The Life and Times of Jenna Loeser.: Southern Thailand bound!

Derek and Liz Early arrived in Bangkok on Monday this past week and it was so wonderful to see the familiar faces of old friends! I hadn't seen Derek since a friend's wedding two years ago. After they got settled into the hostel, I showed them how to ride the sky train and we went to the mall to eat lunch! Unfortunately I had to leave them a few hours later to catch the overnight train to Krabi (southern Thailand). They planned to fly down the next day, so I would see them again soon enough!

Needless to say, the overnight train experience was terrifying. I've taken over 6 overnight trains now, and none of them came even close to this in terms of quality. It was as if the train was being driven by someone on speed.....and I wanted to ask someone for a seat belt. At one point during the night, the train was moving so fast that my entire body rose into the air and then slammed back down on my bed. I was on the verge of vomiting but I managed to calm myself down. It was a really scary experience, and not to sound dramatic but, I honestly considered the possibility of that train ride ending in a fiery crash :(

I finally arrived in Krabi Ao Nang some 20 hours later....and went straight for the shower. The hostel we chose to stay at had falsely advertised the accommodations and I soon came to find that my room had only a fan and cold water. I'm not complaining about the cold water because it is balls hot outside, but it was going to be a rough night with only a fan to keep me cool. Rude! So, after that, Liz Derek and I head to the beach to find that the water is murky and really warm (yuck). Within minutes of Derek getting into the water, he gets stung by a jelly fish. We were all disappointed in the beach, as we were hoping to find clear blue water. It started to rain so we all decided to get massages. I am going to miss being able to get an hour oil massage for $3.00. That night over dinner, we came to an agreement that there was nothing special about Krabi Ao Nang and we'd rather spend out limited days together elsewhere (hopefully somewhere with clear blue water). Through suggestions from friends who had previously been to Thailand, we decided on Railay beach, and with the help of a travel agent, we got a deal on a room at a nice hotel in Railay.

The search for a desktop background beach continues...