Worldly Thoughts This journal is a hodgepodge of assorted experiences I have had whilst traveling here and there.

Things to look for in Paradise Lost? Food? View? That warm cozy feeling you get when you found something special?
I only had two weeks and half of Bangkok was under water. Trains weren't running. Island hopping in the south was my only option during this, my first visit to Thailand. Now, if you're in Thailand because you've just graduated and you want to party as much as physically possible - for as cheaply as physically possible - then pat yourself on the back, Koh PhaNgan was a great choice. But i'd just come from a somewhat trying experience in India and was looking for a slower pace. I read that the far side of the island might just afford me that solitude. It was off-season (you mean your stay doesn't revolve around full-moon parties?) and no one was answering their phones. I listened to that little voice we travelers get and jumped on to the back of what would be a bumpy jeep ride.
Overlooking a majestic little cove on the side of a cliff was the billboard. The disconcerting old paint-chipped sign looked like someone plucked it off an Atlantic City casino some fifty years prior. "Silver Sands," it read. But the waters were still, the weather was calm, and I was the only one there: All good omens. The woman rocking in her hammock between two palms off the side of the cliff lazily nodded when I asked if I could stay. Happily I agreed to the low tariff before seeing the bungalow in question. I was in budget traveler heaven; my cliff-dwelling bungalow, with its deck and hammock, bathroom and queen-sized bed was affordable and picturesque (my deck hung over the cliff with unfettered views of the marble blue and green sea). The family hadn't been expecting paying guests, so I was forced to deal with what they offered. Fresh som tam (spicy green papaya salad), simple curries and a well stocked beer cooler (the definition of Hell, I know).
A threatening storm seemed to afford me a private beach free from travelers worried about getting caught. I was Leo DiCaprio, minus the drug war, or Daffy Duck, and happily spent my coveted days loitering along the cove. One of the nights I even got chicken in my curry.
Three couples finally brought with them the aforementioned weather. I told them how calm and peaceful the little cove had been, feeling bad when the morning, and the storm, brought with it choppy waves and a debris filled beach. Traveling isn't just about doing nothing, but sometimes you luck out, and I'd found my little sanctuary for a few days at least.