Green Curry and Sun Burns

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand
April 16th 2007

Published: April 16th 2007

Edit Blog Post

Jennie T

yuge311

The cute little three-wheeled tuk tuks that are so common in Thailand

Our train let us off right at the Thailand boarder, where we had to walk 2km across the boarder and find a local train to take us to the transportation hub of Hat Yai. Hat Yai was a bit out of the way for our destination of the series of Trang’s Andaman Islands, but we had to go inland first in order to catch a ride to some of the less touristy islands.

I started to like the country of Thailand as soon as I boarded the bus to Hat Yai. It was run by two carefree guys who looked like they were actually having fun on their job. The bus driver actually talked on his cell phone for a period of time while driving (this may seem unnerving to some, but after coming from Malaysia where everyone seemed to have a much more strict personality, it was a little refreshing to see the Thai people be so relaxed). And his helper sidekick would hang out the doorway saying hello to people as we passed by and jump off and on the bus to pick up food or chat with the people on the street. They put on a

yuge310

Missy riding in the back of a tuk tuk

video on the TV at the front of the bus of Thai pop singer’s music videos that had subtitles so everyone could sing along. I learned a couple of words like “I” and “love” from those music videos. The bus itself was extremely retro, made of shiny silver metal. It looked like a lot of those retro trailer-type diners that you can eat at in the U.S. It was decorated from front to back with silk flowers and bright curtains.

After about an hour and a half we arrived in Hat Yai totally bewildered. It was clear that Thai people spoke and understood English a lot less than Malaysian people (No that I expect them to speak it). Everything was written in Thai script, whereas in Malaysia Roman script is used. We had no idea where to get of the bus or where to find a place to stay for the night. Missy thought she saw a sign for a hotel, so at the next stop we jumped off and headed that way. It was indeed a hotel, but a bit ritzy. I figured it would be okay though, since hotel rooms are generally extremely cheap in Thailand anyway.

yuge312

The beginning of the sunrise on Ko Hai

When we walked in with our dirty clothes and big backpacks, we got some funny stares, but we were just happy to find a room.

The receptionists spoke no English, but we managed to communicate somehow and were checked in at a lush, yet fairly cheap hotel. The next problem was to get something to eat. We could go out and deal with trying to get vegetarian food at the street stalls outside, but it was difficult to resist the room service menu, and with prices being so low, we decided to stay in. Ordering over the phone was helpless, so we went down to annoy the receptionists again. Somehow we got everything we wanted that night, but the next morning when we ordered breakfast we were not as lucky and got two of everything we ordered. The receptionists laughed at us as we left the next morning.

The taxis in Thailand are called Tuk Tuks. They are usually very small pickup trucks with a roof and benches in the back for passengers. They are sometimes so small that they only have three wheels. They are always whizzing by on the streets, making it easy to get transportation

yuge313

A little later during the same sunrise on Ko Hai

to anywhere you want to go. So we hailed a Tuk Tuk and went to the bus stop to catch a bus to Trang where we would get a ride to a smaller village on the coast nearest to the island of Ko Hai (our destination). It was Sunday and we desperately need to get some Japanese yen exchanged for Thai baht, but no banks were open. When we finally made it to the port village on the coast of the Andaman Sea where we would get a boat out to our destination island, we had the dilemma of going out to an almost deserted island with hardly any cash. Having no cash on an almost deserted island is no problem, but once you want to get off the island, it might be a little difficult.

We took a stupid chance though, and went to find a boat that would take us to Ko Hai. There were numerous long-tail boats offering transportation, but all for absurdly high prices. After much negotiation we settled on a slightly cheaper price with one of the long-tail boat drivers on the grounds that we truthfully had no money! The boat ride was a

yuge314

Our tiny little bungalow on Ko Hai. It was perfect!

beautiful one and presented Missy and me with our first glimpses of the spectacular rock formations of the vertical limestone cliffs for which southern Thailand is so famous. Our boat driver dropped us off a ways from the shore as the “long tail” of the boat can’t go in shallow water where it will damage itself and the coral. Luckily the water was crystal clear and shallow here too. We waded in to the beach.

What saved us in this dilemma was not a nine-year-old girl, but a little piece of plastic Missy had brought with her in case of Emergency during our trip. We were able to charge room fees, meals, and boat rides all to her card. Ko Hai was certainly paradise and a great place to go if you are truly seeking solitude and isolation from the chaos of the tourist industry in Thailand. There is literally almost nothing on this island. There are a few bungalows that include a restaurant, hammocks, and that’s it. No bars, no shopping, hardly any people! It was great! It was a much needed break from the stress of traveling through dirty, crowded cities.

Basically we just hung out

yuge315

Inside our bungalow on Ko Hai

on the beach and at the restaurant the whole time. What else was there to do? And what else would we rather be doing? The water was warm and completely clear on the white sand. In the rocky parts of the beach, we discovered something that we would encounter for the rest of our trip…sea cucumbers! We witnessed a fabulous sunrise the morning before we left and ate our fill of masaman and green curry (some favorites from the restaurant I worked at in Morgantown), and papaya salad. Yum! That afternoon we caught a ferry to Ko Lanta, a bigger island North of Ko Hai.

