For our last foray with the family we headed to "James Bond Island", where they filmed "Man with the Golden Gun", which was very touristy but great to see the amazing landscape amongst the hundreds of islands in The Gulf. We also got to learn how rubber was made, go on a sea kayaking trip that invlolved weird walking fish, and we went to a monkey temple where we got to feed (& pet!) the monkeys.
We hung out in Bangkok for a coupla days after the fam left, munching on 30baht pad thai and wishing for a bit more solitude than the city can deliver. We avoided the heat by going to the movies, HP6, and also finally made it to the Grand Palace and got to see the Emerald Buddha. Success!
Three days ago we hopped in a tourist van and scooted on down through Trat and then hopped on a big passenger ferry to arrive in Koh Chang. Our ultimate destination was Koh Mak, but as it is low season, things don't always go as planned. We took a sawngthaew down to Bang Bao, the fishing village on the southern tip of the island, and found that the inter island ferries are suspended during the monsoon season, so we ran on over to BB Divers to get the lay of the land before we found a hut to rest our souls. We head that the diving was still good, albeit a bit murky, so we signed up to dive on Sunday, and headed on off the pier, down a muddy little trail, and up a cliff to Cliff Cottages, where we rented a simple little hut for 4 nights. Back down the cliff for some crazy Korean BBQ- amazing. We bought some beers and went back to our place to enjoy the sea breeze and the oceans below. That same sea breeze began to roar, and I ran into the hut while Oli watched the rain come down. the rain and wind became a bit ridiculous and after coaxing Oli into the room, we both had to push against the door to keep the pelting rain from coming in- fierce! The lock didn't work, the floor was flooding, and the entire hut seemed to be lifting from the ground. I, needless to say, was not satisfied with our accommodation. The storm eventually subsided and we were not blown away. The view in the morning was unreal- from the porch we could see the ocean for miles.... a walk around to the other side of the cliff gave views of a gorgeous rocky inlet, and a little more walking gave us an unparalleled aerial view of the village. Not too shabby for 225/baht a night.
The day was spent napping in the hammock, writing in our journals, reading, and staring at the ocean.
On Sunday, we went diving off the coast of Koh Rang. The visibility was horrific, though there was tons of wildlife. It was so bad that we could barely see in front of us, so we had to crowd together so that we didn't lose the dive master. The pictures leave a bit to be desired. We did see a massive jellyfish, a fancy pants harlequin shrimp, schools of every fish imaginable, a nudibranch, and a humongous puffer fish. On the second dive we released two baby sharks given to the shop by local fishermen. They were so tiny and scared to be back in open water- it was so so sweet.
Back to the hut for a bit before dinner, then dined at a stilted restaurant over the ocean. On the way back my feet made some bad choices and somehow I found myself admiring the stars when I should have been walking across a bridge. Quick thinking helped me discover that the boards leading to that bridge were not so stable, and Oli was shrieking at me to get up- i was halfway off the embankment and dangling over the river. I hopped back up, ice cream cone still intact, and hobbled back to our hut to clean up the blood that was subsequently pouring out of my leg.
Today is another day for r&r. Gotta figure out what to do next!!!
Love and kisses.
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