Memories and Exploration

We left Phuket by ferry in the morning toward Koh Lanta.

View from the ferry near Koh Phi Phi

The ferry went through Koh Phi Phi (pronounced Ko Pee Pee (hee hee)) which we decided to skip due to time and its reputation for being heavily populated by partying tourists. The people who got off the ferry when it stopped in Phi Phi were supremely douche-y looking (we're talking neon trucker hats and deep v-neck tank tops), and they assuaged our slight disappointment at missing out on what would otherwise be a very beautiful island.

My Parents and I on Koh Lanta Dec. 2006

We arrived at Koh Lanta a few hours after our departure and piled into a cab with several other people headed to nearby hotels. The nostalgia and deja vu was instantaneous for me. It had been just over 10 years since my last visit to this place, but it seemed so familiar. The same pier where my parents and I had sat and played cards and the same small rows of shops that we had walked through, and I had purchased a few bootleg CD's and movies as a 15-year-old. Especially a story I will never forget, told to my parents and I by two Dutch travelers, who survived the Tsunami in 2004 and returned in 2006 to celebrate the 2 year anniversary, was told to us in a small street side shop near the ferry dock. I instantly recognized it and recounted the story to Laura.

We had been excited about the placement of our hotel. It was equidistant between a restaurant we were excited to try and the beach. But as it became dinner time, rain had closed the restaurant we wanted to try early, and we were forced to improvise. Closer to our hotel, there was a tiny street side family owned restaurant which turned out to be a great find. The veggie options were not plentiful but they were done well, and we ended up coming back to eat at this little hole in the wall because the service was fast and personal, and the food was delicious and authentic. It was literally a husband and wife and their two young children who roamed the house/restaurant. The young boy stopped to watch me play a game on my phone while we waited for food.

The highlight of our time on Koh Lanta was surely the exploration. Renting a moped is very easy throughout Thailand, but it can be very dangerous especially in big cities and where roads are poor. Koh Lanta's roads are by no means in great condition, but it is a very small island and the main mode of transportation is moped. It cost us 200baht/day (roughly $6), and once again the nostalgia struck me hard. The last time I had driven a moped was in fact 10 years prior, here on Koh Lanta.

As Laura and I rode around the Island essentially taking whichever turn we fancied, recognition and memories were so surprising. It culminated in a view point (pictured below) where a small restaurant stood and three tiny kittens slept when my parents and I stopped for refreshment. The restaurant still stands and their shakes are still delicious. I did see one orange adult cat, and although I'm hesitant to say it was the grown up version of the kittens I saw when I was 15, I like to think it was.

Kittens in 2006 at the viewpoint pictured above

We drove completely around Koh Lanta and then across it back to our hotel sufficiently sunburned and vibrated from the moped riding.

The next day we hopped on the moped again, this time going south to check out some ot the beautiful beaches for some lounging and swimming. It was, however, swelteringly hot out and the previously mentioned sunburns prohibited any lounging. We did take a swim at the beach pictured below and found it to be incredibly warm at the surface with a very significant thermocline (temperature change) only 4-5ft under. This made diving down, even in shallow water, super refreshing.

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After deciding not to spend 500 Baht each to see the national park at the far south tip of the island, we turned around and were treated to, for my money, the highlight of Koh Lanta. Crossing the road we were driving along was a whole family of monkeys. "Crab-eating macaques" or "Long-tailed macaques" are relatively common on the island, but it was a first for us. I pulled the moped over to the side of the road and observed. After my initial encroachments and outstretched hand was met with aggression from the obvious dominant male, Laura and I retreated which seemed to assuage his agitation, and they allowed us to get very close and take several pictures and get some video, which included some very authentic natural behaviors, if you catch my drift. We hung out with them for about twenty minutes before they made their way into the brush on the opposite side of the road.

