So the last few days of my Koh Tao diving, my right ear seemed to fill w water & subsequently refused to empty. I at first ignored the problem, innocently probed Anna for a solution when it wouldn’t go away (bottle of saline), & then remained silent & suffered, even with the onset of pain bc no chance in hell I was missing out on my last dives. I just found myself saying “what?” a lot when out w the crew at night bc it was clogged & I couldn’t hear for shit. I knew it was swimmers ear based on prior experience when I was 12 during Okoboji or Myrtle Beach family vacas (but I thankfully didn’t have it nearly as bad as Sar). I’m guessing it was somehow related to my ears equalizing while descending during diving as they aren’t accustomed to that bc I haven’t had swimmers ear in 25 years. I knew I had to take care of it in Malaysia & I also knew it was going to dampen my water activity level. I was now going to be the chick who refuses to get her hair wet in the sea/pool. I fg hate those lame chicks. But I figure it’s only 2 days & then I’m back to my old self… so says the medical assistant I saw who prescribed me drops, antibiotic & ibuprofen all for a whopping 30 ringgit (USD $7). Worth every penny.
Tag: Thailand
Farewell to Thailand
After 30 days in Southern Thailand, my visa is up & while I’m a bit bummed to be leaving, I’m super excited at what lies ahead. I’m very pleased w the time I spent there… less than a week on the Andaman Sea side & 3.5 weeks exploring the Gulf of Thailand islands Koh Pha Ngan & Koh Tao (I skipped the largest, Koh Samui, but to catch flights as it’s a bit touristy). Met great people on both islands & promised Bottle Beach & my Roctopus dive shop I’d be back at some point. I’m hopping a flight to Kuala Lumpur & going to do a relatively quick sprint through that city hitting the highlights before I head to a Malaysian island for some much needed luxury & pampering bc believe it or not, I was super busy, relatively speaking, on Koh Tao with all the diving so I’m in need of some R&R. I know, poor me.
Songkran
So I’m a lucky girl in that I get to celebrate 2 New Years this year. I must say, I do prefer it Thai style. The Thai celebrate their new year with water festivals, I’m guessing driven by the hot April temperatures, originated by people honoring their elders by spraying water on them and now (d)evolved into massive water gun/bucket fights. I had an inkling of what I was in for when my daily stop at 7-11 to buy a big water the day before Songkran revealed employees preparing by plastic-wrapping cash registers & electronic screens. It wasn’t even safe inside. That & the fact that everyone in town was selling massive water guns. Since I’d taken the plunge & signed up for my advanced diving course w the best (& coolest) dive shop on the island, I was graciously included in their Songkran festivities which involved “meeting at 10am at the beach wearing little more than a bikini with money for beers in a plastic bag & nothing more”. I was told “don’t even think about bringing your phone” so unfortunately, there’s no pictures documenting the mayhem so you’re going to have to take my word for it. Not long after it started, I was tossed into the pool by my advanced dive instructor, whom I just met (a dreamy tall Aussie). Every single person seemed armed & ready to take down innocent bystanders w a few pumps of their water gun or bucket tosses. I waited an hour & adopted an abandoned water gun for the day. It definitely brings out the kid in you. This is my kinda New Years celebration.
Diving… finally
I have wanted to learn how to dive for what seems like fucking ever. There have been several past vacations where the opportunity presented itself but my travel companions were uninterested so we opted for snorkeling. Which I love. No disparagement to the snorkeling population. But there’s just something about the idea of diving down to explore this different world & being totally reliant on a silly little aluminum air canister & related life sustaining accessories. I do love a rush. So traveling by myself to such insanely great dive locales including the island of Koh Tao that, despite its minuscule size, registers more divers worldwide than any other place given the numerous highly rated dive shops, it was a no-brainer to sign up to do my open water certification down to 20m. Given all the dive shops, Koh Tao is a highly competitive market, especially in the low season, so I got a great deal.
