Our first full day in Krabi Beach, Thailand

I want to sleep beneath Peaceful skies in my lover’s bed With a wide open country in my eyes And these romantic dreams in my head – Bruce Springsteen, No Surrender

We were surprised to be wide awake at 4am, and it wasn’t our little girl’s fault. We were very excited to be in Krabi Beach, Thailand and eager to continue yet another great, romantic adventure. I went for a run with Laurent Delattre, a French friend, that started down the beach but eventually ended up on the coastal road, running until the road changed from asphalt to hardpack, and then to mud. We ran through a muslim village and were greeted by everyone along the way, without fail, with sa-wa-dee krab (from the men) and sa-wa-dee kah (from the women), the Thai version of hello. The thick air made breathing harder but the tropical scenery was beautiful and invigorating. Nothing beats a short night of sleep better than a great long run.

Reaching the islands

First at the pool after breakfast, we asked around and found a small shack on the beach that advertised trips to the offshore islands, the very distinctive, cliff-sided spikes of land out in the bay. For 2000 Thai baht (about $66), we hired a boat to take us to Hong Island, one of the larger and more interesting islands with a beautiful lagoon that was only 30 minutes away.

The trip across the water in a traditional Thai wooden boat turned out to be a fun experience, probably more so than the island itself, which is a popular destination and had a steady parade of boats like ours and kayaks through the smallish lagoon. We’re definitely more used to finding out-of-the-way places and doing things that go beyond sitting on a beach with asian tourists wearing life jackets in three feet of water and taking group photos with “selfie sticks.” That’s just not our thing.

More interesting, though, is the traditional boat for moving passengers that’s called the long tail boat in English, or ruea hang yao in Thai. It has a canopy to protect passengers from the sun and the driver stands on a small deck in the back. He operate a small car engine connected directly to a drive shaft that extends about six meters behind the boat and directly connects to a naked propeller. The driver can swing the shaft a full 180 degrees and maneuver the boat, but I cringe to think of using this kind of drive system anywhere near swimmers or wildlife. Our favorite comment of the day as we returned to the boat later was, “Which one is our driver?” and the answer, “I don’t know, I only saw his feet.”

Zee Germans

In what had to be the strangest moment of the day, our driver took us to the beach on the far side of Koh Hong, only to spot large movie set lights and a barge with very modern trucks sitting offshore. It turned out to be a full filming crew for a German reality TV show. In the middle of the Andaman Sea, off the shore of Southern Thailand, here was a fully modern move set several thousand miles from home. As we walked closer, we could hear music and then the singers performing for a panel of judges sitting in chairs at a long table.

We had found the set of Deutschland sucht den SuperStar (Germany is looking for a superstar), the teutonic version of American Idol. There were Germans with walkie talkies everywhere and scores of Thai men hustling around with cases of soda, trays of salads, mic stands, cameras, lights and everything else required of an LA-style filming, just set on an exotic island. This must be what Survivor looks like behind the cameras, and in fact, that what’s we thought we might be seeing as we approached the island.

Back to Krabi Beach We spent some time amongst the tourists before heading back to Krabi. From that point on it was pure relaxation at the pool, something we don’t do often or particularly well. Thunderstorms were building over land and we kept waiting for the rainstorm that never developed. Dinner was across the road from the resort at a Thai restaurant that provided a great meal at a fraction of the resort’s prices (win!).

Thailand is beautiful but to have the fun we’re used to will require finding out-of-the-way places and leaving the crowds behind. Tomorrow’s a new day and we’ll be looking. There’s not much that’s romantic about crowded lagoons, German reality TV or hoards of tourists with selfie sticks…