Camping in Paradise

Two days on Koh Phi Phi was more than enough time to be sick of that tourist trap from hell; home to the only place I’ve ever met rude Thai people. Molly, Allison and I absconded with our new friend Jon from the main island in search of something more peaceful. Since coming to Thailand, I knew I wanted to visit the mythical Maya Bay: an island oasis surrounded by lime stone cliffs hundreds of feet high. Separated from the main land of Phi Phi, the island looks nothing more than jagged limestone teeth stretching out from the clear water. Take a boat around the back side and it opens into this stunning bay. Critics all agree it’s the most beautiful beach in Thailand, if not the most crowded by daylight. We opted for a camping trip there to see the bay without the crowds of tourists we were escaping from.

These guys were not friendly!!!

We booked a package tour: four hours on a long tail boat that took us snorkeling and cliff jumping before dumping us off in the bay. The snorkeling was decent. Most of the reef had long been destroyed because it’s located in the bay the main pier is on. There were some fantastic fish in all colors and shapes and a few black-tip finned sharks, which was really cool. They didn’t seem to mind the farang stalking them from a meter above.

Cliff jumping was exciting and terrifying (big breath, Mommy.) 8 meters doesn’t look that far when you’re swimming underneath the cliff. But when you’re up there, looking down at water so clear you can see fish swimming 5 meters below the surface, you start to feel the plunge in your stomach that says “maybe 3 meters is high enough.” I had one false start that left me jittery. Then I jumped, yelling "oh shit" all the way down. I was told to wiggle my arms a bit first to ensure that I land straight before bring them down to my sides to enter like a pencil. Gravity was not having that. I wiggled around like a fish caught on a hook then before I hit the water decided to put my arms up over my head as I couldn’t force them to go down. It happened so fast and gravity pulled so hard that I’m not sure it’s an experience I really enjoyed but I did feel exhilarated when I hit the water.

Low tide

We arrived at Maya Bay just as most of the tourists and boats were starting to leave. As you wade through low tide to get from the boat to the beach it doesn’t take long for you to feel like you’ve won the lottery. The place is magic. 200 foot limestone cliffs shield this bay from the outside world. It’s as though you’ve slipped out of the realm of reality to enter an earthly paradise so perfect you have to see it to believe. That’s the best way I can describe it to you guys, it was paradise in every sense of the word. I really don’t believe I will ever find a place more beautiful than Maya Bay.

The staff at the campsite was comprised of beach bum Thai boys who had an endless supply of “goodies” and 90s pop songs to play on the guitar.

Around midnight the girls and I walked down the deserted beach for some skinny-dipping. Walking into the water we notice these vibrant green dots lighting up as we move the water around us, also known as bio luminescent plankton. It was absurd. You dive in and the entire ocean around you lights up, as though every pore in your body is shooting off fireworks into the water. My mind almost couldn’t comprehend what was going on. When you combine this stunning visual paradise with an element of un-earthly wonder you get one of the most wonderful and spellbinding experiences in my life thus far 

Phi Phi Don, home of Maya Bay

Entering the bay...

The Art of Island Hopping: Koh Phi Phi

Krabi

With school out for the summer, I packed up my bag, picked up Molly at the airport, met my friend Allison from orientation and flew to the port town of Krabi on the second day of March. The plan is to travel around the islands for a bit before making a visa run way up north in Laos. The Thais fly a lot like they drive. As soon as everyone is on the plane they close the doors and start to taxi. None of this "sit down and buckle up" nonsense. Allison was standing on her chair to get into the overhead compartment while we were flying down the tarmac to get to the runway. Most planes tend to fly around black, billowing thunderclouds. Not the Thais; they fly straight through that shit. And there was a moment there when the plane was dropping and dropping and rolling to the side that I thought for sure he wasn’t going to level it out.  We landed at an angle where I thought the wing was going to scrap the ground. Sketch.

We spent one night in Krabi before hopping on a ferry to Koh Phi Phi, an island said to be the most beautiful in all of Thailand. It’s not beautiful, it’s stunning. The water is the clearest I’ve ever seen. Even at night you can wade out to the water and see the sand beneath the surface. The main island is shaped like an hourglass with a very thin stripped of beach between two large chunks of island. And while the island itself is gorgeous being on Koh Phi Phi is not that pretty. Phi Phi was almost whipped off the map by the ‘04 tsunami. 2,200 people died on this tiny strip of beach and the beach itself was completely leveled. 7 years later that strip of beach has been rebuilt into a dense maze of margaritaville restaurants and guesthouses. No signs are in Thai and all the roads are paved cement or brick. If I didn’t know any better I’d say I was in the US Virgin Islands.  It’s loud and dirty. It took us two days to find a secluded beach which was owned by a resort we had to sneak on to.

