Ko Phayam & farewell to Thailand and Laura!

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It's hard to describe our time at Ko Phayam, an island off the southwest coast of Thailand, as more than a wonderful, relaxing week at the beach. Our ferry from Ranong arrived at the island's pier in the early afternoon, and, after grabbing a bite to eat and deciding which area we wanted to stay in, we hopped on the backs of three motorbike-taxis (the island didn't have any roads big enough for cars) bound for Ao Yai Beach. When we got there, we were told that many of the area's bungalows and guesthouses were full and were given a recommendation for Lucky Resort, a brand new set of bungalows set back from the beach a little ways. Though a little pricier than we'd planned, we couldn't help but stay there after seeing the giant, new and clean bungalows and meeting the friendly staff, as well as their many cute pets! We soon found out that two of the staff's cats were pregnant and two had recently had kittens, which were tiny and adorable. One cat in particular liked to frequent our porch and even jump inside our bungalow through the window on occasion. We also had a few other visitors, including geckos, cicaidas, and one giant spider (thankfully our mosquito net was also spider proof!).

Throughout the week we met a number of interesting people, including a nice German couple, Andrea and Julian, who were working at the bungalows we passed when heading to the beach every day. They were nice enough to give us some info about the island, introduced us to Burmese food (the island is very close to Burma and is home to many Burmese) and even taught me how to play Bakgammon. We also met some Britain natives who owned a cute little veg cafe with great Burmese food and local coffee where we ate breakfast/lunch several times. The ladies, though very nice, seemed to be perpetually hung over and out of it, though, so the service wasn't exactly quick or efficient. We didn't really mind, since there were hammocks for us to relax in and a small library for us to browse. A few days into our trip, we met two Americans, Liz and Harrison, and a Jamaican, Cheryl, who were on vacation from teaching in China. We made friends with them and hung out with them a good bit throughout the week.

One day, Scott and I decided to rent a motorbike to see more of the island. We found some great views and even came across a beached (and nearly capsized) boat. The owners seemed to think it was securely anchored, but we were a bit skeptical...The next time we rented a motorbike in order to attend a Thai-Reggae-Ska concert - yes, it was as bizarre as it sounds, but fun nonetheless - I began trying on helmets to find a good fit. I put one on that (thank goodness) was too big for me, and as soon as I took it off a giant spider crawled out of it and an ant nest erupted out of the lining. This was absolutely terrifying, but would have been more so had the helmet still been on my head!

Our lodging situation turned out to be great, and most nights we slept well, even though the power went off at midnight each night, thus turning our fan off. Luckily the nights were cool and we were able to leave our windows open. One night was particularly interesting, however, when our eccentric neighbor/Michael Bolton look-alike and his Thai girlfriend kept us up all night with their...loudness. Another night, Scott got a fever, which wasn't fun - even though it was warm outside, he needed three blankets! Thankfully, he felt better the next day, although his fever came and went for the next few days.

After our lazy week of drinking fruit shakes, hanging out on the beach and reading, we took the ferry back to Ranong and caught an overnight bus to Bangkok. Our crazy driver made us carsick, so we didn't sleep very well, but we made it safely around 5:00 a.m. as all the partiers were ending their nights with street food (or more booze). We'd booked a hotel in advance, but we were told we couldn't check in until noon (even though we'd been told otherwise when we booked the place). So, instead of crashing in the lobby, we found another place nearby and slept for three hours before venturing out into the city for one last hoorah in Thailand and some last minute shopping. We got some coffee on the street, ate lunch, hit the infamous Khao San Road, and eventually made it to Wat Pho to see the giant golden reclining Buddha - very cool. After that, we took a tuk tuk back to the hotel so Scott could rest, since he was feeling a bit under the weather again, and Laura and I got one last two hour Thai massage. This was by far the most interesting massage I've gotten during my travels, considering the ladies kept talking the whole time and answering their phones, and, at one point, a German lady brought her two small children in for massages, which was quite strange. The massage itself was good, though. We had our last Thai dinner at the hotel and, exhausted, got a good night's sleep after saying goodbye to Laura (sad!) since she had to leave for the airport at 4:00 a.m. The next day, we were off to Mumbai, India for the next chapter of our traveling adventures!

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Comments

[cindy benson]

cute kitties!
Beautiful trip! I love keeping up and reading your blog! Photos are great! Experience of a lifetime! Enjoy and stay safe.