. Even when it became obvious I wasn't that interested in having a pointless chat in broken English with them, they would then suggest playing a game like Connect 4 or something. It was easier just to drink in my hotel room.

Despite some of the annoyances, this is a beautiful part of the world and the people are very nice. They are just dependant on you to make a living. Last night while in an internet cafe I witnessed some appalling racial abuse aimed at the local owner by an English guy who decided to take issue with being charged an insignificant amount of money for something trivial like printing a document. Egged on by his mate, he shouted until the Thai guy relented and waived the 20 baht charge (20 bahts is roughly 30p). As they left, the poor guy was subjected to various insults starting with the word 'black' and ending with other words such as those used to describe somebody without a father. It was disgraceful. I felt guilty for not saying anything, and it is at times like this I really wish I was hard as nails, could beat people like that up and then leave a little calling card in their pocket informing them they'd just been done over by a poof. Unfortunately I haven't had a fight since I was 14 and don't think I would have come out of it looking my best.

Anyway, anyway, I got the boat over to Phi Phi this afternoon. This is a stunningly beautiful island, and I am looking forward to a few days of total relaxation...