Clearly not a lot of pics taken as the dive boats are very wet little operations. The 2 Dutch girls in my course wanted to pay for a video of our final dives so while this isn’t something I’d typically do (reminded me of a boring wedding video no one ever rewatches), I joined the pool as it made it pretty cheap. I’ve already watched it twice as it highlights the fantastic marine life we saw that my niece & nephews will love.
Here’s the video link. Password is “scuba”. Warning… It’s a lot of cheese. Tell the kiddos I’m swimming right after Anna, my instructor, who is this badass gorgeous blonde-hair blue-eyed chick w an octopus tattoo arm sleeve from Sweden. We bonded. I loved it so much, I signed up to do the advanced open water course down to 30m. I am now, happily, a diver.
My new German family in Bottle Beach
I had a rough plan to spend 3 nights in Bottle Beach. I ended up doubling that. I would’ve stayed longer but for the first time, I had actually made plans & signed up for a diving course on the smaller island of Koh Tao to the north. Plans. Oh well. I made the most of my time there. Bc it’s such a small place, many of the people who visit really become a little family. Well the cool people at least. There’s 3 other “resorts” on the island but people-in-the-know all ended up at my “resort’s” resto for the food, atmosphere & attention/entertainment of Babu & Ming (Babu’s mini me). The gatherings of those in-the-know people revealed that Bottle Beach just so happens to be a little German colony. Not really of course but those Germans sure are on the cutting edge of cheap, gorgeous, little-discovered gems as nearly everyone I met was from Germany. I ended up hanging for dinner, poker, beers & convo every night w a great group of 10 Germans ranging from two 22 year old girls who just finished a bartending school in Phuket to a 60 year old retiree who makes his home for 6 mos of the year in Turkey & travels the other 6 mos (he’d been at Bottle Beach for 4 weeks already). It was a fun bunch. My fave was a couple from Munich, Julia & Nils, ages 26 & 32, respectively. We talked Babu into leading a hike up to the cove’s viewpoint & also into planning a longboat tour for all of us (Babu included) of Koh Pan Ngan bc, believe it or not after 2+ weeks on the island, there were still coves & beaches I hadn’t seen. Hugs all around upon departure as well as an exchange of digits (now I’m on what’s app apparently courtesy of Julia) & a promise of visits (I have my fair share of places in Munich to crash while a hilarious tatted German named Sky & his gf (Julia deuce) may be crashing w me next summer in Chicago). The more the merrier I guess. Perhaps what I may miss most about Bottle Beach is the nightly domino matches Babu & I shared after dinner service wound down & it was just the regulars left. Not typical dominos – these were triangles & the dots
were multi-colored so it was quite a bit more difficult. He kindly offered me the game when I was leaving but I had to decline as I couldn’t afford the space in my pack, but I will definitely be seeking it out on Amazon when I return. Would be a great addition to lazy afternoons at Big Star.
I found my paradise… rustic paradise, but paradise for sure
It took me 7 weeks to find it, & it was a bit of a tease, but I definitely found my paradise. I’ve been trying to come to Bottle Beach on the north side of Ko Pha Ngan for a good week but the “storm” that rolled into the island prevented it. The storm wasn’t a storm like we think about it bc it was still sunny & gorgeous, the winds just picked up quite a lot which prevented longboats from accessing a few beaches, one of which is Bottle Beach, only accessible by boat. So I slowly made my way around the island biding my time. Finally the waves subsided & I was given the go-ahead so I booked a bungalow.
It was a gorgeous 20 minute ride to Bottle Beach from Thong Nai Pan Yai beach along a rocky seaside cliff on one side & nothing but blue water on the other. Didn’t see another boat on the way there. Around a turn & this gorgeous white strip of sand emerges from the rocks in a little protected bay. It’s a pretty small beach lined w a whole lot of nothing but beach bungalows. I hopped out of the longboat in nearly waist-high water as the captain gently eased my backpack down to me & I thankfully avoided any dunking of the pack (& for the umpteenth time this trip, I was thankful to have a backpack vs an obnoxious roller suitcase).