The video is posted here: https://youtu.be/v8XXd5ikln8, the audio leaves something to be desired, but the commentary from Laura is pure gold.

unparalleled bliss of post-coital cleaning 

Overall Koh Lanta was a wonderful place to explore, especially with a vibrating hot chick strapped to my back for most of it. Next we were back to Phuket and on to the Similan Islands for liveaboard number two.

Mr.Toad's Wild Ride: Phuket Edition

Our flight from Singapore to Phuket was short and sweet, especially compared to our recent experiences. Arriving at the Phuket Airport marked only the beginning of our travel, as there was still a taxi ride to our hotel. For those less familiar with Thailand, or more specifically the island of Phuket, it is a large island at the south tip of the country separated from the body of Thailand by at most a few Km of the Andaman Sea.

https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Phuket/@7.9980858,98.2711688,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x305031e2c462524f:0xe9ca9a85063dba21!8m2!3d7.9519331!4d98.3380884

The airport is near the north of the island, where as the ferry dock we were scheduled to leave from in the morning, and subsequently our hotel choice, was significantly further south in the district of Chalong. The taxi ride from the airport was going to be roughly an hour. Laura had the hotel name saved in her email, and the taxi driver handed us his phone for us to punch in the details for Google Maps to provide him directions. She typed in Chalong Boutique Inn selected the first match (all in Thai) and we were off.

The first 40 min of the drive were as expected, we watched out the window as we drove by strips of slightly run down sprawl and marveled at the beauty and intricacy of the Thai written language. We remarked
at billboards warning against the purchase of Buddha heads (only the full body of Buddha is to be portrayed for proper reverence) or getting Buddha tattoos. Another shocking and slightly terrifying sight was the state of the power lines. All over the city lining the streets were disturbing rats nests of tangled and overstuffed electrcal wires. We assumed based on their proximity to the ground (some as low as 4-5 ft. off the ground) and their constancy that there were not lethal to the touch, but we did not test this theory.

As we continued towards our destination, our taxi driver broke from his near constant stream of mumbling in Thai to himself to try to tell us that the hotel we were going to (and had prepaid for the ride) was not within the area we had prepaid for. He said that he was taking us past the district of Chalong to Karon and that it was 200 baht more than we had prepaid. We meekly argued that the name of the hotel was the Chalong Boutique, so how could it be in Karon? We had little evidence to back up our claim, and he was continuing to press the matter in very broken and slurred English. We got to Chalong, where it seemed that he said that unless we paid another 200 baht (bringing the taxi ride up from 800 to 1000 baht roughly $30 USD which is staggeringly expensive around here) he would drop us off here in Chalong and not take us to our hotel. We rolled our eyes and pulled 200 more baht out and passed it forward. He then reacted the total opposite to what he had just been mumbling about saying "no, no. no it's okay, I take you" conveying that we did not need to pay extra before taking the money anyway and placing it out of our reach into the front passenger seat. Laura and exchanged confused and irritated looks at the language barrier and mixed signal we kept receiving. About 10 min after this, Laura, who was more familiar with the layout of Phuket because of the hotel booking and research she did, began to realize that we were not heading to where she thought our hotel was. About 10 min after that, the cab pulled up to the side of the road where the Google Maps had taken us. There was no Chalong Boutique Inn. He looked at the phone and attempted to communicate something about our apparent arrival and asking if we knew where it was. When we of course did not, he turned around and pulled up to a nearby street vendor to ask for directions and then stop for a smoke break, further elongating the feelings of frustration and uneasiness we were feeling. When he finished his cigarette and rapid Thai conversation with a street vendor, we took off back in the direction we came to attempt to find our hotel. About 5 min more of driving and a turn off the main road led us to a cluster of hotels, none of which were ours. Finally exasperated, exhausted and ready for dinner in a big way, Laura decided to switch the phone off airplane mode (adding to the already expensive trip) to access the 3G connection to check her email and attempt to confirm the address. Sure enough after 2 min of searching, she was able to confirm that the address Google Maps provided was wrong (by only a few letters) and the address was back in Chalong, where we previously sure that it was. Seemingly unwilling to chase wild geese with us any longer, the taxi driver requested the phone number and proceeded to call our hotel for directions from our current location. The directions he received were only good for about 10 more minutes of driving back towards Chalong from Karon, when he pulled off to the side of the road and levied another call to the Hotel this time louder and faster. This phone call only achieved about 2 more minutes of driving before a third phone call was made, this time yelling and obviously confused. After the third call, we went only about 200 yards forward before we saw our hotel and a man standing outside with a phone in hand. Our driver, however, did not see it and we had to shout "There it is" three or four times before he saw and stopped well beyond. I have never been so grateful to get out of a taxi. As a parting gift for our troubles, I quickly and quietly snatched the 200 baht still sitting in the passenger front seat as the driver unloaded the bags, and we proceeded to check in. Giant sigh of relief and relaxation were uttered as the door closed to our hotel room.

