The beaches of Southern Thailand...

The overnight train to the south was over fifteen hours.  We were on the eastern side of Thailand and it seemed as if the towns to the east of the railroad tracks had built giant man-made ditches to trap the rainwater during the monsoon season.  I can't imagine how high the water levels get during peak season- the flooding is quite apparent even now.

 

The first island that we stopped at was Koh Mook, on the western side of Thailand.  It was very quiet and peaceful there.  We stayed in a quaint little bungalow right on the beach, and fell asleep and woke up to the waves breaking on the shore.  Each day was just as incredible as the last.  Laurie did yoga every day, and we would lay on the beach and calmly walk into the sea when it would get hot.  Every morning I would sit on the sand and have a moment of silence for the victims of the tsunami.

 

The water there was so warm.  We got massages at sunset.  What an unbelievably relaxing place!  Every moment we could look out at the painting-like landscape and horizon, with only the sound of the water.  We befriended a couple of the locals there who showed us around the neighboring islands.  We were fortunate enough to see the sun drop behind the Andaman Sea at sunset several times.

 

We took a boat to Koh Kradan one day- it was the most beautiful island we had seen!!!  The soft coral we saw while snorkeling was incredible, and the perfect white-sand beach extended at least 100 yards into the sea, creating an enormous natural "swimming pool."  It was incomparable to anything I have ever seen.

 

We went to Emerald Cave after that- this dark cave that you swim through (in pitch black darkness for a short moment) that opens up into a lagoon.  When you look up while you're on a tiny beach, it was as if you were standing inside a volcano, where the walls around you stood a few hundred meters high.  And swimming out of the cave into the turquoise water was stunning!!!

 

We made Koh Mook our home for eight days.  It was such a peaceful island, and the tourist businesses seemed to work together with the villagers that inhabited much of the island.  The village was great- the people were so friendly, and we could buy fresh pineapple, mango, and bananas.  It was a shame to see the devestating effects of the tsunami, but there seemed to be quite a bit of foreign aid and money present to rebuild the island.  I am convinced that, in any situation, there is always hope.

 

We finally left Koh Mook and went to Koh Ngai for a couple of days.  On the way, we went on an incredible snorkeling tour.  There was a French fisherman on our boat who gave us a fresh grouper that he caught on the way.  On Koh Ngai, one of the resort managers fired up a grill for us.  He let me go into the kitchen to fillet this beautiful grouper (which I had to do break down with a knife that was as sharp as a spoon), but in the end, we ate a delicious meal by candlelight on the beach with our Swedish friend Karin. 

 

Our last day on Koh Ngai was a good one- Laurie and I got some great massages at sunset.  It was really gratifying to see Laurie getting her back worked on and feeling like she was in Heaven.  And after I jumped into a pickup game of soccer with a bunch of the local Thais.  Still got it, kind of.

 

I'm going to let Laurie tell you about Koh Lipe.  Hope you are all well and in great spirits.

 

Much love, Eddie

 

 

Hello Friends!!

The adventure continues.  After much deliberation, we decided to go to Koh Lipe, a supposed "untouched island" in the Andaman Sea.  We actually bought tickets on the ferry with our friend and new traveling partner, Karin, and at the last minute, we bailed and traveled back to Koh Mook with our new Thai best buddy, Bank, and then went down the next day (a bit of a money saving venture). 

 

We took a ferry, then a bus, then a speed boat and arrived in Koh Lipe around 5pm and were transported by another boat to the Porn Resort (get your minds out of the gutter).  We're still not sure why it's called that, but it was supposed to be nice and the least populated.  So we got a cute little bamboo bungalow and within the first 20 minutes, I was greeted by a giant, red, flat millipede in the bathroom.  Now, as most of you know, I'm a tough Colorado mountain girl, but Eddie can attest to the fact that sometimes I'm a girly girl, especially when it comes to crawling critters.  He consoled me and I decided I could put up with it for a night and we had a mosquito net, which we tucked snuggly around every corner and we survived.

 

So we went to the restaurant for a bite and a beer and after about 20 minutes, a longtail boat (the long wooden boats without mufflers that are the main mode of transportation in the islands) began to sink.  All of the Thai men ran out to bail it out and, while Eddie was watching, he decided to give a hand.  For the next 20 minutes or so, about 10 men were in the water, waves crashing, trying to keep the boat upright.  Success!! It was a bit exciting for Eddie, especially because he couldn't understand what they were saying or their plan.  As usual, they probably all thought he was Thai, but weren't sure. 

 

THe next day, we checked out some other bungalows and moved to another beach, where we promptly ran into Karin, our Swedish buddy.  So for the next 3 days, we all hung out together, eating (as usual), sunbathing and relaxing -- movies, massage, fruit shakes, fried chicken sticks, swimming in the clear blue waves.  We also made some other good friends from Seattle, who were on the last couple of weeks of an 8 month around the world journey.  It was interesting talking to them and comparing notes. 

 

Koh Lipe is a beautiful island with clear blue water and amazing views.  However, the development, like most "untouched" places in Thailand, is rampant.  There is a village of about 700 natives that is slowly being pushed out and might even be relocated to a neighbouring island so that the resorts can move in.  It was hard to tell what the locals felt considering they don't speak much English, but to us it seemed as if they were on the raw end of the deal.

 

We did talk to a couple of Rastas who ran a reggae bar on the very crowded beach, who were pretty upset about the fact that their bar, "Time to Chill", had to move in less than a week.  It was a very cozy spot right on the water, close enough so that when the tide was high, you couldn't occupy a couple of the tables without your feet dangling in the water.  They had an open mike and Eddie got up a couple of nights and worked his magic fingers on the guitar.  It was a good end to a great couple of weeks on the beach. 

 

So, after a delicious barbeque of fresh king mackerel on our last night, we got a mellow night's sleep  and got on a 3 hour ferry, a 90 minute bus ride and then a 16 hour train back to Bangkok.  Unfortunately, the sleeper cars were sold out, so we sat up all night -- needless to say, not comfortable.  But we arrived safely and are back in the city for a few days.  Went to the Grand Palace today with our friends, Brent and Leah, from Koh Lipe and enjoying the city life.

 

We'll be here for a few days and then head to Cambodia or Laos.  We'll keep you posted.

Namaste,

Laurie