Babu, the “hotel” manager, greeted me as I walked up the beach with a big hello & a blunt in his hand, that he put out & placed behind his ear. As if I had any doubts before, I was assured this was going to be an awfully chill place. We chatted, turns out he’s from Burma so I promised to pick his brain later about that, & he walked me to my bungalow with no check of a passport or any other formalities. It’s locked w a padlock & is as cute as can be. For $11 a night. I think I failed to mention that. And by cute, I mean cute in a very rustic way. The room is barely bigger than the bed w storage below for packs. The bathroom has a toilet, flushed by a pail of water from a bucket filled by a nearby spigot which also serves as the sink, & a shower (cold water naturally) that uses the same drain as the spigot. A serious mosquito net is provided which is fantastic given I’m definitely sleeping w the window open & fan blowing for airflow. There’s one white plastic chair for me on my porch & I acquiesced when Babu offered to hang a hammock for me. Haha. Love me some hammock time.
I hadn’t bothered to eat yet that day as I opted for a massage over lunch prior to the longboat, so I headed down to the restaurant for a salad to find the sweetest beach side restaurant w various shaded & sunny seating options. It’s combined w reception & includes a bar, a pool table, decent sound system & tunes, & a few staffers lingering & smoking. Up to this point, I hadn’t seen weed anywhere. I had smelled it a couple times while biking through cities but the guidebooks put the fear of God into you threatening 15+ years in prison for a minor mj offense if you can’t buy off the local authorities/Thai mafia & hinting there are undercover police lurking in tourists zones & working w the sellers to bust you. So that’s apparently not the case here. Haha
Babu sat down to chat w me while I ate a spicy seafood salad & enjoyed a couple Chang beers (beers here are USD $2 so no place is perfect but they have to make money somehow) & that’s when it really got good. We talked about life histories & what do you know? Babu tried to be a monk TWICE in Burma & couldn’t cut it so bailed. Is this for fucking real!?!?!?!!! He made it 7 days when he was 27 & 9 days when he was 29. Apparently there’s a lot of fasting involved. You are awakened at 5:45am w a gong, put on your robes & walk the city barefoot asking for alms (yep, I saw this in Laos), then you return to shower & prepare food, eat at 7am but no talking allowed, clean the kitchen for an hour, walk the city again, eat at 11am, clean & then no eating allowed again after noon. Every day. Buddhism doesn’t frown upon smoking as monks are allowed to smoke (cigarettes not ganja), so those Cambodian monks we saw smoking on holiday in Halong Bay were not in violation of their code, Amy. All Babu could do was smoke cigs until he again got to eat at 7am. Apparently he couldn’t cut it (twice) bc he was so goddam hungry & I told him perhaps he wasn’t meant to be a monk after all bc he now works in paradise, eats whenever he wants to & seems to enjoy the marijuana. He laughed & agreed & then proceeded to make me the sweetest little rose pinky ring made from 2 plastic straws folded & fused together w his lighter.
I’m in love w this place & it’s only been 3 hours.
Hammock time
Koh Pha Ngan island tour… Beautiful beaches but I’m still waiting for that special one
Since I had some time on my hands & enjoyed the locale of the hippy Sanctuary on Haad Thien in Koh Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand, I decided to spend awhile further exploring the island. While we somewhat enjoyed the destinations in the Andaman Sea (Krabi, Railay, Koh Phi Pho, Phuket), the sheer volume of international tourists there was intimidating & while I considered visiting the supposedly-less-oft-traveled Andaman Islands of Koh Lanta & Koh Lipe, my fear was tourists now flock to those places as well (yes, I know I’m also a tourist but my goal is to find places where there’s few of me). While Ko Pha Ngan may be known as a “party island” w it’s late night/early morning raves for the monthly full moon party, that hoopla really is centered in/around Haad Rin & once you get out, it’s just beautiful, relaxing & quiet. At least that’s what I was counting on.
