Ahhh...where was I?
I think I described our bus trip to Krabi. From here, we boarded another thai taxi to a beach town called Ao Nang...the jumping point to Koh Phi Phi, and surrounding 'island paradises'. We were given a hint by a fellow Polish traveller that Ton Sai was a great place to explore for a few days...and so...off we headed to Ton Sai. Although it is located on a peninsula of the mainland, Ton Sai is only accessable by long-tail boat...for those who don't know what that is...it's a 30 foot wooden canoe (sort of like my idea of a viking war canoe) with a 12 foot bar ending with the propellor and powered by a HUGE mother of a noisy motor! The reason being is that these beaches are completely cut off from the mainland by HUGE limestone cliffs with no through roads. Ton Sai is but one beach of the 4-5 nearby (Ao Nang, Ton Sai, Raleigh East and West, and Phra Bang)...but is known to be a climbers haven...and quite laid-back (aka...hippy?).
After FAR too long travelling, we arrived to Ton Sai in the rain...and I was sent off to explore living options. Although there are no bungalos directly on the beach here...the DOZENS of bungalos to choose from were mostly fairly basic...bamboo walls (filled with holes), open air bathrooms, small rooms with fan and mosquito net, electricity from 6pm-6am. We settled on one of these that was a little closer to the beach, but quite small...although reasonably priced at 300baht or 9$. After a much needed nap, we walked around a bit and picked a beachside restaurant for some Pad Thai, Tom Ka Gai and Penang Curry (Tina's restaurant ended up being a favorite)...and watched a storm roll in. We scurried back to our bungalo shortly after dinner, wet from rain, and sat on our deck for a few hours reading and playing cribbage...then settled in for a LONG nap.
We woke several times during the night to torrential downpours…small splatters from drops finding their way through our palm leaf roof and onto our faces…not to mention all the insects taking refuge in our room…sneaking through the tiny (baseball sized) holes in the bamboo walls and into our ripped mosquito net. Well...it wasn’t THAT bad, but we were a little skeptical about staying at Tonsai if it rained like that once more. Luckily, our second day…one we dedicated to rest, recovery, relaxation and research (an unfortunate necessity and one of the most tiring processes of travel, researching all the activities and prices to be found)…was a cloudless day and boiling hot. We discovered the chilled-out feeling the island provided, the multitudes of climbers from Tonsai found hanging off of various hand and toe holds in the HUGE limestone cliffs…often being belayed by someone lying on the beach with a ‘cigarette’ in their mouth. We also made out way over the exposed coral boulders, exposed with the low tide, to the POSH beach called Raleigh West. Here, you can have a nights stay for around 26,000 baht…while 400 meters walk away…our nights cost 350 baht (though I’m sure they were much less extravagant haha). We sunned ourselves, played some Frisbee, bathed in the luke warm ocean, and read our books. We managed to peel ourselves off of the sand long enough organize a half day of rock climbing for the next day. The night was clear too, and after a nice thai meal, a brief walk on the beach and a seaside drink…we headed to our new cabin (oh yeah…we switched rooms…much bigger, more solid, and for the same price, only 200m further from the beach) for our nights slumber. We were fortunate for all the rest we were getting during the day though…as nights on crummy mattresses (and believe me…they have to be CRUMMY before we complain now), with insects that seemingly spontaneously being a coordinated ear-rattling buzz, with the power turning off at 6am thus taking from us our only refuge from the heat (our fan), and the occasional premature rooster call…sleep was well interrupted! One night, we heard and saw a giant mouse chewing through one of our bags to get into a left-over piece of banana bread, along with the usual cockroaches and lizards…our room was quite lively!
We found our way to the climbing group, met our TINY guide named Sam, fitted ourselves into shoes that could make old Chinese foot binding fetish seem comfortable and roomy (obvious ignorant exaggeration…and no offence intended) and headed out. We boated and hiked for about 40 minutes to get to a sunny (and VERY hot) wall with about a dozen other climbers learning the ropes there. Sam lead climbed, Julia followed by scampering up the cliff faces with seeming ease, and I lumbered, powered, and complained my way to the top…losing only about 1 litre of sweat per climb. We did have some challenging climbs…perhaps 25 meters or so…and lots of fun had by all three of us, Sam proving to be a VERY good and friendly guide indeed. Same same (but different)…that IRRITATING south east asian expression…kind of night (good food and drink and rest), Julia happy to find more mango and sticky rice available. We had the next day reserved to explore the town of Aonang and to organize a Scuba dive around the Koh Phi Phi islands. It seems we spent most of our time that day hanging out inside grocery stores and the frequent 7-11 stores simply for their AC!! A SCORCHA…but goals achieved. That night, we dined as usual…only I decided it was time to STUFF myself, and so took had a second supper…with would prove to me a mistake, my oniony curry memorably enlivening our diving experience with an early morning technicolour yawn!
Check this entry for more soon...
The dive morning…as I mentioned, started with a really GASSY Tyler (might seem normal to many…but I emphasize REALLY). With a quick long-tail ride at 7am…we were the first to arrive at the dive-boat, and lucky for me, I had time to wretch in private. Not an ideal way to start a day-long boat trip…but, it did make me feel much better. Our dive guide…a nice POME named Ben…was a great companion under water…though he was especially excited to see his first under water puke, it didn’t happen. He was actually diving off of Koh Phi Phi the day of the Tsunami a few years back…remembered that the water was a little ‘strange’…and the animal life was somewhat scarce…but they didn’t even realize that a Tsunami had devastated the coast until one of the divers’ mothers rang his cell phone to check that he was alive. She’d seen it on the BBC…and did as mother’s do. Amazing. Julia and I enjoyed these dives, getting quite comfortable under water now, though none of what we saw topped what we had already seen. It was just another nice, weightless, stress free dive. We had hoped to see the elusive Whale sharks that are known to be in the area…but no such luck. We did see many critters though…wee crabs filtering the sea with catcher mit like appendages, morae eels, lion fish…etc.etc. TONS of life.
