Ko Chang paradise

Sometimes things work out really well. We caught a longtail ferry to Ko Chang (ko=island) and found a simple eden on a tiny island (about 2x6 miles). Contex bungalows are on a small beach about a 1/2 walk from the "main" beach with more bungalows, but people come here to hang out because there is nothing to do. The resident population of 250 raise coconuts, cashews and rubber and run bungalow operation. We walked on the narrow roads and paths, swam, read and ate wonderful Thais food prepared by the sisters who own and operate. It has really been refreshing. There are no real bars, and only a small store.

Then, this morning on our bus ride to the next stop, after a 5 hour drive the driver and his sidekick neglected to tell us we had arrived. I realized something was up and sure enough they dumped on the highway 8 or 10 miles past our destination. So we started walking, and then a couple in a pickup stopped and happily took us into town. Just got here and have a room for 7$ in a clean little hotel. Gotta go to the night market now to eat.

a flying lizard

The view from our bungalow at Khoa Sok

we found a little haven not overloaded with tourist or motorbikes at Khoa Sok NP. Our little bungalow is in a forest setting overlooking the Sok River. It is very nice and peaceful. We took a grueling hike in the jungle yesterday, 16K total, about 10 of it was on what is generously called a trail. Up and over, along ledges, climbing rooks, picking thru roots, but is was pristine and beautiful along the river, and nobody around. We could hear monkeys calling. Today we are doing the first day in a month of doing nothing but hanging around, reading, laundry and such.
tomorrow off on another adventure to a small island. Starting north towards Bangkok.

Fishermans shrine at Rai Lai beach. This is a animist shrine having nothing to do w Buddhism or Muslims.

At rai Lai beach, near the fishermans shrine

We have been in Krabi for a few days now. It is a hub for traveling to Islands in the Andaman Sea. We took the cheapo "4 island tour" (400 Baht). These little islands are beutiful, but absolutely hammered by tourists boats. Our longtail boat (so called because a car engine with no sound supression runs a prop at the end of a 15 foot shaft) belched black smoke the entire trip and was LOUD. Our last stop on this tour was to a famous beach which may be one of the worlds most beautiful beaches, with a backdrop on limestone cliffs all around. Sadly we were part of a mob of 1000 tourists who crouded this 1/4 mile long beach, and there were at leasrt 40 longtails parked on the beach. Also, just off the beach a few feet sat several exclusive resorts. But all that said, we we happy to visit this very special place. A highlight was the cave at one end with a fishermans shrine (not buddhist or muslim) , a statue a a fertility goddess, and a pile of lingham all around.

We are headed for a Khao Sok National Park now where we hope to find trails and wildlife, and a quiet bungalow in the jungle.

Phang-Nga

We keep finding the good stuff. Went to a little local forest park today and it was really nice. Little stream running down thru a limestone valley and a wild  trail going to the features such as a bat cave, a fish cave and a tangled jungle. Really a treat.  We started walking back to town about 8K and the first truck to come along gave us a lift. As we walked to road we passed little local rubber, coconut and banana plantations, and people greeted us all along with sawadee (hello) and a smile. So different than Bangkok where the smile is based on getting your money.

Now the down side: everybody in Thailand from 12 year old school kids to grandmas drive a moterbike, and pedestrians have no rights at all, so watch out. They won't run you down, but they will swerve around instead of stopping.

Prang Nau is so laid back, but time to leave.

"James Bond " Island



We arrived at Phuket airport an opted out of doing anything there after reading and hearing about the over the top tourist BS, so we got a bus (after resisting a hoard of taxi drivers) and arrived in a non descrept town of Prang Nau in fantastic surroundings of tremendous limestone spires. We found a fantastic inn for 17$ and really like the totally local and friendly flavour.

And things got better. The boat tour out to Prang Nau Marine National Park was fantastic. It is an area of huge limestone mountains flooded by the sea in the last 12K years. And the best remaining mangrove forests in T. Caves and the shoreline drip with stalagmites (or is it stalactites?) One stop was "James Bond Island", so named because a Bond film used this location. Not surprising, the tiny island has been turned into tourist trap with stalls lining the only flat spot, and a mass of boats pulled up.