subject: Present Day Pirates of Krabi [print this page] You may have heard in recent years the troubles with pirates off the coast of Somalia. But the fact is that there are pirates pretty much all over the world, usually in places where geographical features bottleneck ships into narrow sea-lanes. The Straits of Malacca is one of these, and sees heavy shipping traffic. Though not many have heard of this, ships have been robbed by pirates for centuries along this strait, and continue to be so to this day.
Krabi, Thailand, lies along this strait and it was right there on the beaches of Phang Nga, in front of the cave leading to the hidden lagoon, that I saw real live pirates. One was even picking his teeth with a big bowie knife in pirate fashion. There vessel was anchored right offshore, and the pirates were hanging out large sheets to dry (why I dont know) on the beach. The boat was old and beat up, but brightly painted and looked seaworthy. The pirates themselves (I didn't want to get caught looking at them) were bearded and wore scarves over their heads. Their clothes, like the ship, were also brightly colored. They didn't look in the least bit friendly, but on the other hand they were completely disinterested in the tourists that had been brave enough to hang around. We all kept our distance, needless to say.
Some tell me that what I saw were sea gypsies but I say they were pirates. They were frightful looking, and there weren't any women or kids around. Sea gypsies, it seems to me anyway, would be more likely to hang out at ports and perform tricks. At least I can say I saw real life pirates!
