Island isolation and monkeys

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So what kind of person am I? The kind that likes complete isolation and solitude WITHOUT any of the normal amenities found in the good ol USA. well, lemme tell ya, amy and I found out what kind of people we are on Koh Turatao while camping at the national park. Picture yellowstone with monkeys, shared bathrooms and giant spiders in 90% humidity with no fans, all the while having to install our own mosquito net.

When we left Pak Bara on the morning of the 30th, we found out there was no way we would get any accomodation on Ko Lipe because of the holiday so we thought we were fortunate to get a "room" at the national park. We found out when we got there that a tent would have been just as good as the room though. We did stay two nights there including New Year's. The advantage to the island was that there was NO ONE there. We took a 30 minute Disneyland like bus ride over to a different beach on the island the morning of the 31st and were one of maybe 20 on the 3km beach.

We decided before the day got too hot to head off to the waterfall that was listed as an easy 1.5 hour hike from the beach. Round trip it was 4 miles, but ended at a beautiful, tropical fresh water pool which we both swam in. Nate must have sweat two liters on the way but we managed to make it through without getting bitten by, or even seeing, any snakes (I was pretty certain that we would step on one any minute.)

After the hike we headed back to the deserted beach and hid from the sun under a tree within 20 feet of the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging, reading, swimming and generally not doing much of anything.

Got up this morning and headed to the beach for two hours before catching the fastboat to Ko Lipe finally! We found a room with a real bed, air conditioning and a REAL TOILET! It's amazing what you find to be a luxury after "camping" in the state park. We are headed out to the beach to sit on a mat, drink Sang Som and Singha for the night.

By the way, if you've heard of the bombing in Bangkok, we are as far away from Bangkok as we could possibly be and still be within Thailand's borders. We found out from Canadian born, Bangkok english teachers last night at dinner when they got cell phone calls from their friends in Bangkok. (amazing, but I think they get better cell coverage here in the middle of the ocean than we get on the key peninsula...)

Gmail still isn't working - whoever is watching the dogs and needs the ear medication, it's in the hall closet on the upper portion in a green tube about four inches long. A couple of drops twice a day for about a week and it should clear up. If you need more medication, take Kona into any Banfield. Thank you for taking care of the kids! Love ya all.

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Comments

[Damnthing]

puppies are good
Kona wasn't displaying any ear problems, I was just asking because it wasn't on the list. Handed dogs off to J-Lo on Saturday, they were healthy and happy bouncing around as usual. J-Lo should still have my contact info if they need me to cover for them. You guys sound like you're having a blast! Keep up the good work!

[damnthing]

also
there was nothing about monkeys in that last post. i want my money back.