Ko Tarutao National Marine Park

Next destination wasn't far from the Thale Ban National Park - Ko Tarutao just off the West coast of the most southern point of Thailand. The journey to the pier by songthaew was easier and cheaper than expected and we had time for breakfast after buying our tickets. When our departure time was approaching the guy who sold us our tickets led us to a boat where we had to walk across a plank balanced between the pier and the boat (slightly worrying when carrying my bag and feeling slightly top-heavy).

We got ourself some seats and waited as the boat filled up. Only when the boat was just about to pull away did the bloke checking our tickets informed us that because it was a national holiday the island was full so the boat was heading to one of the smaller islands instead. We made a hasty exit including a bit of a leap of faith off the boat and managed to get on the right one just in time.

When we arrived on the island an hour later it was confirmed that there was no accomadation free except for the two last tents which the staff found highly amusing. We were told that they were small tents, but only when we set up camp on the beach under some palm trees did we discover that small really did mean small i.e. about 5 foot long! Needless to say that a tiny, sand-filled tent wasn't the best couple of nights sleep I've ever had, but it was more than outweighed by waking up to a beautiful and practically deserted palm-tree lined beach and being able to run into the tropically clear water first thing to wake up.

There really wasn't much to do on the island, although we did explore some of the coast which involved some rock climbing to discover a completely deserted beach. Rather than just walk back the way we came we decided to head back by the road behind the beach which we soon discoverred was taking us up into the mountainous and jungle-covered centre of the island. When we eventually found our way back to the beach the only way down was by some more rock-climbing with only a tatty piece of rope for support which was slightly unnerving but all good fun.

My close encounters with nature continued whilst taking a late-night dip to cool off before heading back to our tents. It was really beautiful and relaxing floating around in the moonlight until a jellyfish decided to sting me on my wrist. For those of you who have never had the pleasure, it hurst. A lot! It sent shooting pains up and down my arm and generally stung like hell. Also for future reference, I can personally guarantee that peeing on a jellyfish sting doesn't do anything to improve the situation! Monique didn't help the matter by informing me that there are jellyfish around SE Asia which can kill you within minutes and insisted on asking me if I had any chest pains.

The next night, however, my faith in the local wildlife was restored. Shortly before sunset we set out on a short hike to a viewing point at the top of one of the cliffs. The sunset that night was disappointing compared to the previous night, and one-by-one people started heading back down to make sure they finished the walk down before the light faded completely. Moments after everyone apart from us had started the descent, a family of monkeys made there way up to the viewing point. There were probably 4 or 5 adult langurs and a couple of babies climbing over the roof of the hut and generally checking us out. It made me feel like they were the ones interested in us rather than the other way round, but they were relaxed enough to play in the trees only a couple of metres from us and de-flea each other. It was a pretty fantastic experience, and definitely worth the treacherous walk down in the dark to watch them for a while.

Camping on such a beautiful and quiet beach (I've no idea where all the Thais enjoying their national holiday disappeared to) was a really memorable experience. However, as beautiful as the island was, it felt nice to head back on the ferry after a couple of nights looking forward to being able to straighten my legs in a proper bed which wasn't full of sand and insects.

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