On
Tuesday our driver picked us up and took us to the Batu Caves and
Kanching Waterfalls. Batu Caves are a famous Hindu shrine that every
year (in late January, early February) during Thaipusam, about a million
people visit to participate or witness the masochistic displays of
devotees. The caves were impressive, however also very dirty (and
stinky) as this event took place a few days prior to our visit. Due
to the festival, we were unable to view all of the cave. Laura reports
her previous visit was a completely different experience, much cleaner
and much less crowded.. But the Batu Caves were still very cool and
their scale is very impressive, especially the 141 ft (or 43 meters)
Murga statue, which is the highest in the world!
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| Group shot at the Batu Caves |
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| Holding Birds at the Kanching Waterfalls |
Our
driver took us to visit the Kanching Waterfalls next. It was very
lovely to be out in nature compared to the smoggy city, and we enjoyed
our hike. Unfortunately we all got a little uneasy when we set up camp
and about 20 monkeys surrounded us...then we went back down to a more
populated area. Laura being very sick, had been left behind on the trail
and had a close call where she was cornered by about 5 monkeys.
Thankfully she quickly ran off to catch up with us, and we all stuck
close together for the rest of the trip.
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| Lucas scaring off all the monkeys with a stick! |
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| Laura and Alexis |
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| Self Timer - JUST IN TIME! |
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| All the ladies! |
We
had our driver drop us off at a mall on the outskirts of KL for some
famously delicious dim sum, then had a relaxed afternoon planning the next part our trip (Thanks Malco and Lucas for all your help!), packing and hanging out in the courtyard of our hostel.
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| Last night in KL - Struggle Cityyy |
The
next morning we woke up early (6am!) and caught a (terrifying) cab ride
to the airport. Tearful goodbyes had by all to the Brazilians and we
boarded our plane to Thailand at 12:40pm. With an hour time change, we arrived in Phuket, Thailand at 1:00pm.
Customs was painless (they didn't even scan our bags) and we got a cab
to catch a bus to take us to Krabi. Our cab drivers car was blocked in
and he literally pushed the cars out of the way (?) it was ridiculous. 2
mins after we were dropped off at the bus station, our bus arrived.
Hungry and thirsty, we were shuffled on for our four hour ride.
Unfortunately,
early that morning while moving her pack Alexis had a back spasm. In
true Richards form, she ignored it..only making it worse by moving her
pack multiple times. By the time she lifted it from the cab (about the
6th time) something definitely was wrong. The whole situation only made
worse by the fact that earlier that day she proudly stated, "I'm getting
so strong! Carrying my pack is getting much easier!" Alexis was unable
to lift her pack and practically in tears, the bus had no more rooms for
storage underneath, so Laura carried it on the bus more or less
assaulting the other passengers. Mind you, Laura is also deathly ill -
practically deaf in one ear and not feeling great (although is quite a
trooper). Thankfully Kerri has finally made a full recovery - but it was
definitely struggle cityyy.
Our
bus arrived in Krabi, we took a cab to the cute Pak-Up hostel, had some
delicious dinner and then went to the pharmacy and got Alexis some $1
USD muscle relaxers. Needless to say she took the night easy. Kerri and
Laura scoped out Krabi Town and enjoyed a cold Chang beer.
The
next morning Alexis was feeling better and we all spent the day being
productive! Planned and booked some things, laundry, massage (1 hour for
$10 USD) and pedi/mani ($10 total) - it was a nice and relaxing day.
Krabi has really knocked it out of the park concerning cuisine. We are
all also very thankful for the change of menu options - super sick of
fried rice and fried noodle! That night we explored the night markets
and had some awesome spicy food and a Thai pancake which is similar to a
fried crepe (or roti) that was covered in Nutella, peanut butter,
coconut and banana - and condensed milk (fat kids!!). Alexis may or may not have had
Nutella all over her face....
Friday morning we
woke up early and caught a boat to Railay Island. Absolutely beautiful!
We spent the day lounging and exploring the island. We tried to catch a
different boat back in the afternoon where not only were we the only
white people on the boat (with about 30 Chinese people) we were also the
only three people not wearing a life jacket. Finally on our way back to
Krabi, a Thai guy about our age, Red, chatted us up about our traveling
and where to party in Krabi. He was vert sweet until he offered to take
us to his house, asked if we liked ladyboys and asked if we did Ice.
#Strugglecityyy.
That
evening we made friends with Jamie from Scotland who introduced us to
his friends, Sarah and Ben from England (check Ben's awesome blog!!). The five of us had an assorted dinner at the night markets and enjoyed a few beers, swapping stories
and having fun! We look forward to seeing them again!
Krabi has been great, although we are still not feeling 100% we are heading to Koh Lanta tomorrow!
Xoxo,
StruggleCityyy
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