Most travellers will attest that it is almost impossible to go completely unscathed from eating new food and attempting not to drinking foreign water which undoubtedly gets onto fresh fruit. We were well prepared, sticking to bottled water and I avoided most of the spicy dishes. We also brought a medicine cabinet of pills in-case we contracted some bacterial infection. Nothing can prepare you for a night of cold sweats, sitting on the toilet when its coming out of both ends. I started feeling cramps later in the night, just after dinner. We relaxed for the late evening, but after I went to bed I started having problems.
It was pretty much a sleepless night, but we still got up and set out for our beach paradise. The weather appeared unpredictable with the large hill in the centre of the island in a black cloud. Not unusual in a tropical climate, but today also felt a bit windy. We arrived to the beach; the tide was in so the beach was a lot smaller. We found a comfortable spot and enjoyed the sun and peacefulness of the deserted beach.
Tim bought a snorkeling set and set out to task. There was a small coral reef that jets out hugging a sand bar. While nothing compared to many of the popular reef, he was able to see thousands of colourful fish, big and small. He spent about an hour going back and forth enjoying the wide variety of marine life including eels, crabs, shrimp and other coral dwelling species. He came back to our lounging area proclaiming how much fun it was; he insisted I go out an try. My first attempt was unsuccessful because I could find where he was talking about and snorkeling alone is unnerving. I think I've seen too many shark movies, because all I could think of was what could be lurking down in the dark drop-off that surrounded the sand-bar. Tim escorted me out for the second attempt, but the water was getting pretty choppy. I was able to see lots of fish, but this was not my idea of a good time.
The weather looked to be getting worse and the water was becoming uncomfortable to lounge in, so we set out for inland. We stopped at the Phaeng water fall which appeared to be popular because of the swarms of tour buses and motor scooters. It was a short interesting walk up to a very disappointing waterfall. We snapped a shot, which you can barely see water falling and headed back to the base camp. Along the way it really started to rain, torrential, so we huddled in an information booth before making our escape to the main road. Interestingly, only about 200 metre from the falls, it hadn't even rained.
When we returned to town, Tim brought the bike back to the rental shop, almost a day early and tank full of gas. They had a quick look, thanked us for our business and returned our deposit and passport copy. As Tim was walking back to the hotel, he saw a young Westerner girl trying to back up with her motor scooter, hit a parked car and drop the bike. It dawned on him that perhaps people that rent bikes simply don't take care of them. If you returned a damaged bike, you will have to pay for repairs, regardless if you think the damage is 'not that bad'. I would suggest renting a bike from a large shop, checking it over and reporting damage on their inspection form; and take care of the bike while you have it.
After a well needed nap, we decided that the Full Moon party would be better left out of our evening plans. Besides, we didn't get a feeling the other night that we would enjoy 30,000 young people having sex and doing drugs on the beach while we tried to fit in. Let's not and say we did.
Instead we ventured out to the pier to see that the clouds were preventing even a view of the full moon. Staying close to a reliable bathroom (many public toilets have only squat stalls) we walked around the the night market. Surveying the choices, we discover the Asian version of Tim Horton's, displaying an assortment of seemingly delicious donuts and other pastries. I decided a fried potato would be agreeable to my stomach and Tim got Pad Thai; which I made him get to go as I had to go ;-). He was unable to consume the entire meal...
Venturing out again we found a chain grocery store and anyone the knows Tim, knows that he can't resist looking for a deal or just to compare. Although the isles were stocked with comparable items, the presentation was odd. The meat, for example was large offerings of raw assortments of animal parts in stainless steel bins. You simply helped yourself to large variety of fish, chicken, beef parts that you need. The pet waiting area, located just outside the front doors, was my favourite!
The night ended with us enjoying the Full Moon in our terms, a night well enjoyed, even under the circumstances.