Our room at the Chalong Boutique Inn

After dropping off our luggage and connecting to the WiFi, we quickly scoped out a place to eat within walking distance and preceded to drink several beers and play pool at a bar called Happy Days. The next morning it was up and at 'em again, as we took a ferry to Koh Lanta for some beach R&R.

What it Means to be Singaporean

After our liveaboard in Raja Ampat we spent the night in Sorong before catching our return flights, all three of them, to Singapore. We arrived at our hotel shortly after midnight and were ready for some serious sleep. We had 5 days to explore and absorb Singapore's many attractions and vibrant multiculturalism. The public transit system took us some time to learn its intricacies, but it proved to be a cheap, easy, and efficient way of getting just about anywhere in the city.

Staggering architecture, both religious and commercial

outside a Chinatown fitness center

One of the major highlights was our trip to the Singapore National Museum (pictured below)

We learned the history of Singapore from their formal founding as "Singapura", or Lion City, in the 1400's, to their independence from England only about 50 years ago. The most interesting thing was how the citizens of Singapore throughout its history had much stronger ties to their ethnic background, rather than their current location. Predominantly Chinese, Indian, and Malay, the population didn't start to self recognize as "Singaporean" until after it's independence, when strong nationalism was endorsed by the new government. Even in their version of the "Pledge of Allegiance", which the school children repeat every morning, there is verbiage about being multicultural and accepting people regardless of their race, religion, culture or otherwise. It is a very interesting and unique history which has produced a wholly unique vibe to the entire city. Learning about what made Singapore, Singapore proved to be a major highlight so far. 

The "Supertrees" at Singapores Garden by the Bay

The Gardens by the Bay were another starkly Singaporean sight. Throughout the city there are trees, parks, lush greenery and no shortage of the smell of nature around you. However, there is a very specific style which all the plant life falls into. Singapore certainly appreciates nature and strive to have it be a part of their lives, but it is always tamed. Groomed, trimmed, manicured and otherwise shown in its best and most humanized way. The Gardens by the Bay were an intense microcosm of this ideal. Many different plants from all over the world, in almost an outdoor museum style, everything carefully in its place and labeled. And don't forget, everything lights up at night even the creepiest statue of this falling baby inches from impact.

Gardens by the Bay on the Right

East side of Downtown on the Left

The appreciation of nature didn't just stop with plants. The "Night Safari" came highly recommended, and it did not disappoint. It was an incredible to see a variety of nocturnal animals during their hours of activity.

Mousedeer

What Laura referred to as "Demon Deer"

Civet

Red Tail Flying Squirrel

Flying Fox (Basically a giant bat)

Long Spine Porcupine

Singapore really blew my expectations away. I typically loath big cities, congestion, and crowding, but Singapore delivered an authentically ethnic and consistently mind-blowing cuisine, constant cultural education, and the best smelling city I have ever experienced. Seriously, the worst smell in Singapore is "neutral". We left feeling like we could have spent another week and still had plenty of this city left to experience. From there it was on to Thailand...