Traveling after Teaching (Krabi, Thailand)

My first stop in Thailand was flying into Krabi. Hilariously enough, when I walked out of the airport, there were three stands all situated right next to each other. One was for an airport shuttle and the other were for private cars or taxis. They were each telling me to come to their stand with equal fervor. After looking over the prices, I decided to go with the airport shuttle. In Krabi, I stayed right next to Aonang Beach. I decided to explore a bit. I went to the edge of the beach where there was a huge cliff. Monkeys were hanging out and people were trying to feed them. However, the monkeys kept on getting chased away by four dogs. One of the monkeys was big enough to actually stand up to one of the dogs and they exchanged advances. There was a trail around the cliff that led to a private beach on the other side. The pictures I took are off to the side.
The next day I made my way to the beach almost as soon as I woke up. Unfortunately, it started to pour right as I got to the beach and I took shelter in a nearby restaurant. After it cleared up, I went in and enjoyed the warm, blue waters. After a little while I felt a sharp sting on my knee. I looked at it and it was turning red. I was pretty sure I got stung or bitten by something but I wasn’t sure what. I got out and went up to a group of Thai masseuses that were taking a break. Most Thai people in touristy areas can speak a little English, so I said to them, “I think I got stung by something, is anything in the water poisonous?” They didn’t look too alarmed, but one of them said, “Jellyfish.” Another woman said, “Come with me” and brought me just a few meters away. She sat me down, uprooted these plants, crushed them between her hands, and then rubbed them on the sting for about five to ten minutes. Afterwards, she said, “Now if you get stung again, you know where to go!” I noticed the wound itself had practically disappeared and about half an hour later the stinging feeling went away. After that, I went back into the ocean, but was more than just a little cautious of wading too far out.
That night I went to a bar called Hippies Bar who touted free drinks from 9:00 p.m.-11:00 or something like that. I’m sure it would have been crowded during high season, but it being low season there was barely anyone there. I stayed there just long enough to hear the cover band finish up their set.
The next day I rented a motorbike and biked around the area for a while. I guess I had never really gone motorbiking before either…this was definitely a trip of firsts. Riding the motorbike next to the ocean side was a great feeling. Even though I had paid the insurance, the thought of my crashing the bike and having to pay the exorbitant amount of money asked by the company was a bit disconcerting. I didn’t bike too far but made it to a couple other beaches, which was nice.
That night, I met an Austrian guy, Martin, who was traveling back to Thailand with his Thai girlfriend. He brought me to his girlfriend’s cousin’s family’s bar, which was along a strip of bars. As we walked into the bar, he pointed at one of the girls that was working and said, “Dis ees my friend, don’t even theenk about touching heem!” His accent was pretty entertaining because he talked about his family a lot and would say, with heavy emphasis, “My Fadda…” or “My Mudda…” We just BSed for a few hours but it was nice talking to him. It was also crazy just sitting there while people watching.
The next morning I road the motorbike a bit more and then left on a boat to the island of Ko Phi Phi, where I met one of the most eccentric people I have ever met...