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Published: December 24th 2008
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Greetings & Happy Holidays!
We've been in northern Thailand for a week now, pressed up against the border with Myanmar, following fifteen days basking (and, at times, boiling) in the sun on four beachy getaways off Thailand's south-west coast. At the outset, we'd like to note that the timing of this entry is a coincidence, weather-wise, and not a conscious effort to alienate friends and family.
Our first stop in Thailand was Koh Bulon Leh (rhymes with Bollé). Getting there was certainly not half the fun, requiring a nine hour bus and mini-van ride from Malaysia to a pier where we caught a small, open boat (that had certainly seen better days) in the midst of a downpour--our engine seized after two hours, with our destination in sight. As we cursed our second high-seas breakdown in as many months, our captain managed to rouse a tow boat after several calls on his and one of our fellow passenger's cell phones. After a wet and wavy hour delay (during which we entertained a three-year-old girl from the Czech Republic with endless rounds of peek-a-boo to stave off the guilt we felt about being the only people with rain gear), a
fishing boat arrived to take us to shore, where we had a victorious dinner of pad thai, masaman curry, and Singha beer.
Bulon Leh itself is tiny, and in its tourist infancy, with two small bungalow hotels located on either side of a mile-long stretch of white sand beach. The rain and gloom that greeted us slowly subsided during our stay, and we were able to hit the essentially deserted beach more each day--doing our best to avoid contact with (1) "hammock man," so-called not for the justifiable reason that he strung a hammock between the two small trees on the beach each day, but because he wore a the same white g-string at all hours (including once when we happened upon him washing dishes in the ocean), and (2) the island's thriving mosquito population, who knew to strike when we were on our stomachs and defenseless, and who were absolutely unimpressed with the 100% DEET, 40 SPF, 100% DEET chemical sandwich we applied each day before heading out. Save for the bloodletting though, Bulon Leh was blissfully uneventful: we swam, played chess, threw the tennis ball with our hotel's golden retriever (relishing the return of pet dogs after
Umbrellas
Koh Phi Phi, Long Beach two months in predominantly Muslim countries), and enjoyed a lot of great food and beer brought to us by a staff whose attentiveness we may have piqued during a translation SNAFU when Anna tried to explain to our waiter that she gets a headache if she doesn't have coffee by pointing to her half-empty cup, saying loudly and slowly "IF NO COFFEE," and then using her hands to signal that her head was exploding, which, instead of simply making for interesting mimed conversation, resulted in the waiter getting incredibly wide eyed, running to the kitchen, and returning with the coffee pot.
From Bulon Leh, we took a speed boat two hours east to Koh Lipe, the only developed island in a group of 50 that form the stunning Tarutao National Park. On Lipe we stayed in a cliff side bungalow at the new and aptly named Mountain Resort, perched above the island's iridescent, aqua blue water. Once ensconced, we bore unfortunate witness to the apparent efforts of the older, upwind hotel on our same beach to empty the Mountain Resort by lighting daily, noxious trash fires (mmmm trash fires). As a result, we made corresponding daily ten-minute walks to
Fire dancer
Koh Phi Phi the nearby Sunset Beach to take in the unimpeded tropical sun, and dine on fresh fish at the tranquil Porn Resort (don't ask; all we know is it's not what you think). On our last day, we went for a fabulous five-stop snorkeling trip through the national park, the highlight of which came when we found ourselves smack in the middle of tens of thousands of tiny silver fish, who swarmed and swirled around us.
From Lipe, we traveled about 250 miles north by speed and ferry boat to Railay, a small beach cut off from the mainland and divided in three by awe-inspiringly beautiful, thousand-foot granite cliffs that rise straight out of the surrounding blue/green water (see pictures below--we have more too, believe me). Anna was here in 2000, when she stayed at a simple bungalow hotel catering to the rock climbers that put Railay on the map. She spent a good chunk of our first two days in a trance-like state, repeating the phrase "None of this was here last time," as we wandered from beach to beach--the "this" referring to the four huge resorts that now dominate the beachfront (including one that starts at $600 night),
Koh Bulon Leh
Admiring the view the thousands of tourists that filled the beaches each day--some of whom we saw sparring for scarce chase lounges starting at 8 a.m.--and the cattywompus urban planning that resulted in us having to dash through plumes of generator exhaust to reach our hotel each night. We concluded that the beach's popularity is worth it, however, following extensive conversations held both while laying on our backs in the water looking up at the cliffs, and sprawled on the beach eating a late snack of corn on the cob, pineapple and cold beer bought from one of the friendly beach vendors.
Ko Phi Phi was the final stop on our beach quad-fecta, and the tone for this more freewheeling stop was set early on when the booze-scented guy in front of us on the ferry ride threw up on his shirt. Only an hour from Phuket, we learned during our stay that there are more than a dozen Northern European airports with direct flights into the Phuket International Airport, making it a relatively easy and inexpensive getaway for the predominantly twenty-something Scandinavian crowd. We had no trouble finding tranquility beneath the waves, however, and we clocked two scuba and two snorkel
trips in four days on the island (this time captured on film, thanks to the staff at Viking Divers, who were great). Highlights included green sea turtles, leopard sharks, black-tipped reef sharks, and an eclectic posse of fish we watched grow in size, "Beat It" style, until several large, bright blue fish at the front threw themselves into the coral, dislodging underwater tidbits that they, some big yellow fish, some smaller purple fish, and a few hesitant trumpet fish promptly gobbled up. At night, we enjoyed easily the best Thai food of the trip at two different mom-and-pop eateries, the best being Papaya. We also partook in ridiculously cheap Thai massages, as well as the party-scene atmosphere, which reached its zenith when we (along with hundreds of other revelers) hit up one of the numerous bucket vendors on the island, paying $8 for a plastic bucket that was filled with a pint of hard alcohol, a liter of sprite, a red bull, and topped with ice. While sipping our buckets, we watched Muay Thai boxing at the incongruously named Rasta Bar, took in a fire show, then returned to the Rasta Bar to watch tourists beat on each other in
Our pad
Koh Bulon Leh the hopes of winning a free bucket for themselves. Good times.
It's Christmas Eve here in northern Thailand, and we are getting ready to head to Mass (stay tuned for a video of Jub singing "Silent Night" in Thai). Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! We love and miss you!!
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louise
non-member comment
Happy New Year
Hoping that you are enjoying every minute except the typical meltdowns we all have; life is good here. We just got back from Pacific Grove with Christopher and baby and Jennifer...great fun and the weather was fabulous. Your parents and we hope to get together before they leave. They are pretty ensconced in Anacortes as you know. And the weather has been difficult to figure with snow these last 10 days! Lindsay is in New Hampshire with her "boy friend"...such a silly term but I am not sure what to call a 34 year old. My great wish for us all is that you stay safe and upon your return will have an evening for those who love and miss you so that we can hear the long version. Some, I for one, will want the looooong version and will camp there for days. Much love to you and Jub! Auntie Lou