Plan B, Family Visit, and Hobbit Feet

It seems that we had been anticipating meeting up with my brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Heather, for ever. We were so excited to reunite with family. To see them exit the arrival hall at the Bangkok airport and we would all hug and laugh. That is how I pictured it! That faded away as we were standing in arrivals in Terminal 2 while they searched for us in Terminal 1 for two hours. We had no Plan B but we communicated through my mom back in Canada and so found out they had gone ahead to our guesthouse. We pulled up to the front of the guesthouse and there they were, sweating away and the anticipated reunion ensued with all the laughing and hugging we had imagined.

We were to stay one night in Bangkok close to the Khao San Road. This was a poor decision on our part as my sister suffers from a shopping addiction and within a few minutes Brandy and Heather were lost in the throng of shoppers. Jim and I took up a position that would become a habit with us: guarding crisp, cold bottles of Chang Beer. We took it pretty easy the first day, letting them drop their jet lag and the next day we boarded a night train south towards the Andaman Sea coast.

We had opposite seats/bunks on the train, which allowed us to create out own little party zone which I’m pretty sure brought a lot of happiness to our fellow passengers. Apparently there was a run on ear plug sales in our car. Threats of police intervention shut us down and a foggy head at dawn brought us to Surat Thani and an uncomfortable bus trip to the resort town of Krabi where we boarded a ferry boat to the island of Ko Phi Phi Don (pronounced “pee pee” for all you potty humour enthusiasts). The island was fairly wiped out in last year’s devastating tsunami.

It is hard to believe the destruction that had occurred here only eleven months before but horrific photographs abound to give the chilling proof. It is weird to vacation where so many died but the community relies on our tourist dollars. Still, the morbid evidence and chilling tales are heartbreaking.

The island has idyllic white sand beaches to the south and soaring limestone cliffs to the north. We decided to rent kayaks with a packed lunch and explore the north end. After insisting Jim wear sunscreen (apparently he does not burn), we made our way to Monkey Bay, paddling over crystal blue waters under the tropical sun. Of course there are monkeys in Monkey Bay but not he cute, timid ones. They are aggressive, dirty macaque monkeys, too used to stealing tourists’ food. We were besieged by them and I eventually thumped one soundly on the head, sending him screeching into the forest. He had mistaken me for the usual pushover tourist. India taught me different.

We left the monkeys behind and paddled into a narrow passageway that was cut into the limestone cliff by eons of stone-shaping water. The wave surges provided us with a roller coaster ride around the twisting corners and our reward was a small white sand beach at the end of the passage. The cliffs gave evidence of swallow nest hunters with perilously placed bamboo ladders creeping up 1000 feet cliffs. All in all, we paddled about 20 km under the hot sun, which did a good job of proving Jim wrong: he does sunburn! Specifically on the tops of his already-tropically-swollen feet. Ouch!

Ko Phi Phi has done a good job attracting tourists back after the tsunami and after a few days we decided to escape to a quiet beach on the mainland. Before leaving Phi Phi, we ran into one of our Borneo traveling partners, Ilke, who is on her way to India in a few weeks. It was great to catch up with her and we wish her lots of luck in India – it will be a great experience!

We landed back on the mainland at Krabi where we secured two fancy scooters and formed the Hughes Scooter Club for five days of exploring. We looked like quite the gypsies: two people with two big packs on these little machines. With a little help from a very friendly travel agent, we arrived at Dawn of Happiness Bungalows in Nammao Bay. It had perfect bungalows: right on a tropical beach with two little Thai women running the place. We were the only guests and the beach was also empty so we had found the isolated tropical paradise Jim and Heather were looking for. We set up a table under a thatched roof gazebo right on the beach where we talked and laughed the warm nights away. The only concern at Dawn of Happiness was the state of Jim’s swollen and glowing red feet. The sunburn and the water retention made them look like hobbit feet and the two Thai women rubbed Tiger Balm on them in hopes of healing this sick farang (foreigner). The feet were so grotesque it brought tears of laughter to all of us.

We zoomed, I mean puttered, around the countryside checking out ancient temples, parks, waterfalls and a well-hidden cave. We were fortunate enough to stumble into the Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort (www.phanombenchamountainresort.com) that sits on the border of the national park of the same name. The brand new resort with its isolated handcrafted bungalows was hewn out of the thick forest. It had a clear spring pool, fruit trees, a waterfall and a picturesque open-air restaurant. The head man, Son, showed us around and co-owners Tony and Jacqueline were so welcoming that we promised we would return for a night’s stay. What a night it was: great food, good company, and luxurious mountainside bungalows that looked over a jungle covered valley and limestone cliff. The place was magical and we were sad we only had one night to stay there but we had a bus to catch back to Bangkok. We highly recommend this place to sooth the soul: it was perfect. This is a great example of the gems you find outside of the tourist traps and guide book listings.

Now Brandy and I are off to Myanmar (Burma) and Jim and Heather to Chang Mai in Northern Thailand. It was so great to spend ten days with them, to witness their amazement at the Thai culture, to laugh, talk and maybe tip a few too many Chang with them. After seven months on the road, it was a blessing to feel the warmth and comfort of family again. They made this segment of our adventure something special that all of us will not soon forget.

But now off to Myanmar to hopefully escape all these herds of farangs!

Photos:
Brandy and Heather on Train
Our Pool on Ko Phi Phi
Brandy, Heather, Jim at Waterfall
Jim and Heather at Waterfall
Jim, Brandy, Heather in Cave
Helmut Heads
Beachfront Dinner in Nammao
Our Pool at Phanom Bencha
Bungalow at Phanom Bencha
Lunch at the Mountain Resort