I did stop for a couple nights just outside Haad Rin, after an adventure leaving Haad Thien, to do some laundry & to ride out a storm that never really materialized excepting large waves preventing any boats from accessing Haad Thien & thus leading to a very ridiculous/exciting/borderline dangerous 4×4 large pickup truck ride up & then down a mountain in order to leave the Sanctuary. I was sitting w 3 others on benches lining both sides of the rear of the truck w everyone’s luggage at our feet (3 others plus driver in cab). The “road” was actually a severely rutted dirt road dotted w intermittent boulders and ski-jump steep hills where I couldn’t see the bottom over the top of the cab. The benches were flush w the sides of the truck & there was nothing to hold onto but for the heaviest piece of luggage I could find within grasp, which was very necessary as several of the bumps came close to bouncing me right off the side of the truck as I was catching a lot of air. It was a bonding experience as we were all laughing hysterically, while holding on for dear life, & warning one another to duck in the event oncoming branches were aimed for your head. We made it, clearly, & I talked the driver into dropping me directly at my new hotel so pretty smooth sailing.
After Haad Rin, I went to the far NE coast to stay on Thong Nai Pan Noi & Thong Nai Pan Yai beaches. They’re in nearby coves & rated by Trip Advisor as the top beaches on the island. They didn’t disappoint but also provided reasonably quick access to where I really wanted to go once the wind died down…
Cute local kid on rope swing
Thong Nai Pan Noi beach & fire show entertainment during dinner on the beach one night.
https://youtu.be/WHuw8CF8OPY
Goodbye to Amy
I bid farewell to Amy after 6 weeks nearly a week ago. It was bittersweet as I hated seeing her go given the good times we had but it was inevitable as she has a life & a job she loves; however, I was looking forward to exploring this region on my own. The only vacation I’ve taken alone was a week to Anguilla for luxury pampering a couple years back planned 3 days in advance after a particularly stressful time at work. As much as I miss you all, I feel as if traveling alone here for an extended period of time is something I really need to do & I’m super excited for it. That said, if any of you have a week+ to spare & a desire to disappear to the other side of the globe, please feel free to join me for an adventure. I think I’ll probably use some of my hotel awards points at some lovely places to introduce some luxury into a plan otherwise focused on cheap & basic beach bungalows & it would be a shame if I were the only one enjoying it. Haha. Love you!
FYI… There is still one post forthcoming regarding the last stop Amy & I made at a hippy yoga commune in the Gulf of Thailand, one of the most entertaining stops all trip. It’s still writing itself.
Ko Phi Phi island not hanging w Leo
The trip to the island of Phi Phi in the Andaman Sea took 3 different boats & only one minor mishap. We took a longboat from Railay to a ferry boat parked just offshore to Phi Phi & because there are no roads on the island of Phi Phi, we hopped aboard another longboat taxi to our hotel. Boarding the initial longboat at Railay required us wading into knee deep water w our backpacks & purses, slinging them over top the wooden boat & leaping up while small waves come crashing in. Amy made it up on first try but then promptly toppled over backwards into the boat. I exclaimed “oh, Amy!” as I thought there was a chance she was going to knock her head but she managed to recover by pulling off a pretty adept barrel roll & successfully sat up w a big grin on her face. We died laughing along w the longboat captain. Only later did the bruise develop. After I hopped up & in along w the next 2 people… the captain finally decided to put out a ladder, after he perhaps got his entertainment for the day.
