A vacation from my vacation - Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand

II sort of wanted to come home today.

There are always those points when you are backpacking that you think you are just totally over it. Having a nasty cold, not sleeping, waking up at 5:30 am for a 10 hour travel day by minibus, then bus, then ferry, then bus, and another bus, then another minibus, you just feel done. The dirty, diesel buses. The squatter toilets with pee everywhere, filled to the brim with throw up or other disgusting bodily fluid. Eating sketchy food at road side holes in the wall where buses or ferries drop you off. Sometimes, you are just DONE. Fortunately, for the most part, these feelings tend to dissipate pretty quickly once you arrive at your destination, which was of course the case today. It is just sometimes nice to vent about how freaking exhausting and trying backpacking can often be. The challenges you face and overcome, getting to see really how people live in the countries you are visiting, and feeling, well, just more alive by living through the nitty gritty, are of course why you do it. The adventures, the stories, that's what makes me want to keep doing it, even if sometimes, it really sucks. We are of course so fortunate to be able to do this as well, only a small percentage of people in the world have the luxury to travel. 

Today we arrived in Ao Nang, a small, touristy beach town, 30 mins from Krabi on the west coast of Thailand. It is very busy here, which made it hard for us to find a place to stay. We ended up splurging on a hotel, rather than stay at a dump for a few less dollars, and thoroughly enjoyed recovering from the travel day at their pool. Ao Nang, and Thailand in general, has amazing rugged limestone cliffs and this particular town overlooks these awesome, jagged islands. Other than the hotel, things are a lot cheaper here than the islands so I have already begun my shopping spree. I'm thankful Geoff has an extra bag with only his skateboard in it, so have plenty of room to stock up on touristy crap :)

I've attached some photos from today. Thanks for those who have left comments on the blog, nice to know someone is reading it. Keep remembering that it's getting lighter everyday in Vancouver, the end of the winter is in sight!

Love and peace,

Jess