Still, this place is beautiful. On our second day Molly and I got up early and took a hike up to a viewpoint where the above picture was taken. We ventured off the paved path onto a local trail where we wandered through island jungle to a deserted cove of lime stones that we climbed to get a view of the other side of the island. Untouched beaches owned by smaller resorts one can only get to by water taxi make up the coves we saw. If you have the money, that is the way to see Phi Phi.

Walking back through the jungle we were drawn to an abrupt stop by some serious movement in the jungle ahead of the trail. Out pops a monkey. A big monkey. He runs across the trail then spots us and stops. As Molly takes a photo he starts to run at us, teeth flashing just a bit. He stops short of us then stands up so we can see just how big he is; about as tall as an eight-year-old boy. As he stands up two more very large monkeys run across the path, tails curled up behind them, but Big Boy is watching us, looking ready to charge. We calmly retreat down the trail but there really is no other way to get back to our beach except through monkey territory.

Being an adopted daughter of Colorado, I know how to handle wildlife you stumble upon. Mountain lion creeping up on you? Make yourself really big and scare him into submission. Interrupt a black bear during his walk? Make yourself huge and make as much noise as possible, that little cuddly guy will move along. Grizzly bear got you in it’s sights? Play dead because he’s probably going to kill you anyway. Lucky enough to see a stealthy moose? Snap some photos then leave that boy alone.

Monkey running at you at full speed? ……. I got nothing.

“Get a big stick,” I tell Molly, jokingly was we prepare to walk.

We both grab sticks.

“Let’s make a lot of noise,” Molly says.

We start singing Journey really, really loud. None of this works. We are walking quickly but the monkeys keep running out of the bushes, stopping just short of us then running away. We’re out numbered and flanked. And just when the situation gets more tense than it does amusing they disappear, most likely to pat themselves on the back for having scared another group of tourists invading their territory.

That evening the three of us decide our budget will never be able to survive this island. At press time we’re not sure where we are headed next. Today, we are splurging on a daytrip on a boat, snorkeling and cliff jumping. The day will culminate with a camping trip here (picture stolen till I get my own.)

It’s okay to be jealous.

Five Months Later

Saturday night I had dinner with the lovely Natalie and Graham, some friends I made at orientation but hadn’t had the chance to see since October. They are wrapping up their semester here and are about to start traveling around SE Asia. When I told them I was staying they seemed a bit surprised but when I gave them reasons, Natalie parroted it me short and perfect. She said “I know what you mean. I have felt very wound up since we got here.” Trying to live in another culture so different from your own without offending anyone is pretty impossible and so I have felt wound fairly tight since I got here. Add on that I have a job to perform that I’ve been trying to figure out without much guidance and you have a recipe for some good stress dreams. Being here hasn’t been all beaches and beautiful floating lanterns. I really have no idea what I’m doing most the time. It’s like floating around in a cloudy ether trying to get your bearings and watching everyone else to mimic their movements; I believe the scientific term is culture shock. And the shock has me wound up nice and good.  

The only way to counter act this feeling is by staying. The hard part is over. Six months of struggling to order food and find bus stations have come to a close and I don’t feel ready to leave. I’m making progress with the language (I’m sure the Thais think otherwise) and being able to deciper their hand gestures when they are trying to explain something to me. I’m ready to start traveling to other countries around SE Asia and experience what Thailand looked like before tourism ruined parts of it.

Damn, there is just so much more to do! So if it’s alright with you guys I’ll keep this trip and this blog alive a little bit longer.

So I present the highlights of Teach in Thailand Oct-Feb

-       My first squat hole. Yeah, I’ve got thighs of steel now.

-       The colloquial terms of Thailand (some terms are not localized to Thailand alone but there meaning here is different than anywhere else): Same same; bucket; toilet; Thailand is calling (nature doesn’t call here, Thailand calls); visa run; mai pen rai (no worries); farang; tip tip; mawborow (Marlboro); and Thai tacky, to name some of my favorites.

-       Elephant riding. So much fun.

-       The look on Jenna’s face as she stared at our bathroom the first night in the dorms.

-       The first time Xiao Xiao spoke. He’s a Chinese boy and new student at the school who doesn’t speak Thai or English. He didn’t look at me or speak for the first three months.

-       Turning our headlamps off in Christmas Cave.

-       My first Thai thunderstorms. It’s the loudest thunder you’ll ever hear.

-       Surprise weekend in a 5 start resort on Koh Samui.

-       Molly Hadley’s face when I picked her up at the airport in Bangkok (Technically this was in March but I’ll get to that later.) 

-     And then there is these guys:

Cheers!