It was back to the commotion of tourism on this island, and we had actually only planned on stopping here before continuing further north. However, the ferry to Ko Lanta took much longer than expected and by the time we arrived at the Lanta port and were bombarded by bungalow “recruiters” trying to coerce us into staying at their bungalow, we decided it was probably best to stay here anyway. Besides, it looked like this island had some interesting things going on. We were extremely turned off by the owner of our bungalow who

yuge316

Doing absolutely nothing on Ko Hai

treated everyone like his tourist prey, but his bungalows, Lanta Family Resort, ended up being pretty nice with an excellent restaurant (with a huge vegetarian menu) and bar on the beach.

That night we sat on pillows in the personal dining/drinking/relaxing huts on the beach and watched a magnificent lightning storm over the Andaman Sea.

We were slow getting started the next morning. Our goal was to find a good snorkeling trip to join, but by the time we found one, their trip for that day had already left. So, we reserved a spot on the trip for the next day, which means we had to stay on Ko Lanta for yet another day. We decided to do something exciting this day anyway, so we rented a two-person moped (for only about nine US dollars!). We rode all the way around the island. It was really beautiful once you got out of the port area where all the tourist industry is. The rest of the island is thick jungle with red dirt roads leading to villages and farms. We found a view point where we drank frozen banana coconut drinks in a tree house. We also found a

yuge317

This was basically how we spent our time on Ko Hai

quaint little village with a few shops and restaurants where I had some excellent fresh southern Thai fried rice. We saw someone riding an elephant on the side of the rode from where we were taking a break and swimming. It was definitely a relaxing ride around the island.

When it became late afternoon we returned to the touristy part of the island near the port to do a little souvenir shopping, bought some sticky rice with mango from a street vendor, and finally made our way back to our bungalow for a repeat of the night before- delicious food and a lightning storm on the beach.

The next day we got up early to catch the first ferry to Ko Phi Phi where we would be snorkeling. Ko Phi Phi is one of the touristiest islands in southern Thailand, so we had no intention on staying there, but it is also supposedly where the best snorkeling is. From the port of Ko Phi Phi we boarded a long-tail boat. Ko Phi Phi is divided into two islands, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Lei. Phi Phi Don is where the port and all the tourism are, but

yuge318

Ariiving at the port on Ko Lanta

Phi Phi Lei is uninhabited and only used for day trips from Phi Phi Don and snorkeling. It is forbidden to stay on Phi Phi Lei over night, so this makes the island much more pleasant. Also, for any of you who saw the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo Dicaprio (horrible movie), the lagoon was filmed in Maya Bay on Phi Phi Lei.

Maya Bay was indeed beautiful and had water that was the definition of aqua blue. We snorkeled there and on the other side of the island. For those of you who know, I do have a strange fish phobia, but I kept it pretty much under control. The fish were beautiful, and the only times I really freaked out was when a whole school of fish would start swimming right towards me. I wish I could write down all the names of fish we saw, but I know little about fish taxonomy. We also watched monkeys swinging on the limestone cliffs above our boat before returning to Phi Phi Don.

Back at Phi Phi Don we had a little while before we would catch the ferry back to Ko Lanta, so we walked around the

yuge319

A brilliant lizard in the tree house on Ko Lanta

town and confirmed that we were happy to not be staying here. We visited a couple of fruit markets and decided to finally buy a sample of the infamous durian fruit that we had heard so much about. Even before going on this trip, people on Yuge were telling me that I just had to try durian while I was in South East Asia. Once I arrived here and found out that durians are actually banned in many establishments throughout South East Asia (see previous blog), I became a little hesitant. The reason for the dislike of durians is not the taste, but the smell. They smell like vomit, and therefore often aren’t welcome indoors as to not disturb customers. I was told that although they smell like vomit, if you can get past that, the taste is quite good. So, Missy and I tried a bit. I actually found the smell to be not that bad, but discovered that it is the taste that is like vomit much more than the smell! I had to spit it out immediately. Unfortunately we had no choice but to throw the rest away. Yuck!

Finally we took the ferry back to

yuge320

Pausing on the other side of Ko Lanta during our moped ride, Missy poses with her solar shields.

Ko Lanta and spent our last night there. The next morning, we once again boarded the earliest ferry, but this time to Phuket, where we would take our flight back home the following evening. There was still one last thing I wanted to do before we flew back to Japan, and this was to see Phang-nga Bay. So, from the port in Phuket, we boarded a bus to the town of Phang-nga, north of Phuket. On the way there we could see the limestone formations becoming steeper and steeper. Once in Phang-nga we arranged a tour of the bay that would take us (by long-tail boat) to the most popular sites around the bay, to a small Muslim fishing village built in the middle of the bay on top of the water (where we would stay the night), and back to town the next morning. Somehow it ended up that Missy and I were the only people on the long-tail boat (besides the driver), so we experienced a private tour (all afternoon long and the next morning) around the bay.

