Another day in Ao Nang.

13/1 - Had an extra long lie-in this morning, I must have been tired. Got up eventually and wandered off to the dive shop and paid for 2 more dives tomorrow. The knee is not right, but it is getting there and I'm on holiday, so sod it, just go for it and play it by ear. With that sorted I decided to jump on a local bus to Krabi. The local bus is a pickup with an open canopy, very different, very good and very cheap. It sidles along in the villages peep peeping and picking up anyone who waves at it. Once out of town the driver gives it the F1 treatment. The ride alone was worth coming for. I saw Ao Nang outside the resort and spotted a quiet beach, which I may visit on Saturday, it's only a couple of Km's away. There were some monster houses between Ao Nang and Krabi, it's about 9 Km. There is definitely some money in this country. There are some monster rocks too. This landscape is new to me and very beautiful. I new when we were in Krabi, the driver told me to get out. It is a bustling little place, not so little actually, it's a bit non-descript in most places, but busy. I wandered around, parking my bum every so often and found the fruit, veg and flower market, so had a stroll through that. The fayre all looks great. This is the way to shop, not in the supermarket. Not that I did any shopping.
I also managed to stumble across the river, though not into it. YET!! I sat on a bench and just sat, it was lovely and relaxing. I enjoyed it so much, I headed back to the fruit market and bought a bag of water melon and a bag of pineapple and headed back for another hectic half hour or so. It's a nice wide river, with mango swamps on the opposite bank. The longtails act as ferries to close by villages and posh houses on the waters edge. The river doesn't smell the cleanest, but it is a nice place to sit and chill, especially in the lovely sunshine with the breeze blowing along the river.
Went for a bit more of a wander around Krabi, found a temple or a church. I didn't tackle the step, but guess it is a temple by the garb of the blokes stood outside. It was not the usual colourful decor, but all white with a sweeping set of steps up to it. Krabi has a nice relaxed feel about it. I think it would have been a better stop over than Ao Nang, even without the beach, but I'm supposed to be resting, so Ao Nang has served better. I thought about moving here for the last 2 nights, but relented. I have found it hard staying in one place for over a week. That doesn't bode well for my return to Chorley, if I ever find it again.
Back into the pickup/bus and back to Ao Nang. They are a good mode of transport, used by the locals too.
Pizza tonight, for a change, in the boys to girls bar. It's a good job it was quiet, they were too busy doing each others nails to wait on.
Off to bed early, diving tomorrow. Not too early, in fact not early at all, what am I talking about. I'm so chilled I lost track of time.