The morning after is just as great as the night before. After searching for a new locale to rest our heads for the coming night we decided to have it out with the woman behind the all too intimidating counter. At 600 baht a night it was not cheap for a bamboo shack! We decided to go for 300 at the most. After our explanation that mice inhabited the room the wall and our bed she was willing to knock off 100 baht for us. What a sweet lady! Our conversation dragged on for about 5 mins and i finally had to take the reigns. I looked at the woman square in the eyes and said, "I am not exactly sure if you understand what i am saying, THERE ARE MICE LIVING IN OUR MATTRESS, we will give you either nothing or 300 baht." She shot me and Danny a devious look and croaked, "300 baht good for you, okay." After giving her a good amount of money for a shack that should be condemned she mutters, "good luck...." Needless to say the remainder of our time on the island was spent watching out for her and her thugs and making light of the crazy happenings.
We trekked around most of the island and found some incredible stalactite type rock formations dripping from the overhanging of these giant mountains. Some had caves that went about 50 feet back into them and displayed nearly no support of the millions of pounds of brown matter above. Nature seems to laugh at the laws that have been created by man and makes about in her own fabulous way, seemingly defying all acts to classify her grand beauty. Standing under these huge overhanging structures of rock dwarf you as a human.
A secret trail up and through a mountainous area can be located by the crafty traveller. This secret spot holds the reward of lagoon which few who have visited ever see. You make a little scramble up the face of a semi steep mountain and end up at the top in the midst of trees and bushes. Following a small pathway cut through the brush we eventually ended up in a little canyon surrounded on all sides by cliffs. Jurassic park comes to mind and the sense of anothers staring gaze is unavoidable. Huge trees shoot up from the fertile floor and ancient vines spill out over all the rock faces. Dead silence looms in the air and a misty earthen fragrance is palatable. Fallen trees bring nutrients and shelter to small ferns and who knows what species of prehistoric animal. Everything is lush ancient and unspoiled. The light is slipping and we stand at the top of about4 20ft shear drops before we can reach the lagoon. You can just see it through a crack between 2 of the mountains. Too dangerous and not enough light. We would never see this place, but i will never forget it!
Our cove consisted of 2 beaches. The poor backpacker beach and the wealthy family beach. It was a bit cleaner and boasted a pool for their guests. A large rocky point separated the two and the other side could only be reached on low tide across slippery rocks. I must say the it was quite nice to lounge in the pool and pretend. Plus the lounge chairs were a bonus! Somehow we pulled our stunt off and never got caught. Sunsets are a major event on islands in the south. Ton Sai was no exception. As the enormous sun sunk into its watery grave D and I joined in a soccer game with the locals. I found out that it had been way too long since strenuous exercise. I have found that soccer (football) is the universal sport and i made a cool connection with all the locals playing their game in their environment!
It was time to head to a new destination in search of new adventures. What we found was neither! Phi Phi island was hit very hard by the tsunami just several years ago. If no pictures of the island displayed the state of the island after the water hit you would never know anything had happened. Overly developed falls short of this tourist hot spot. So many stores and places to stay i could hardly wrap my head around the situation. Hustle bustle and no time for peace and relaxation. Apparently this is the hip place for younger kids from Scandinavia to visit and visit they did. With way too much happening on the island we got off it on a cruise around to the different islands. Our vein attempt to escape was thwarted by huge speed boats and fast snapping tourists. I mean crap the lagoon from the film "The Beach," is not a lagoon at all. In fact it is a cove with the most tourist covered beach i have seen since arriving in Thailand. Got some okay snorkeling on the trip and met a few people, but our destinations were far too worn by people. Sad, but true Thailand needs to adopt some kind of development plan and start protecting not just the national parks, but also the islands set up for tourism. Eco is not on the mind of most proprietors $$$ is all that matters. We had a definite lull here and we discussed on several occasions downtrodden feelings about the tourism and destruction of these spots.