It was absolutely magnificent! It was definitely one of the most beautiful sites I had ever seen. The bay

yuge321

Coral sticking out of the water at low tide in front of our bungalow at low tide (sunset)

was huge and began as a maze of mangrove forest. When we finally exited the thick mangroves, we were surrounded by vertical limestone cliffs jutting out of the water and towering over our heads. The cliffs reminded me of Indiana Jones, and I was almost sure there was an invisible bridge across somewhere. We rode around the bay for a long time and then we came to an area of several cliffs with caves and tunnels carved out of them at water level. Our boat guy let us off at a large stationary boat where people were exploring the caves and tunnels by kayak. We did the same and saw the limestone cliffs from close up. The limestone was sharp and jagged, so we had to be careful not to brush up against the side of it. We saw mudskippers (again, my mind thinks in TV…but “Muddy the Mud Skipper Show” on “Ren and Stimpy!”) skipping along in the mud that lines the edge of the rocks.

Next we got back on our long-tail boat and our driver took us to the famous Ko Ping Kan, also known as “James Bond Island.” This island was featured in the James

yuge322

View of our bungalow at dusk from the water

Bond movie “The Man with the Golden Gun,” which meant almost nothing to me, as I am not the biggest fan of James Bond. Thankfully, Missy is a big fan of James Bond movies, so she filled me in on all the details about the shoot off that took place between Bond and the master gunman on the shore overlooking the oddly shaped limestone jutting out of the water. We took many posed pictures, which seemed to be the thing to do on this island. The picturesque spot (the one that was shown in the movie) is on the beach where a tall, thin rock stands in the water right off shore. The rock starts out very thin at water level, and then gradually becomes broader at the top…very unusual. I could imagine James Bond in his little sporty speed boat zipping around this rock, but Missy said this did not happen in the movie.

Finally we arrive at the peculiar town of Kah Pannyi, a Muslim fishing village built entirely on stilts in the middle of Phang-nga Bay. There is a bungalow in this town where we stayed at. The sun set as we watched the village people

yuge323

Our bungalow on Ko Lanta. Very spacious, and only about nine U.S. dollars per night.

feed huge fish that they had kept in nets in the water below the houses. We walked through the tiny alleys after dusk and heard the prayers from the mosque for the last time on our trip. The village reminded Missy of the movie “Water World.” To me it seemed like one of the strangest places a person could possibly live, in the middle of nowhere on the water.

The next morning was the final day of our trip. We took one more walk around the village early in the morning before our boat guy came to pick us up for the ride back to the mainland. Back in Phang-nga town, we took a bus back down to Phuket. We did some final shopping in Phuket, ate lunch, and then took our last bus ride to the airport.

I felt very happy to have finally visited countries in Asia other than Japan, and find out how completely different these countries are from the unique and familiar island of Japan. Traveling to foreign countries outside of Japan reminded me of how I felt when I came to Japan for the first time in high school. It is so exciting

yuge324

Inside our bungalow on Ko Lanta

to experience a world which you are not used to, but at the same time, terrifying. I was terrified of not being understood by people; terrified of accidentally ordering the meat-lover's special curry at restaurants; terrified of getting lost, losing my money, losing Missy, catching malaria or the dengue fever; I was even scared of being kidnapped! Yet, in the end, the worst thing that happened to us was a little sunburn. We even did get lost, but it ended up being a great experience and one of the most memorable.

The trip allowed me to escape from my comfort zone (of which Japan has become in addition to West Virginia), and I have realized that I don't like to stay in my comfort zone for too long. If I don't get out of my comfort zone, I will get stuck and never experience different ways of living. I need to be uncomfortable sometimes in order to take advantage of a world of beautiful things to see, and wonderful people to meet. Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand certainly provided me with this sense of discomfort.

Aside from my general urge to break free of my comfort zone, there is

yuge325

Approaching Phi Phi Lei, where we went snorkeling

always the one thing that I would rather keep the way I like it- vegetarian food. But I must say, being a vegetarian in South East Asia, although it presented the usual difficulties, was a hundred times easier than my experience as a vegetarian in Japan. If traveling to South East Asia as a vegetarian, don't believe any of the guide books that say it is impossible to find vegetarian options! A helpful trick that I actually learned from another blogger on this website is to make a little card that will fit in your wallet with pictures of all the things you can't eat. I even tried my hand at copying the words for various kinds of meat in Thai script. This little piece of paper can be indispensable for the vegetarian.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed the pictures and stories of my trip to South East Asia. I'm back in Japan now and back to the daily grind of teaching. But, I am looking forward to another holiday week coming up the week after next when I will be doing a little domestic traveling inside Japan. I'll give you the updates then!

Additional photos below

Photos: 46, Displayed: 34