Continued from '
Thailand'
Last night we were barely covered from the terrenchial rain for 5 hours waiting for the ferry to arrive. It was 12:00 am and there where only a few other people besides us. The little hotel and tiny station were the only two means of shelter for miles around. The hotel was full and they were'nt letting anyone in, and the ferry station had no seats...just a desk, the clerk and her dog, she let us set our backpacks in there, and that left zero room for people. We had a bottle of rum and a deck of cards, so we took shelter under the hotel roof ledge and played poker until the night ferry arrived.
The ferry was an old wooden 30 footer that held up to 36 passengers. I knew by then it was going to be a looong ride. We could have taken the faster/more expensive ferry, but cheap has been getting us to where we are just fine......so the adventure continues. The boat was already more than half full of people and cargo so there was just enough room to accomidate 6 or 7 others. There where straw matts layed out for everyone to sleep on and the 4 of us squeezed in the corner beside the massive pile of luggage with just enough room to stretch out. It was body to body...all 36 people where stuffed in the ferry like sardines in a can.
A small group of us sat up and talked while finishing off the bottle of rum. 20 minutes later...they turned the lights out. Ian, Jamie and a few other people went outside to the front of the boat for awhile and Heather and I passed out on the floor with the rest of the sleeping sardines. Two pairs of smelly feet were within inches of my head as we rocked back and forth in the rough weather across the ocean. We had been on the water for a good 3 hours now...and just as i was starting to fall asleep i was awoken by a very loud up-chucking noise. A man and his beloved barf bucket. He was throwing up all night...i was really starting to feel the sea sickness now. people where going back and forth to the shitter and i was not about to even so much as look at the horror down there. Heather was brave enough to go for a pee in the early morning told me how the toilet had overflowed. Ian passed out drunk on a bag of rice next to it. uuuhhhg!
We made it to this small peice of paradise after 9 hours of hell. Yes...paradise. And hell was well worth going through to get here! Koh tao is the most beautiful place i have EVER seen! It is 70 km east of the coastline between Suratthani and Chumphon, in the Gulf of Thailand. I was told that the island's reputation for it's natural beauty and coral reefs has rapidly increased in the past 10 years and is said to be one of the most popular dive sites in Thailand. So ya... lots of tourists....can't complain too much...at least im not in Canada freezing my ass off in the snow.
Walking around the island in the jungle for 2 hours to find a place to stay was rough carrying our heavy packs in the heat...but we found these little cabins for cheap...and it was away from all the really busy parts. An outdoor bar made out of driftwood, a restoraunt and the beach was good enough for me. There are boat taxis that run up and down the coast line, but they charge way too much...and an hour long hike through the jungle is always entertaining, and we found some good spots to snorkle along the way.
Walking through the bush at night on the other hand...is a 'no no' of course. The other day we went to town to check out the night life...and by the time we wanted to go home, there where no more boat taxis running, so we had to take the ankle express with only one flashlight for 5 people....oh the madness. I had more than enough hairy mountain crab encounters, wich lead to my uncontrolable screaming fits. These 'crabs' are unidentifiable as CRABS when you are trying to look in the dark...obviously, the only thing going through my head at this point was that they where huge terranchulas. and yes i was hammered at the same time.
We finally made it back to our cabins and sat on the beach for awhile. Jamie and Ian thought it would
be a good idea to go night snorkeling half pissed with thier head lamps....not so much dumb asses! When they got out of the water...they where all scratched up from the sharp corals. I made a sand sculpture of a naked sun bather while they where in the water...and managed to amuse some drunk europeans passing by.
The Thai transvestite bartender entertained us with his/her island stories until we decided it was time to turn in. He played Bob Marley songs til 6 am, and then we woke up and did it all over again.....oohhhh the island life is good!
~more pics later~
Jules
work aaalll weekend...poor me.
work aaalll weekend...poor me.
