Sandy Beaches....
Trip Start
Oct 24, 2005
1
8
147
Trip End
Ongoing
Ko Lanta,
Thailand
Sunday, December 11, 2005
We finished the CELTA course last Friday, and we decided we deserved a little treat for all our hard work, so we headed to the beaches in the south. Konrad wasn't feeling too well on Saturday, so we delayed a day, and started out Sunday. We booked tickets on the night train leaving Bangkok at 5:00 in the afternoon, and arriving in Trang Monday morning around 8:00. The train was great (but a bit expensive - about 650 Baht a piece, or just over $16): we had very nice bunks to sleep in, on fresh linens. We got to Trang a little later than anticipated and discovered that the 9:30 AM minibuses to Ko Lanta (the island of our choosing) were full. Luckily enough, we found another company that told us they could take us at 9:30, so we went and indulged in some banana pancakes before we left. Upon returning to the travel agency, we were told the 9:30 buses were full, so we had to wait until 11:00. We walked back to our cafe and used the internet to kill the time (only 30 Baht an hour, or about 75 cents!).
We finally got on the road on schedule and I conked out. I awoke when we hit the ferry, about an hour and a half later. Of course we missed getting on the ferry - we were the next in line to get on, but it was full. Not to worry, there was another ferry shortly behind it, and we were on board first. After two ferry rides and a speedy trip through two islands, we were dropped off at the Ko Lanta minibus "terminal." I had called our hotel from Trang, and they told me they would be waiting for us at the stop. When we got there, some hotel reps informed us the truck had just left b/c 6 people had arrived from another island. So we waited about half an hour, and then we were on our way. When the truck came back, we threw our things (and our bodies) in the back and took off down the coast. We arrived at our hotel and debated about which room to choose: the wooden bungalow for 400 Baht ($10) or the cement room for 700 Baht ($17.50)? We chose the former, and settled in, w/the intention of hiking up the hill to another hotel which a fellow CELTA student had recommended to us.
By this time, it was about 3:00. We were hungry, and the cloudy skies had finally opened up and began pouring down on us. Given the lack of suitable beach-faring weather, we chose to grab some lunch. Our hotel's restaurant was full of people seeking shelter from the rain, so we trudged up the road in search of something a bit less crowded. As we were walking, I slipped on the red clay mud and landed flat on my ass (stop laughing, Cheri!), getting covered in the mud and somehow cutting my feet in the process. After cleaning up, we went out and grabbed some food, then went walking around the island in search of adventure. Finding nothing terribly exciting, we returned to our bungalow and spent an hour dreaming of the top five cities we'd like to revisit. The night ended rather peacefully, w/a tasty candlelight dinner on the beach (I of course was off my meds and conked out around 10:00 in the hammock on the porch).
Later that evening, I was roused from my peaceful slumbers by Konrad's yelp of distress. Upon turning on the light in the bathroom, he spied a gargantuan cockroach on the wall, right behind the toilet). Being ever so sound asleep, I assumed he was exaggerating, and returned to my pleasant reveries. Around 2:30, I too witnessed the same sight, and was freaked out of my gourd. We huddled in the bedroom for the rest of the night, imagining the other hotel we had reserved for the next day.
Tuesday, the sun came out, and it was beeee-ut-iful. We lounged on the beach, then moved to our new digs (much nicer, and no human-sized insects in sight). We hiked up to a gorgeous clifftop restaurant and had some lunch, followed by more beaching. Upon realizing my 4-week-stuck-in-a-classroom, pasty-white skin had scorched a bit, we left the beach and hiked around the island.
We woke fully refreshed on Wednesday morning, w/no bug scares to disturb our sleep the night before. However, the beautiful day we witnessed on Tuesday had dissipated, and we were left w/cloudy skies. Not to worry, we rented a motorbike (150 Baht for the afternoon, or just under $6), and cruised down to Waterfall Beach in search of the famed waterfall hike. Along the way, we noticed the gas tank was on empty, so we put a few liters in the tank for an out of this world 80 Baht ($2) -- we were on an island, after all. The hike itself was nothing to write home about -- no real path to speak of, more like hopping from rock to rock in (completely) hopeless attempts to keep our feet dry -- and along the way, Konrad somehow dislocated his ever-fragile toe (which made for quite an adventurous hike, let me tell you). We finally reached the "waterfall," which was nowhere near spectacular, or even mildly noteworthy: two slightly more than trickles down the face of a cliff. Whoopee. Back to the beach under the somewhat less cloudy skies, and then zooming away on the motorbikes, up the coast. Upon returning the bikes, we bickered w/the owners in hope of getting some of the money we paid for gas back. To our utter amazement, they handed over 40 Bath ($1)! We whiled away the rest of the day reading, and Konrad's toe finally popped back into place on the way home from dinner.
That night, I finished the latest Harry Potter. Anyone else read it? Need to discuss. Need. Anyhow, while I was up reading, I heard a slew of noises that were decidedly not the wind whistling through the trees -- more like mice or rats under our bed w/some food wrapper. I woke up Konrad, and we stood on the bed, planning our move. We finally found the sack of food the animals had claimed, and threw it in the trash, which was in the bathroom. However, the noises persisted, and some started in the bathroom.
After a fitful night's sleep filled w/dreams of magical rodents playing Quidditch, we awoke to more clouds, wind, and rain. Boo hiss. We hustled down to a travel agent's to check the weather, and ascertained that the foreseeable future contained more of the same. We decided to get out of Dodge, and after much trouble, secured tickets (a whopping 700 Baht each, or about $17.50) back to Bangkok the next night. We ate a little lunch, played a little chess, and then decided to see if we could secure a rodent-free room. The room they showed us wasn't as nice as ours, so we declined, mentioned the rodents, and hiked home. Minutes later, they returned and offered us a luxury bungalow for only 800 Baht ($20) - normally almost 2,000. We checked it out and were sold immediately: situated on the cliff w/an amazing view, it also was cement, gorgeously tiled, w/a fantastic porch, a fridge, a tv, and a bathroom to die for. Not too shabby a way to spend an overcast day at the beach, eh? From our perch, we witnessed a mass of long boats racing around the island, waving colored flags. We later discovered it was a tribute to the tsunami victims - there were 300 boats, and each one was named in honor of someone who died in the tsunami.
The next day, we packed up and hopped on our minibus. After far too long a ride, we were dumped at the bus terminal in Krabi. Our bus pulled up, and we piled on. What a ripoff! This thing was a crap bus, filled to the gills w/people - and we had paid 700 for it?! Fortunately, about 3 hours later, we changed buses in Surat Thani, and the new bus was decidedly nicer - comfy reclining seats, and blankets to shelter us from the frigid AC. We pulled into Bangkok around 5:00 in the morning and took off for our hotel... where I discovered my glasses had somehow fallen out of my pack. Still haven't tracked them down, but I'm on the hunt. Damn bad vision!
Anyhow, we discovered there was a typhoon in the Indian Ocean, which was the origin of our stormy weather. I guess the beach isn't always a safe bet. Tuesday we had north to Chiang Mai and then to Myanmar - hopefully we'll have better weather.
Keep the mail coming - we love it -- need to stay in touch w/the frigid midwestg somehow.... Until next time - cheers!