It was a long day…7am to 5pm, so naturally, we had to rest afterwards. If I remember correctly, we had ONE more day of relaxation, frying in the sun on the gorgeous beaches…much the same as our other relaxation days…really relishing the slowed pace from our usual.
We said our goodbyes to island life…so we thought…and caught the bus to take us to the bus to take us to the truck to take us to the sleeper train back to Nakom Pathom where Beo, our dear family friend, had promised to meet us at 4am.
Without fail…Beo was there…cute as ever, riding a circus sized fold-up bicycle, and carrying a HUGE bag of food. Our stomach stretching culinary education was about to begin. Beo hustled us onto a Tuk-tuk to take us to the Siam Hotel which she had arranged for us (as a ‘honey moon’ gift…she insists this trip is our honeymoon), and somehow…this 61 year old lady managed to beat the motorized Tuk-tuk the 1km distance to the hotel on her wee bike! We were instructed to get some rest, eat our HUGE breakfast of fruit and sticky rice (delicious!!) and meet her just a block away at her family business…a shell gas station.
Let me tell you a bit about Beo…she’s got the MOST beautiful and contagious laugh that you’ll ever hear (and I have video proof). She’s tiny…but mighty, friendly, convincing, well known and liked within her community…and she gets away with ANYTHING she wants!! She’s traveled around the world SEVERAL times…makes friends in seconds, lives like a backpacker at ALL times…sleeping under the stars, organizing tours either overseas or within her borders with her friends…wonderful lady! Her sisters and older brother…beautiful friendly people too…are named Bao, Beo, Ban, Bo, Boy (thai nick names). Beo, the eldest girl, is definitely a unique gem amongst people…and adds a spark to Nakom Pathom’s life! The city…literally meaning ‘first city’…is named because of the HUGE Chedi, or Buddhist monument built there in 500AD. It is an agricultural hot-pot…and as such, even more than most Thai places…is OBSESSED with food.
Anyway…we did as we were told, rested etc., then made our way through the intense heat (likely near 40 C that day) to the Chedi…walked around, saw monks, etc.etc. Then walked a LONG way (stopping in as many air-conditioned 7-11s along the way) to the king’s summer house. Walked around the peaceful and clean/serene grounds, played with some kids on a self propelled marry-go-round (I was the propeller). We staggered back to the station, and called Beo for lunch. Well…for 3 days, the food didn’t stop flowing. On the first meal, I bragged to Beo that I figured I could eat 100 BBQ’d pork skewers. They were my favorite thing I found in my last visit to Thailand 15 years before (Moo Satay). Well…we had 75 of them, along with plenty of other food, before we begged her to stop. At this point, we were marched another 500 meters through the sweltering streets, because Beo insisted that the BEST shaved ice desert was what we needed. Well…it was delicious, but we were truly about to explode, and didn’t really recover from that feeling the whole time there hahaha.
I exaggerate…but it was a LOT of food we put away…the whole time, Beo LAUGHING and telling stories…just a fun person to be around. That night…as a snack before dinner, she drove us (against the law…bad eyesight, therefore should not drive) to a mall, armed with her coupons for the once a year MANGO icecream deserts!! Again, wonderful stuff…STUFF being the key word! Then, off to dinner. As became our 3-day routine, we dined at the street vendors…HUNDREDS of them set up around the Chedi and nearby streets…Beo knowing each of them personally…well enough to actually go behind their stands, and instruct them how to cook the food. She is SO funny with this…and understandably so…she only wants the best food for herself and her guests! Often, she’ll buy her organic veggies (from the King’s stores)…bring them to her stall, and watch them like a hawk as they cook it for her! She soaks all her veggies in salt water for 10 minutes, then a quick rinse before they’re fit to be eaten! SO funny! Well…needless to say, it was all superb, and unfortunately, our bellies weren’t big enough to have it ALL. We were served ice-cream by a friend of hers who would launch it 30 feet in the air and have you catch it in your bowl (if you’re lucky!)…we sampled many things from many vendors for free…and so it went. A quick visit to the Whale Hotel (a hotel presumably named after my parents who worked in this city in the lake 60s)…and off to bed, unable to sleep on our stomachs as we’d truly have exploded. A comfy sleep in an AC room (necessity in that heat)…and the next day was much the same. Wonderful time spent with Beo who found her way into our hearts in a BIG and permanent way!
During this time is when we found out that Nepal was having a general business strike and made the decision to put off our trip to Nepal…just until the strike passed. Simple enough to switch our plane ticket…but then we had to decide what else to do. Well…with Beo’s help, we settled on a trip back south to seek out a Yoga retreat. Julia has covered that adventure in the next entry. OH…I almost forgot that the controversial Thai election was the first day we were there too. The people trying to get rid of their corrupt prime-minister…MANY people in the bigger centres sick of tolerating his ideas…many protests being raised in Bangkok and around.
Beo and her family saw us off with about 10 pounds of fruits, a HUGE bag of pork jerky, and a wonderful memory of our time with them! We can’t WAIT to get back and see them all again…especially Beo. If anyone wants to hear more about her…I’ve got TONS of tales.
I must sign off for now. I think we’re more or less up to date again…thank you for being patient with our delayed travel journal entries!
