Thailand III

(not sure why this was never published...  continuation of my visit to Thailand in April 2009.  click on the "Thailand" category to the left for the first two entries.)

Wildlife is abundant. Not only do geckos, ginkos and ants make an appearance, there is a peacock family complete with five little babies, a few geese, and a very hungry orange cat.

The sun beats down as the beach and the pool beckon. Annie and I strike out for the open water and end up walking quite a ways on the shallow reef. Ended up with a cool picture of the two of us far from shore, but standing on the reef in such a way we look like we're walking on water. We may have passed some interesting underwater flora and fauna, but we didn't want to look too closely seeing as we were wading right through it. The water is like the wind. Patches of cooler water appear out of nowhere. The sand is coarse and new on the water's edge, with softer sand further up.

One day we rent motorbikes. It's a long way around the island and at one point we're caught in driving rain. The rain drops sting as they hit my arms and face at 40 km/hr, but the cool breeze is welcome. It pours and we're soaked. Then the hot sun comes back out to bake us dry. A very long side road takes us to Treetop Resort on Long Beach. The road alternates between a strip of pavement, dirt, and gravel, and rises and falls sharply. The Treetop has a lovely restaurant area overlooking the beach with hammocks and guests reading in the afternoon breeze. The rooms are only 100-300 baht per night (~$3-10), but the lack of airconditioning makes me tired just thinking about it.

Back on the bike, stopping to take pictures this time. Made the mistake of pulling into a ditch to make sure I was out of the way of traffic and couldn't get the bike back out. It was heavier than I expected and the sides of the ditch were steep. I tried giving it some gas but it just sputtered in the leaves. I cranked the gas some more and the bike shot up the side in an alarming burst of power I didn't feel capable of reigning in. I let go and tumbled to my left. My fall was surprisingly graceful and left me with only a few cuts and bruises. The bike's left mirror was knocked loose, but it seemed fine too. A kind passerby helped me right the bike and continue on my way. It wasn't until I caught up with my mom and Annie that I realized the camera had fallen out during my tumble. Thankfully the dry, weedchoked ditch provided a good cover and I was able to recover a hot, but otherwise unharmed camera.

The problem with cuts and abrasions is they don't mix well with salt water or chlorine. The next day being our last at the beach, I tried out the pool and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't sting. Swimming in the ocean awakened a cut on my shin, but wasn't too bad either. All of this leads me back to our disappointingly lengthened van ride home. You see, getting back at 5 am wouldn't have been such a big deal if not for the fact that we were leaving at 8 am that morning for Khun Tan (in the mountains)...

...to be continued...