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Published: February 25th 2006
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Snowbirds beware, I've entered bikini territory.
I hate the fact that I've completley skipped winter this year because I do enjoy the changing of the seasons but I suppose that the substitution of sand and sunshine rather than snow shovels and ski hats isn't all too bad. I was shocked to say the least by difference of cultures simply on either side of the Thai/Malay border. While Malaysia was enjoyable if you were to seek out your own happy spot, I think I might die here in Thailand from an overdose of the fun button. As delicately as I can say this, the Muslim community of Malaysia was not the most welcoming, and while I know that it was of no fault of my own, but more to be blamed on the ongoing clashing between religious zeal and the infringing western culture, my stay in Malaysia was rather disappointing. Thailand, however, holds a much more internationally accepting society where the amount of tourist dollars you spend dictate someone's opinion of you rather than the color of your skin or the language you speak.
So after passing over the river that seperates these two vastly different countries, it was easy
to see the transition to tourism. The first man I met in Thailand was the busdriver that would take me to Hat Yai, the hotbed jumping point for north bound backpackers. Royal and I sat with this scrawny old guy as he told us stories about the Tsunami, his 3 wives, his buisness, family and gambling habits. His overall demeanor was so free flowing with candidness that I immediately wanted to meet more people just like him! He sliced through the southern jungles of Thailand in his minibus at a speed twice that of nearly any other car on the road. One might think that being a proprietor of public transportation, he might consider the safety of his passengers, but efficiency was the name of his game. He was aiming to get us there in some type of record when all I could think was that I'm really not in any rush, slow down and relax.
I never thought that I'd find heaven in a ten dollar a night hotel room, but after my Malayian monkey mishap, I would have paid much more than what I did for a good night's sleep and a little piece of mind. The
added bonus of warm water and an actual toilet seat to sit onto when taking care of business was just the cherry on top of the biggest accomodation sundae I've ever had. Rested and rejuvinated, we set out for Krabi and the island of Ko Phi Phi lying a few hours north. But as our plans have tended to change momentously throughout the day, we went to buy a bus ticket north and headed immediately west. The tour guide asked if we'd heard of Ko Lipe and as its not listed in the trusty Lonely Planet guide that has become more of a bible than a book, we clearly had no idea what this place was like. She said we should check it out and voila...
Ko Lipe is a breeding ground for contraversy right now due to the fact that the Thai government recently lifted the National Marine Park label from the island and its now being sold off for development. There are land disputes all over the beach which actually is a good thing for the immediate future because no one is building on the unsettled land thus keeping it as pristine as it was fifty years
ago. As I've mentioned before, I have no real plans, reservations, transportation schedule aside from the big airline tickets so it is always a gamble whether or not there are going to be beds wherever we show up. This island was one beach I would have been most willing to spend the night sleeping on but as luck would have it, the first place we inquired within had two open bungalows. I hadn't realized how close Royal and I had been living until we split up for the week and had own own domain and no shared space. It seems like we've been in bunk beds for the past two months and the peace and quiet I was expecting within my own bungalow did last for a few hours.
We have both been talking about becoming certified for Scuba Diving because there are some world class marine life within these parts of Thailand. It may have made more sense to become certified in Australia near the Great Barrier Reef, but we never quite made it that far north and aside from that, Thailand is cheap as hell! So while I'd never do anything to blantantly upset the delicate balance
Zissou 2
I found Nemo! I'm attempting between life and temptation of death, cut rate Scuba is not on my list. We went with the most reputable dive instructors on the island and made sure we were the only two in the class so that we would learn and learn fast. By the second day of class, I was thirty feet down in the water watching schools of fish swim over me while attempting to learn regulator recovery and proper protocol for removing the BCD. TO say that I may never be able to Snorkel again is no stretch. My entire life I've spent significant amount of time in water whether it was on teh swimming and diving team as a small child to my lifelong struggle to learn surfing, I've had some seriously fun times. Nothing, however, has compared with the past few days spent Scuba Diving.
I've never had a more rewarding experience within water, and I haven't even really seen much at all. Whereby Bungy Jumping or skydiving may elicit feelings of flight and the likeness of birds, I have definately become part fish. Ryan, our instructor asked us upon completion of the course if we had a lot of experience
in water and I gave him my breif resume. He said that it made sense because he normally wouldn't certify people in three days unless he felt very comfortable with their underwater skills. Four dives, three days, two fins and one unofficial member of the Zissou Society.
If I've began to be negative or skeptical, please don't read further but my accomodation experience on Ko Lipe must be documented:
I've never thought about what it might feel like to be bitten by a rat. I did get inoculated for rabies before setting out on this venture and its a good thing that the little fucker didn't draw blood, but I was definately awoken one night to find a very large rodent attempting to eat my big toe like it was a piece of cheese. Now while a bungalow on the beach may sound like heaven, the paper thin walls, misquito nets and lack of any air circulation is enough to prevent any sleep at all. Throw in the bar in front of my bungalow that blasted techno music to nearly 5am everynight and the family of varmin living underneath my bed, it wasn't quite the heaven I was
hoping for. We both found assorted lizards living in our shower bins and Royal was nearly stung by a scorpion the size of a hand one night. Now the thought did occur to me that they weren't the ones invading my territorial bubble, I was in fact penetrating their home. So without sounding too pessimistic or appearing that I'm that guy who's traveling around the world and complaining the entire way, I've chosen to depict some of my bizarre experiences, both positive and negative. I'm always tweaking with the pictures contained within these blogs so if you're still reading and want to avoid working for a little bit longer, check back to some of the other blogs for updated pictures or check out Royal's blog, blogger name FishBowlEscapes. As for me, get me a red cap and a speedo, I'm going to find the Bellefonte!
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Andrea
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Princess Bride Anyone?
Hey John!! I love it!! The rat and scorpion story put this whole trip of yours into a different perspective for me....to think I was jealous of you??!! Haha just kidding..I love reading your blogs, especially all the little hiccups you have along the way. Love and miss you, be safe out there and watch out for the unusually large rodents in the fire swamp!! ;)