Tiger Cave Surprise

The town of Krabi in southern Thailand was supposed to be nothing more than an unavoidable stopover on my way to the famous Railey Peninsula, home to some of the country’s most spectacular beaches. Upon arrival at the hostel, however, I happened to meet Maurice, a Swiss backpacker I had met two weeks earlier in Kuala Lumpur. Spontaneously, he invited me to go with him to the nearby Tiger Cave temple. Without hesitating or informing myself about the place, I sat down with Maurice in a tuk tuk that took us to the foot of a 1300-step temple mountain. Once at the top, it wasn’t just the stunning views of the limestone cliffs and pleasant company that put me in high spirits. As is so often the case as a solo traveler, it was the element of surprise that made this event so special.

Krabi-Town (Thailand), October 2013