Songkarn Birthday Travel Day

Monday the 13^th

Although we would not fly out of Sukholtai until 5, we needed to check out of the Lotus Village, so we enjoyed a nice breakfast there of muesli and local fruit salad and stored our bags to go play in town. This was the big holiday, Songkran, as well as Collin's own birthday! We went two driveways before a little old lady snuck up behind us and dowsed us both with a bucket of water. The main street and bridge has been closed down to the merry makers and water reigned down on all from hoses and sprinklers, children's water guns and buckets.

 We had chosen our clothing carefully today, things that would dry fast, but we were unprepared for the colored powers they mixed into clay and tagged your face with! The locals would target us because we were foreigners and seemed extra pleased to get us. Blessing us and wishing us a happy new year, it was really a lot of fun. A sneaky older man did douse me with ice water and another child threw a yellow dyed water on me, temporarily staining all of me yellow, but it was all in good natured fun. We attempted to dry off, but at every street corner a mischievously grinning local would run at us with a small bowl of water, so we retreated to Lotus Village soaked and sun bathed until our taxi came. The rest of the day felt dull and I wished Collin's birthday had continued longer.

The airlines, Bangkok Air, was very posh and the Sukholthai airport tiny and ornate, so I kind of felt like a traveler during the Imperialist Age of world discovery. The airport had an all you could eat food spread and we got meals on both flights. If we'd known, I might have sat out the Airport food in Bangkok, but the cafeteria style Katsu Curry was really yummy. Our lodging, Blue Diamond Dorm, was nice enough to pick us up from the Krabi airport, but was mostly unimpressive. The rooms looked like typical motel rooms, and due to us being unfamiliar with the town layout – seemed remote at 10pm with nothing else nearby. The staff was kind and gave me a ride to the nearest 7/11 so that I might get coffee. I also bought up as many stuffed bread buns as possible to “celebrate” Collin's remaining birthday since we had no cake. The hotel also arranged transport for us the next morning to Koh Lanta, so despite its meager furnishings, it was a great/cheap way point.