A day of complete indecision.
More rain must have fallen in the last twelve hours in Railay than in the whole of Saudi in the last two years. It was actually fine when I went out for breakfast - a ten minute window of opportunity that allowed me to get down to the restaurant. Then it started again. I had to move to the very centre of the restaurant just to remain dry and even then I was catching the spray. With my ferry booked for 9.30 I didn’t have anything else to do so I just sat and waited two hours for it to stop. It did, just in time and just long enough for me to go and collect my bags, check out and walk to the ferry terminal.
The tide was out, so peversely I had to wade out to the long tailed boat. I had prepared for the eventuality. In my minds eye I had a startlingly clear image of my tumbling form, slipping on a hidden rock or stepping into an unexpectedly deep pool, collapsing onto all fours, festooned with luggage, computer and cameras. This had led to the systematic collection of polythene bags over the preceding week, modern talismans protecting the delicate and ensuring their safe passage.
It started raining as soon as I was in the boat. As I was the only passenger I covered everything, including myself, with life jackets - against both the rain and the spray.
I don’t understand the pricing system here. A long tailed boat from Railay to the port normally costs B50 - but they will only go when they have 8 passengers - so the real fare must be B400. From the port to Krabi by taxi is B400 - a journey of about 20 minutes. Yet my ticket from Railay (which, by the way is not an island, just an inaccessible promontory) to Sungai Golok on the Malaysian border was only B400 and I was the only one in the long tailed boat. And that is a journey of over 8 hours.
More rain must have fallen in the last twelve hours in Railay than in the whole of Saudi in the last two years. It was actually fine when I went out for breakfast - a ten minute window of opportunity that allowed me to get down to the restaurant. Then it started again. I had to move to the very centre of the restaurant just to remain dry and even then I was catching the spray. With my ferry booked for 9.30 I didn’t have anything else to do so I just sat and waited two hours for it to stop. It did, just in time and just long enough for me to go and collect my bags, check out and walk to the ferry terminal.
The tide was out, so peversely I had to wade out to the long tailed boat. I had prepared for the eventuality. In my minds eye I had a startlingly clear image of my tumbling form, slipping on a hidden rock or stepping into an unexpectedly deep pool, collapsing onto all fours, festooned with luggage, computer and cameras. This had led to the systematic collection of polythene bags over the preceding week, modern talismans protecting the delicate and ensuring their safe passage.
It started raining as soon as I was in the boat. As I was the only passenger I covered everything, including myself, with life jackets - against both the rain and the spray.
I don’t understand the pricing system here. A long tailed boat from Railay to the port normally costs B50 - but they will only go when they have 8 passengers - so the real fare must be B400. From the port to Krabi by taxi is B400 - a journey of about 20 minutes. Yet my ticket from Railay (which, by the way is not an island, just an inaccessible promontory) to Sungai Golok on the Malaysian border was only B400 and I was the only one in the long tailed boat. And that is a journey of over 8 hours.
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