First Week in Krabi

Claire and I arrived in Krabi on Sunday evening after a short stopover in Phuket. From what I can tell so far, Krabi town is small, but it is nice and not too touristy. The town is very walkable, and it has some small shops, many 7-eleven's, and several good restaurants and bars. I'm really enjoying most of the traditional Thai food, and I'm slowly trying to venture out from the basic fried rice and pad thai.

Claire and I are living in the Openmind volunteer house in Krabi with 2 other volunteers. Although the house is small, it is nicer than I had expected. Claire and I share one large mattress in the one bedroom of the house, and the other volunteers sleep on bamboo beds in the living room. We don't have AC, but we do have several fans, so it hasn't been too bad at night. The worst part about the house is the bugs. There are bugs everywhere, mainly ants, and they are in our food, our beds, even in my computer. It will take some getting used to!

Claire and I teach English at a predominantly Muslim primary school in a small village about 20 minutes outside of Krabi town. We teach kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, and Claire and I are completely on our own in the classroom, without a teacher there to help translate or discipline the kids, which they desperately need. The kids are so sweet and friendly, but they can be hard to control and it's been difficult to try to teach English to students so young. It will be a learning experience for all of us!

This afternoon Claire and I went to Wat Tham Seu (Tiger Cave Temple), which is one of Krabi's most famous and unique attractions. We climbed the 1237 steps up to the top - probably one of the hardest things I've done in my life. At the peak, we were rewarded with great views of the area looking out to the sea and gilded Buddha statues. The walk down was less difficult, although I fell at one of the steepest parts and slid down several steps, but luckily Claire caught me or else I would have continued on down. This should be no surprise to those who know me well!

This weekend, all the volunteers in Krabi are taking a trip to a nearby beach called Railay, which is most famous for its rockclimbing. I haven't had any beach time yet, so I'm looking forward to a relaxing, hopefully sun-filled weekend!