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Published: March 28th 2013
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March 27
th,
Though breath taking, Koh Tarotao wasn’t exactly what I had made it up to be in my mind. As avid campers the research we had done on this island made it sound like it was right up our alley. Koh Tarotao is a marine national park as far south in Thailand has one can go without ending up in Malaysia. It is the most untouched island in all of Thailand covered mainly in dense old growth, swamps and limestone cliffs. In 1938-1948 it was home to more than 3,000 criminals as a secluded island prison where men were left to roam amongst the dangers of the island taking to piracy or dieing of malaria. The island now is mainly shut down except for the western side where camping and hiking is permitted. When researching it was presumed that we were able to camp where we pleased as well as snorkeling but when we got there we were herded like cattle to designated areas and the only way to get to the part of ocean where there is live coral was by boat which cost and arm leg, nose and ear. On top of everything there happened to be
beach camping
this is from a ground view from a crab hill perspective, but also where we camped slightly up from the crabs a marathon in which some 200 people would be showing up the next day so there were no bikes available to rent so we walked our happy asses the 12km to our campsite. Located on our map as camp as location “6” (real name Ao Son) was by far the best part of Koh Tarotao or at least the best designated area. We were the only tents on the beach but the rest of the area was ran by 1 small family of local Thai people, the mother having lived on Koh Tarotao for more than 25 years did all the cooking and supplying of needs for the area. Her daughter was deaf and extremely happy. My small amount of sign language was not the least bit helpful because having been raised on a secluded island her whole life she only communicated by noises, pointing, laughing, bowing and putting her hand over her heart. I loved being around her and the jungle in silence. Also staying near us but not on the beach was a group of four Scottish blokes around our age. They were also one of the best parts of area “6”. Sam and Allen were a sweet
gay couple that I'm pretty sure didn’t have a mean bone in there body, they had been traveling now for a year and were just recently joined by there friends Katie and Nigel who was a dwarf. I can't say I have ever encountered a small person traveling especially to such a far away and physically straining place. His pack was not much smaller than him and he slipped and fell during a hike up some rocks one day splitting the brow of his head open but it didn’t seem to bother him at all. He was an adventurer! Always dressed in a Hawaiian print shirt and board shorts that touched his toes his optimistic attitude was contagious.
Though I don’t watch too much TV I did find out that the last season of survivor was filmed on Koh Tarotao and with good reason. That was exactly how I felt the whole time I was there, survival was something you had to always keep in mind. The 12km raid to Ao Son was lined with random signs saying only the word “Danger!” and nothing else. While hiking into the jungle you must always be on the look out for
monkeys, crocodile sized lizard’s pythons and cobras. Fucking cobras, where is a honey badger when you need one? We were only greeted by these creatures a few times, a couple snakes in the trees, dozens of monkeys everywhere, herds of wild boar and only 1 lizard who managed to get into our tent and spent the night with us under Jacobs pillow without us realizing till the morning. We spent one afternoon trying to find a small waterfall 3km (by flight) inland, which actually meant 6km by foot. It was worth the trek to get to the small swimming whole filled with crystal clear fresh cold water. Though I was haunted by the thought of pythons swimming anywhere near me I tried to put it out of my mind long enough to cool off from the hot hot hike. Jacob however was unable to swim due to multiple foot injuries. After getting blisters from his diving fins in Koh Lipe he also took a spill in a creek near our camp while taking a hippie bath. Covering the rocks at the bottom of the creek are small shells that are razor sharp and sliced both of his big toes in the creases of his feet. Due to all the new bacteria and monkey poo filled rivers that would mean the end of water adventures for him for the rest of our trip. We wouldn’t want another staph scare like in 2011….
We spent 2 days at Ao Son in our tent on the beach but it wasn’t the usual camping we like to do. We were also hoping to do some cooking but were not allowed to have fires or fish for that matter. Though on the first day we encountered a local fisherman bringing up a 4-pound barracuda from the ocean to the kitchen. Jacob immediately called dibs on the fish and later that evening mama fried the whole thing up for us with a homemade sweet chili sauce and some sticky rice. It was a feast! I’d also like to mention the incredibly sweet fruit we had for breakfast every day. This family was doing it all, vegetables from there gardens, slaughtering there own chickens and tending to our adventure wounds with there first aid remedies. We were a small family for the 2 days we were there. Just us, the Scottish blokes and our Thai mamas. We finally started heading back towards the pier on our last day thinking that the marathon was now over though area “1” was now over ran with LARGE groups of Asians (not sure from where) on holiday. It was time for us to leave and return to Koh Lipe, our new home away from home but not before a couple crowded, blistering hot boat rides back. I thanked the island for its beauty and for not endangering us too much and I was on my way.
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