D went off to Phuket to sort out his visa and i headed south to a little place called Ko Lanta. Hooked up with some friends and landed a great spot on the beach for cheap. Now this was my kind of place. After spending such a long time with adults and kids my age we ran into a rather large pocket of children staying at our place. The pool sat right at the edge of the beach and like tadpoles the various kids swam all day with ever enduring life-force. Maybe a situation that would have annoyed at another time was quite a comforting situation for me. I bathed in the rays of the sun most days and enjoyed the clear water of the ocean. The pool was cool to and i turned a little German dude on to surfing and surfing lingo. I could see a lot of myself in him that i believe i was like as a tyke. There he was all of 7 or 8 trying to surf his little raft and speaking to me with incredible english!!! We are far behind in the scheme of teaching our children a new language and i have come to believe it is imperative in a child's development. It is a life treasure that can enhance a child's life from the very start. I spent some great alone time at the secluded end of the beach and got reconnected with the chill pace of life. A local bar keep befriended us and even entertained our tongues with Cobra and Monkey Brain alcohol. What an experience! Raw to the core and totally unexpected, all six of us could hardly believe it. I met a cool father of about 60 chillin at the bar and he offered this little life tidbit: "Life is like a pendulum. At one end you are a child and you seek fun and freedom with great passion and joy. As the pendulum of life continues you move toward uncertainty and try to balance your life and decide what you want to do. Eventually you reach the end of the swing and life is focused on money and family. You go to work and make every sacrifice you can to make the family happy. The pendulum begins to return to its starting point and once again confusion sets in on what to do now that the kids are gone and work is almost done. Finally you return to a state of happiness and do whatever you want for fun." He explained that he was at that point in his life and he seemed very sure and happy with his situation. Quite a neat experience.
Once again sunsets held center stage and people gathered on the beach to witness the completion of each day. Then came the long relaxed conversations and nights watching the moon fill the sky sparkle on the water and also eventually disappear behind a curtain of water. Ko Lanta has been my favorite part of Thailand so far and its relax vibe and kind friendly people will forever hold a place in my heart. I truly felt as though i made a connection with the locals here and can come back and have friends down the line.
After an overland trip across several ferries and a long drawn out bus ride i was back in Bangkok. I met Danny for his last night and he took off back for England. Since then i have continued to discover the multi faceted place that is Bangkok. Picked up my visa for India and hooked up visa for Laos. I am really pumped up and ready to see some more sights. Met up with Chris and a few of his buddies and hung out for a week or so. Not too much to report there.
Chris's dad suggested the night train to Chang Mai and so i hopped on the puppy and here i sit. Chang Mai is about 7 degrees cooler and much more chill paced and less congested with people. After one night here i feel great and cant tell for sure when i am headed up north and then into Laos. I met a dude named Seth from Denver and he's just at the end of 9 months of travelling so i am picking his brain and we are splitting the cost of a cheap, but okay guesthouse. He have hit several temples here so far and i have seen the largest golden Buddha to date. We even stumbled upon an ancient maybe 1500 year old temple housing large Buddha's facing all four directions at the very top. The front half of Elephants line the mid part of the temple and symbolically hold up this amazing sight. It was rocked by an earthquake a long time ago and is still under restoration. There is a large pulley system maybe 60ft plus all the way to the tip of this shrine and you can bless the temple with a pail full of water, which i did. We chatted with monks and helped them with their English for a while and once again i feel immersed in the Thai culture and way of life. My travels north should prove joyous and primitive....
Much love and thoughts to everyone taking time out to read this puppy. I am extremely sorry it has taken me so long to update. None the less here it is hope you enjoyed!!!
If everyone could please say a prayer for my very special friend JM that would help her recovery. She was just in a serious car accident and could use all the extra energy and thoughts you have to offer!!!
Thank you all so much for continued support and love, miss you all!
christopher
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