We were one of many people leaving puritanical Railay for Phi Phi as it is apparently the Mecca of Southern Thailand (beyond Phuket), made famous by a Leo Dicaprio movie, “The Beach”, filmed there some years ago. We weren’t taking a day trip to “The Beach” with everyone else nor did we feel we needed to see the main port town of Tonsai turn into a crazy club town at night, so upon recommendation from other travelers, we opted for the less-populated far NE side of the island. We splurged a bit on the hotel as we were looking for total relaxation after some busy days in Vietnam & the somewhat disappointing Railay. We got exactly what we hoped for, in addition to amazing food & it was lovely.
View from my hammock:
Back to the beaches… Railay beach in Krabi, Thailand
Up to this point in the trip, we had done a proper job researching each place prior to visiting to try to understand what we were in for. We didn’t really do that for Railay Beach, near Krabi in the Andaman Sea. We just picked a place on the beach & booked a night to check it out before committing to anything else. Two of my best friends, the Veit sisters, have previously been to Railay beach & I talked with them about it not long before my trip. However, only a “you probably don’t need to spend much time there” rang out in my head along with “the beach is gorgeous & this is a must see” so I guess I attributed “not needing much time” to time limitations of their trip… Why not spend more time there if it’s so beautiful?
We flew from Siagon to Krabi & hopped in a taxi to take us to Railay Beach. The taxi dropped us at a pier & told us to book a boat to Railay Beach bc apparently no roads. This is where more research would’ve come in handy. Oh well, everything’s an adventure. It was 3:20 & luckily the next boat was leaving at 3:30. It was a wooden longboat & the ride was 15 mins to Railay. It dropped us at Railay East which doesn’t have good beaches but only a 10 minute walk to Railay West are good beaches & our beachfront hotel. We did a quick change into suits & went out to enjoy the beach at 4pm to check out the area to see if we like it enough to stay additional nights. Within 15 minutes we had decided the afternoon & evening would be plenty of time & we’d look for hotels on Ko Phi Phi for the next few nights. This quick decision was due to the following factors:
– The lovely longboats that make for beautiful photos in the foreground of mountainous scenery were so goddam loud & constantly picking up & dropping day trippers off. Total noise pollution which did not make for a peaceful relaxing atmosphere.
– It’s 98 degrees during day (prob 90 at 4 which was bearable) but no way to cool off as the water, protected by the inlet, was like bath water. It didn’t even make me want to go in after walking in knee deep. I thought it would make me hotter. The opposite of refreshing.
– The beach was swarming with a lot of families & a lot of couples, who we determined were very boring as we weren’t sure what there was to do here given swimming in the ocean & relaxing on the beach were out. I just couldn’t reconcile why couples, looking for a nice quiet romantic spot, would come to a place w such noise pollution all day long. Doesn’t make sense.
– Then we finally realized what there was to do… Serious climbers come there to climb the massive rocks overlooking the water. We saw maybe 20 people w ropes & climbing shoes so we determined the majority of the people were boring couples.
– The topper was when we sat down to split a spicy squid salad at 6:30 & to book our Ko Phi Phi hotel. We were given food menus but no drink menus. We asked the server for one & we deciphered he told us he couldn’t serve us bc he was Muslim but we were welcome to go to the bar, order drinks & bring them back to enjoy w dinner. Umm, what? I traveled all over the Middle East & in Turkey & believe me, we were served a lot of drinks by Muslims without judgement. Why wouldn’t you want to make a buck? So Amy desperately went in search for the bar, which we thought was our hotel’s along the beach. Nope. She tried the next beach hotel and the next. They all directed her to “the bar” which she finally found bc there’s only one on the beach. The only ones to serve beer & booze on the island. WTF? 20 minutes later she returned w 2 mojitos, we ate the salad, booked our Phi Phi hotel, settled our tab & promptly went back to “the bar” for dinner (a delicious red curry w duck & pineapple), beers, cards & some great people watching.
A simply stunning beach bound by these massive awe inspiring mountains but a 2-hr day trip would’ve been sufficient bc it was a weird place overnight and while we made the best of it & had fun, we were thankful we were leaving in the morning.
amusemusings 