Ao Nang
Trip Start
Apr 20, 2003
1
7
24
Trip End
Jun 10, 2003
Ao Nang,
Thailand
Saturday, May 10, 2003
The right knee has swollen up to grapefruit size. Its painful to move around on until it has warmed up a little. I got my things together and hobbled in to town to the jetty to catch the boat to Krabi. Alby Mangels never buggered his knee in any of the 15 World Safari movies (well certainly not slipping on a bloody rock) so I have decided to soldier on.
Europeans take any opportunity to sunbake. A couple decided to sit out on the deck at the front of the boat for the trip to Krabi to soak up the rays. As the sea was quite rough, they and their bags got totally soaked, as they couldn't move to come inside because they may well have fallen overboard. I had to laugh.
Getting up the ladder to get off the boat, with a backpack and a bung knee wasn't easy, but I stumbled into town on the lookout for a motorbike to hire. I found one - alas no automatics in Krabi Town... hence I had to teach myself how to ride a manual with 15kg on my back and one bung leg. The trip to Ao Nang beach was 30 minutes.
Ao Nang is a pretty little beachside town, and more my speed I think than Phi Phi due to the lack of hippies.... they spent their time touting "100 Baht Buckets" outside bars on Phi Phi. What is a 100 Baht Bucket? Ao Nang has a long beach which sits between two rocky capes, and a huge rocky outcrop that towers over the town. There are a number of islands off the coast in the Andaman Sea, making it very picturesque. The water here is a little murkier than Phi Phi however due to the rougher conditions.
I walked around town a little, and then rested the knee by the hotel pool. Pre-dinner I rode around the cape to the national park area, which has a number of islands just off the coast. This area is THE premier coast cave kayaking region, and one of the reasons I came here. Alas I can't do that with a bung knee....
DR SOM I SALUTE YOU!, I FOUND THE HOLY LAND and IT COULD BE WORSE I COULD BE SWEDISH...
The knee is still swollen up, so after breakky I go looking for the Ao Nang clinic. They put me on the phone to the only english speaking doctor in Krabi, who suggests I ride into town.
Dr Som happens to be an orthopedic surgeon - hence if you are gonna bung up your knee in a remote part of Asia, and you only speak english, pick Krabi Town to bung it up in....
Dr Som says its a tear to the inner-leg muscle that runs next to the knee, strained outer tendon, and internal bleeding causing the swelling. He said that there's no cartiledge or internal ligament damage (ie. your knee reco zone) so that is good news. I ask him if he can write this all down in English so I can claim everything back on travel insurance - his eyes light up..
He prescribes anti-inflammatory tablets, anti-inflam cream (two tubes), zinc, vitamins B1, B2 and B6, pain killers of some kind, Tylanol, and two knee braces.... Dr Som is trying to cash in as he knows I won't have to pay for it. As I think that Dr "Pluravit" and Dr "Panadol" will help out with most of the vitamin and pain needs (stocks in my pack back at the hotel) I ditch some of his recommendations and head off with a $50 medical bill and a well-braced knee.
I take a hobble round Krabi Town.... I've taken a liking to a local product called Manoa Soda. Its basically lime soda, but with real lime, not that green coloring tripe. I'm currently sitting on about 3 cans a day.
Back to the hotel for a knee rest followed by a ride into the back blocks of Ao Nang. I found the Holy Land.... Holy Land Bungalow and Bar. The sign was pointing down this little dirt road so I thought I'd have a look. It was the kind of road where you expected to accidentally drive in to a drug plantation in the Thai countryside or something... (no wait that was that Leonardo di Caprio movie).
As I arrived at the Holy Land, the first monsoonal rains hit, hence I parked the bike and headed to the bar (no Manoa Soda - bugger). I ended up talking to a Swedish bloke who had plaster on his leg. Two days into his Thai holiday he stumbled out of his bungalow and broke his leg in two places. He asked about my brace and I felt quite inadequate in comparison.
After the rain I returned to town for Italian food, and sympathy from many travellers....
BLOODY KENNY G, MOBILE MONKS, and BEATEN AT POOL BY A RADY-BOY....
The anti-inflams are starting to kick in, with the swelling down a little and more flexability. Still its not enough to kayak, so over breakfast I hastily decided to head into the Krabi countryside to Tiger Cave. I say hastily as every morning at breakfast they have a Kenny G CD on - hence you eat quickly. I hate the flute. Except for this one time, at band camp...
Tiger Cave is in the boonies of the Thai countryside, so I rode through the jungles of Thailand to get there. Its a monestary, temple, and cave. There were Monks everywhere - and I do love a good Monk photo... there were Monks eating, Monks chatting (um, is that allowed?), Monks smoking, and even Monks talking on mobile phones. The caves varied from dining room size, to door ways about 4 feet high.
On the way back I stopped of at a national park to see a waterfall (ho hum) and then headed home on the country roads. Not many westerners in these parts, so as I flew past on the bike I got a few "what the" looks from the locals.
Back by 3pm for a rest of the knee beside the pool... pre-dinner I went for a walk and was co-erced into a game of beach volleyball. I was quite useless as I couldn't move, however it did allow me to meet a few travellers, and we agreed to have dinner.
So I ended up having dinner with three pommie blokes (one who looked like a young version of Neil from the Young Ones), a scottish girl, a danish girl, two swedes, a local who owned the restaurant, and her friend, a "rady-boy" named Joy. You've got to laugh... After dinner we ended up playing Pool, with much to my horror, the rady-boy pitted against me in a do or die battle for 'bloke' supremacy. Which I lost. Thankfully we were not playing for sexual favours.
The group was ok, if not a little "full moon partyish" for my liking.... they respected me for falling off a rock and busting a camera and laughing about it. I respected them for spending as little as $3 on accommodation.
Off to Bangkok tomorrow - so I have to ride into Krabi first thing, then drop off the motorbike, then head to the airport. A cloudless night so the weather shouldn't be an issue....
