Treehouse / Long Beach

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One of the bar/restaurants on lonely beach really stood out from the others. Called the treehouse, it was built up on stilts over the ocean and featured mats next to low tables and hammocks too! The food was amazing and the vibe excellent with slow, relaxing music blending with the sound of the surf. They had a big sign near the entrance (paraphrased) "Are you tired of all the commotion on this beach? Us too! We've moved to peaceful Long Beach away from the hustle and bustle...bungalows are 250-300 baht and a bus leaves every morning at 10." I was getting a little fed up with the repetiveness of local scene and decided to give it a try.

I arrived early, had a thai breakfast (sort of rice porridge), and set myself up in a hammock until the bus rolled in. The "bus" was a pickup truck with seating in the back. The tide was in and to get to the bus I had to cross a small bridge made of sandbags and rocks which was submerged to a depth of about 30cm. So I hefted on my big backpack with the small one tied on back and careful stepped across. Only my damned flip-flop got caught under one of the rocks, underwater. This I realized when I took the next step. So I'm balanced on one foot trying to reach down to get my shoe which is making its break for freedom out into the ocean. Floating away in slow motion with the ebb+flow of the waves and I'm reaching toward it with about 200lbs of backpacker crap strapped to my back very carefully maintaining balance. Is there a stick I could reach it with? no. I crossed the rest of the bridge, dropped the pack, but my flip-flop was long gone. I rode the bus to long beach single-shoed. It was certainly a conversation starter.

Long beach is on the most remote part of the island, the last 20km could only in the most charitable terms be called "road". The only electricity came when they switched on the generator at 6pm. No shoe shops of any kind. My bungalow was very Gilligan's Island, except with a mosquito net. The showers there consisted of a basin full of water and algae and a plastic bucket. The bucket brought back bad memories, but then I remembered my tee-lak & smiled a little. The beach itself was gorgeous, soft sand, no rocks, shells or anything else. Very shallow, I had to walk out 200m before I could immerse myself but it was worth it. There was a small hut and platform by the beach where three Thai women offered beachside massage for 250 baht an hour. They were older, very experienced and really excellent at their craft. Thai massage doesn't use oil, it's more of a tiger-balm type of cream that smells like Vicks vapo-rub. Thai massage might be a bit chiropractic, as the way they twist and bend you around is bound to have some spinal effect. I visited every day.

At night, a local thai eccentric set up a fire of driftwood on the beach and played the drums and passed around some ganga. I considered him eccentric because he wore a full-length plains indian headress that reached almost down to his ankles! This you don't see often in Thailand. He spoke some english and was a very cool person. It was a relaxing time and I met some interesting people including a very cool couple from Finland and a bizarre Frenchman who bragged about annual 13 weeks paid vacation from his government job. Good for him, um, super glad I'm not paying for it...

The conditions were a little too primitive for my taste so I decided to head back to the mainland, or at least somewhere THEY SELL SHOES grrrr. It took 2 tries to make it up for the 8am bus; a bit like the hotel california - you can check in any time you like, but you can never leave...

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Photos

treehouse (low tide)
The bridge on the left was submerged at high tide when it ate my flip-flop =(

long beach
view from my back, watch for falling coconuts..

long beach
sunset

long beach bungalow
no phone, no lights, no motor cars, not a single luxury...