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Published: April 14th 2008
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We have arrived in Paradise! Well, sort of.
Finding a serene and secluded tropical beach is a bit harder than we imagined... tourism and commercialism have really taken over Thailand, and there do not seem to be many regulations about how much is too much when it comes to developing the islands or protecting the natural environment. We were in search of that postcard perfect beach with like, only 5 other people on it. Ha! Fat chance.
Before leaving Bangkok, we saw a sticker on the back of a bathroom door advertising a reggae guesthouse that was "off the beaten path", so we jumped on the opportunity. We succeeded in finding a "locals" beach, but the beach itself was covered in trash. Gross. Rumour has it that some of the islands up north near Cambodia are still relatively "undeveloped", so we eagerly set about to do some island hopping in search of paradise. Mission more or less complete! Ko Samet... Ko Chang... Ko Mak... Ko Wai... we spent three whole weeks just laying around on glorious beaches sleeping, reading, eating, and drinking beer. Laziness at its finest, and was exactly what we needed after a month of racing around
Beach Vendor on Ko Samet
Life is really, really hard. europe.
Our best adventure was on the island of Ko Chang. The island is marketed as the "next Ko Phi Phi" (an island down south that is known for its amazing beaches and party scene), and so was rather crowded, but we did manage to find a place that few seemed to know of and/or access. Its called "The Treehouse" and was on the far, undeveloped, non public transit accessible side of the island. We heard about it from a few backpackers on our first night and decided to give it a shot the following morning.
Transportation out there was a gong show: unless we were willing to pay exorbitant prices for a taxi (we weren't), our only option was to hitchhike. So, hitchhike we did. In the bed of a pickup truck filled with Thai farmers. A wee bit nerve-wracking for me as "stranger danger!" lessons of my childhood came flooding back and I was
sure this was the end. My overactive imagination told me that they were cocaine farmers (a la the movie "The Beach") and that we were going to be kidnapped and/or tortured to death.
Ridiculous fears unfounded; of course the men turned
out to be decent and kind and they took us to the guesthouse. It was super charming! We rented a beach hut that was literally right on the beach - a very long, very picturesque beach - the beach of our dreams. Even better was that there were very few people around! At first we were completely beside ourselves... we had this incredible hut right on the water, a deck with a hammock, the food was amazing, the water was what you see on postcards for destinations you could only dream of... and then we sorta realized we had stepped into an alternate universe. A universe where everyone is high on drugs. Not kidding. Picture perfect Treehouse turned into picture perfect Crack Camp. Apparently, because of the proximity to the Cambodia border (where drugs are plentiful, or so we've heard), travellers cross the border, load up, then return and string out for a few days in paradise on the undeveloped side of an island. Even the staff were on something. It. Was. Not. Awesome.
The only redeeming quality of Crack Camp is that while there, we hit it off with two other Canadian couples and the six of us
A Little R&R
Days spent laying around doing absolutely nothing; it was glorious! had a fabulous time drinking, kayaking, and dodging crackheads together. One afternoon we all rented kayaks and paddled to a neighbouring island that, from our beach, really didn't look too far away. Ha! Estimating kayak distance and time between ocean islands is not a talent of anyone from team Canada. What we all thought would take "oh, half an hour at most" was a 2.5 venture each way. Apparently, there is this whole thing with tides and whatnot to consider. Whoopsie.
Some random things we have noticed while wasting away on beautiful Thai islands:
• Coconuts can kill you. Seriously. We have become uncomfortably aware of how randomly they fall. Bit of a hazard, really.
• Thai television advertises a TON of products for skin whitening. It's crazy! North Americans are all about frying in the Crisco, whereas Thai people worry about making sure their skin doesn't get too dark. Apparently the reason behind this is that it is a social status thing... dark skin means you have to work outside vs. having a "better" office job. This would also be why Thai people swim fully clothed.
Anyhow, we don't really have any fascinating stories about Thailand
thus far, as we haven't really done much except for lounge on beaches and drink. Even snorkelling felt like it required too much effort. Our goal was to just hang out and steal a little piece of sunshine and paradise, and so in that regard, Thailand Round One was a complete success.
The best beach was Ko Mak-- it is supposedly one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Don't know about that, but it sure was beautiful! We got some amazing photos, have recharged our batteries, and are now ready to take on the rest of SE Asia! We will absolutely be returning to Thailand later in our trip, and when we do, really look forward to actually seeing the country (not just the beaches) and experiencing the culture (not just the beer).
T and K rule the world!
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